Rent-A-Bride (14 page)

Byron glanced back at the bedroom door and then back to Amelia. “You sure you’re okay?”

She forced a smile. “Yeah, go on. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She watched Byron enter the bedroom and close the door behind him. With a sigh, she placed the cookie box and Pepper’s discarded note on the arm of the couch and laid down.

For the first time since storming out of the hospital two days ago, Amelia tried to look past her own hurt and pain and see the situation from Ed’s side. Was it possible that she’d misunderstood? Or at the very least misinterpreted what he said?

There was really only one way to find out. She was gonna have to talk to him. Tomorrow. She would talk to him tomorrow. Amelia yawned loudly, feeling more at peace than she had in days as she soon dozed off to sleep.

A
melia knocked on the door of Ed’s Sherwood Forest home and waited for an answer but there was none. She glanced back over her shoulder to where his black Range Rover was sitting in the driveway and rung the doorbell again.

While she waited she ran her hands over her black wool skirt making sure it was free of wrinkles. She bent to look at her patent leather knee boots, making sure they were absolutely buffed to perfection.

She subconsciously reached up and touched her hair making sure it was still swept up in the hair clip. She hated to admit it, but she knew she’d taken more than a little extra care in her appearance today.

It had been almost a full week since she’d last seen Ed, and during that time he’d made no effort what-so-ever to contact her. With every passing day she doubted his feelings for her more and more until finally she couldn’t stand it anymore. And so here she was.

After ten minutes and still no answer Amelia was beginning to believe he was deliberately ignoring her. Well, if he thought she was just going to go away and disappear into the night he had another thought coming! She wasn’t leaving without some answers.

She started to knock again but paused with her hand over the knocker and instead reached down and slowly griped the knob surprised when it turned in her hand.

She pushed the door open slightly. The sun was just beginning to set so although it was a little dim inside she was still able to clearly see the foyer was empty. “Hello?”

She stepped inside the house closing the door behind her. “Ed?”

She peeked in the living room and then the dining room. Everything was as neat and organized as ever, still…. something was wrong.

Quietly, carefully she moved through all the rooms downstairs, her unease growing with each step until she found herself standing at the bottom of the staircase looking up. “Ed? Are you here?”

Fearing that at that very moment Ed could be lying unconscious on his bedroom floor, unable to move or call for help gave her the courage to climb the stairs. She stopped at the top of the landing and found the upstairs was in some strange way even quieter that the downstairs.

“Ed? Hello?” She moved along the hallway to his bedroom and looked inside. At first glance the room seemed to be empty and she started to turn and leave. But something in her peripheral vision caught her eye and she looked again.

He was sitting in the corner of the floor beside his bed, his knees propped up and his head hanging low. Amelia rushed across the room to him and kneeled beside him. “Ed?” She reached out and touched his cheek and the relief she felt when he lifted his head was short lived by the anguish in his eyes.

She knew.

Even before he said the words she knew. She pulled him into her arms trying desperately to wrap herself around his pain, to soak it up through her skin, to somehow take it from him.

“He’s gone.” The two whispered words said everything.

“Oh, Ed. I am so sorry. So, very, very sorry.”

“I don’t understand.” He looked up at her with tear filled eyes. “He was doing so good, his T-Cell count was up, and he seemed to be in remission. How could this just happen? Out of nowhere?”

Amelia sensed he did not want nor expect an answer. She just held him tight rocking back and forth with him in her arms like a restless child. Her presence was all she really had to offer. There were simply no words to console, but she had to try.

“At least,…at least he’s not in any pain anymore.”

His only answer was a slight sniffle but, at least, he didn’t pull away from her. And so she tightened her grip, wrapped her body around him and continued to rock back and forth.

Amelia had no idea how long they stayed like that, but when he finally did pull away from her and stand to his feet she noticed through the window that it was pitch black outside.

“When did it happened?”

