Chapter Eighteen

Amber sat on the couch the next morning with Steve's laptop, going over her finances that she had barely looked at in the past six months since being away from home.

She wiped away a trickle of sweat that began to bead up on the side of her temple.

"Damn, it's already hot," she whispered, closing the laptop and going out on the lanai to sit in the fresh air.

She knew the reason for the extra body heat was due to being pregnant, having experienced similar symptoms with Adam and Ava.

She sat down in one of the chairs as a cool breeze off the ocean hit her, making her smile as she lifted her hair up on top of her head, getting the full scope of the draft.

She stared at the water and with them still on her mind she pictured Adam and Ava down on the beach, playing in the sand. Her smile faded, feeling guilty as she often did when she saw something beautiful, knowing they would never experience it.

She had made so many mistakes, going over the list in her head that had become a staple of her punishment; critical errors that could have saved both of their lives. The one on the top of her list was underestimating her husband and what he was really capable of.

She heard a noise behind her as Steve came down the stairs.

It was a big day for him, she thought. He'd be returning to work for the first time since Catherine's death.

He had briefly spoken of it the night before, acting too nonchalant about the event to fool Amber. She knew otherwise but didn't confront him about it either. That would be too personal and after the earlier event in the water, she thought it best to keep her distance in that area of his life. She didn't want to give him any reason to look at her again like he had. She had to keep this neutral for both of their sakes; it was so much safer that way. He was her friend and she needed that so much more.

"Good morning," he said as she came into sight.

Amber set the laptop on the table and turned in the chair seeing a new man walking toward her. Her mind flashed back to the moment she walked in the bar and saw him in all his glory of being clean-shaven. He was even more striking now dressed in a blue polo shirt and a pair of white pants with his badge and gun on his hip.

"Have you eaten yet?" he asked her as he came out on the lanai.

Amber just stared up at him in awe of the appearance that caught her without warning. Even his hair was shorter, assuming he cut it himself, because when he went to bed the night before it was longer in the back and on top.

Steve smiled; finding her reaction amusing, knowing it was because of his appearance. He ran his hand over his beardless face. "It feels weird too," he said.

"Your hair," she said, still a little shell-shocked, "did you cut it yourself?"

His hand moved up and over his scalp, "Yea a little bit. I did what I could. I might stop after work and get it cleaned up. Does it look pretty bad?" he flipped the natural cowlick he had in the front, hoping he didn't look too ridiculous.

"No," Amber shook her head, "No, not at all. It looks really good. You look great!" she said just a little too enthusiastic and then pulled it back. "I mean you look good. You look fine."

It was already out there and it was too late to pull it back, Steve saw it by the way her cheeks flushed and heard it in the way she stumbled her words, smiling again, only this time because he was flattered. It was the same reaction she had that time in the bar, and he couldn't deny that it felt good, the same as it had that night.

"Thank you," he grinned, blushing a bit himself over her reaction, "So, have you eaten?" he asked again still not getting his question answered.

"What?" she said and then came to her senses, "Oh, umm," she looked around as if the answer was lying somewhere near her and then looked up at him again. "Ah, no, I haven't." She looked away from him again, unable to control the giddiness that went along with seeing him standing before her looking the way he did. All her superior thinking of him as just a friend flew out the widow as images of him that night between her legs making her head swirl came flooding back.

The Hawaiian heat was just a droplet on her body compared to what his physical stature was causing her. She felt like she had a fever, understanding the term 'hot flash' now, intimately.

"Danny's picking me up," he said. "There's just enough food in there to make yourself something. I can grab a bite on the way to work. I'll leave you my truck today too. Would you mind going to the grocery store?"

She shook her head…"No not at all."

He reached in his back pocket and took out his wallet.

"What are you doing?" Amber asked with a disturbed expression.

Steve took out his credit card and handed it to her. "You can use this for the food."

"No! I have my own card and it has money on it."

"I'm not saying that," he quickly defended, "I'm just saying I'll buy the food. You need to go clothes shopping. All you have is clothes from the trail."

"I can pay for both," she argued back. "You don't need to support me. I was just going over my finances and I'm in pretty good shape."

