‘I’d be crazy to turn it down.’ His eyes dazzled with excitement and she remembered how passionate he was about his career. ‘I’m hoping you’ll come with me. Say you will, Amelia.’
‘What about my work, my flat?’
‘You’ve got the qualifications and experience to take it to the next level, if that’s what you want, and you could rent your flat out again. It was a good investment before.’
‘You’ve thought this through.’ He’d never seen her career as important, not like his. He earned four times as much as her and although he had never come out and said it, he saw his own work as taking priority. And if he was thinking that way already, what would happen if they did end up together and having a family? She’d be stuck at home, single-parenting, while his life would carry on regardless. He’d be putting his all into a career when he’d criticised her for doing the very same thing.
He ran his hand through the length of her hair before resting his fingers against her face. ‘I’ve thought of nothing else in the last couple of months. I was scared to try again with you, I thought you’d tell me to get lost. But when I got your text I had to go for it, I had to come and get you. What do you say?’
‘It’s what I wanted for a long time,’ she admitted, but she didn’t have a chance to add that she had no idea what she felt anymore because he took her pause as acceptance and kissed her hard on the lips. She pulled back and another knock at the door rescued her from anything more.
‘Who do you know in this city? Ignore it.’ Paul tried to kiss her again but she pulled away.
‘It might be Kyle.’
‘He’s here?’ The familiar muscle in his jaw twitched the way it always did when something irritated him or when someone crossed him. ‘Why is he with you?’
‘Long story.’ Another knock. ‘I need to get that.’
‘Go,’ he said, gesturing to the door. ‘Jump to it, you usually do.’
‘Paul…’ She didn’t have time to talk him down from his mood right now, so she opened the door but didn’t expect both Kyle and Nathan to be on the other side.
‘What’s going on?’ She looked from one to the other. ‘Kyle?’
Both of them clocked Paul but Nathan soon refocused. ‘Ask him!’ He pointed a finger towards Kyle and his eyes only betrayed him once by dipping towards the towel that she was doing her best to keep a tight hold of.
‘You’re crazy!’ Kyle yelled back at Nathan.
Amelia shut the door behind them to keep the noise inside rather than out in the corridor. ‘You’ll have the neighbours calling the police in a minute. Nathan, please calm down,’ she pleaded as he grabbed Kyle by the scruff of his neck.
‘Not a chance,’ he fumed, but at least he let go of Kyle and Kyle seized his opportunity to take a few steps back.
Paul piped up at the least convenient time. ‘Do you two mind?’ He looked from Kyle to Nathan. ‘Me and Amelia…we’re kind of in the middle of something here.’
Amelia, Nathan and Kyle all turned in his direction. All of them lost for words. All of them ignoring his request.
Amelia turned back to Nathan. ‘What’s he supposed to have done this time?’ So much for the truce, the acceptance of Kyle and Scarlett.
‘I found them in bed together last night,’ Nathan snapped. ‘I told Kyle to leave, which he did. But I also told him to leave Scarlett alone and this evening I found them both together again.’
‘You found them in bed?’ Amelia wasn’t sure she was ready for this particular showdown. Her auntie role only went so far. ‘Were they…?’
‘Not quite, but I’ve been a seventeen-year-old boy, remember.’
‘Don’t judge me by your crappy standards,’ Kyle hollered across the room, although Amelia was thankful he was at least keeping his distance and that she, far too vulnerable in just a towel, could step between them.
Paul piped up again. ‘Typical.’
‘What did you say?’ Kyle’s head whipped around to confront him, the man standing there in a suit as though he’d just been to the office not travelled across the miles to surprise his ex-girlfriend and tell her he’d made a mistake. But then Paul had never let himself be seen looking anything other than pristine, much like women who didn’t let their partners see them without make-up, hiding their true selves behind a disguise.
‘You always were trouble,’ Paul went on, ‘and Amelia doesn’t deserve it.’
‘He’s right.’ Kyle addressed Amelia now. ‘You don’t deserve the shit I give you, but this time I didn’t do anything. I swear. Apart from ignore him asking me to keep away, which I don’t see is necessary when I did nothing wrong!’ He finished his spiel, yelling the last few words in Nathan’s direction.
When Paul went to say something else Amelia’s hand in the air silenced him because whatever remark he was about to come out with, even if he was defending her, which she didn’t fully appreciate right now, was only going to make it worse. She turned to Nathan. ‘I could understand your anger if he’d forced himself on Scarlett, but unless I’m mistaken, he didn’t.’ She didn’t even need to ask that question because she knew Kyle more than this man did.
‘How do you know?’
