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“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Damien whispers next to me outside of the Morgan Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, huddled around the corner from the main entrance.
“No, but I have to be here, Damien. I have to send her a message.”
After being irritated with myself and my choices all weekend—and maybe a few too many beers at night—I realized that actions were going to speak far louder than words with Amelia. I still don’t have a solid decision made up in my mind about whether I can give her everything that she wants, but I know that I can’t just let her slip out of my and Oliver’s life.
She’s the only woman that has ever made me want to change. And tonight is the first step in that direction.
“Okay, but I’m just telling you right now…if Charlotte asks me if I knew anything about you being here, I’m not going to lie to her.”
“I’m not asking you to. I just need you to help me get in.”
“There’s a list, man. How on earth am I supposed to do that?”
“I don’t know. Use your charm. Use…”
“Ethan? Is that you?” Jeffrey walks up to us, reaching out to shake my hand.
“Last time I checked, yeah.”
He laughs and then winces. “Fuck, are you supposed to be here?”
“I’m guessing you heard about Amelia and me too, huh?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I’m around the girls a little because of Damien, who also filled me in on you two splitting. But honestly, it was Nick who told me first.”
Fuck. I didn’t even think about Nick being here too. And why wouldn’t he be? He’s her fucking brother.
“Damn it. Maybe this isn’t a good idea. Is he mad? He and I haven’t spoken in weeks.”
Jeffrey teeters his head from side to side. “I don’t know if mad would be the appropriate word to use. But he definitely is pretty protective of Amelia right now.”
“He always has been. Look, I just need to get inside. I won’t say a word to anyone. I just need Amelia to know I was here.”
“Why?” Damien asks. “Why is it so fucking important? I mean, I know why you two split and the last thing I want is for Charlotte to chop off my dick because I had a part in letting you back into Amelia’s life. I’ve seen heartbreak, man, on many a woman, including my own mother. It’s not pretty, and Amelia has not been herself in the past three weeks. She’s hurting, but she’s trying to stay strong.”
Running a hand through my hair, I stare down at the ground. “I know, all right? It’s my fucking fault that we’re in this mess. But honestly, Damien, can you blame me for never wanting to go down that path again?”
“Marriage?” he clarifies, and I nod. “Yeah, I do blame you. I think you’re fucking stupid.”
His candidness actually shocks me a bit. “Really?”
“Hell yes. Amelia is fucking amazing. Women like her are not a dime a dozen, and she loves your fucking kid. What else could you want, man?”
Jeffrey chimes in. “I’ve had many a naughty librarian fantasy about her, and I’m insanely jealous that she chose you. I mean, I don’t see us together long-term, but if I had a shot at tapping that…”
I step up in his face. “Stop talking while you’re ahead.”
His face lights up with a mischievous smile. “You know I’m not the only man who will ever have those thoughts of her, Ethan.”
“Don’t fucking talk about her like that, Jeffrey, or I swear to God…”
Jeffrey laughs and then takes a step back. “I was joking, man, but I think you just clarified how strongly you feel about her.”
“I’ve never contested my feelings for her. I just know that she deserves someone who wants the same things she does, and I don’t know that I can give them to her.”
“But do you want to?” Damien asks.
And for the first time in three weeks, I begin to break down that wall I put up around the idea of ever getting married again. “I do. I don’t know if I can, but I want to try.”
Jeffrey slaps me on the back. “Well then, I want to be a part of this reconciliation. When you two get married, I want credit in a speech or something. Hell, maybe on the invitations!” He turns to Damien and nods enthusiastically.
“Shut up, Jeffrey. Jesus.”
“Or, better yet—if you have a son, name him Jeffrey. That is the ultimate honor.”
I turn to Damien, tossing my thumb at Jeffrey. “Does he ever shut up?”
“Nope. But don’t worry, you get used to him. He’s like a puppy dog that’s always under your feet. It’s annoying, but you’d ultimately miss him if he wasn’t there.”
Jeffrey narrows his eyes and purses his lips in Damien’s direction. “I take offense to that.”
“Don’t. It’s our love language, remember?”
And then his face softens. “I love you too, man.” Jeffrey rushes Damien and hugs him fiercely.
“While I’m all for bromances, gentlemen, I have a romance with an incredible woman to save, so can we focus on that right now, please?”
Damien and Jeffrey part, straightening their jackets. “Right. Let’s do this.”
I follow the two of them through the automatic sliding glass doors, across the hotel lobby, and up to a hostess stand in front of conference room B.
“Hello, beautiful.” Jeffrey greets the woman standing behind the podium, checking the list of names in front of her, not bothering to look up at him.
“Name?”
“Jeffrey Davis. And this here is Damien Shaw and Ethan Fuller.”
She looks through the list, checking off both Damien and Jeffrey’s names, but searches for a few minutes before she finally looks up at us, her eyes widening as she does. I’m going to interpret her reaction as surprise because we’re three fairly good-looking men and we’re not actually scaring her.
“Um, there’s no Ethan Fuller on the list.”
“No, there won’t be. But he’s actually here to surprise one of the award recipients—his girlfriend.” Jeffrey leans on the podium. “Isn’t that romantic?”
She smiles softly but then leans forward, leaving only a few inches between her face and his. “It is. But sadly, since his name is not on the list, I can’t let him in.”
“Not even for me?” He winks at her.
“Not even for you.”
“Do you know who we are?” he asks, pointing between himself and Damien.
“Am I supposed to?”
“You ever heard of Remedy feminine products?”
Her brow furrows, and her mouth drops open slightly. “Um, yes…”
“Well, we sell them.”
Damien slaps himself on the forehead. “Dear Lord, help us.”
The hostess’s face contorts with more confusion as I glance over at Damien with wide eyes, pleading with him to take control of this conversation because, as of right now, my shot of getting in here is dwindling fast.
“You sell tampons?”
“We do. We just created an ad that is sweeping the country. Maybe you’ve seen it? The mother and her daughter in the aisle full of period products…”
And then the woman’s face completely changes from one of utter disgust and confusion to fandom and glee. “Oh my God! Yes! I’ve seen it! It’s amazing!”
Jeffrey stands tall again, buttoning up his jacket. “My man Damien and I came up with that.”
She shakes her head, clutching her hands to her chest. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
“Nope.”