"Really?" Steve smiled, "Well in that case, I like gourmet food. Make sure you get top shelf. As long as you're buying."

Amber rolled her eyes, "Very funny."

He put his card back in his wallet. "I don't want to argue about expenses. You go ahead and get what you need and buy the groceries this time. We'll work out a plan for next time."

She nodded in agreement. "Ok, agreed. Is there anything in particular you won't eat just so I know?"

Steve put a hand on her shoulder, "Please, I'm begging you, don't buy anything that comes in a little package where you just add hot water."

Amber laughed, "No way! And I'm not buying any oatmeal either. How about a big box of Captain Crunch?"

Steve laughed, "I'm actually a Lucky Charms guy if you have to know."

"And Doritos!" Amber added with wide eyes. "Ranch or nacho cheese?"

"Please," Steve smirked, "nacho cheese." He smiled down at her. "We deserve to eat every junk food that is out there but just remember the baby might want something a little more nutritious."

It was the first time he had brought up the baby in a conversation that wasn't already surrounding the baby, and it was out of concern for it as well. She was impressed as well as pleased over it.

"I will. I promise. I have to get some pre-natal vitamins too."

"And you need to see a doctor."

Amber's face showed her concern over that. "I know and I'm not sure my insurance covers that either. That could get expensive."

"Something else we really need to talk about."

"I'll put it on the list." They both heard a horn and looked in the direction of the front door.

'That'll be Danny," Steve said, "I gotta run." He backed up as he continued to talk, "Call me if you need anything today."

"I will. Have a good first day back, and please be safe," she added as he turned to leave.

He looked back at her with a wide grin, liking that last part. "I will. You too."

She watched him disappear around the corner of the family room and then heard the door open and shut.

It was the first time since they had been hiking together that they would be apart for an extended period of time, she actually missed him already.

….

Danny pulled into the HPD parking lot and took his usual spot. The conversation on the way in was occupied by getting Steve up to speed on the two cases the team was currently working.

Steve didn't move to get out right away, glancing over at him; "You didn't tell Chin and Kono about Amber did you?"

"No, of course not."

"I wonder how it'll go over?" he asked, more concerned about Kono than Chin. She and Catherine had grown close over the years, and even more so since Cat had moved back permanently.

"Hey," Danny replied firmly, "They're the ones that are always on the Ohana kick, it'll be fine."

Steve smiled over that, excited to see them but a little apprehensive too. "Yea, you're right. It's just Chin and Kono."

They came through the glass doors and were met with cheers and applause from the both of them.

"Welcome back brother," Chin said with a hug. "We missed ya."

"Welcome back, Boss," Kono smiled, hugging him as well. She stepped back and looked him over. "I was hoping the beard was going to make an appearance."

Steve smiled, running his hand over his clean shaven face, "No way, trust me it was even scarier in person."

"You look good," Chin added.

"Thanks. I feel good."

Kono smiled happily over that. "We're glad you're back. The place wasn't the same without you, and I mean that."

"It really is good to be back too."

They all began to walk to the common area where they did most of their conversing about cases in front of the computer table.

"So how was the PCT?" Chin asked, "As brutal as I imagine, or worse?"

"It really wasn't that bad," Steve admitted. "There were definitely some challenging days. Weather was the biggest hinder, but we got through those periods."

"'I heard about the avalanche," Chin said, "That sounded pretty harrowing."

Steve blew out a breath, recalling the terrifying moment when Amber had disappeared under the snow. "Yea, that wasn't one of our better days."

"All right I have to ask because we are all dying to know," Kono began, eyeing Steve suspiciously. They had all agreed it was unlike him to quit anything let alone something like this. "Why didn't you finish? You can be honest. No judgment here. We're all impressed as hell that you even attempted it."

"I know! I know!" Chin raised his hand with a teasing grin. "You couldn't stand the smell of yourself anymore?"

They all got a laugh out of that.

Danny looked over at Steve, wondering how much he was going to reveal to them about Amber and the baby.

"So…?" Kono asked, waiting for the answer to her question.

"It's kinda complicated."