He shoved his hands into his front pockets, the small frown forming between his eyebrows was barely visible in the shadow light of the moon coming from the window. “This morning. After the nurse came in to check on him. I thought he’d just dozed off to sleep again, but…”

Amelia scrambled to her feet and stood facing him. “Is there anything I can do to help with the arrangements?”

“No, he took care of everything himself a long time ago. Said he didn’t want me to have to worry about it.” He huffed. “Typical Stanley. But thank you for offering,”

He reached up and wiped away a tear that was sliding down her face. “He loved you, you know? Even though he didn’t know you very long. He did love you.”

“And I loved him.” She sniffled. Until Ed wiped the tear from her eye, she had not realized she was even crying.

He gently pressed his forehead to hers and Amelia found she was as affected by the chaise touch as she would’ve been in a passion filled embrace. She’d just seen Stanley a few days before, they’d talked and worked on a puzzle together and as Ed said he’d seemed fine. If only she’d known that would be the last time she would ever see him.

“I feel like I should say something but I have no idea what.” She whispered.

“Just being here is enough.” He whispered against her throat, and Amelia could tell by the tone in his voice that he was growing aroused. “I’ve missed you so much.” His large hands crept under her wool top.

As natural as a flower bending in the wind, her body quivered to the soft touch of his warm hands curving to the shape of her torso. “Ed, should we…”

“Ssssh, it’s okay. He wrapped his arms around her waist and the bend of her knees and lifted her. Carrying her around the bed he laid her down gently and stretched out beside her. “I just need to forget. Just for a moment.”

His pain was so thick Amelia could almost feel it like a coating over his skin. If making love would in some way help ease his pain then she would love him with every ounce of her being.

She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling his hot mouth down to hers. Ed sensing her surrender plunged into her mouth. His busy hands roamed eagerly over her body, stroking every inch of her skin to intense arousal.

Slowly he rolled over until his long hard body was covering hers. Using his knee to part her legs he ran his palm up her inner thigh until he reached the core of her womanhood. Using his thumb he pushed aside the thin material of her panties, and pressed his bulge against her.

Amelia gasped and gripped his shoulders. There was something undeniable erotic about the feeling of his penis pressing against the material of his slacks as it slid along her slit and she couldn’t resist the urge to push back. Parting her legs and grinding her hips up against his bulge, her heartbeat was pounding, her clit was throbbing and she knew there was no place in the world for her but where she was at that moment, in the arms of this man.

Suddenly, he sat back on his haunches and began pulling his shirt over his head, and after their week apart Amelia was finding she needed him as much as he needed her.

She sat up and began loosening his belt and unzipping his pants. She tugged at his briefs and his erection sprang free. Her breath caught in her throat as she took his heated cock into her hands slowly stroking it up and down. Looking up at him she could see the veins straining in his neck as he attempted to control his eagerness.

She leaned forward and took him in her mouth and his whole body arched as he cried out. His large hands came down on her head tangling in her hair and she heard her hair clip clatter as he tossed it on the dresser.

Holding her in place he grind his hips against her mouth as Amelia ran her hands along his muscles thighs and over his hard buttock.

Amelia lifted her arms as she felt her wool top being pulled up and over her head. Then her bra fell away as he gently pushed her back against the bed and came down on top of her.

“I can’t wait.” He whispered in her ear, pushing her skirt up around her waist he pushed his hardened cock inside her and she lifted her legs around his waist trying to take him as deep inside her body as possible.

Holding her arms over her head Ed pushed into her again and again and Amelia held on to his strong arms as her whole body became a giant lightening rod just waiting for that one amazing bolt of electricity to hit. And then it did and she cried out as she convulsed uncontrollably. With another passionate kiss Ed pushed into her body until his back arched and his seed spilt deep inside her.

Several minutes later lying with their bodies curled around each other, Ed’s steady breathing told Amelia he’d dozed off. She on the other hand was wide awake as she lay staring out the window thinking how close she’d come to missing this moment. How a silly argument almost cost her the ability to be there for him when he most needed her to be there. And she knew in that instance that a lifetime of moments like this is what formed the man she loved. Suddenly, a ring on her finger became nothing. The only thing she needed was for him to hold her just as he was doing.

