Page 43 of Yours Until Forever

I bite back a grin. “Got it. A tuxedo is required the next time we blow off work together.”

“If I ever see you in one again, there will be hell to pay.”

“That’d be the kind of hell I think I’d enjoy.”

The flare of heat in her eyes tells me that landed. And then the alcohol she’s consumed does all the talking, telling me things Amelia would never say sober.

“Honestly, I’m convinced God put you on earth to drive me wild. Between your eyes, your mouth, your voice, your hands, your muscles”—she makes wide eyes at me—“that cologne you wear. Not to mention the way you just”—she waves her hand in the air, searching for the right word—“I don’t know, exist. It’s too much.”

I let out a low laugh. “The way I exist.”

“Yes!”

“I think you may need to explain that to me too.”

“I thought you were just like James. The kind of guy who thinks he owns everything in his life, including the people. But no, you had to go and show me you’re not like that at all. You’re a good dad,a really good dad, and you care about people. Although, itwasmean that you wanted to scrap all those science fair plans without taking Stephanie’s feelings into account. So, you could work on that.” She pauses, giving me those dramatic eyes again. “It’s a lot, Gage. Like, I’m just over here trying to live my life and get through my days. Which, can I just tell you, are alreadybusy. And now I have to add thinking about you to my schedule.”

I open my mouth to speak, but she’s not finished.

“And dating. Good. God,” she carries on. “I don’t know how to date anymore. I don’t know how soon men expect sex. I don’t know what ‘soft launching’ really means. I don’t know if emojis are flirting or just punctuation now. I don’t know how you’re supposed to be chill and honest at the same time. I don’t even know if it’s okay to ask if you’re the only person someone’s seeing anymore. Is that desperate? Or, God forbid, cringe?”

Fuck me.

Amelia just placed her heart down between us. Handed me her truth, piece by unfiltered piece like she didn’t even realize what she was giving me. And I have never seen anything more beautiful.

“It’s not desperate or cringe.”

That slows her down. She narrows her eyes at me like she’s not sure if I actually know the answer to her question. “Really?”

“It’s real. And fucking refreshing. As for emojis, they should be banned from dating. They leave too much room for misunderstandings. Soft launching? No fucking idea what that is either. And sex? You decide that for yourself, Amelia, and you don’t ever let any man tell you your decision is wrong. Dating is your choice. All the way around.”

It’s like I’ve knocked the wind out of her with that. Gone is the wildly expressive woman of a moment ago, and in her place sits a woman stunned by my response.

“I think I need another drink to process all of that,” she finally declares.

I’m not convinced that’s her best course of action but far be it from me to tell a woman what she should do. Instead, I ask, “What happened today?”

Her gaze drops to her empty cocktail glass, and she runs a finger back and forth over the base of it. She does that for a long moment before glancing back up at me. “I lost theVelocity Reigncontract. I came here for a meeting, but the studio canceled at the last minute and didn’t show. They said they’re moving in a different creative direction now, which is studio-speak for ‘I’m a liability now.’”

“I’m sorry.”

She nods. “Yeah. Me too.” She goes back to the base of the glass, but only for a few seconds before looking up again. “No, I’m pissed off, actually.” Her expression turns fierce. “I’m fucking angry that Sofia Reye can spread lies about me and ruin my career. I’m fucking angry that strangers who don’t even know me get to say shit about me on social media. I’m fucking angry that I have to stay silent. That the lawyers I’m paying a fortune to won’t let me defend myself in public. I’m fucking angry thatI now don’t get to work on a film I really wanted to.And”—she inhales a sharp breath—“I’m fucking angry that I lost one of my favorite earrings today.”

She exhales a long breath after unloading all of that. I can’t tell if she feels better or not now. I watch her silently, giving her space. She doesn’t look away. Just takes all the time I give her to direct the conversation.

“I didn’t do it.” Her voice is raw, stripped of the anger now. “I didn’t steal Sofia’s work.”

She watches me like she’s bracing for my response.

“Amelia, if there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you wouldneverdo that.”

“You don’t even know me,” she says softly. “How can you be so sure?”

I lean forward. “Because I’ve been watching you for a year. I’ve seen the way you carry yourself, what’s important to you. You show up, even when it’s hard. You speak the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. You own your shit. I’ve never once seen you pass the blame or spin a story to make yourself look better.” I let that sit before continuing. “You don’t perform for the world. You don’t play the game. Fuck, I don’t think you even know what the game is. You’re too real for that. And your work? You’re fucking talented. And you’ve got pride in what you do. But more than that, you’ve got pride in who you are. That’s how I know. I see your standards. I see your integrity. People like you don’t steal. You don’t need to.”

I sit back, watching her process everything I just said. I don’t think she was expecting any of it when she asked how I could be so sure. And once again, I’m hit by how wrong I’ve been about her this past year. She’s absolutely all the things I just said, but where I saw cool confidence before, I misread what was underneath. I assumed that meant she was in control. Content. Had her shit sorted.

Amelia is confident. I’ve seen it. But I think she’s been taught to keep herself small. Manageable. I think if the world would just get the fuck out of her way, she’d stop playing by its rules and rewrite every damn one of them.

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