"Did the girl you were hiking with stop too," Chin asked, "Amber, is it?"

"Yes, it's Amber and yes she did. We decided together just past the Oregon border that we should hang it up. It was a mutual decision based on…circumstances that…well that she had developed, kind of. The hike just made it more dangerous for her in her condition."

"Did she get hurt?" Kono asked, now displaying a look of concern.

"No, not really," Steve replied, dancing around the subject.

"Where was she from?" Chin asked.

"Indiana."

"Are you going to keep in touch?" he asked next, wondering if maybe they had separated on bad terms and that was the hesitation about telling all.

Steve glanced over at Danny getting a slight nod from him, basically telling him to just spit it out, otherwise he knew the interrogation would eventually lead to it anyway. They were all good at getting info out of hesitant people.

"Yes, we are going to keep in touch, as a matter of fact, she's here now…at my house."

Kono's expression changed in a flash as her eyes narrowed as she now glared at him. "What do you mean she's here now? She came home with you, to live?" her voice overly annoyed with that new piece of information. "Are you like…a couple now?" She understood the circumstances of them becoming hiking partners and was even relieved over it, not liking the idea of him being out there alone, even with his credentials. When he had left Hawaii he was an emotional mess, so was she over losing her friend, but it was different for him. She had encouraged him to go on this adventure to help heal his wounds, but had never in a million years thought that it would lead to this. She missed her friend Catherine and the idea of him moving on so quickly annoyed her. Maybe it shouldn't have but it did.

"Yes, to live and no, it's not like that," he quickly announced.

"Oh," she calmed again, glad to hear it wasn't a romantic thing. "Is she sick then?"

"No."

He decided to just rip off the Band-Aid.

"She's pregnant…it's mine, so she's here now, with me."

"Wow," Chin replied first, his mouth dropping open. It was the last thing he would have ever guessed.

Kono on the other hand said nothing, but her eyes bore into him, wondering how he could have moved on so quickly and carelessly.

He looked over at her and felt the guilt and betrayal he had suffered the morning after he and Amber had slept together. She had been Catherine's closest friend at the time of her death and it was like facing her ghost, seeing the disappointment and resentment in her eyes.

"Well," Kono said, her voice filled with bitterness, "isn't that nice. Congratulations I guess." She turned and walked toward her office. "I've got work to do. Welcome back boss." She went inside and swung the glass door closed as she went past it.

Steve's eyes went to the floor, feeling the brunt of her anger hit him hard. He respected his team immensely and letting them down in any way, shape or form was disheartening.

How did he really expect her to react, he thought shamefully, with open arms and a big hug of congratulations? He had left here a broken man, grieving for his wife that had tragically died, only to return four months later with another woman pregnant with his child.

Laying it out so openly and seeing it from her perspective was like a blow to his character.

"Hey," Chin said to him, sympathetic to his situation, "she's never really come to terms with Catherine's death. I've tried to have conversations with her about it but she just refuses to admit how deeply hurt she really was over it. I've known her my whole life and she's never had a real friend of the same sex. She was a tomboy from the get go. She could never relate to women on their level, until Catherine came along. They were like two pees in a pod. They didn't talk about nails or hair. They didn't go to the mall, they went surfing and to the gun range or the football games. I think she was the sister that Kono always wanted, or needed."

Steve nodded his understanding; not realizing the depth of her grief, maybe because he had been so caught up in his own misery that he hadn't noticed that his wife's death had impacted other's lives as much as his own, especially Kono's, knowing that friendship first hand.

"I'm sorry," Steve replied quietly, "I should have known that this might hurt her. I should have known that."

"It's not your fault, Steve," Chin defended, "you had to move on with your life and get past that grief. I know," he said honestly, "I know what you're going through and no matter what path you take, you have to take the one that is right for you, no one else. She'll come on board, she's just still grieving is all."

"Shouldn't I still be too?" he said critically, feeling that wave of guilt strike him hard.

"Aren't you?" Chin declared, "because I see it all over your face right now. Just because you're not locked up in your house or walking around like a zombie anymore doesn't mean for one second that you are over her death, or that you ever will be. It's a process to get you back to a life that you feel normal in again, and if Amber can help you get there, then god love her for it, because I don't have to tell you it's a hard, hard process."

