13. Amelia
CHAPTER 13
AMELIA
“ Z oo?” Grace asked, bouncing up and down on the bed. The little girl had woken up only a few minutes before and was still dressed in her pink pajamas, her hair messy.
“Yes!” Amelia nodded enthusiastically. “And even better, your daddy is going to take you!”
“Daddy?” Grace looked perplexed.
“Yes, your daddy. He’s so excited to spend the day with you.”
“Meel too?” Grace asked, her blue eyes big.
“Yes, honey, I’ll come too. We’ll all be together.” Like a normal, happy family. Amelia hid her concerns behind a bright smile. “So, get up and let’s get you dressed.”
Grace held up her arms to be picked up, and Amelia obliged. They walked together to the bathroom to wash up, then back to Grace’s bedroom to pick out an outfit for the day. Excited to see the animals, Grace insisted on a pair of zebra-striped tights and a T-shirt with an elephant on it.
As they got ready, Amelia was acutely aware that Liam was in the house, too. She heard him moving around the kitchen at one point and saw him walk down the hall at another. He didn’t join Amelia in getting Grace ready, but she didn’t dwell on that. He’d agreed to get to know his daughter, and he would need baby steps to do it.
Amelia was truly thrilled that Liam was making an effort. Even if the only reason he was doing so was to keep doing business with a prime investor. No matter the reasoning, Liam would surely fall in love with Grace as soon as he spent a little time with her.
At nine o’clock, Liam met Grace and Amelia by the door. He’d clearly tried with his clothing as well — he was dressed in a pair of jeans that Amelia had never seen before and a plain black T-shirt. Somehow, he looked just as sexy in this casual outfit as he did in his suits — maybe even more so. The T-shirt hugged the outline of prominent muscles in his chest and arms, and those jeans were very flattering.
Amelia snapped her eyes away from Liam’s body. She had one job today, which was to try and build a father–daughter relationship between Liam and Grace. Nowhere in that job description was ogling her boss.
They stepped into the elevator and whooshed down towards the parking garage.
“How did you sleep?” Liam asked Amelia.
“Well. And you?”
“Not bad.”
It seemed that the relative ease of their nighttime conversations didn’t translate into elevator chit-chat.
“Maybe you want to ask Grace something,” Amelia suggested. Liam’s eyes went slightly wide.
“Like what?”
“You can ask if she’s excited for the zoo.”
“Grace, are you excited for the zoo?” Liam asked. Half-hidden behind Amelia’s legs, Grace nodded. There was a long pause.
“You can follow up,” Amelia suggested. It was almost humorous that such a confident man would be reduced to such a klutz when it came to his own child. Amelia had overheard Liam on calls with the office making deals of at least a million dollars with supreme confidence, but a two-year-old was too much for him.
“Right. Grace, why are you excited for the zoo?”
Grace looked up at him with those big blue eyes and didn’t reply. At that moment, the elevator reached the parking garage and they stepped out. Liam led the way to his car, where he’d already installed a child seat. Amelia lifted Grace into the seat and buckled her in.
“Impressive that you got this installed. I wrestled with Jamie’s car seat for nearly an hour when I had to install it.”
“Well, this took me nearly an hour last night,” Liam admitted. “Why don’t they make the instructions a little more user-friendly? At one point I thought I had it in, but it was completely backwards.”
Amelia chuckled. “It’s a test for new parents, I think. Grace, are you comfy?”
Grace nodded and kicked her legs against the seat beneath her. “Zoo?”
“Yep, we’re going to the zoo now.”
Amelia and Liam got into the front seats, with Liam driving. As they started off, Amelia turned on the radio and changed the frequency until she reached a children’s channel she knew Grace would enjoy. Sure enough, within a few moments, Grace was dancing in her car seat and singing along.
“Is this song about a rainbow befriending a storm cloud?” Liam asked incredulously.
