Hoping to calm her, I pull her back into my arms and hold her again. “Stephen assures me she can’t, but that doesn’t mean she won’t try something underhanded.”
I can tell that Amelia’s deep in thought with every silent second that passes, and I’m just about to ask what’s on her mind when she finally speaks. “Can she use our relationship against you? I mean, I know we didn’t start seeing each other until after you left her, but we did sleep together that very weekend—before you’d even filed for divorce. I get that she has no real way of proving any of that, but…is it possible?”
“I suppose she could try,” I tell her. “But I don’t think it would hold up.”
Another moment of silence passes, and Amelia cranes her neck to look at me again. “You know I love you, right?”
My lips curl up into a huge smile, and I nod. “I do. And I love you. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I don’t want to be the reason that the ice-bitch walks away with more money than she deserves after what she did to you, so maybe we should try to—”
“If you’re going to say ‘keep our relationship hidden,’ I’m going to have to point out how famously that’s worked out for us with your father,” I remind her, my remorse returning ten-fold. I push it down and continue, in hopes of helping her understand why it’s a potentially bad idea. “It’s possible that keeping us a secret from Gretchen will only give her more ammunition to say that I’ve been sleeping around behind her back. It may not be true, but if she goes to the judge with this allegation, and proof of our hidden relationship surfaces, how would that look?”
“Not good, I suppose.”
“Exactly.” I kiss her shoulder again and rest my chin on it. “And besides, I’m tired of hiding from the world. Now that your dad knows, I say we try to go on with our lives. Together. Out in the open. What do you say?”
She hesitates a moment before slowly nodding her agreement, but I pick up on her lingering sadness and try to soothe her. “I just wish he’d call,” Amelia whispers, her voice cracking.
There’s nothing I wouldn’t give to make this all better for her, and I wish I could erase this horrible night from her memory altogether. I sigh into her hair, closing my eyes. “I know, sweetheart. Me too.” I glance at the clock on her DVD player and notice that it’s almost two in the morning. “What do you say we move this over to the bed and get some sleep, and we’ll try to call him again in the morning?”
Snuggling further into my embrace, Amelia’s head bobs. “Okay.”
I gather her blanket in my arms and carry it over to the bed before we crawl in, and Amelia sidles up to me. “Goodnight,” she whispers.
I kiss her neck. “Goodnight. I love you.”
“Mmm,” she hums with contentment. “I love you, too.”
It doesn’t take very long for her breathing to even out and deepen, but I stay awake a little longer to watch her. While she sleeps, the worry lines on her forehead from tonight soften before completely disappearing, and I vow to do everything I can to make things right with Alan…
Because I have a feeling our relationship will depend on it.
I wake the next morning to an empty bed. Remembering everything that happened the night before with Alan, I panic, unsure of where Amelia’s gone off to or if she’s all right. The last thing I want is for her to feel like she needs to go off to cry over her falling out with her father. When I hear the fridge door close, and Amelia’s body appears behind the counter that separates the kitchen from the living room, most of the tension leaves my body.
“Hey,” she says when her eyes find mine. “You sleep okay?”
Running my hands over my face and through my hair, I climb out of bed and head for the kitchen. “Yeah, I guess.” I kiss her temple, and she laughs lightly.
“That was almost convincing.”
“Sorry.” I smile before amending myself. “I slept as well as could be expected under the circumstances. You?”
Her eyes fall to the Chinese leftovers she’s laid out in front of her. “Same.” She flattens her hands on the countertop and sighs. “I called him again.”
Wanting to comfort her, I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my chin on her shoulder. “And?”
“No answer. As usual… But I got his voicemail, which means he got all the other messages I left and chose not to call me.”
“Amelia…” I begin softly, turning her around to face me.
She leans against the counter and laughs dryly, wiping a lone tear from her cheek. “I know you said I need to give him time, but I just thought… You know?”