Steve glanced over in the direction of Kono's office, seeing her sitting behind her desk with her laptop open. He needed her approval just as badly as he needed Danny's and Chin's. They were a family. He wanted it for himself but even more so, he wanted it for Amber.

He tapped his knuckles on the glass door of her office, not asking permission to enter but more or less giving her a heads up that he was coming in.

Kono looked up from her computer as he came inside. She saw who it was and then diverted her attention back to the screen that was displaying her emails; she had yet to read one, her mind consumed over the anger of his reckless betrayal.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked as he let the door close behind him while he approached her desk.

"What for? It's none of my business," she replied bitterly.

"Then why are you so upset?"

She said nothing.

"I think you'll like her, Kono. Amber's a good person."

"Whatever," she replied sarcastically. "She's moved right in and taken over. Is she driving the Vette too?"

"Knock it off!" Steve replied angrily. "This isn't about you! I haven't done anything to you."

"I knew she was pregnant," she blurted out.

"What? Amber?" Steve questioned, confused over how.

"No! Catherine. Remember, you're wife!" she saw him cringe over that remark, but her anger allowed her to ignore it. "She came to my house with a pregnancy test a couple of days before she…died." Tears welled up in her eyes, "I'd never seen her so excited. She couldn't wait to tell you."

"I didn't know that," he said quietly.

"Did you also know that she called me the day it happened? I know about the fight you had."

That comment was like a shot to his heart. If she were trying to mortally wound him, she was doing an impressive job.

He had nothing left to say after that, backing away from her. He wasn't angry, nor did he see her as an enemy between he and Amber, on the contrary he felt he was the enemy in her eyes. He had failed her as much as he had failed Catherine that day, being reminded of why she had left the house that morning.

Kono regretted her words, seeing the results clear as day. Why had she said that? She had kept that phone call to herself all this time, knowing what that fight must have done to him, but the discovery of this baby and this new person that she felt was taking Catherine's place had just resurfaced wounds that she thought she had put to rest, but she hadn't, she'd only locked them away and now they were out and focused on Steve whom she admired and loved like a brother.

She'd gone too far she thought shamefully. Her anger and grief over missing her friend had consumed her so much that she had lashed out at the one person who had loved Catherine the most.

"Steve," she said remorsefully as she rose from behind her desk. "I'm sorry, I…"

"No," he replied almost breathless, "it's ok, you're right." He turned and went for the door.

"Steve, I'm sorry." She chased after him as he left the room, both of them coming out to the main area. "I'm sorry."

"Kono," he replied to her not taking into consideration what she had said to him, only feeling sorry that she had to know about it in the first place. He almost felt a bit of gratitude that she hadn't confronted him with it earlier. She had let him off the hook but he knew now that she did indeed blame him, but why shouldn't she, he was to blame. "It's ok, don't apologize. I'm the one that should be apologizing to you. She was like your sister and I…I ruined that for you."

"No Steve, I didn't mean it that way. It wasn't your fault. None of this is your fault."

"I'm sorry for springing this on you like that, Kono. It was inconsiderate. I'm sorry."

He went straight to his office but once inside he wished he'd left all together, but go where, home? It didn't feel like home anymore. It used to be his sanctuary where he could go to get away from a sometimes cruel outside world that he saw in his job. Home is where she had been. He could be with her and it was familiar and relaxing and safe.

He'd begun to feel that again with Amber being there, but now it suddenly felt dreadful again. His biggest fear about bringing her home was coming to light. He'd worried about others not accepting her, but never did he think it would come from his family.

"What did you say to him?!" Chin blasted her as she went toward Steve's office.

"Lay off, Chin," she fired back, going through the glass doors to his office. "Steve," she said to him.

He turned and forced a small smile, "Kono, really it's ok."

