Collin (Forever #4)

“You won’t be missing family dinner tomorrow night, Collin. I expect you and Amelia to be here,” she said as she got up and left the room.

I turned and looked at my dad, who was sitting there with a big smile on his face. “You have to listen to your mother. Don’t disappoint her, son,” he said as he looked at his laptop screen.

I rolled my eyes and went up to my room. I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent Amelia a text message.

“We have to have dinner at my house tomorrow night. I forgot it’s family dinner night and my mom is making me be here. She told me she wants you to come. I’m sorry and I would completely understand if you changed your mind.”

“No need to apologize. I think family dinner is great. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

“I’m still picking you up.”

“Okay. I’ll be ready and waiting.”

Chapter 17

The limo pulled up to the curb of the Third Avenue Building North. I sent Amelia a text message to let her know I had arrived. I looked at Ralph as he just sat there.

“Ralph, you need to get out and open the door for Amelia.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Black,” he said as he jumped out of the limo.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. I think my dad made a mistake when he hired Ralphie. As I looked out the window, I could see Amelia walking down the stairs. Ralphie opened the limo door and she climbed inside and sat down next to me. She looked beautiful in her black and pink floral sundress. The way she wore her hair was different from what I was used to seeing. Instead of wearing it straight, she had soft waves going through it. Shit. I was starting to get hard just looking at her, not to mention that she smelled like roses again.

“You look great.” I smiled.

“Thanks. So do you.”

We talked a bit about her classes as Ralph drove us back to the penthouse. We took the elevator up and I could tell she was impressed. As soon as the doors opened and we stepped into the foyer, Julia came sprinting from the kitchen.

“Hi, I’m Julia, Collin’s sister. You must be Amelia.”

“Yes, I am. It’s nice to meet you. Congratulations on your baby.”

Julia smiled and put her hands on her stomach. “Thank you. Did Collin tell you it’s a boy?”

“Yes, he did. That’s so exciting.”

Julia hooked her arm around Amelia’s and led her to the kitchen. As I followed behind, I couldn’t help but take in the amazing aroma that filled the penthouse. When I approached the kitchen, I walked up to my mom and kissed her on the cheek.

“It smells great in here, Mom.”

“Thanks, sweetie.” She smiled.

I turned around and found that my dad, Jake, and Julia were all talking to Amelia. Just as I was going over to join the discussion, I heard Denny approaching the kitchen.

“Smells excellent in here, Ellery!” he said rather loudly.

I walked over to him and gave him a light hug. “I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”

“I was feeling a little better, so I decided to come over and hassle your old man.” He smiled.

“I heard that, Denny.” My dad smiled as they shook hands.

I walked over and asked Amelia to come and meet Denny. “Denny, this is my friend, Amelia.”

Denny looked her up and down and then smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Amelia,” he said as he lightly kissed her hand.

“Thank you, Denny. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Don’t listen to them. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Amelia and I both laughed at the same time. My mom announced that it was time for dinner and she wanted everyone seated in the dining room. Denny took my arm and pulled me aside.

“She’s stunning, son. She reminds me of your mother all those years ago. She’s a keeper and I have no doubt that she’s the one.”

“I think it’s way too early for that, Uncle Denny.” I chuckled.

“Funny, your father said the same thing.” He winked.

I patted him on the back and we all took our seats at the table. After we finished with dinner, we ate the tasty fruit flans my mom had bought from the bakery, and then Amelia and I got up and sat down on the couch.

“I hope you’re having a good time?”

“I am. Your family is wonderful. You’re very lucky to have them in your life. Never once take them for granted,” she said with sadness.

“I’m sorry, Amelia. This must be hard for you.”

She turned towards me and placed her hand on mine. “It is a little bit because it makes me miss my own family. But, it feels good to be a part of something, even if it is only for a couple of hours. “I’m curious to see your bedroom,” she said.

I looked at her in confusion. “Really?”

“Did you know that you can tell a lot about a person by the way their bedroom is decorated?”

“No. I didn’t know that. But you’re more than welcome to analyze it if you want.” I smiled.

She smiled back as we got up from the couch and I led her up to my bedroom. She opened the door and, when we stepped inside, she looked all around. She walked over to my bed and ran her hand across it. Then she walked over to the windows, looked out them, turned to my dresser, and then looked at the pictures hanging on my wall.

“You are driven and you enjoy the thrill of a chase. You know what you want, and you know how to get it. This room also tells me that you’re sensual and sexy. You love sex and you seek it out whenever you can.”

“Now that is not true,” I interrupted. “Sex just happens to find me.” I smiled.

She shot me a small smile and shook her head. “Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness: Your craving for physical pleasure.”

“Okay, who have you been talking to?”

She looked at me and bit her bottom lip, then she looked down at the floor. I began to walk towards her slowly. “There’s no way you could have guessed all that just by looking at my bedroom.” I smiled as I approached her and started to tickle her. I wouldn’t stop until she confessed. She fell back on the bed and I fell on top of her, still tickling her until she gave up.

“Okay, okay.” She laughed. “I googled you and I asked around campus.”

“Why did you do that?” I smiled as I continued to tickle her. I stopped tickling her and stared into her blue eyes. “Why didn’t you just ask me?” I whispered.