Always His | (Book 3) 18+

two

AMELIA
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I chuckled as I watched Rose messily eat her ice cream, occasionally wiping her face off with a napkin. Casey and Hayden were bickering because she was craving a second entrée and I was busy trying to make my niece laugh, also helping her clean any mess she made with her food.

The day flew by quickly. Most of the day I was unpacking my bags and setting up the bathroom to my liking. Since I had they entire basement to myself, there was my room with a bathroom connected, an office room, and a kitchen/dining room with a living room. It was nice to have the entire space to myself, too, so I could watch movies as loud as I wanted without anyone hearing and keep as much ice cream as I wanted in the freezer.

"How was your first day in Seattle, Mel?" Casey asked, swatting Hayden's hand away as he tried to eat her chicken Alfredo.

I looked away from Rose and smiled. "It was pretty good. I'm hoping I can actually go out and explore more tomorrow, though."

Casey nodded in agreement, smiling. "Since your first day is on a Friday, we can go out on Saturday—just the two of us."

I grinned. "Sounds good."

It was Hayden's turn to grunt this time. "Do I not get a say in this?"

"No," we said in unison.

He huffed to himself and we sent each other a grin before Rose's excited squeals caught our attention.

"What is it, baby?" Casey asked, stabbing more penne noodles with her fork.

"Uncle Lucy's here!" She giggled.

I met Casey's gaze and she shrugged with a smile, looking up when a shadow cast over the table. I could feel my face immediately draining of blood and I hesitantly looked up, meeting two familiar dark green cold eyes that belonged to a very cold man.

No.

No, no, no, no, no. This isn't happening.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

"You don't mind if I intrude, do you?" Lucian asked, finally breaking eye contact with me to look across the table.

I glanced at Hayden and found him too busy eating his food. It isn't a surprise that he doesn't like him—he's my older brother and he didn't even need me to tell him that at some point in high school, I may have had a teeny little crush on Lucian.

It's in the past but Hayden will always be Hayden.

"Not a problem," Casey replied, completely oblivious to her husband glaring daggers.

Lucian sat next to me and I couldn't help but tense up. He leaned forward and turned his head, sending a dashing smirk in Rose's direction before finally meeting my eyes.

"How have you been, Amelia?" He asked and I didn't miss the way his lips twitched to hide a larger smirk. "It's been what—two years? Two and a half?"

"I've been good," I shortly tell him, ignoring his second question. "Didn't know you lived in Seattle?"

"I work here, actually," he said, briefly looking away to ask the waiter for a drink.