“What time is it?” I asked as I set the candle on the sideboard.
“She’ll be here any second. What are you so nervous about?”
I laughed. “I’m not nervous.”
“Right. I know how into candles you are. Maybe you should throw a Scentsy party.”
My face quirked. “A what?”
He sighed. “Never mind.”
I huffed, moving to the couch. “I don’t know, man,” I said as I sat, reaching for the manuscripts I’d printed up for her so I could organize them. Again. “She judges me for a living.” I noticed a film of dust on the glass top of the coffee table and frowned, swiping at it. A streak the size of my hand graced the top, and I swore, storming into the kitchen to rummage around under the sink for something to clean it with.
Theo sighed when I came back with some wipe things I’d found. “That’ll streak.” He headed to the kitchen and came back with glass cleaner and a paper towel. “She might judge your writing, but she’s not going to be judging your housekeeping. She probably won’t even notice.”
“Easy for you to say. Nobody trips on dildos or C-rings at your place.”
He made a face at me, pausing mid-swipe. “Dude. I live with Ma.”
The doorbell rang, and I perked up, smiling as I headed to the door. I paused in front of the hall mirror for a split second to smooth a hand over my hair and check my teeth before trotting the rest of the way.
I’d say I hadn’t thought about her once, not at all, not even for a second, but that would be a lie. And I only lied about who I was dating.
Truth was, she’d been occupying my thoughts since she walked away from me yesterday, and the reason was simple: Amelia Hall was the embodiment of hope.
All I had to do was not fuck up.
With that positive reinforcement at my back, I took a deep breath and opened the door.
Amelia seemed smaller than I remembered, her hair long and mostly straight. The flaxen strands held rings of the slightest natural wave. She was bundled up from top to toe in ten shades of white—her snow-white felt coat, her cream knit scarf, an ivory skirt, tights the color of chalk. In fact, the most colorful thing about her was her eyes, as blue and bright as the silvery winter sky above us.
Scratch that. The most colorful thing about her was the flush of her cheeks that rose like a blooming flower, peach and soft and delicate.
“Hey,” I said, stepping back and pulling the door open wider with me. “Come on in.”
Her flush deepened, but she smiled, dipping her head as she passed.
I closed the door behind her without looking as my eyes followed her into my entryway.
She paused by the bench and coat hooks, setting down her bag.
“Thanks for coming so soon,” I said, stepping toward her, reaching for her coat to help her out of it.
She stiffened in surprise, but she was still smiling. “M-my pleasure.”
I hung her coat on the rack as she unwound her scarf. Her blouse was creamy white too, and sheer, dotted with a tiny pattern I couldn’t make out.
“Are those…” I started, leaning in with my eyes squinted.
“Tabby cats,” she said matter-of-factly as she picked up her bag from the bench.
I chuckled once through my nose. “Of course they are.”
Her small face pinched in suspicion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
With a smile, I stepped into her space for the briefest moment. She took a breath, her face open and eyes blinking.
“You’re unconventional, Amelia Hall.” I angled closer. “And I like it.”
I removed myself from the intimacy and walked away, heading for the living room with my blood thrumming and my smile immovable.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I asked over my shoulder, feeling her behind me.
“N-no, thanks,” she answered, stopping in the living room and shuffling around.
I was about to speak—the words right there on the tip of my tongue—but when I turned around, they were instantly inconsequential and slipped from my mind, never to be recovered.
Amelia Hall was digging through her bag, hinged at the waist with her back straight, her ass out, and her hair falling over her shoulder, tucked behind her ear to frame her profile. Her ass was shaped just like a heart, stretching the construction of her skirt.
If I’d ever passed Amelia Hall on the street, she wouldn’t have caught my attention. But that was the thing about girls like her. Once you saw them, there was no unseeing them.
Theo cleared his throat from somewhere behind me, and Amelia shot upright, her hands clutching a notebook and pen and her face open as a 7-Eleven.
Her eyes bounced from me, to Theo, then back at least a half-dozen times.
I sighed.
It was always like this. On our own, my brother and I tended to evoke a reaction from women. But when we were together? Women occasionally ceased motor function. I would have smiled if it wasn’t for a pang of annoyance that she was looking at my brother that way.
I attributed my usual upper hand in such situations to a combination of my hair and leather jacket. The thought that she might prefer the clean-cut, responsible version of me was a little too much to stomach.
Theo stepped toward her, smiling amicably. “Hello, Amelia. I’m Theo. We emailed yesterday.” He stuck out his hand.
Her cheeks were flushed as she blinked, looking at his hand, then up at him, then back at me. “There are two of you.”
Theo’s smirk rose. “Yeah, but too bad for Tommy that I got all the charm and good looks.”
Amelia smiled in the most timid curve of her lips. She extended her hand with apprehension, and it disappeared into his. “Nice to meet you,” she answered so softly, I barely heard her.
Theo didn’t miss a beat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too. Thanks for coming to bail him out,” he said with a smile and a nod in my direction. He leaned in conspiratorially. “He’s hopeless, you know.”
She smiled at that, relaxing incrementally. “Nothing’s hopeless. With a little hard work, anything can be saved.”
“Coming from you, I believe it,” he said, laying it on so thick, I fought a baffling impulse to physically remove his hand from hers.
Fortunately for all of us, he let her go on his own.
“Don’t listen to Teddy,” I said, smiling wider when he scowled at me. “He’s the brains. I’m the face.”
Amelia stifled a laugh. “You literally look exactly alike.”
I moved to Theo’s side. “You say that now,” I said, pausing to wet my bottom lip, “but you’ll figure out our differences soon enough.”
Her eyes were on my lips. “I…ah…” Just as I began patting myself on the back, she finished her thought, “One of your teeth is crooked. Right here.” She bared her teeth comically and pointed at an incisor.
Theo barked a laugh, and my face flattened.
And Amelia Hall smiled, her cheeks rosy and high, her pretty, smartass lips together.
I moved to the couch, turning my attention and wounded pride to the manuscripts waiting there. “Anyway, Teddy here was just leaving. Weren’t you, Theo?”
He slipped his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe I’ll hang around for a while.”
The look I shot him had him rolling his eyes. But he let out a resigned sigh.
“All right. Amelia, let me know if you need anything. And Tommy, don’t forget to arrange Amelia’s payment.”
“Oh, no,” she said as she sat on the couch opposite me. “I don’t expect to be paid. I just do this for fun.”
I frowned. “I’m sorry, I just don’t feel right not paying you.”
Theo nodded. “I don’t think you realize what a pain in your ass he’s gonna be.”
She shrugged. “It’s all right. Really. I insist.”
My frown deepened. “No, I insist. Everyone can use extra cash. I mean, unless I’m mistaken as to how much bloggers make.”
Now Amelia was frowning, too, her little mouth downturned in such a way that she almost looked like she was pouting. It was so adorable, I had to stop myself from chuckling.