“It is. Welcome to the wonderful world of children’s music.” Amelia grinned at him.
They drove to the zoo mostly without talking, just listening along to the songs. Grace nodded her head and sang and, after a little embarrassment, Amelia sang along, too.
“You have a beautiful voice,” Liam said as they pulled into the zoo’s parking lot.
“Oh, thanks, but I know you’re just flattering me. I’m not a great singer — and even if I was, these songs aren’t exactly challenging to sing.”
“Well, you sounded good to me.”
“How about Grace?”
Liam put the car into park in a spot near the entrance and twisted to look into the back seat. “Grace, you’re a good singer.”
“Fanks.” Grace blushed and kicked her feet again. Amelia gave Liam a thumbs-up where Grace couldn’t see.
Together, they piled out of the car. Amelia got Grace out of her seat and took her hand. Liam hesitated, then took Grace’s hand on the other side. Grace recognized the game from the photoshoot and began to swing back and forth between them, squealing gleefully at the motion.
“More, more!” she requested whenever they set her back down.
Liam and Amelia exchanged a glance, and Liam smiled. He looked a little uncomfortable, but also truly pleased to be with his daughter.
Things fell apart a little after that. As they entered the zoo, Grace began bouncing up and down, saying, “Ephant, ephant!”
“What’s she saying?” Liam asked warily.
“She just wants to see the elephant,” Amelia explained. “Come on, Grace. Let’s go see the elephant!”
They followed a winding path through the zoo, passing penguins and gazelles, but Grace didn’t have eyes for any of them. She just kept repeating, “Ephant!”
Liam grinned. “Are elephants your favorite animal?” he asked. Grace shook her head. “What is your favorite animal, then?”
“Uninorn,” Grace replied shyly.
“Unicorn,” Amelia whispered.
“Oh, unicorns! I like unicorns too.”
“Reawy?” Grace perked up. “I wike pink uninorns.”
“Me too.”
The little girl beamed up at her father, then started skipping again. “Ephant!”
When they reached the elephant enclosure, though, the elephants were nowhere to be seen. A sign explained that they were currently receiving a veterinary check-up, but that they would be back within a few hours.
“Ephant?” Grace asked hopefully, trying to climb onto the railing around the enclosure. “Ephant here?”
“No, sweetie.” Amelia got down to the child’s level. “The elephants are with the doctor. But they’ll be back soon.”
Grace’s lower lip began to tremble and her blue eyes filled with tears. “See ephant now!”
“I wish we could see the elephants now, but we can’t. What other animal should we see first?” Amelia asked, gently but firmly. Grace shook her head, her pigtails flying.
“See ephant now!”
“How about a penguin?” Liam suggested.
“Nooooo!”
Amelia knew a tantrum was coming on. She was proven right when Grace sank to the ground. She quickly scooped the little girl into her arms and bounced her on her hip.
“We’ll see the elephants soon,” she said soothingly. “They miss you, too. They want to see you. But right now, they’re with the doctor. We’ll see them soon.”
“Ephants,” Grace sobbed. Her face had turned red, but at least she wasn’t screaming. Amelia glanced at Liam, though, and saw that his eyes were wide with concern.
“It’s okay,” Amelia said soothingly. “This is normal for toddlers.”
“Ephant,” Grace repeated.
“I know. I just feel so powerless, not being able to get her what she wants.” Liam bit his lip. “Maybe a toy elephant?”
“Let’s try something else before we resort to bribery.” Amelia meant her tone to be joking, but Liam’s face closed at her words. Oh, no. Grace was sobbing, Liam looked annoyed, and everything seemed to be spiraling downwards. Amelia needed to act fast.
“Okay, folks.” Her tone was bright. “I heard that the penguins really wanted to see Grace today. Liam, did you hear something about that?”
“I did,” Liam said guardedly.
“Yeah. I heard one penguin say if he didn’t see Grace, he was going to be really sad.”