A
week later, Amelia stood on the perfectly manicured lawn of the cemetery a few feet away from Stanley’s casket waiting while Ed said goodbye to the last of the guest.

She hesitantly glanced over her shoulder at the white casket. Although, he’d planned his own funeral Stanley had spared no expense. Amelia smiled a little thinking how very like Stanley to want to go out in style. She could almost see his smiling face looking back at her. Those knowing eyes missing nothing.

“You ready?” Ed was suddenly in front of her holding out a hand to her.

She nodded and took his hand as they headed back to the limousine that had brought them first to the church and then the cemetery.

“You okay?” She asked as he guided her around a gopher hole.

“No.” He gave her a slight smile. “But I will be.” He closed both his hands over hers. “Thanks for being here with me today.”

“Where else would I be?”

Once they were back in the car Ed’s expression turned thoughtful. “You know, Amelia, Stanley’s final wish never changed. Even after he knew the truth about us he still wanted to see us married.”

“I know but you can’t blame him for wanting to see you settled.”

“No, you don’t understand.” He glanced at her. “I’m saying what if he were right?”

“About?”

“Us.”

An alarm went off in Amelia’s head and she shifted on the seat until she was facing him. “Ok, before you say another word.” She held up a restraining hand. “You just buried your grandfather
literally
minutes ago. You‘re very vulnerable right now.”

“I know. I know. But I was thinking about this way before today.” His eyes came up to meet hers. “I’ve been thinking about this since that day you left the hospital.”

She shook her head. “Ed, you don‘t know what you’re saying. You‘re hurting, that’s all.”

He placed a finger over her lips. “Sshh. I shouldn’t have brought this up now. Not here. Like this.”

And that was the end of it…until later that afternoon.

After the Repass at Ed’s house all the guest returned to their homes and hotel rooms and the house was once again returned to Ed’s immaculate standard. As they were climbing the stairs heading to bed he brought it up again.

Following Amelia up the stairs, Ed reached out and ran his hand over her bottom.

“After the day we’ve had I can’t believe you’re still up for that.” She smiled at him over her shoulder.

“I’m
always
up for that.” He chuckled. “Marry me, Amelia.”

“What did you say?” Amelia stopped so suddenly she almost tripped on the stairs. She turned to face him. Her heart at war with itself. Oh, how she loved hearing him say those words to her. But this wasn’t right. She knew he was just reeling from the death of his grandfather and in some way just reaching out to the only person he felt could understand his pain.

“I asked you to marry me.” He took her hand in his. “Okay, still not the ideal setting. But I have to ask while you’re distracted otherwise you think too much. So, what do you say?”

Amelia stared into his eyes and knew that in his heart he meant this. At that moment he truly believed he was in love with her. And it was so tempting…oh, so tempting to just say yes. Maybe they could even make it work. Maybe.

But there was also the possibility that in a few days, or a few weeks, or a few months his grieving would ease and he would realize he’d made the biggest mistake of his life.

“Well?” Standing on the step below her he smiled up at her. That devastating smile that made her knees week and her heart flutter. There were a whole lot of things she would be willing to do to get him to smile at her like that for the rest of their lives. A whole lot of things. But not this.

“What’s the verdict?” He asked.

She reached out and cupped his cheek. “I can’t, Ed. As much as I want to I know this is wrong.”

His eyes narrowed on her face. “I thought this was what you wanted.”

“It was—it is. I just don’t believe you’re emotionally capable of making this kind of decision right now.”

“Are you kidding me?!” He went around her and stomped to the top of the staircase and turned to look down at her. “All that crap you gave me about not wanting to commit and then when I do, you do this?!”

“Ed, try to understand! You just buried Stanley and now all of a sudden you think you’re in love with me?!”