I'll Take a Chance (15 page)

“Yes, this will be the first dinner back together
as a family since everything happened. I’m so excited to see everyone. Lunch with your mom sounds good,” she says with a yawn and rests her head on my shoulder.

“I think someone had a big day and needs to go to bed. Go on up, I’ll clean up down he
re and be up in a few minutes.”

Amelia

I climb the stairs with mixed emotions. I’m excited to move in with Kyle
, but wonder if it’s just a little too fast. A lot has happened in such a short amount of time. I don’t have any doubts about my love for Kyle or his love for me. I would rather get married or at least engaged before moving in with a man. But I also know that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else other than with this man in this house for the rest of my life. I climb in Kyle’s bed, rather our bed and place my hand on my stomach. What if we did just get pregnant? A smile forms on my lips and honestly it would make me the happiest woman if I were.

I hear Kyle moving downstairs locking the front door and turning off lights. He gently gets in bed and presses himself to my back and wraps his arm around my waist. He pulls m
y hair away and kisses my neck.

“I l
ove you, Kyle,” I whisper.

He buries his nose in my hair and whispers, “I love you too.” We are both soon asleep.

The next morning I wake up to the smell of coffee as the mattress dips. Kyle kisses my cheek, and I smile with my eyes still closed.

“Wake up
, sleepy head. We need to get ready for lunch with my mom.” He places a cup of coffee on the night stand and I open my eyes to the best man in the world. Why? Because he brings me coffee in bed, that’s why. It’s the little things that he does for me that make me love him even more.

“What time is it?” I ask.

“It’s almost ten. If you want to get a shower before lunch you need to get moving,” he says and swats me on the ass playfully.

“Ten, you’re kidding? I’ve never slept this late before,
” I tell him and sit up.

“Your body is still r
ecovering, you need your rest. Go ahead and get in the shower, you don’t have that much time.”

I take my coffee and head into the bathroom and turn the shower on and let the room fill with warm steam. It’s so nice to finally be able to take a shower without worrying about getting my wound wet. I look down and tou
ch the small round shaped scar.

Asher told me he would get the best plastic surgeon if I wanted. Honestly it doesn’t bother me that much. Kyle doesn’t seem to mind. I have seen anger in his eyes sometimes when he looks at it
, but never disgust. If I ever did consider having it removed I would only do it so I didn’t have to see the sadness and anger written all over his face. I don’t like that he is reminded of that day every time he sees it. Getting the scar removed though would only take it away on the outside. There will always be a scar on the inside, and that is something no amount of money can ever take away.

Kyle and I meet his mom and to my surprise Chloe at the restaurant. I kiss Chloe then his mother on the cheek and Kyle holds out my chair for me to sit. There is something different about Mary and I just can’t put my finger on it. Life is moving on for Chloe
, she seems really happy, and if I didn’t know any better the two of them were up to something.

“What has the two of you looking so cheery
today?” I ask weary of what the two of them have cooking. Mary blushes and touches her hair, tucking it behind her ear.

“I didn’t want to say anything just yet, but Steve and I have been talking and well
, we’re going out on a date tonight,” Mary says embarrassed.

“Mom, that’s great news. Why wouldn’t you tell us that?
Do you think you and dad will get back together?” Chloe asks excitedly.

“Now don’t go getting your hopes to
o high. We are going to take this one day at a time and see where it goes,” Mary tells her.

“Eee
, that would be so cool if you two got back together,” Chloe says.

“I have been seeing someone myself
,” Chloe says as she plays with her hands in her lap.

“You are, w
ho?” I ask surprised. I know she’s been so busy with work I don’t know when she even has the time to date.

“His name is
uh… Max,” she says unsure.

“Are you sure that’s his name
, you kind of stumbled over it. Where does he work? What does he do? Where does he live? Where did you meet him?” Kyle drills back at her.

“Kyle, lighten up. She’ll tell us everything when she’s ready. Chloe
, you don’t have to answer any of his questions,” I say and give Kyle a dirty look.

Kyle sighs and our food is delivered. There is no more talk about dating
, but I can tell Kyle isn’t happy about this news of Chloe dating. I put my hand on his thigh and give him
the
look to lighten up. His mood is ruining lunch for his sister. By the end of the meal Kyle hardly touched his food. We say our goodbyes and we head home in silence.

“Kyle
, what’s bothering you?” I ask and look at him driving white knuckled.

“I don’t know if Chloe is ready to be dati
ng yet. I think it’s a bad idea,” he says flatly.

“Chloe is the only person who should decide when she is ready to date. You can’t tell her what she should or shouldn’t be doing. She needs to live her life and put the past behind her. If it will make you happy
, I’ll ask her if she’s talked to her therapist about this or not. If her therapist knows and thinks it’s OK, then so should you. I’m sure your support means the world to Chloe.”

He sighs deep again
, and I can tell he’s taking my words at heart. His knuckles turn pink again and he visibly relaxes.

“You’ll ask her?”

“I’ll call her when we get home. Kyle everything’s going to be fine. I’ll see if I can get her to open up a little about this Max. If she’s not ready, I won’t force her.”

“
Alright, I know you’re right, this is really hard though. I only want to make sure this person is a good guy. I need to make sure she is treated with respect and he understands what she has gone through,” he says and pulls in our driveway and turns off the car. He doesn’t move to get out, and I know there is something more on his mind.

“Kyle, look at me. What else is bothering you?” I ask concerned.

“It’s my mom and dad. My dad and I haven’t had a great relationship since Chloe disappeared. I’m angry with him. I’m not so sure I can be so forgiving as my mom to give him a second chance,” he says.

