17. Amelia
CHAPTER 17
AMELIA
A melia woke in Liam’s bed.
For a moment, upon first opening her eyes, she couldn’t believe she was here. She’d seen Liam’s room once before, when he’d given her a tour of the penthouse on her first day, but hadn’t been in since. Now, in the light of day, it looked just as soulless as ever — except for the trail of clothing on the floor. Amelia blushed as memories from last night rushed back. Sleeping with Liam had been everything she’d imagined and more.
Yet… Liam wasn’t there. Amelia scanned the room as if he might be hiding in the wardrobe or under the bed, but he was definitely not there. She was alone.
Her heart ached at the realization. She’d thought that, with everything they’d shared, this night might signal the beginning of something real. Something worth risking her heart on. But Liam wasn’t there. He must not feel the same way.
Amelia slid out of bed. Her pajamas were on the floor — Liam must have brought her shirt with them when they’d come into the bedroom last night. She slipped them on, ran her hands through her hair, and prepared to make a run for her own room and the attached bathroom.
But when she opened the door, she heard a familiar, beautiful sound coming from the kitchen. Grace was laughing her happiest giggle of joy. Behind the laughter, Amelia could make out Liam’s deep baritone and the sound of cutlery clinking.
Instead of going back to her room, Amelia slipped down the hallway. She hesitated at the doorway into the kitchen when she caught sight of Liam and Grace. Grace was sitting on the counter, chewing on a strawberry, while Liam stood protectively near her, making faces.
As quiet as Amelia thought she’d been, she must have made a noise, because Liam turned. His face broke into a smile.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
Beautiful. Amelia’s heart soared.
“Good morning.”
“I heard Grace waking up, and I thought I’d let you sleep a little. You seemed… tired.”
Amelia blushed. “I was.”
“Meel!” Grace waved excitedly, and Amelia crossed the kitchen to give the little girl a good-morning hug.
“How did you sleep, sweetheart?”
“Great!” Grace wiggled. “Daddy make breakfast.”
“Daddy’s making breakfast?” Amelia repeated. “What’s he making?”
“Cereal,” Liam admitted when Grace shrugged. “I found some fruit in the fridge that was already cut, but apart from that, cereal is the jewel in my culinary crown.”
Amelia snorted. “I can’t imagine you having any kind of culinary crown.”
“Hey!” Liam pretended to look offended. “I’m an excellent chef. Of a very limited number of things.”
“Hey!” Grace repeated with a giggle. She probably didn’t understand the conversation, but her interjection made Amelia and Liam laugh.
“Why don’t you go get dressed while I finish breakfast?” Liam suggested. “We’re all good here.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
Amelia took a quick shower and got dressed. When she returned to the kitchen, Grace and Liam were sitting at the table, a bowl of sliced fruit, a carton of milk, and three cereal boxes in front of them. The table had been set with bowls and spoons.
“Wow. It smells delicious,” Amelia joked as she slid into her seat. “I have to recognize your chef skills now.”
“Thank you. I can offer you chocolate granola, multicolored mini donuts, or something with cinnamon.”
“Chocolate granola, please.”
Liam poured the cereal for Amelia, then milk for her and Grace. As he did, she caught his eye, and they shared a private smile.
Maybe last night really had changed things.
They shared a happy breakfast, talking and laughing and eating cereal, and Amelia felt like they were a real family. She’d felt more and more like that over the last few days, but this confirmed it. Despite herself, her imagination ran wild. Perhaps her and Liam’s marriage would become real. Perhaps she could stay as Liam’s wife and Grace’s adopted mother.
Amelia caught sight of Liam as he took a bite of cereal. He was truly something. He was handsome, thoughtful, intelligent, funny, and a billionaire — he was basically the man every girl dreamed of. And he’d chosen her .
It was unbelievable, but somehow it was true.
“What shall we do today?” Amelia asked as they finished breakfast. “It’s Sunday, so we should have time. Right?”
“Definitely. Grace, what would you like to do?”
“Zoo!” Grace exclaimed. Amelia and Liam caught each other’s eyes and laughed.
“We went to the zoo last week,” Liam reminded her. “Don’t you want to do something new?”
Grace shook her head firmly. “Zoo!”
“What my princess wants, she shall have,” Liam said. “What do you say, Amelia? Shall we go back to the zoo?”
“Let’s do it.” The thought of another day with Liam and Grace at the zoo was deeply appealing. Amelia could hardly wait.
Just then, Liam’s phone began to ring. He shot Amelia an apologetic look.
“Sorry, I need to take this. It shouldn’t be long.”
He answered the phone as he left the kitchen. Amelia could hear that he was annoyed. She turned back to Grace and smiled, determined not to let one little hiccup ruin their Sunday.
“Daddy?” Grace asked.
“He has a call,” Amelia told her. “But he’ll be right back for the zoo.”
But Liam didn’t come back. Amelia cleaned up from breakfast and got Grace ready for the zoo, but still he didn’t come back. Amelia was starting to get worried.
Finally, Liam did return. He looked beyond stressed, his handsome features bunched into an expression of worry.
“Is everything okay?” Amelia asked, concerned.
“No.” Liam shook his head. “I trusted one of my employees with an important deal, and he lost my company a lot of money. Hundreds of thousands of dollars gone in one mistake. I can’t believe I let that happen.”
“I’m so sorry.” Amelia reached for Liam’s hand in comfort, but he didn’t seem to see her. His gaze was focused on his phone once again, as he typed something and pressed send. Amelia glanced over at Grace, who was entertained by her plastic water cup.
“I need to go into the office,” Liam said. “I need to fix this myself.”
“Oh.” Amelia felt his words like a shove in the chest, but took a deep breath and steadied herself. Of course, if something had gone wrong at work, Liam needed to go in — even on a Sunday. “When will you be back? Maybe we can go to the zoo later in the day.”
“The zoo?” Liam looked confused for a split second, and the pressure in Amelia’s chest increased. “Right, the zoo. I’ll try to be back, but you two should go ahead and go. I wouldn’t want to ruin your day.”
“Oh,” Amelia said again. She wished she were a little more eloquent. “Right. Well, I’ll see you later.”
“See you later.” Liam looked up from his phone long enough to flash Amelia a distant smile. “Have a nice day.” And then he was gone.
Grace looked up from the plastic cup she’d been playing with. “Where Daddy?”
“Daddy had to go into work,” Amelia said gently. She saw tears well in Grace’s eyes, a mirror of her own feelings, and knew she had to take action, quickly. She couldn’t chase after Liam and ask him to reconsider his decisions, but she could make sure Grace had a nice day. Or as nice as it could be. “Are you ready to go to the zoo?”
“No Daddy?” Grace asked mournfully. Over the last week, she’d gotten very accustomed to having her father around, at least for part of the day.
“Not today,” Amelia said, a little too firmly. She swooped the child out of her high chair and gave her a hug. “Today is a girls’ day.”
“Girls’ day?”
“Exactly.” Amelia nodded with more enthusiasm than she felt. “A girls’ day. That means that we can do lots of fun things together, just us girls.”
“Okay.” Grace gave a toothy smile and Amelia wished that she could cheer herself up as easily. “Daddy home soon?”
“I’m sure he will be,” Amelia said. She took a deep, calming breath. Liam would be home soon. His disappearance brought up her insecurities from her first weeks here, but Liam wasn’t the same guy he’d been when Amelia first arrived. He’d shown over the last week that he was ready to put Grace — and her — first. One Sunday at work didn’t change that. Right?