"No its not. I didn't mean what I said. It was uncalled for, Steve." She went to him, putting a hand on his arm. "I've had a hard time with this, much more than I had let on, and I don't think I realized the impact it had really made on my life until you mentioned Amber and the baby. I don't know I just felt a betrayal, but that's so ridiculous. You need to move on and you have and I'm happy for you, I really am," her voice broke as she tried to get the rest out. "I need to let it go too. I just feel angry…and I need to let it go. I'm sorry for lashing out at you. It was incredibly unfair."

He saw the tears in her eyes and heard the remorse in her voice, putting his arms around her, "You have every right to feel what you do, Kono. It's been a hard transition for all of us. Everyone processes grief in their own way, and in their own time. We'll be ok."

She wiped her eyes as he gently squeezed her before letting go. She backed away and looked up at him. "I can't wait to meet her. Amber I mean and I hope you are happy. You deserve it."

The smile on his face didn't have to be forced this time. "Thanks Kono."

"Are we good?" she asked him.

"Of course."

"I probably blew my chances now," she joked, "of having the baby named after me if it's a girl, didn't I?"

Steve chuckled, "No promises," he grinned; pointing toward her office, "Get to work."

She saluted him as she backed up, "Yes boss."

He believed the sincerity in her apology, but the damage was done. She was right, how could he have been so careless? And how could he have brought Amber to this place where she might be subjected to scrutiny because of him.

She didn't deserve it and he'd do whatever necessary to protect her from it.

….

Amber quietly came down the dark stairs of Steve's house. It was a little after two in the morning and she just couldn't sleep. The humidity that night was high, but her discomfort she knew was mostly due to her pregnancy, having gone through hot flashes with both Adam and Ava, but this was miserable. She wasn't used to the weather in Hawaii yet, knowing if she weren't pregnant that it probably wouldn't be so bad. But she was, and it was!

She went straight for the fridge and opened it, not taking anything out but just letting the cold air cool her off.

"Oh my god its hot tonight," she moaned, opening the freezer and turning her back to it as she moved in closer.

She grabbed a bag of frozen corn on the door shelf and laid it against her chest.

"That feels so good," she moaned.

"You ok?" she heard from across the kitchen causing her to jump.

She looked over, seeing Steve shirtless in a pair of cut-off sweats.

"You scared the hell out of me," she scolded him.

"What are you doing?"

She used the upper freezer door as a fan to try and get the cool air out faster. "I'm so hot. I love your island but it's hot. Does it ever cool down?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just used to it."

"I'm burning up, but then again I'm almost three months pregnant. I tend to get hot flashes so your electric bill could skyrocket this month and all the ice cream might melt."

Steve chuckled, "I didn't know you were this uncomfortable. You should have told me."

"And say what? Hey Steve, could you please change the weather outside for me to a nice seventy-two degrees?" she grinned.

He rolled his eyes at her, motioning with his arm, "Come up stairs, you can have my room. I'll open the lanai door. It'll help."

She was flattered by his generosity but felt funny about it. "I can't take your room."

"Why not?"

She shrugged uncomfortably, "I don't know, this is your house. It's your room."

He rolled his eyes again, "Oh for crying out loud, Amber, get upstairs." He didn't wait for another reply and turned heading for the steps. "I can sleep in your room. This heat doesn't bother me. I'm used to it."

She closed the doors to the fridge and reluctantly followed him, still not 100% in agreement with his suggestion, but it was late and she was exhausted from not getting the sleep that she needed.

They came into his room and she stood at the door watching as he went around the bed and opened the door to the lanai.

Within a few seconds she could feel a breeze blow in.

"Oh my gosh," she declared, coming around the bed to the door, "maybe I'll just sleep out here." She went out the door and up to the railing, closing her eyes as the gentle breeze blew the thin material of her nightgown. It felt divine.

Steve smiled, pleased that he had indeed pleased her. It was a good feeling. The beauty that radiated off of her made him mindful to do it more often. The benefits were well worth it.

Amber glanced over her shoulder at him. "Maybe I'll just pop the tent tomorrow night in the backyard and go all PCT again," she smiled.

"I don't think I could sleep on the ground ever again," he joked, joining her out on the lanai.

"Do you ever miss the trail?" she asked him.

