“Tell me about it.” He yawns. “I’m driving home now and wanted to give you a quick call. I spent some time with Amelia last night.”
I frown, looking up from my computer.
“You what?”
“She was at the hospital, and I spent some time with her. I really like her, Wyatt. I had a good feeling about her after we had dinner together, but after spending some one-on-one time with her, I think she’s really great.”
I’m still scowling at one-on-one time.
“How much time did you spend?”
“Why do you sound like that? She texted and told you she was hung up at the hospital.”
“Yeah, she did.” I clear my throat and stand to pace my office. “I’m glad you like her. I like her, too.”
“Anyway, that’s all I was calling about, not that it matters.”
“It matters,” I reply. “Go get some sleep.”
I hang up, toss my phone on the desk, and shove my hands into my pockets, turning to stare at Amelia’s house across the street.
So, she wasn’t just spending time with her dad last night. She missed dinner because she was with Jace.
I trust them both. I know this is not Claudia, and that she wasn’t boning a friend of mine. Or a stranger, for that matter.
She was just hanging out with my brother.
I trust them.
But I’m completely irritated at the situation.
It’s still early enough in the day that there’s no one out and about. The sun has just come up. So, I put Amelia, my brother, and all of my feelings into a box so I can sit down and get some damn work done.
I’ll see her later and calmly talk to her about last night.
Rationally.
I’m not feeling rational yet. I was able to get most of the work done that I wasn’t able to get to during the week. Amelia texted when she woke up to say hi, and then again about thirty minutes ago to tell me she’s free for a while.
So, I’m walking across the street, slower than I normally would, my hands in my shorts’ pockets.
I’m not sure what to say or how to bring it up.
Because any way that I run through it in my head, I sound like a jerk.
“Hey,” she says with a bright smile when she opens the door. She grabs my hand, pulls me inside, and reaches up on her tiptoes to kiss me. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” I reply, some of my irritation evaporating. “You look fantastic.”
“I just filmed a video,” she says with a grin. “This is my everyday look.”
“I like it.” She kisses me again, then leads me through the kitchen.
“I can’t get enough of the pool. I hope you don’t mind sitting out there for a while.”
“Not at all.”
She happily leads me to a chaise lounge big enough for two. I sit, and she joins me, snuggling close.
“My dad went home this morning,” she says. “He was better last night when I saw him. Not nearly as grouchy.”
“That’s good. How does he feel?”
“Pretty good, from what he says. Mom will take care of him. I went shopping with Jules yesterday.”
She tells me all about her shopping trip, what she bought, and I try to follow along, but she’s talking quickly. She’s happy today.
“Oh, I saw Jace.”
“I heard.”
She glances up at me and frowns. “Why do you say it like that?”
I sigh, drag my hand down my face and shake my head. “No reason.”
“Oh, no. There’s a reason.” She shifts, sitting next to me cross-legged. “It’s written all over your ridiculously handsome face. What’s up? We just had dinner.”
I lick my lips, trying to figure out how to say what I have to say without sounding like a dick or a petulant child. “You were supposed to have dinner with me.”
“But I didn’t stand you up. I texted to let you know that I wasn’t going to make it.”
“So you could have dinner with my brother instead.”
She tilts her head to the side and narrows her eyes. “Seriously? You’re jealous of your brother?”
“I’m not jealous,” I reply and stand to pace. “And this might be a good time to remind you that you were jealous of your sister the first time I met her.”
“Nothing happened,” she says.
“I know that,” I immediately reply. “I trust you. Both of you.”
“Then what is this about?” She looks as confused as I feel.
I shake my head and hold my hands out at my side. “It’s clearly nothing.”
“No.” She stands now and marches to me. “You’re the one who said we need to talk to each other so we don’t let our baggage fuck this up. It works both ways, Wyatt. If I’ve pissed you off, I need to know why.”
“That’s just it, it’s baggage. You shouldn’t have to deal with it.”
“But you don’t like that I had dinner with your brother.”
“No. I don’t like it.”
“So, let me be real with you right now. The fact that you don’t like it triggers my own damn baggage. So your baggage is going to keep triggering my baggage, and we’ll stay in this circle of frustration forever. And I can’t do that, Wyatt. So what do you propose we do?”
“I don’t know how long I have with you,” I blurt out and shove my hands into my pockets again. I want to reach for her, but not yet. I need to say this. “And the not knowing sucks, Amelia. We were supposed to have dinner last night, and you canceled so you could spend the evening with my brother instead.”
“So, you don’t think we did anything inappropriate, you just don’t like that I used my time that way.”
“Correct.”
“And that pisses me off because my ex liked to dictate who I could and couldn’t spend my time with.”
“That’s not what this is.” I pace away in frustration and push my hands through my hair. “I don’t care if you have dinner with the whole cast of Friends and Oprah, Lia.”
“I would enjoy that, actually.”
“Spend all day with my whole family if you want, but damn it, I want to be included in that.”
“Your feelings are hurt,” she says and covers her mouth with her hand, her blue eyes wide.
I sigh again and hang my head. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but that could be what this is. I don’t know.”
“Wyatt, I don’t ever want to hurt your feelings.”
“Hey, guys!” Natalie walks into the pool area, carrying her camera, followed by two guys. They’re holding hands, grinning.
Clearly about to have sexy photos taken.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Nat continues. “I’ll be working in the studio for a few hours.”
“It’s fine,” I reply and walk toward the doors. “I honestly have to get back to work.”
“Wyatt, I’ll come with you and we—”
“No.” I shake my head. “It’s okay. I’m behind on work and just took a break to come see you for a few minutes.”
“I don’t want to leave it like this,” Amelia says softly after Nat and the men disappear into the studio. “I’ll come with you, and we can talk.”
“I think I need a breather,” I reply, and her eyes widen again.
“Like, a forever breather?”