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Reaching out, Augusta put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Amelia, sign the papers and take what belongs to you. You’ll do far more with it than I ever did.”
Nodding shakily, she signed page after page and sat back with a hard exhale.
Steven went over some basic information and then Augusta stood. “I’m going to give you and Leo time to get your feet under you. Maybe...before you leave, I can take you both to dinner.” She rushed on, “You let me know in a couple of days. No rush.”
Amelia stood up and stared at her mother in silence. “I can see how hard you’re trying. I’ll try...”
“No, Amy. I never thought you’d look at me again. Having you speak to me is far more progress than I ever imagined and more than I deserve. I mean that.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll call in a day or two.”
“I need to go back to Washington.” Leo looked at Amelia in shock. “I have business to wrap up there. I can’t focus here knowing it’s in limbo.” Twisting her hands, she added, “Maybe we can...have dinner when I get back.”
“I would like that, Amy.” Looking past them, she said, “Thank you, Steven.”
“I’ll walk you out, Augusta.” The lawyer gathered his papers and snapped them into a heavy leather case. He walked around the desk and shook Leo’s hand. “I’ve read a few of your cases. You keep kicking the asses of abusers and predators with style like the courts have never seen.”
“I appreciate that, sir.”
“Amelia.” Steven wrapped her in a one-armed hug and leaned back with a smile. “You’ve always been a beautiful person on the outside. It’s so good to know your insides match. You make your dad proud and live a crazy happy life. There’s been enough sadness, I think.”
“Thank you for everything.”
He nodded. “You’ll call me if you need anything?”
“Of course.”
Then he escorted Augusta from the room. When the door closed behind them, Leo moved to stand in front of Amelia.
“You’re leaving.”
“No. I’m going to Washington to wrap up the life I built there over the last couple of years.” She tugged her lower lip between her teeth. “I’ll be back, Leo.”
“I’ll go with you and help…”
“No,” she said firmly. “I need to handle this piece by myself.”
Blinking, Leo whispered, “There’s...someone in your life.”
“There was a woman I met after rehab. I ended things more than a year ago.” His eyes widened. Inhaling deeply, she explained, “She’s still my business partner. We own a photography studio together and I owe her an explanation face to face.”
They stared at each other in silence for almost a minute. Then he asked, “You’ll come back?” She nodded. “How long, Amelia?”
“A month.” He couldn’t hold back a small sound of pain. She reached up to cup his cheek. “I’ll come back, Leo.”
“When are you leaving?” he asked softly.
“Tomorrow. The sooner I go, the sooner I’ll be back.”
“Fine.” He pulled her roughly into his arms and kissed her possessively for a long time. Then he lifted his face and said through gritted teeth, “I’ll spend the time reminding you why you need to come back, Amelia.”
Leo had no choice but to let Amelia go. She’d created a life separate from him just as he had. Still, it was all so new. He didn’t like the way he felt inside.
Hiding it as much as he could, he took Amelia’s hand and led her through the house to his room. He might have to let her go tomorrow...but that was tomorrow.
Tonight, he planned to imprint on her like an animal with its mate.