He didn't reply right away but a cunning grin crossed his lips over that question.

She didn't need a verbal reply to see his answer, it was all over his face, "Yea me too."

"I don't miss the cold mornings of having to get up, but I do miss the adventure of it."

Amber nodded, "You never knew what was around the next corner. A beautiful lake or a view that could take your breath away."

"Remember that one in the Sierras," Steve said, "and we watched the rain cross the valley and then saw the double rainbow?"

Amber sighed, picturing it clearly, "That was so beautiful. I could have stayed in that one spot for the rest of my life and been perfectly content."

"I miss stuff like that," he confessed.

"I bet you don't miss tearing down my tent every morning," she chuckled.

"And I bet you don't miss cooking my breakfast over an open flame either."

Amber shrugged, "It wasn't so bad; cooking for you I mean."

He gently nudged her, "And for the record, I never minded taking down your tent."

They glanced over at each other and smiled.

"It was fun," Amber said. "Although some of it was a little more adventurous than I would have wanted. I had a dream the other night about that avalanche."

Steve puffed out a breath of air, "That day still makes me cringe."

"I can still hear you screaming for me, you were as scared as I was."

He braced his hands on the railing and looked over at her, "In those first few seconds I didn't know where you were or if you were still attached to me. The panic that went through me…" he shook his head, "I don't ever want to feel that again."

She reached over and touched his arm, thanking him for pulling her out of that abyss. "If I would have been alone up there, I would have suffocated under that snow."

He bent his head and smiled over her admiration, "I don't know, you probably…"

"No," she replied adamantly, "I wouldn't have made it."

He looked over at her as she stared at him, showing her appreciation for what he had done. "I'm glad I was there."

"Me too." She recalled being in his tent after they had found a safe spot to camp, and going through his bag for the towel to dry her off with. It was then that she had found the dress from that night. She'd never mentioned it to him nor had he ever told her that he had it. It was both their little secrets wondering if it would ever come to light and if he still had it?

"I miss this too," Amber confessed next. "The conversations we would have."

He nodded, missing that as well. "We never ran out of things to say did we?"

"No," she smiled.

"I think back to my first day on the trail," he began, "and I can't imagine now doing it without you."

Sometimes just words out of his mouth could lift her up so high she felt like she was floating. "We were in the right place at the right time."

"And now look at us," he glanced down at her stomach. "Can you feel it yet?"

Amber shook her head, "No, not yet. I feel flutters but no movement yet, soon though."

"I want you to tell me when you need something, ok? I mean it."

"Ok, I will. And when I do start feeling it and it starts showing I want you to know that you can touch it, my stomach I mean, whenever you want."

He liked that and it showed, "Ok, thank you."

"It may sound weird to say that, but believe me once you feel your own baby for the first time, it's really pretty cool."

"I've never felt a baby inside a woman's stomach before."

"You haven't?" she asked surprised over that, but was also surprised that she was excited that she would be the first.

"Nope, so let me just apologize now for my over zealous application of my hands. I have a feeling by the sixth month you're going to be slapping my hand away."

Amber laughed, "No I won't. You're the father, you have free reign."

It was a surreal statement she had made saying he was the father, and for the first time he wasn't all that afraid of it. "I'm glad you're here Amber."

There it was again, just words but she felt feather light because of it. "I am too."

The half-quarter moon was hidden behind the trees but the faint light was just enough to show off her delicate features that seemed even softer than usual. He was aware of the phrase that a woman glowed while she was pregnant, but had never experienced it before, until now. She was beaming, even in the darkness.

Amber followed him back into the bedroom, leaving the door wide open.

He pulled the covers back on the bed, "You should sleep better in here."

"It already feels better, but I feel bad taking your room. My room is so hot, are you sure you want to sleep in there?"

He wasn't sure if that was just a question, or an invitation to share his bed for the night. Before his head could decipher it his conscience spoke for him, "I'll be fine."

"Ok, thank you again." She sat down on the edge of the mattress and then laid down, wishing she had the right to ask him if he wanted to stay with her, but feared he would reject the offer and things were going so well right now. She didn't want to jeopardize the friendship by pushing him into something she knew he didn't want; otherwise he would have offered her to share the bed himself.

