Unsuitable Obsession - Part One (9 page)

Amber drew in a long breath. With his legs spread
apart, Eduardo had one limb casually up on his thigh. She brought
her eyes up from his physique and gulped when she noted his
expression changed from annoyance to sensual, and then she knew but
immediately denied it, the warmth from his eyes alone spiraled
through her core. “Have you ever been in love?”

Eduardo’s heart sunk, it was a direct hit through
the inner layers of his psyche. “Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

She seemed serious. “No...But I’ve been in lust
though,” he taunted her.

Amber’s grin decreased. Having Eduardo confess that
he’s never been in love affected Amber in such an extrusive way.
All of sudden his affection was all that mattered. And, why, oh
why, did she want him to fall in love with her? Good Lord, what an
awful question bouncing around in her head. She had Victor; she
finally had her baby boy salvation so why did she
now
want
her brother-in-law? “Not the same Eduardo, you’ve got a lot of
self-examination to muddle though.”

Eduardo looked at her quizzically, self-examination?
“How so?”

Amber noted that his usual intoxicated expression
mellowed to a stern blank pout. “I think you need to lower your
standards when looking for a mate,” she spat out, surprised at how
easy it was to insult him. “I think you’re used to drawing in all
the attention and that each date has to be better than the next.
You don’t seem to settle for someone who’s merely adequate, but
seek excellence and I don’t think you’re going to find that perfect
girl.”

Eduardo, for once, was silenced by her sudden
analysis of his partiality. How did she know? How in the world
could she read him so easily? He gazed away for a second and then
back at her. Amber met his eyes and held his stare. “Maybe I’ve
already met her.”

Amber choked back. Oh heavens, why did that
admission ache? Having another woman hold all of Eduardo’s
attention suddenly caused Amber to flame with jealousy and envy.
“And you let her get away?”

Eduardo smiled inwardly. Boy was that the truth.
“No, I’ve concluded that she let me get away…”

Amber hooted, “You are so bad.” And good, oh, very,
very clever how he reeled in her conflicting emotions, Amber was
suddenly feeling sorry for him. Maybe he was a better fisherman
than she first realized.

“I know I’m confident,” he claimed, gazing out at
the water beyond. “I have to be in my line of work. I’m up against
the best legal minds in court; I have to be self-assured in my
presentation. So if that makes me conceited then so be it. As for
my lady friends, I don’t look for perfection...that’s overrated.
The female has to be unique though,” Eduardo stopped, looking back
at Amber. The wind blew in her hair causing strands to rise and
float above her shoulders.

Why was she suddenly hearing
“Close To You”
by the Carpenters?
Why do birds suddenly appear/Every time/You
are near?/Just like me/They long to be/Close to you…
Amber
realized she was enthralled by Eduardo’s concession and had been
intently looking at him the whole time trying to figure out which
part of his face she liked the most. She blushed, turned away.

Eduardo noted his effect on her physically. Amber’s
weight shifted in her chair creating distance between them. She
began rubbing her neck and was edgy for some reason. Why was she so
interested in his personal preference anyway? How could she benefit
from all this?

Amber was over-stimulated by just conversing with
him. She wanted to sit on his lap now, run her fingers through his
hair and rest her head on that wool jacket of his. Damn that song!
Damn Eduardo Sanchez! The further away from him the better—and
she’d better change the subject and fast. “I think Adrian’s
crying.”

“How can you tell? I don’t hear anything.”

“Mother’s intuition,” Amber cracked, leaving her
chair and escaping towards her tent. She unzipped the porch and
threw herself in. Good Lord what an idiot she was, peering into his
personal life! Why on earth was she that interested? She had
Victor. Victor cherished her, brought her up on a pedestal. Eduardo
was...well, honestly Eduardo was just someone she would have never
been able to access. Being Eduardo’s sister-in-law suddenly gave
Amber opportunity to get to know a man as handsome as he was. Being
comely with money, he could have any
unique
woman he
desired.

They long to be/Close to you...
Damn that
song! Damn him! Why were visions of him with other women
threatening her very reason? All those gorgeous selective women,
and why, oh why couldn’t she fight the urge of exiting the tent and
running back to tackle him? Eduardo shouldn’t be idolized—he’s the
devil incarnate with dreamy green eyes.