“I see. You’re not going to like what I have to say about that either. Your mom is a grown woman and she can make her own decisions. It was a tragedy that broke them apart. It wasn’t for any other reason
other than what happened to Chloe.

“
Chloe is back now and safe. I heard the things your dad said to Chloe when I was in the hospital. He really loves her, and I know he feels extremely guilty for giving up on her. I honestly think in his heart he never really gave up hope. I think it was easier for him to function as a human being to tell himself she was happily on a sabbatical than think about someone holding her prisoner and the things that they may be doing to her.

“
I know Chloe doesn’t hold it against him. I think she understands, and I think you should try too. This all happened to Chloe, and if she doesn’t hold it against him I don’t think you should either.

“
Life is too short and you never know how long a person has on this earth. I know myself I would rather forgive a person and have them in my life while I can than be mad at them and waste the time we have to spend together.

“
Nothing is so bad that it can’t be worked out. I know it’s hard to forgive and forget, but it’s better to forgive than to lose someone you love.”

Kyle has a blank stare on his face
, and I start to think that maybe I should have just kept my big mouth shut. He grabs me around the back of my neck and pulls me in for crushing hug.

“How did you get so smart? After everything you have been through you still have it
in your heart to forgive people and see the good in everyone.” He pulls away and searches my eyes.

“I love you so much
, Amelia. I think you’re right, I think if Chloe can forgive him and move on then I should too.” He puts his hands on either side of my face and kisses me.

“Let’s go inside, I’d like to bake some of my chocolate ch
ip pudding cookies for dinner tonight.” I put my hands on his and bring them to my lips and kiss the inside of his palm.

Kyle helps me bake the cookies
, we package them up and head to my parents house for dinner. All of my brothers and sisters are there along with baby Abbey, and Ava even brought Chloe. I take Abbey from Willow and hold her close. Just think, I could have something this precious growing inside of me. I see Chloe sitting off to the side, I walk over to her and hand her Abbey then sit next to her.

“I’m sorry about Kyle at lunch today. I talked to him about it
. He’s really just looking out for you. I was going to call you earlier, but I got side tracked making cookies. I think he thinks it’s a little too fast for you to be dating someone after everything you have been through. He just wants to make sure that you are seeing someone who is understanding and is kind, he doesn’t want to see you get hurt. He only wants the best for you. I hope you know that.” She bounces giggling Abbey on her knee and Chloe smiles with delight.

“I know
he does. I’m not ready to tell anyone about who I’m seeing just yet. I want you to know though he’s a really good man. He knows all about what happened and he’s been wonderful to me. As far as being too soon, well I think you will all understand and just have to be patient with me.”

“Good, that’s all I need to know and that’s all Kyle needs to know too.
As far as being patient, I’m not a patient person, it’s going to kill me until I know, so don’t make it too long. OK? Now give me back that baby.” I take Abbey and smile at Chloe. I really do hope for her sake that this person is everything she says.

I look around for Kyle and don’t see him anywhere.
Actually, I don’t see any of the men in my life anywhere.

“Have you seen Kyle?
” I ask Chloe.

“I saw him a
little while ago helping your mom in the kitchen, maybe he’s still in there,” she replies.

“C
ome on, Abbey, let’s go find Kyle,” I say playfully to her and find my mom, Ava and Willow in the kitchen, but no Kyle.

“Where is everyone?” I ask them
.

“I don’t know
, dear, but dinner is almost ready, can you go round everyone up and tell them dinner is ready?” Mom tells me as she pulls lasagna out of the oven.

I go and search for the guys and tell Chloe on the way that dinner is ready. The door to my Dad’s study is closed
, I knock gently and open the door. Peeking inside I see all the men are standing around in a huddle drinking what looks like whisky.

“Dinner is ready
, boys.” Asher walks over and takes Abbey, kisses me on the cheek and heads to the dining room. Kyle places his hand on the small of my back and guides me from the room. I look over my shoulder at my dad and he winks at me and my brothers have goofy grins on their face. Whisky does strange things to those boys, I tell you. Dinner was amazing, spending time with my family always makes me feel warm and gooey inside. I’m so excited to go back to work tomorrow too.

Kyle

Amelia and I get ready for bed
, and I can’t keep the silly grin off my face. If I can’t get this under control I’ll spoil the surprise. Little does Amelia know, but I not only asked her father for her hand in marriage, but I asked her brothers too. Getting a yes from her brothers was easy. Her father on the other hand was a little more difficult. He thought that we should maybe wait a little while, but in the end I convinced him that my love for Amelia wouldn’t change no matter how long we waited. I told him we were moving in together and I wanted to make an honest woman out of her. He wasn’t happy about us living together before marriage either, but I reminded him that she is still recovering, and I feel better about having her monitored by a professional. All those reasons are true too, but they helped me win him over.

I saw Amelia’s hesitation when she agreed to move in with me. I’m pretty sure she would rather be married first. I still do want to keep an eye on her
, but she’s doing great both emotionally and physically. She goes to her psychiatrist once a week, and her wounds have healed completely.

I don’t want a long engagement either. I have never been
more sure about anything in my life, Amelia Wellington is the woman meant to be my wife. I have the perfect day all planned out too. My job this week is to find that perfect engagement ring, and I know the perfect person to ask to help me.

Amelia stands in th
e doorway wearing matching black lace panties and bra with a new pair of black stilettos. The woman knows the way to my heart. She walks seductively to the bed like a cat on the prowl and crawls her way up the bed. She starts at my navel and kisses her way up my chest. I run my hands up her back and in her hair. The way she kisses me is like nothing else I have ever experienced. She pours every emotion and feeling into every kiss. It’s slow and sensual. She rocks her fine ass on my hips. I flip us over and kiss that sweet spot just under her ear.