This has got to be the dumbest idea I’ve ever had, but I can’t think how else she’s gonna believe me. Christmas Day is usually spent getting hammered and hanging out with my brothers, apart from a couple of hours with Jett and his old lady. Even the thought of sitting through an evening with Zach and Grace is preferable to knocking on Amelia’s front door.
I square my shoulders and cross the street. For so many years, I wanted to get my own back on Crane. Maybe Amelia was right, and if he’d had sons, Zach and I would’ve fought it out with them. Who knows?
One thing’s for sure. Blood and broken bones are a hell of a lot easier to bear than the possibility of never holding Amelia again.
I grit my teeth to stop the disgusted groan from escaping. Not that it makes any difference. It’s the truth even if I try and deny it.
The door opens, and she’s standing there in a fluffy black sweater and bare feet, looking at me like she can’t believe her eyes. I offer her a grin that hurts my face. “Merry Christmas.”
“Gage?” At least she doesn’t slam the door in my face. “What’re you doing—I mean, I didn’t think I’d…” She hitches in a breath and appears to forget whatever it was she was saying.
“Amy, honey, who is it?” A woman’s voice calls from inside the house. Her mom, I guess, and despite my best intentions a hard knot forms in my chest. Can I really go through with this?
“Um.” Amelia stares at me. She obviously doesn’t have a clue what to tell her mom. “A friend,” she says at last, which isn’t what I want to hear but I guess it could be worse.
I shift my weight from one foot to the other and have the prickling sensation that her neighbors are at their windows, hiding behind their drapes, two seconds from calling the cops.
“Bring her in,” her mom says and comes into the hall. Her smile freezes as she takes in my colors, and for a second she looks as though she’s going to pass out. “What do you want?” Her voice is barely above a whisper, and she clutches Amelia’s hand as though she thinks I’m going to carry her off or something.
Inside I’m sweating, but I won’t let anyone see how much this is killing me. “I want to straighten things out.”
Fuck, now more women are flooding into the hall, staring at me like I’m some kind of monster. I thought it’d just be Amelia and her family here today but it looks like all her damn relatives are there.
“Gage.” There’s an odd tone to her voice, and she manages to pull away from her mom’s grasp. “There’s nothing to straighten out. What d’you mean?”
“You need to leave.” Her mom steps toward me, although it’s obvious she’s terrified. If I don’t get on her good side, there’s no chance for Amelia and me.
“I will.” My voice is gruff. “But you need to know I don’t want revenge against you or your family.” I suck in a deep breath, but it’s got to be said. “That died the day I met Amelia. Even if we’re finished. You understand?”
She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even move, and the silence is electric. Before I screw my guts together for the second part of my grand fucking plan, Amelia squeezes past me and pulls the door shut behind her. Relief washes through me, although I’ll die before I let her know how much it took for me to face her mom like that.
She wraps her arms around her waist, and I shove my hands into my pockets to keep them away from her.
“That was unexpected.” She eyes me as though she doesn’t know who I am. “And nice of you. Thanks.”
There’s that fucking word again. “I’m notnice, Amelia. Okay?” Shit, that’s the wrong way to try and win her back, but I can’t help it. “I’m a Bastard, the same way you’re a Crane.”
“I didn’t lie to you about my name. Mom changed it legally ten years ago.”
“I don’t care what your fucking name is.”
“And what did you mean byeven ifwe’ve finished? I thought it was obvious whatever we had was over.”
“You thought wrong.” Christ, I hope she just accepts that without me having to spill my guts.
“I didn’t. You changed your mind about things after you overheard me talking to Rex.”
Why’s she so hung up on that? She threw that in my face outside Abbott’s apartment, too. It didn’t make sense then and it doesn’t now. “Why the hell do you think I was going to see Abbott in the first place? It was to find out why he’d kept feeding you the lie about your dad. And yeah, I was gonna kick the shit out of him, too, but you beat me to it.”
“What?”
Despite the uneasy conviction this conversation isn’t going in the right direction, I can’t help the smile cracking my face at the memory. “You always told me you could bring a guy to his knees. Never thought I’d see it.”
Sure, let her think I’m talking about Abbott, but hell if this girl hasn’t brought me to my knees as well.
“No, I mean why did you decide I was telling the truth before you got to Rex’s?”
I sigh heavily. I’ve never known anyone who’s so obsessed with details.
