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"That you apologize and make her happy again. Don't get me wrong, I still resent you a bit for the mistake you made today, but I also can't deny that I've never seen her like this."
"Like what?"
"She's doing well. No stress. She's open. Strangely enough, she even smiles occasionally. And even though she wouldn't tell me about the amazing skills you have in bed—and from the looks of you, they must be earth-shattering—I believe you are really the best thing that could have happened to her."
How unlikely was it to be ambushed by Amelia's best friend in front of my own bed-and-breakfast?
"Where are you staying tonight, Manon?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Planning a steamy threesome as a make-up gesture?"
I laughed. "No. But you could go to Soraya and tell her to give you the keys to the cottage that's vacant for the next three days. Only, of course, if you'd rather not sleep in your car."
Her gaze flicked to the parking lot and back to me. She narrowed her eyes at me, then sighed. "You really make it hard to hate you. Fine. But only if you finally go to her and fix this."
"Deal." As if I hadn't planned on it anyway. "And tomorrow morning, you'll make her happy with your presence."
She nodded in approval. "Of course. And in the future, you can take a cue from me when it comes to her mood."
A soft snort escaped me before I turned away. As quickly as this encounter started, it also came to an end. Manon was many things but certainly not the enemy. The mere fact that she had come after not hearing from Amelia for some time proved how loyal she was. How much she valued her friendship with Amelia. Both elevated her in my eyes and made me consider her trustworthy.
The walk to my house couldn't go fast enough, and the relief I felt upon seeing the lights in the living room almost brought me to my knees. I didn't even want to imagine what it would have been like to come home and discover she was gone.
When I closed my eyes, that was my worst nightmare. Watching Amelia turn her back and walk out of my life, never to look back again.
She had already done it once—not with me, but did that matter? Not for a second did I doubt she would do it again if given the right reason.
I thrust the front door open after jamming the key into the lock with trembling fingers. It was the mistake I had made that was making me so nervous, churning up my insides so much that it felt like I might trip over my own feet at any moment.
The falling night reminded me once again how long I had been away. Too long. Too long given that I knew exactly what I wanted.
My first stop was the kitchen, so it wasn't long before I entered the living room with two cups of tea. The atmosphere emanating from Amelia almost overwhelmed me. She was wrapped in a blanket pulled up over her head on the couch, and even though her face was dry, I could easily tell how much it was costing her to hold herself together.
What I had done was unfair to her. Leaving when all she needed was for me to stay.
I would have loved to punch myself. I found solutions for everything. I was there for everyone. I always had an answer ready. Advice. I understood how life worked. Until the moment I felt overwhelmed by everything, so much so that I fled.
Wordlessly, I placed both cups on the coffee table before sinking next to her onto the soft cushions.
For a split second, I felt unable to meet her gaze. But then I did and was rightly confronted with the one question that had been looming over us both like an impending disaster since noon.
But before I managed to find the right words, Amelia broke out of her trance. She flew straight into my arms, which I instinctively opened wide as soon as I noticed her movement.
Her body crashed against mine so hard that we both fell backward, and it briefly knocked the breath out of me. She didn't let go, not even when she lay on top of me, and there was no more space between us.
I had made her wait for hours. And yet she welcomed me in this way immediately.
I was an idiot.
A damn idiot.
With one hand, I held her head, and the other rested on her back, keeping her as close as possible. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart," I murmured against her hair.
Breathing in her scent only made it clearer that I had made a mistake in the worst possible way.
"Just tell me you'll never leave me alone again. Do that, and I'll forget these past hours." Her voice carried a hint of hesitation. She feared that I might say the opposite.
But I had so much more to say than that. "May I say a bit more than that?"
