The Missing Heir(118)

                “I’m with you.” Destiny signaled for another round. “Luca has                     been texting all day.”

                “I’m sorry it went bad with Luca.”

                “It didn’t go bad with Luca.” Destiny’s tone was a little                     sharp.

                “I didn’t mean—”

                “It was too short with Luca.” Destiny’s tone mellowed.                     “But it was all good. I really do miss him.”

                “I don’t miss Cole.”

                “That’s a big fat lie. You might be ticked off at him, but you                     have to miss him.”

                “I’m—”

                Destiny spoke overtop her. “This sharing-our-feelings thing                     isn’t going to work if you’re just going to lie to me.”

                Amber tried to wrap her head around the jumble of her feelings                     for Cole. “I can’t miss a man who didn’t exist.”

                “Tell me something,” said Destiny, propping her elbow on the                     tabletop and her chin on her hand. “If Cole was real, if the guy you met was                     authentic, would you be in love with him right now?”

                “That’s a pointless question.”

                “I saw you at the courthouse,” said Destiny. “How you looked at                     him. How he looked at you. In that moment, you were a goner.”

                Amber remembered. And she experienced the feelings all over                     again—the intense rush of pride and respect for his strength and honesty, the                     knowledge that Roth had been vanquished and Zachary was safe, the certainty that                     she didn’t have to worry anymore, that somebody else would help shoulder the                     burden, and the way he’d immediately turned toward her, the emotion in his eyes,                     her absolute certainty that nobody else in his world mattered, just her and                     Zachary.

                “Amber?” Destiny prompted.

                “Yes,” Amber admitted. There really was no reason to lie to                     Destiny. “If that guy, the guy from the courtroom... If that guy truly existed,                     I’d be a goner.”

                Destiny’s phone chimed. She looked at the number display and                     then put the phone to her ear. “Destiny Frost.”