Page 30 of Romance Reset
“Is that us?” Carter asked.
“Uh-huh. All of us. And the lady you said Uncle Linc is dating. They’re gonna get married.”
Carter started chuckling while Brendan looked at the drawing and pointed at Lincoln.
“Is that why my dad has hearts for eyes?”
Lincoln cleared his throat. “Don’t rush things, sweetheart. We’re dating. Friends. That’s all. I only introduced her to my kids because they’re leaving for college and I wanted them to meet before they left.”
The words seemed to satisfy Brendan, and his son asked Piper why his feet were so big.
Brendan moved to the table and folded his long legs down to sit on one of the tiny chairs, and Lincoln snuck a photo of them. Bren resembled a praying mantis folded up as he was, but the image of the cousins was too sweet to pass up as Brendan grabbed a sheet of paper and began his own drawing.
“Want me to talk to Bree?” Carter asked in a low voice meant not to carry. “Might be easier to talk to someone who isn’t her old man.”
Lincoln shoved himself to his feet to go inside to get the burger fixings and check on the sweet potato fries in the oven. “We’ll both give it a try. Hopefully she’ll talk to one of us. Keep an eye on the kids after dinner, though, would you? Amelia said she had to work late and was going to stop and get some groceries on her way home. I want to surprise her and at least walk her to the door before she collapses from exhaustion.”
“That bad, huh?” Carter asked.
“I never knew filming could be so rough. She’s starting to get shadows under her eyes from the stress of getting it all prepped for today. She says it’s normal due to the schedule, but I feel like there’s something else bothering her.”
“And you think showing up at her house after a long day will help?”
“I just want to see her. Kiss her good-night and see if she’ll talk to me.”
Carter shook his head and released a low whistle.
“Man, you do have it bad.”
Amelia parkedoutside the store on the way home and walked inside. Filming weeks were always difficult, but the last couple had been especially exhausting as the set-prep took some unusual turns.
Normally she was better prepared for filming to begin with groceries stocked and all the essentials in place, but her focus had been so skewed because of dating Lincoln that she’d neglected to do any of it. And since she hated going to the big-box stores, the pharmacy closest to her condo would have to do for now.
She grabbed a cart and went to the makeup aisle first for mascara since she’d dropped her wand in the toilet this morning while trying to blacken her lashes. Thankfully she’d had a backup in her beach bag to finish the job. She definitely liked being prepared, because she never knew when her schedule might change, so she tried to keep two of everything when possible, especially things like grooming essentials.
Shampoo and conditioner were next, along with new razors. She checked the Post-it note of scribbled items written during her break earlier on set and headed toward food. A couple cans of soup, an emergency bag of Milanos, some juice, and much-needed coffee. And wine. She couldn’t forget the wine.
Amelia hurried through the aisles, eager to get home and out of her uncomfortable clothes to crash on her couch with a rerun ofFriendsand a chocolate bar. Maybe Lincoln would call. Maybe she would call him? She’d been hesitant to initiate contact today, mostly because she had yet to work up the courage to speak honestly about her desire for kids. How did you broach something like that?
Her thoughts crashed like a wave against the sand when she spotted Breanne standing at the far end of the aisle staring wide-eyed at the… birth control?
Oh, no.
Amelia froze even though her mind went crazy with potential disasters. She desperately wanted to turn the cart around and head the other way, but she needed a package of crackers to go with the soup, and those were at the end of her current aisle.Closer to Breanne.
Amelia tucked her chin to her chest and had just snagged the cracker box and was ready to make her sharp right turn for a clean getaway when she heard Breanne gasp.
“Am-melia. Hi. Um…”
Amelia held up a hand before the girl could go any further. “Hi. Yeah. I’m not sure what the protocol is for this situation given where you’re standing so… I’m going to go with stay safe and… goodbye.”
Amelia took a step, pushing the cart, when she heard Breanne’s bitter response.
“Too late for that now.”
Amelia stopped, shock rolling through her and gathering speed like an avalanche. She couldn’t just leave afterthatstatement, could she? “Breanne…?”
The girl burst into tears there in the store, and Amelia gaped, unsure of what to do. A second passed before she put her feet in motion and left the cart in the break between the aisles, rushing toward the girl and enveloping Lincoln’s daughter in her arms. “Shh. Shhhh. Hey. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”
