Amelia loves me.
After a couple of rounds in my bed, we finally showered and ventured into the kitchen. I cooked while Amelia stayed close by, drinking her favorite wine. I’m surprised I was able to cook anything edible given the fact that I wanted to keep her tucked into my side the whole time I hovered over the stove.
After dinner, I pick up a folder off my entrance table and walk over to the couch to drop it on Amelia’s lap.
“What’s this?” she asks.
“My realtor and I have narrowed down my options for my new place to three homes. I wanted to get your input.” I shrug nonchalantly.
Amelia eyes me suspiciously. “Evan, this isn’t you buying me a new place to live, is it?”
I laugh. “No babe, it really is for me. Although, it may as well be for us given how things are going.” I place a kiss on her head.
“Evan, we are still hiding out at your place, I think it’s a little early for me to be moving in with you.” She deadpans.
“Quit your whining and just give me your opinion. It never seems to be a problem with anything else I do,” I tease.
“Fine.” She rolls her eyes. Then ten seconds later, she replies, “This one.” She points at the brownstone.
“Wait, what? That fast? You made a decision between the three of them that quickly? There’s no way.”
“Well, to be fair, I couldn’t pick based on prices since you did a hack job at sharpie-ing off the prices.” She levels a glare at me. “So, then I was just going off the three options, the apartment in Soho, the loft in Brooklyn, or the brownstone in the Upper West side, it was a no brainer.”
“The brownstone, huh?”
“Well yeah. It’s in a location you already consider home, there are multiple levels so you can have your own space when you have guests, and you have your own private patio space and attached indoor garage. That’s unheard of in the city. These other fancy apartments just look cold and industrial. The brownstone gives off cozy vibes.”
“Cozy vibes, huh. Guess I should have just had you work with my realtor and I could have closed on this home months ago.” I kiss her forehead.
“Yeah, but it seems you only started making smart decisions about your life the second you told me you had feelings for me.” She scrunches her nose in delight.
“Yeah, well I’m not gonna argue with you on that one.” I give her a kiss, then stand to walk towards the dining table. “You want some cake, babe? I could also move some of the flowers around so you can see them everywhere.”
“Yes, to cake and flowers please!”
I bring them to the coffee table, then head to the kitchen to open another bottle of wine.
Amelia’s now rearranging the flowers when she says, “Nice to see that you upgraded your flower guy.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, perplexed.
“I’m just teasing! They were all lovely, I swear. I just think these flowers look much more glamorous than the other bouquets you’ve sent me.”
Huh?
“What do you mean the other bouquet’s I’ve sent?” I feel my muscles tense. “I’ve never sent you flowers before Amelia.”
Her face drops and her eyes go wide. “Oh.”
I put the wine bottle on the coffee table and sit by Amelia. “Is someone sending you flowers and signing my name? Is it Sebastián?” I feel my blood pressure start to rise.
“No. I mean. I don’t know.” Amelia starts to stammer. “I’ve just gotten two bouquets of flowers sent to me, one sent to my dad’s place on his birthday, and one sent to my apartment, but it was never signed. At first, I thought it was Sebastián, but then the second bouquet arrived after our weekend in the cabin, so I just assumed it was from you. The messages were a bit weird and cryptic now that I think about it.” She frowns.
After the cabin? Fuck.
“What did the cards say Amelia?” I ask, harsher than I intend to.
“Um, I’m not sure. I threw out the first one, but it basically just wished my dad a happy birthday, and that they hoped tosee me soon. The second one I still have because I thought it was from you. It said something like,love is beautiful, don’t be scared, you’ll see me very soonor something like that?”