Grace lifted her tear-stained face from Amelia’s shoulder. “Reawy?”
“Really.” Amelia bounced Grace. “Should we go see the penguins and make them happy?”
“Okay.”
Amelia met Liam’s gaze and gave him an encouraging nod. He nodded back, but Amelia could see he still felt guarded after Grace’s mini meltdown. They walked back to the penguins, Amelia keeping up a steady stream of chatter with Grace. By the time they arrived, Grace wiggled to get down and ran to the edge of the penguin enclosure, where she watched with awe as the penguins waddled across the ice and slid into the water.
“This is exactly what I’m worried about,” Liam said quietly to Amelia.
“Tantrums?” Amelia shrugged. “They aren’t fun, but they aren’t the end of the world either. Little kids have big feelings.”
“No, not tantrums. I get that being upset is normal for a kid her age. I’m worried that I won’t handle stuff right and that she’ll be heartbroken because of my actions — or inaction.”
“Look at her.” Amelia nodded to Grace, whose hands were pressed against the glass of the penguin enclosure. “Does she look heartbroken?”
“No, but if you hadn’t been here, I probably would have just bought her a stuffed elephant — or taken her home.”
“She would probably have loved the elephant. And even if you have to take her home sometimes, she’ll get over it. Plus, you don’t have to worry about doing any of this alone. I’m right here with you.” Amelia nudged Liam’s shoulder with her own. It was meant to be a gesture of solidarity, but Amelia couldn’t help feeling a shiver at the touch of his bare arm on her own.
“Thank you. I really appreciate that.”
“Hey, I appreciate you letting me be a part of Grace’s life. She really is special.”
“She is, isn’t she?” They both watched Grace watch the penguins for a long moment. “And so are you.”
“Hmm?” The compliment caught Amelia off guard.
“You’re special. Not everyone can be as patient and as creative as you. I’m certainly not.”
“You have other strengths. I’d be lost doing what you do. I can’t imagine how you can be in charge of running a company without becoming overwhelmed.”
“Business is easy.” Liam shrugged. “There are rules. Getting a lower price is good. Selling something for a higher price is good. Reaching a new demographic is good. It’s easy to know when you’re doing the right thing or the wrong thing. It’s not so easy with kids.”
“It’ll come to you.” Amelia nudged Liam again, just to feel the warmth of his skin. “I’m sure you weren’t this good at business when you first started. Or were you?”
Liam chuckled. “I wouldn’t say so. My first job was a paper route. I figured out that I could almost double my income by taking two paper routes and hiring another kid to do the second route at a lower fee. But the second kid figured out that he’d get paid more by going straight to the paper company, and I ended up trying to manage both routes myself — which I couldn’t do well. It was a mess.”
“Your first job was a paper route?” Amelia chuckled. “How old are you?”
“Hey! I’m thirty-two. But the town I grew up in, Forest Grove, Illinois, still delivers a printed paper almost every day, as far as I know.”
“You grew up in Illinois?”
“Yes.” Liam got that shifty look again that showed he didn’t want to go into details.
“It’s hard to imagine you as a small-town boy.”
“It wasn’t a good fit.”
More pieces of the Liam puzzle were starting to click together. It seemed he’d grown up without a lot of money, based on his paper-route story and the fact that he’d chosen his college based on the scholarships. Perhaps that was why Liam was so obsessed with his business. Amelia could understand that.
She still couldn’t understand why he hadn’t been involved with his daughter until now, but she wasn’t about to bring that up.
Just then, Grace came running back towards them. Her blue eyes were lit with joy.
“Pengin jump!” she explained excitedly. “Pengin swim. Sooo fast.” She took Amelia’s hand and tugged her towards the penguin exhibit. Amelia gave Liam an apologetic shrug and let herself be pulled. Her heart warmed, though, when Grace reached for Liam’s hand as well and tugged him to the glass enclosure.
“Pengin!” Grace announced happily. Amelia and Liam caught each other’s eyes and grinned.
