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Amelia
I bolted awake at the sound of Josh’s front door banging open and haphazardly reached for my phone which read03:02. My mouth ran dry as I frantically searched for a weapon to defend myself with until I heard Josh’s door creak open and a feminine voice cry out his name. For as liberated as I’d felt ever since talking to Natalie, there was nothing stopping the pang of jealousy that stabbed through my veins at the sound of another woman who I could only assume was Laila.
My hurt intensified when Josh responded to her huskily and much too softly for me to make out what he was saying, making my thoughts run wild with ideas. Then, when I heard his bedroom door close again only minutes later, I strained my ears ashamedly for any sign that they were rekindling their relationship but noticed none. That was at least a small mercy and for the rest of the night I did my best to ignore how possessive I was over a man who couldn’t care less about me, fitfully tossing and turning with no reprieve.
Joshua
When I opened my eyes the next morning, I thought Amelia had slipped into my bed in the middle of the night, and in my dreamy state I curled closer to her warmth. My hand traced over her bare arm and slipped into hers and then I knew it wasn’t Amelia.
“Good morning, Joshie,” Laila said groggily, shifting so she could face me with an impish grin. “We haven’t done this in a long time, have we? Feels better than I remember.” I nodded silently, pushing my disappointment deep down and feverishly replacing it with the inklings of lust I’d felt for my ex-wife last night.
My gaze flickered to her lips and then back up, wordlessly asking for permission to kiss her, and Laila obliged, sliding her leg over my hips to straddle my lap. She deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue against mine and I groaned, gripping her hips with my hands. The passion we’d once felt for each other resurfaced like a tidal wave and I began to wonder where it had gone in the first place.
There was a clanging sound from the kitchen and I was immediately brought back to earth. Gently removing Laila from my lap, I hastily explained, “Amelia must be awake, maybe we should postpone this until later.”
Laila shrugged and got up to start searching through her luggage for her slippers, offhandedly replying, “You’re right, that probably wouldn’t be the best first impression, would it?” I sighed in relief, glad that Laila hadn’t seemed to realize my true motivation for waiting, and stumbled out of bed myself.
When we finally made it out into the kitchen, Amelia was wiping down the counters hurriedly. “Good morning,” Laila greeted, plastering what I could only describe as a camera-ready smile on her face while holding out her hand. “You must be Amelia.”
I watched with a sense of dread as the girl who could have been mine looked up from her task and mirrored Laila’s forced expression, answering, “Yes, I’m Amelia Roberts. It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. Peters. I’ve heard great things about you.”
Keeping myself from scoffing at that empty compliment—I had rarely talked about Laila to begin with—I inserted myself into the tense conversation casually. “Are we still on for our session this afternoon, Amelia?”
Her ivy-green eyes flicked to mine and in the same polite voice, she replied, “Yes, Mr. Adams. But I do have ameetingwith Dr. Morales tonight, so I won’t be here for dinner like I usually am.”
“Busy girl, huh?” Laila noted, stepping around Amelia to get to the coffee machine. “It’s a miracle you’re able to make so much time for Josh as it is, I’m sure.”
Keeping her glare on me, Amelia responded, “you’d be surprised how easy it is to move a schedule around when you have a client like Mr. Adams.” The venom in her voice was clearly meant for me and for once, I was grateful for Laila’s indifference toward people she considered “staff.”
I met Amelia’s stare with my own, jaw clenching at her stubbornness and obvious attempts at making me feel jealous. Subtly mentioning how I’d gotten her to agree to this arrangement in the first place had been one thing, but what she said next was the icing on the cake—
“And just so you aren’t worried about me, Mr. Adams, I want you to know I’ll be homelatetonight, so there’s no need to wait up for me.” There was a tenseness in her posture, like Amelia was waiting for me to expose our past to Laila, but I didn’t give in to her goading.
Instead, I offered her a terse smile and replied, “thanks for the heads-up, Amelia. I hope you and Dr. Morales are able to get through everything tonight since you couldn’t during your lastmeeting.”
Amelia’s cheeks turned the same color as her hair and as she stormed out, she managed to wish Laila a “good day” while brushing past me. Thirty seconds later, Amelia was bounding out the front door, leaving only the mingling scents of her perfume and frustrated arousal to remind me that she’d been there.
While Laila told me about her travels, I couldn’t help but wonder why Amelia’s innuendos had bothered me so much. After all, hadn’t I resigned myself to falloutof love with her?
Chapter Fourteen
Amelia
WithLailaaroundnow,there were very few moments Josh and I had alone, which is exactly the way I wanted it. Throughout the day, we’d throw snide comments at each other, aimed to hint at unspoken truths that only the other would understand—
“How’d your meeting with Dr. Morales go last night? You sure seem to be having them a lot more frequently…I hope it isn’t because of me, I mean, my treatment.”
“Mr. Adams, if you just did as I advised and used your cane again, you wouldn’t have over-exacerbated your knee today. A man of your age shouldn’t push himself too hard, right?”
“Re—Amelia, what would you say draws a boy’s eye the most? We’re spending a lot of money on rebinding some classics and I’d love to know what guys your age are attracted to.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t believe the nerve of some of my clients, Ms. Peters. I’ve had men come in and treat me like some girl they’re picking up at a club.”
It went on like that, the two of us volleying veiled insults at each other and leaving Laila none the wiser. And on the off chance that I had nothing more to say to Josh, I’d simply ignore him or reply with one-word answers in a clipped, overly-cheery tone of voice.
At times, I couldn’t fathom why he didn’t just request that we move his treatment back into my official office or get in contact with Santiago to tell him he wanted to end his contract. I supposed it was because Josh enjoyed our power struggle, and the carnal knowledge he already had of me was just a bonus to aid in my discomfort.
He was waiting to see which of us would break first and I’d be damned if I lost the opportunity for a paid vacation on his dime. So there we were, trapped in a hateful limbo and unwilling to do anything about it. What we hadn’t accounted for, however, was Laila and her prying eyes.
