Page 34 of Romance Reset
“Thanks, Amelia,” Bree said.
“You’re welcome. Go. I’ll distract your dad.”
Breanne took the box and avoided eye contact as she left the room once more. Lincoln turned toward Amelia and saw her unloading the rest of the groceries. “You… Thank you. For helping her. Me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“You look tired. Have you eaten today?”
“Not much. But I’m not hungry now.”
A huff left him and he raked his fingers through his short hair. “Yeah, me either.” He closed the distance between them and pulled Amelia into his arms, lowered his head for a kiss that pressed lips and foreheads together and simply held, unmoving, for a time. It wasn’t a sexual type of kiss but an appreciative one, bonding them together as they leaned against each other for strength. “You are amazing,” he whispered. “I can’t believe you brought her home with you.”
“I couldn’t exactly leave her there,” she said, nuzzling the words against his mouth. “And you’re not so bad yourself.”
Lincoln gave her a real kiss before lifting his head to stare into her beautiful eyes. “You weren’t serious about wanting kids, right? That was… I don’t know, a joke?”
“Um… no?”
“No, what?”
“It wasn’t a joke. Lincoln, I want to be a mother. And seeing as how I’ve waited so long, the sooner it happens the better.”
He pulled away from her, shaken to his core once more by the earth-shattering revelation. “Amelia, I’m about to have an empty nest for the first time in my life. I became a guardian ateighteen… and I may be finding out I’m going to be agrandfather in a matter of minutes. You expect me to want to add a kid to that?”
A noise alerted them to Bree’s return. Lincoln took one look at his daughter’s face and felt like he’d been sucker-punched. “Bree?”
Breanne cried as she ran toward him.
“I’m not! It’s negative! They were both negative! I’mnot!”
Lincoln lifted Breanne off her feet to hug her tight and swing her around, sharing her relief—until his gaze met Amelia’s and he knew something bigger had just happened tonight as a result of the pregnancy scare.
He kissed Bree’s cheek and lowered her to her feet.
“I’m glad you got the answer you wanted, Breanne,” Amelia said softly. “Now I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve had a really long day and I’m tired. All of the excitement has left me exhausted. Maybe you and your dad should go out somewhere to celebrate your news and talk privately?”
“Yeah. Okay,” Breanne said as she walked over and hugged Amelia. “Thank you for everything. I’m so glad I saw you in the store, Amelia. You’re the best. Thank you so much.”
Lincoln watched as Amelia squeezed his daughter with the loving care of a woman who wanted to be a mother, and it cut him to the core. Their gazes locked once more, and his gut tightened when he saw her eyes fill with unshed tears.
“Me, too.”
“Bree, give us a minute, okay?”
“Is everything all right?” Breanne asked, her head swiveling between the two of them.
Amelia cleared her throat and grabbed a chocolate bar from the stash still sitting on the counter along with a small toy.
“It’s fine. Hey, you. Take these. One for eating, one for luck and comfort as your start school.”
Bree grinned and murmured her thanks, lifting the plush animal to her lips to kiss.
After Amelia left the kitchen and headed toward the door, Lincoln took a step toward Amelia, but she held up her hand to stop him.
“Just go, Lincoln. Breanne needs you right now.”
He watched her a long moment and nodded. “Okay. You’re right. But this isn’t over yet.”