The rest of the day went more smoothly, at least for the most part. They walked around the zoo, Grace often holding both their hands, spotting animals. Grace got to see her beloved elephants at last and stood for nearly ten minutes in perfect stillness, just staring as a baby elephant romped around the enclosure.
After that, they enjoyed lunch at the zoo’s restaurant. Amelia and Liam each got a sandwich, while Grace was over the moon about her special lunch of chicken fingers and French fries. Then they burned off a little energy at a large animal-habitat-themed playground.
“Offer to push her on the swings,” Amelia suggested when Liam hung back. Thus followed a fun several minutes of Grace whooshing back and forth on a baby swing, Liam pushing her in the front, Amelia in the back. Grace’s sweet baby laughter rang out across the playground. Amelia tried not to think about how similar this scene was to her dream.
After the playground, they walked around more. Amelia soaked in every moment of the day, from Grace’s excitement at seeing her storybook animals come to life to Liam’s growing confidence. As evening came on, though, Grace began to drag her feet and yawn hugely.
“It’s about time to go home,” Amelia said, nodding to the tired child. Just then, Grace walked to Liam and held up her arms.
“Up.”
Liam looked at Amelia, as if needing confirmation of what to do. Amelia nodded encouragingly and Liam reached down and picked up his daughter. Grace nestled into his shoulder, and her eyes drifted shut. By the time they walked out of the zoo, Grace was sound asleep.
Amelia’s heart almost melted at the sight of Grace’s blond head tucked into the crook of Liam’s shoulder. And her heart almost melted again when Liam caught her eye.
“Is she sleeping?” he asked in a whisper.
“Yes, she is.”
“Wow.” Liam looked down at Grace, then over to Amelia. There was a spark in his eyes, as though he couldn’t believe what was happening. They left the zoo and crossed to the parking lot, where Liam gently set Grace into her car seat.
“Can you buckle her in?” he asked. “I don’t want to pinch her legs with the clips.”
“You can do it,” Amelia encouraged. “Don’t worry; the clips are made to be safe for toddlers.”
Liam successfully buckled Grace in, and they got into the front seats of the car. Liam didn’t start the engine right away, though. Instead, he turned to Amelia.
“Thank you.” He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. A tingling sensation washed up Amelia’s arm at his touch. “This meant a lot to me.”
“I think it meant a lot to Grace, too.”
“Did you have a nice day?”
Amelia nodded, touched that he’d asked. “I did. It was a great day.”
“Good.” Liam brushed his thumb over the back of Amelia’s hand, creating another wave of sensation. His blue eyes were fixed on hers, but then they dropped slightly to rest on her lips. Amelia felt heat pool inside her. She might be completely misreading this situation, but it seemed that she and Liam were sharing a moment.
Amelia’s eyes drifted over Liam’s handsome features, from his chiseled jaw to his five-o’clock shadow to the blue of his eyes and the compelling swoop of his broad lips. How might it feel to have those lips on hers?
Just then, Grace stirred slightly in her sleep, and Amelia snapped back to the present. It was one thing to daydream about one’s attractive boss-slash fake husband. It was quite another thing to actually come this close to kissing him. After all, Liam was still her boss. Their relationship was strange enough as it was. And on top of that, just because he’d been a good father today didn’t make up for the years he hadn’t been involved in Grace’s life. One good day didn’t make him a good person.
“We should probably head home,” Amelia said. Her voice came out a little breathier than she’d intended. “Grace needs to have dinner before she can really sleep.”
“Of course.” Liam withdrew his hand and started the car. “Let’s head home.”
They drove back through the dusky streets of San Francisco in silence. Amelia was lost in her thoughts. Somehow, her initial attraction to Liam had passed through annoyance and back into attraction. That didn’t matter, though. What mattered was Grace and making sure she had a strong father figure to rely on.
Especially after Amelia was gone.