Amber had to fight her way back to sanity; had to
slam that door shut before fantasies of him would begin to take
over. Her sexual impulses towards him were frightening and she
didn’t know how to deal with them. She had to remain calm, remain
in control, time to wake up Adrian, who cares about the three naps
a day.

Let’s Be Friends

“Victor told me that you were hired by Aldridge
& Watson? They’re a highly reputable Century City firm. How did
you ever manage that?”

It was amusement now, a game. She would say
something funny, a joke with a double meaning and he’d end up with
some cute comeback and over the years they toyed with each other
continuing borderline flirtation. Amber always teased her
brother-in-law when she went over her in-laws; he was always there
visiting, dropping by unexpectedly, bringing a cake or pie, or
simply waiting to get fed.

“They liked my smile,” Eduardo presented her.

“Yah—right and then they asked you to take your
clothes off and model bathing suits,” Amber quipped, gazing at her
son Adrian (who was barely three) spilling the entire contents of
his juice cup into the planter. “Adrian!” Amber snapped, pulling
his little body away from the plant. “Don’t do that. How many times
do I have to tell you not to open up that cup?” She scolded,
noticing that her son had tears in his eyes.

“Sorree Mommy...” Adrian gave to her.

The gape broke her heart, but Amber felt she had to
be tough with her son and she didn’t want to look weak in front of
The Family. There were even extra relations there to celebrate
Rosalba’s birthday, cousins Amber had never met before, along with
some childhood friends from Guanajuato, the town where Rosalba and
Fabrizio grew up.

Eduardo knelt down to Adrian’s eye level. “Look
mehiò, Mommy is a little tense right now, why don’t you just give
her some slack?” Adrian nodded his little head and Eduardo eyed
Amber laugh at the prospect of her son actually under-standing what
slack
meant. He watched her caress Adrian’s nut-brown hair.
“Now, go see if Nana has any more of those cookies she’s been
hiding, and if she denies it, tell her to come to see Tió Eduardo,”
he stated, standing back up.

Adrian darted off immediately to find his
grandmother even as Amber stood there bewildered. She never took
Eduardo as the sort to be interested in kids, never mind being a
father someday. Victor told her once that his brother wasn’t the
marrying type—Eduardo was a confirmed bachelor, and after going
camping with him a couple of years back, she understood why. “Thank
you,” she expressed to him.

“Just thought I’d help you out,” Eduardo grinned at
her. Instantly, their smiles drop to lips parting slightly, their
eyes lock and hold and strong sexual tension are obvious. They turn
away from each other’s gaze and look among other relatives passing
by them.

“
Eduardo!”
Rosalba is heard yelling at him
from within the kitchen area.
“Eduardo, venga aquí
ahora!

Amber snickered, “You are
so
busted.”

Eduardo pat down his chest, “I know exactly how to
handle her, just you watch.”

Amber couldn’t watch Eduardo work his wonders on his
mother at that moment because her son decided that he’d rather dip
his chocolate chip cookies in the dirt outside. “Adrian!” Amber
yelled at him from within the living room then rushing outside to
scold him.

Out on the lawn there was a live mariachi band,
presents galore and tons of food that night. Carne asada, arroz con
pollo, chile rellanos, corn on the cob, big pots of beans and
Spanish rice, fruit, sodas, and a beautiful gigantic cake. Amber
snuck a taste of the Tres Leche multi-fruit cake as she walked by
and then grabbed Adrian’s hand to lead him over to his father.
Victor had been playing dominoes with two of his uncles and Amber
brought over a chair to sit by them. Peeking at Victor’s dominoes,
he strategically placed them against the others, he was a better
player than his uncles and that made Amber proud. When you are
naturally athletic like Victor, competiveness can span across any
form of sport.

It was an unusual summer day in the valley, pushing
nearly a 100°. There were dark clouds in the sky, causing the sun
to play peek-a-boo with the atmosphere. Amber spent most of her
time underneath the shady trees or beneath the patio awning when
the sun did decide to shine bright. Victor and his uncles set up a
folding table away from the crowds near the poolside under a huge
oak tree in their backyard, and Amber spent almost an hour by her
husband’s side, watching him play dominoes. She was just about to
scoot away when she spotted Eduardo pull his shirt over his head to
go swimming.

