Page 155 of Beautiful Storm

“I promise. And when Luke gets home, I have grand plans to offload all of my worries onto him until he’s drowning in them.”

Hayley bursts out laughing while I smile. “That’s what we like to hear. And you know he’ll take it all on and he’ll love it. All he wants to do is make you happy.”

“I know. I’m lucky to have him.”

“You’re both lucky. As am I.”

“Thanks, Hayley.”

“Bye, Ames.”

I do feel better as I hang up, except for the guilt that now lingers. I need to make it up to Luke. I haven’t made this easy on him and he’s trying. He’s always been trying.

And he loves me. More than anyone has ever loved me before. Including my family. It’s time I showed him I feel the same.

An idea comes to mind and I grab my phone to call Lainey. Luke said I couldn'twatchhis game, but he never said anything about being there at the end to help celebrate the win. As long as I avoid the stress, I’m good.

I want to be there, and I know how much it will mean to him.

I’ll stay in the background until Lainey tells me it’s done.

It’s perfect. And I can’t wait.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Luke

When I arrive at the stadium, I’m still a little on edge. Amelia may have said all the right things, but I fucked up and I need to make it up to her.Why the hell didn’t I tell her everything when I first found out?She was already stressed about the fire, so we could have gotten it all out of the way and been done with it. But no, I had to go and mess things up again. And I’m still holding something back.

My mind whirs as I get ready, but when I see a message from Amelia, it all clicks into place and I’m finally able to focus on the game.

Amelia: We are rock solid, Luke. I’m going to stop thinking about the past and focus on the now. I love you. Go and kick some Vegas ass

I send off a quick reply as a huge smile lights up my face, and of course Reed notices.

“Someone’s in a good mood,” he teases, his brows raised.

“What’s not to be happy about?”Now anyway. “We’re playing our last regular-season game. If we lose, we’ll still be at the top of our conference. We’re heading into the playoffs stronger than ever. I’m going to have a daughter. Things with Amelia are good and—”

“Hold up. You’re having a girl?”

“I am.” I grin wide and Reed laughs out loud.

“Something about that is poetic justice.”

“Fuck—”

“Get out of my way, Wyatt! I’m going to kill him.” Easton’s deep voice echoes through the room, drawing everyone’s attention as Reed and I spin to find Wyatt holding him back from charging toward Zane.

“What the hell?” Reed questions under his breath. “What happened?”

“I have no idea.”

Zane throws his hands in the air and steps back, but his signature cocky grin remains tattooed on his face. “Fuck off, East. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“You expect me to believe that? You’ve been a cocky little shit since you started here, and I’m the only one that puts you in your place. Was it payback?”

“You may be a grumpy asshole, East, but I don’t care enough about you to intentionally piss you off.”

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