“Amelia, I was teasing. Please, baby. We have dinner with my parents tonight. They’re expecting us.”
“Then you can tell your parents about the girl at the office!” she spat.
She was looking around the apartment for her shoes. “Amelia, please. These are for you. I’m sorry I teased you.”
“Nope. I don’t think you were teasing and I just really need to be alone right now, Collin.”
“Really? How are you getting back to your place?”
“A cab like every other New Yorker,” she said as she opened the door.
I walked up behind her and slammed it shut. “Please don’t do this.”
She turned around and looked at me. “Are you hurting?”
“Yes. Really bad right now.”
She smiled. “Good. That’ll teach you to fuck with me, Mr. Black.” She laughed and ducked under my arm.
“AMELIA!” I exclaimed as I started chasing her around the apartment.
She laughed as she ran through the kitchen. “You should’ve seen the look on your face.”
“You wait until I catch you. You’re going to be punished.”
“Only if it involves you holding my wrists above my head and a wall.”
I stopped dead center in the middle of the apartment. She stopped and turned around.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah. Really.” She smiled.
“Now or after we get back from my parents’ house?” I asked.
She twisted her face and looked around. “Both.”
“Deal!” I said as I unbuttoned my pants.
Chapter 30
“Jesus Christ, you’re hot,” I said breathlessly as I pulled out of her.
“See what happens when you get me all wound up?” She smiled.
I let go of her wrists and gently kissed each one. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“Yeah, you did. But it hurt so good, babe.” She winked.
I kissed the tip of her nose and looked at the clock that hung on the wall.
“SHIT! It’s six fifteen. My mom is going to kill me,” I said as I ran and grabbed my pants.
I picked up Amelia’s clothes off the floor and threw them at her. “Hurry up and get dressed. We were supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago. The one thing my mom hates is when people are late.”
“Collin. Calm down.” She laughed.
“Oh no. This is no laughing matter.” I said as my phone rang. I picked it up from the table and it was my mom. “See. I told you,” I said as I showed her the phone.
“Crap,” Amelia said as she ran and grabbed her shoes.
We ran out the door and up the stairs to the penthouse. There was no time to wait for an elevator. I opened the door and as soon as we walked in, my mom came scurrying from the kitchen.
“Why didn’t you answer when I called you?” she asked as she pointed at me and then hugged Amelia.
“We were almost here.”
“You’re late!”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Go sit down. Dinner is almost ready.”
We walked into the dining room and my dad smirked at me. I walked over to Julia and gave her a kiss on her cheek. I bent down and took the little hand of my nephew.
“Hey, Brayden.” I smiled.
As soon as dinner was finished, I took Brayden from Julia and walked into the living room. My dad was already sitting down with his after dinner scotch in hand.
“Your shirt is buttoned wrong. Is that the reason you were late? Amelia must have really liked those roses.” He winked.
A wide grin spread across my face. “She loved them and that is the reason I was late. I lost track of time.”
“Good for you.” He smiled as he held up his glass.
Brayden started crying and I tried to rock him back and forth. It wasn’t working.
“Dad. Help me. Why’s he crying?”
He chuckled. “Maybe he’s hungry. Here, let me take him for a moment.” He got up and took him from my arms. Holding Brayden made my dad happy. He just hadn’t been quite the same since Denny passed away. My mom and I had a conversation about it and she said that all my dad needed was time. I walked over to the fireplace where Denny’s ashes sat in an urn.
“Dad, when are you spreading his ashes?”
“I was thinking we could all go next month. Brayden will be a little over two months old and Amelia will be on semester break from school, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it’s set. We’ll go right after Christmas and spend a couple of weeks there. It will give me time to arrange things.”
“What things, Dad?”
“Things for Jacob and Diana.”
“Really?”
“I gave it some more thought after you left and I think you’re right. It would be the best thing for them. But only if Diana wants to go.”
“Bring her and Jacob to California with us. That way, she can spend a couple of weeks there and get the feel for everything.”
“I already planned on it, son.”
I walked over and gave him a light hug, being extra careful not to squish Brayden. “I know I don’t say it enough, but I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, Collin.”
“What’s going on in here?” Julia asked.
“Just having a father/son chat,” my dad replied.
Amelia and my mom walked in the room and my mom took Brayden from my dad.
“I have an announcement to make,” my dad said as everyone quieted down. “I’ve decided that we’re going to fly to California for a couple of weeks, as a family, and spread Denny’s ashes right after Christmas. That way, we can spend the holiday in New York and then spend New Year’s in California.”
“What about the company, Dad?” Julia asked.
“No worries, princess. The company will be fine without us for a couple of weeks.”
Amelia looked at me and smiled. I couldn’t have been happier to take her to California with me. The only thing that worried me were the horrific memories of what had happened there.
Amelia and I walked hand in hand down the streets of New York, looking at all the Christmas lights and decorations that lit up the city. She was in an exceptionally good mood because her classes had ended and she completed her first round of clinicals. I wanted this Christmas to be special for her and one she’d never forget. She told me that she had spent the past two Christmases alone. My heart broke when I heard that because no one should spend the holidays alone. We stopped at Starbucks before meeting my family over at FAO Schwarz. Julia and Jake wanted to take Brayden to see Santa Claus and do some shopping. She wanted it to be a family affair and then my dad wanted all of us to go see the tree at Rockefeller Center.
