Page 13 of The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire

Amelia spoke up again when I remained silent. “Why am I here, Matteo?”

“I don’t know.”

That was the only answer I could give her, and it was the honest truth. I still had no idea exactly why she was here. What had I hoped to achieve when I accepted this deal? What was the point of bringing her to my home? What would be the outcome of this ludicrous arrangement?

I didn’t know the answers to those questions. I’d spent days thinking, but I had no answers to give. I wished I knew why I was doing this. I wished I understood the part of myself that thought this was a good idea.

Unfortunately, I didn’t.

I turned to leave again and this time, Amelia didn’t speak. I walked to my room. I paused by the door and stared at the room I’d assigned to her. It was close enough that only a few steps would take me to her. I tried to understand why I hadn’t given her one on the other side of the penthouse. That way we could truly keep our distance. I didn’t understand a lot of the decisions I made recently.

With a deep sigh, I pushed my door open and walked inside. I tossed my suit jacket onto the chair by the window. The restof my clothes followed and then I walked into the bathroom. I needed a hot shower to help me relax.

A few minutes later, I lay in bed. The hot shower had helped me relax but it did nothing for my chaotic thoughts. I tried to sleep but I kept thinking of Amelia in the room close by.

I thought about her so much that she remained on my mind in my sleep. I dreamed of Amelia. My dreams were full of the memories we shared. Memories that I’d been trying hard to forget. Back then I thought I’d met my soulmate. Little did I know she would break my heart two years later.

When I woke up, Amelia was still in my thoughts. I wondered if I would change things if given the opportunity. Would never meeting her be better than having my heart broken?

I wanted to say yes but I knew the real answer to that question. Even though I knew things wouldn’t end well between us I would have still chosen to meet her.

Chapter 7

Amelia

Isat in the kitchen long after Matteo left. I had wanted to know why he agreed to let me stay here so I asked him. His answer left me even more confused.

He said he didn’t know. What did that mean?

I sighed and finally dragged myself to my room, where I ran myself a warm bath. I still hadn’t taken time to unwind after the long flight. After unpacking, I went to the kitchen, and I was too focused on my conversation with Agnes to feel the jet lag.

Now, after that weird conversation with Matteo, it was all coming back to me. The fatigue hit me like a freight train, and I sank into the bath with a deep sigh. Living with Matteo wouldn’t be easy, but I believed we would work it out.

We’d managed to have a somewhat civil conversation this evening so that meant we could at least tolerate each other. That counted for something, right? I hope it did.

I held my breath and plunged my head into the water. When I came up, I pushed all thoughts of Matteo aside. He wasn’t the reason I came to New York. I came here to get away from my parents and get my life together. At twenty-seven years old, I still hadn’t done anything with my life that was solely for me. I’d been living my life for my parents, but it was time to change that.

I tried to think about what I wanted to do in New York, but my mind kept going right back to Matteo. I wondered if I would be free to chase my dreams while living in a house with a man who didn’t like me. As I dried myself off that evening, I decided to at least try to be cordial with Matteo. At the end of the day, he was doing me a favor. I’d shown up in a new city with no plans and he was kind enough to let me stay in his house. That was enough reason to be cordial.

During the first week of living with Matteo, I quickly realized why it was so easy for him to grant my father’s wish. We might have been living together but we may as well have been a thousand miles apart. I barely saw him and when I did, he barely spoke to me.

Two days after I moved in, I ran into him in the kitchen. I could tell from the suit he was wearing that he was about to go to work. He stood by the counter, sipping a cup of coffee and staring out into the open space. I knew him well enough to know when he was deep in thought.

For a moment he didn’t even notice me.

“Good morning,” I said with a smile.

Matteo turned to me and nodded. “Morning.”

“Are you leaving for work now?”

“Yes.”

He turned to face me fully and I saw that a few of the buttons on his shirt were undone. I found myself instinctively moving forward before I remembered that I wasn’t allowed to do that anymore. There was a time when I was the person who buttoned his shirts and fixed his crooked ties. That time had long passed, and I was no longer that person to him.

I stepped back and balled my fist. It was difficult to be this close to him and yet be so far away. To talk to him and have him be so short with me. Each time he spoke, he only said one word. I tried not to let it bother me and I kept the smile on my face.

“How is work by the way?” I asked.

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