Page 120 of Beautiful Storm

“Do you want one?”

“Fuck, yeah. But I might be the only one. And Zane.”

“I guess we can ask.”

Our conversation moves away from movies, and I suddenly remember what I should have shown her when she first arrived.

“I forgot to tell you, I started clearing out one of my spare rooms for the nursery,” I say proudly as her eyes light up. It’s been two days since she mentioned it, but I couldn’t help myself last night. I wanted to show her I was taking this all seriously. That I was moving forward and helping.

“Can I see it?” She stands as if not taking no for an answer.

“Of course.” I take her hand and walk toward the front of the house, past the staircase leading her away from the bedrooms she knows about. When I glance back at her, her brows are furrowed, making me hold back my laugh.

“Where are we going?”

I don’t answer until we’re standing in front of what used to be the home office, but it’s now almost bare, ready for a crib. “I wanted the nursery to be on the ground floor so I was never too far away.”

“But isn’t your bedroom upstairs?”

“It was. But there’s a spare room with an en suite next to this room, so I figured I’d swap to sleep there.”

I wave my hand around the space, and when I glance back at her, there’s awe in her expression. “Who the hell are you?”

I bark out a laugh as she turns to face the nursery again, and I wrap my arms around her from behind, pressing a kiss to her head. The situation doesn’t necessarily warrant it considering it’s a first date, but I can’t stop myself. “I’ve been asking myself that question a lot lately, and I’m yet to figure it out.”

“Well, I like you. This version of you. Much nicer than the asshole playboy.”

“Hey, I take offense to that. I was never an asshole to anyone else. I reserved that all for you.”

“I’m honored.” She grins before shaking her head and weaving herself out of my hold. “It’s a good idea. To have everything down here. You’ll have your own space, but Bean won’t be too far away. It’s going to be great.” I sense a sadness to her tone, but by the time I check, she has a smile in place.

“It would be even better if I knew what colors to make it.” I lighten the mood.

“And you will. When the baby’s born.” Amelia smiles while I roll my eyes. In truth, I’m happy either way. It would be nice to know, but I can see the appeal of a surprise too.

“So what’s next?” she asks, her brows raised. “There was a mention of dinner?”

“Yeah.” I chuckle. “I made dinner. Hope you still like chicken tacos. I remember a time when they were your favorite meal.”

“When I was ten,” she exclaims, but before I can respond she adds, “but yes, I still love them.”

I knew it. I smirk, but hold back my gloating.

After taking her back to the kitchen, I offer for her to wait at the table while I finish preparing dinner, but she insists on hovering around me and I don’t mind the company at all. We talk about life, football, her music videos—even though that brings the conversation dangerously close to the topic of her ex-husband—and our friends. Amelia tells me about the film role Hayley’s waiting to hear about, and I tell her about my sister's upcoming wedding to Thomas, joking about how they went behind my back when they first got together.

Our conversation is effortless…easy.

It’s perfect, and I hope like hell Amelia feels the way I do.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Amelia

I never would have guessed I’d be dating Luke Bennett, but here we are. And I don’t hate it. At all. In fact, I like it. I want more.

Luke steals chaste kisses throughout dinner, but it’s not until the dishes are in the sink that I sense a shift in the air.

“Have you had a nice day?” he asks as he walks toward me, before grabbing the elastic of my waistband and pulling me closer.

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