"Sleep well, Amber."

"Good night, Steve."

He closed the door on the way out and leaned his head back against it, feeling a little dazed over the sight of her in his bed. He was torn over the feelings of wishing he were there too, but also knowing he had to protect Amber from the type of scrutiny that he had faced with Kono. He forgave her after her apology, but was prepared to forgo other friends of he and Catherine's if they couldn't accept her. She was having his baby and it was up to him now to protect them both, no matter what.

He went across into her room and lay down on the bed. Within a minute he was already hot.

"Oh no, no," he whispered, "this is never going to work." He was willing to give up his room to her, but there was no way he could sleep in this room either.

He knew there was only one solution and blew out a long, deep breath over it. "Cleo is going to drop dead from shock," he chuckled, sitting up and gathering up his pillow and blanket before heading down the stairs to the couch.

The next morning Amber was sitting out on the back lanai off the kitchen, which happened to be the coolest place in the house, when she heard a knock on the front door.

She opened it to a middle aged Hawaiian man dressed in jeans and a blue polo shirt with a logo on the upper right chest the with the letters CT in bold white that looked like they were covered in ice.

"Hi," he said, reaching out his hand, "you must be Amber, I'm Cleo Terumi, a friend of Steve's."

"Hi," she replied, shaking his hand, pleased to meet one of his friends. "It's nice to meet you Cleo, but Steve's not home right now, he's at work."

"I know, I just got off the phone with him a little while ago. He said he needed my services ASAP."

"Services?" she asked, confused, "what kind of services."

"I install air conditioning." He pointed at his shirt logo. "CT refrigeration and HVAC at your service."

Her mouth came open in shock, "He's installing air conditioning?"

"Yep," He shook his head and chuckled, "All I can say is that you must be pretty special because I've been trying for years to talk him into getting air conditioning in this house, but he refused me flat every time and then I get a call this morning and he said he needed it done ASAP. I asked him why now after all this time and he said that Amber was hot last night and couldn't sleep." He stretched his arms out, "So here I am Amber to make sure you stay cool and get a good night sleep."

She smiled brightly, not just over his amusing delivery, but also from the overly sweet gesture on Steve's part.

"I'm just going to start out here and get a look around at the best place to install, and then I'll come in and look at the vents." He waved over his shoulder as he walked to the side of the house, "You won't even know I'm here."

"Ok, thank you, Cleo," she called out shutting the door and going for her phone.

Steve saw her name and answered right away, "Hey, what's up?"

"Cleo's here," she replied.

"Oh really? Wow that was fast," he chuckled. "He probably wanted to get started before I had a chance to change my mind."

"You still can. You don't have to install air conditioning because of me," she said sternly. "I'll be fine."

"Amber, I came down the stairs last night and you were practically sitting in the fridge to try and cool off. I'm pretty sure I need to install air conditioning."

"That is such a huge expense and…"

"Listen," he interrupted, "it's a done deal. I got this, and Cleo is a good guy, I helped him out a couple of years ago so he's giving me a discount. I've been wanting to do it for a long time anyway I just never had a reason…and now I do."

She knew arguing with him anymore was fruitless, deciding to just accept his generous gift to her. "Ok then…thank you, Steve. Honestly this might be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"I told you, I want you to be comfortable. Consider it an early Christmas present." He looked over at Danny's smug grin, "I gotta run, I'll see you tonight."

"Ok, be safe."

He hung up and slipped his phone in the side pocket of his pants and then pointed at Danny, "Shut up, don't say a word."

"What?!" he pleaded with open arms, "I'm just standing here!" He followed him to the car through the parking lot after leaving the office; unable to hold his tongue and plead his case that Amber did indeed mean more to him than he let on. "I was just standing there listening to you spend about four thousand dollars on," he used his fingers as quotes, "'just a friend'. You've never spent that kind of money on me and I'm your best friend."

"Not for long," Steve joked as he got in the car.

Danny laughed out loud, not needing to say anymore, he'd got his point across, wondering how long Steve could keep up the charade.