Page 27 of Romance Reset
But she also couldn’t help but wonder—when would be a good time to ask?
Chapter 11
Lincoln knocked on Amelia’s condo door the following Friday and waited for her to answer. They’d both had extremely busy work weeks, which meant communication had been done through calls, texts, and a few video chats. Finally the weekend approached and a scheduling change freed her up for an evening out.
“Coming!”
He smiled at her response and looked around the hallway. The area where she lived seemed as safe as any other, but he didn’t like the fact the elevators and stairs weren’t keyed with a security code.
The door opened and Amelia stepped back to invite him in with a smile. She wore a black dress that bared her shoulders and ended mid-thigh. She’d pulled her hair half up with tendrils left loose and wore heels that added length to her long legs. He suppressed a low growl of appreciation and silently thanked Marsali for matching them up.
“Sunflowers. They’re beautiful, Lincoln, thank you.”
He handed over the bouquet, but when she turned away, he quickly caught her arm and tugged her close, bent, and stole a kiss from her lips. She tasted minty and warm, and his pulse picked up speed. “You’re welcome,” he said against her lips. “You look stunning, Amelia.”
He liked that his compliment and kiss left her rosy-cheeked and dreamy-eyed. Things like that did a lot for a man’s ego, and after being a widower and a boring dad, the boost it gave him went a long way.
“You’re looking pretty handsome yourself. Um, make yourself at home while I put these in water.”
Lincoln perused her condo while she moved toward the kitchen. The open floor plan and high ceilings made for a nice space with the kitchen, dining, and living area one large room. Patio doors opened to a screened porch with a river view.
She definitely had a designer’s touch. Her home was warm and inviting, a mix of blues and grays and some light tans that made him think of the varying shades of sky, ocean, and sand without being gimmicky with beach themes so popular in homes along the coast. “This is nice. You did a great job decorating. I might have to have you help stage some of my listings.”
“Thank you. I like it. Easy maintenance, easy to clean, and close to downtown so I don’t have to deal with traffic, especially for those early-morning shooting schedules when simply rolling out of bed is hard. It works for me.”
“How many bedrooms?” He asked because of his profession, but given the color that filled Amelia’s cheeks, Lincoln could tell the query took her mind to other places. Places they’d been twenty years ago. His immediately followed and he inhaled in a poor attempt to clear his mind of the temptation she posed and the self-imposed rule of taking things slow.
“Two. Enough room to have the out-of-town siblings visit one at a time but not for the whole crew to descend at once since my mom and dad downsized and there aren’t enough bedrooms to stay there. Okay,” she said, arranging the flowers. “Done.”
She crossed into the living area and set the vase on the coffee table. Lincoln tried and failed to keep his eyes on her face and not on her behind and the length of leg revealed as she bent and her skirt inched higher.
She straightened abruptly and caught him looking, and once again a pretty flush of color filled her cheeks.
“Um… I just need to grab my bag and I’m ready.”
He nodded, not going to deny or excuse the desire for her that he knew she’d seen on his features. He couldn’t help it. Maybe it was because of their previous relationship, but he knew that wasn’t entirely the reason. Amelia was more fascinating now as a grown woman, more intriguing, more beautiful. More everything.
Amelia moved toward a chair near the door and plucked a sparkling purse from the seat.
“So, where are we going?”
Drawn back to their plans for the evening, he slowly moved toward her and took her soft hand in his. “You’ll see.”
He led the way to the door, waiting patiently while she locked up behind them.
Lincoln drove them to a rooftop restaurant not far from where she lived. The restaurant overlooked the downtown area and riverfront, and the views were spectacular.
A guitarist played on the far side of the rooftop, and after placing their dinner order, they chatted about their respective weeks for a few minutes before Lincoln snagged her hand and pulled her onto the makeshift dance floor.
Back in the day, they danced like the awkward teenagers they’d been, her arms around his neck, his at her waist. Now he held her hand tucked close to his chest, lips at her temple as they swayed in time to the music like the couples did in old black-and-white movies.
“Did you ever think, twenty years later, we’d be here? Like this?”
Amelia tilted her head back and stared up at him, and Lincoln found himself lost in the depths of her soft green gaze as she waited for him to answer. “No,” he said softly, his voice emerging gruff. “But now I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
Just when shethought Lincoln couldn’t do anything sweeter, say anything to make her want him more… he did. And the last of Amelia’s reservations about whether or not he was ready for a relationship after the death of his wife fizzled in that very moment.
It also cemented the fact that she needed to talk to Lincoln. Really talk to him. Open up and tell him what she wanted more than anything.
