Mark of a Good Man by Ana E. Ross Page A

dry.”
    Amber raised an eyebrow in her friend’s direction. “Are you talking about Colby?” she asked of the high school sweetheart with whom Josie had reconnected last Christmas when she’d come home. Colby owned a local charter airline, and an elegant home on a beach close to the airport. Josie had slept at his place every night for the past week. No wonder she had to take naps during the day.
    Josie’s brown eyes filled with warm affection. “Yeah, I’m talking about Colby. He is the only man for me. I know that with absolute certainty now.”
    Amber almost allowed herself to feel a little jealousy of Josie’s happiness. She would love to have a man who was devoted to her, but that kind of relationship was not in the cards for her. She had her daughters, and perhaps Lady Fate thought that was all the happiness she could handle. “I think you should stay,” she told Josie.
    “Are you forgetting that I’ve offered to help out at the shop since Sarah’s leaving in a few days?”
    Sarah, Amber’s best floral artist, was one of the single friends Josie had set up on a blind date with a coworker from the financial institution where Josie worked as a Marketing Director. Sarah had married the man, who unfortunately for Amber, was recently transferred to Boston.
    Amber supposed Josie felt guilty for causing the loss of her most valued employee, and that’s why she had offered to give up her second week of vacation. “I can manage,” Amber said, deciding to go easy on her friend who’d been there for her when her mother died, four years ago, and more recently during and after the months of her difficult divorce. “If it gets too crazy, I’ll hire a temp.”
    “Josephine! You got a phone call,” Josie’s sixteen-year-old sister, Monica, yelled from inside the house.
    “Who is it?” Josie asked.
    “Who else? De pilot. Why he don’t call your cell, I don’t know. Make me miss the best part a me movie. Struuup. ” Monica appeared in the door holding the cordless receiver.
    Amber chuckled as Josie jumped out of the hammock, sped across the veranda, practically ripped the phone from Monica’s hand, and raced into the house.
    Settling down into her cozy hammock again, Amber gazed out across the azure Caribbean Sea and soaked up the magic and serenity of the island.
    “We got fifteen minutes to change.”
    Amber turned as Josie reappeared on the veranda. “For What?”
    “Colby is taking us out to dinner.” She looked Amber up and down. “Wear something elegant.”
    Amber’s suspicion thermostat soared from zero to a hundred in a split second. She stomped her bare foot on the tiled floor. “Josie Hamilton, are you trying to set me up?” The last time Josie set her up on a blind date, she ended up slapping the guy. It turned out Daniel was an octopus who needed his limbs tied together, or just plain chopped off. It had taken her days to forget the gross feel of his sweaty palms on her arms and shoulders.
    “No.” Josie slithered to her side. “We’re dining at Euolie Beach where, as you know, the dress code is more formal than shorts and T-shirts. I just thought I should—”
    “Euolie Beach!” Amber clapped her hands in excitement. “Why didn’t you say so? I love their lobster and curried conks dishes, not to mention the delicious goat water they serve. Let’s get going,” she said, walking toward the door.
    “Sure.” Josie followed her inside.
    After a quick shower, Amber slipped into an ankle-length, peach-colored Batik spaghetti-strap dress that had a full-buttoned front. The slim cut accentuated her slender figure, and with her long brown hair tumbling off her shoulders and down her back, she thought she looked very attractive. She slipped on a pair of white sandals, grabbed a small evening bag made from seashells, and walked down the hallway to Josie’s room. “You ready,” she asked through the half-opened door.”
    “In a sec,” Josie said. “Go wait in the car. I’ll be