It was harmless to look at him through the group of
men playing diligently; it was risk-free, right? Amber observed her
brother-in-law as he released himself of his yellow cotton shirt,
beige Docker shorts and brown loafers. He was super lean and tan
right down to his toes with muscular legs, the body of a swimmer.
He was so rightly proportioned, not an ounce of fat on that
incredible male. No wonder he was always so confident, he knew he
was in a class all by himself. Eduardo raised his arms over his
head and dived into the deep end of the pool. Amber was in
astonishment, shook her head. Could that man get any sexier? His
physique was unquestionably different than her husband’s. Victor
was shorter, same color skin, but in no way muscular like his
brother’s. Victor had hair on his chest too, but just barely in the
center, while Eduardo’s chest hair was on all the right places,
body hair that seemed to thin out downward and escape underneath
the safe-guarded lining of his Lycra bathing suit. Amber waited for
him to sprout from the water, but didn’t see him. She stood up,
brushed down her skirt and pretended to look for something by the
pool. Eduardo had not come up for air. Was he still at the bottom
of the pool? Good Lord he could hold his breath! Amber instantly
got concerned for him and walked over by the deep end. Adrian came
running over to her and Amber just barely managed to grab her son
before he fell in. She swung his body around and was grateful for
the temporary diversion. Adrian enjoyed his little merry-go-round
with Mommy and continued to spin with her around and around. They
both got dizzy after that and fell to the ground cackling.

Laughing with Adrian still in her arms, she eyed in
the distance, Eduardo exiting out of the pool, he was like a Greek
God departing the sea, inconceivable, wet and slippery. Amber
couldn’t help but notice the bulge beneath his taut drown bathing
suit.

Eduardo reached for a towel and began drying himself
off when suddenly; he caught Amber staring at him. Amber gasped and
looked sharply away. She tried to disguise her blushed facial
appearance by grabbing Adrian and fixing his messed up hair. What
was she doing checking out her brother-in-law anyways? Shame on
her! But then she couldn’t help herself and searched for Eduardo
again, but he seemed to have left the pools side. She tried looking
for him through the crowd of relatives, but he practically
vanished. Amber shook it off and guided her son back to the other
nieces and nephews.

Her in-laws rented a giant blown up dinosaur for the
kids to jump in and Adrian took off running. Amber started laughing
and heard a man chuckle behind her and turned around, it was
Eduardo—back in his shorts and yellow shirt. In the sunlight, the
golden shade made his face look tanner, his eyes grassy, he looked
sexier and more sensual to her than ever before if that was
possible. Amber couldn’t help but stare at that gold chain around
his neck, something was hanging from the end of it and she wanted
to reach out to see what it was.

“They sure do like to jump, don’t they?” Eduardo
assumed.

“They sure do,” Amber agreed turning away from
him.

“They didn’t have those when we were growing up,
huh?”

“I know,” she expressed, thinking that the
conversation was stupid for some reason, small talk with nothing
else better to say. “Nice Speedo,” Amber joked, trying to reason
away her gawking at him before.

Eduardo started laughing. “Yah—well, someone had to
liven up this party!”

Amber turned and faced him, crossed her arms across
her chest. “Yes, we girls applaud you for the show,” she teased,
gazing around at all the various ladies now staring at her
brother-in-law. Amber let go one of her bright smiles,
unconsciously licked her lips.

Eduardo brought his eyes down to her mouth and
glanced away cautiously. “What else did you hear about Aldridge
& Watson?” He coughed, changing the subject.

“Well,” Amber checked back at the jumper, Adrian was
having the time of his jumping life. “I know they don’t handle
personal injury, but one my attorneys said that they had this huge
case about a girl who got run over by a tractor on the beach and
ended up settling it for quite a substantial amount.”

Eduardo focused on Amber as she purposely looked
away. “Oh yah, I think I heard about that,” he agreed, surveying
her attire from the tip of her head down to her espadrilles. Amber
was still watching Adrian jump while he grabbed the small
opportunity to study her up close. Her raven hair was pulled back
into a pony-tail with a blue scrungy, bright blue crystal earrings
dangled every time she moved her head and mesmerized him. A baby
blue tank top extenuated her bosoms, her legs, so faultless and
smooth, were exposed through a half-jean half-cotton skirt and his
inspection of her consumed him in seconds and there was no hope for
him after that; he was completely smitten.