Amelia put her hands up in defense as Courtney approached her. She kept her distance as she stepped back away from her. “Zach hasn’t said anything about you.”
Courtney threw her head back and let out a terrifying laugh. She tipped her head down and glared at Amelia. “Oh, really?” Courtney stepped closer to Amelia. She left just enough room between them for her pregnant belly. “I don’t believe you.”
Amelia stepped back. She bumped into the cash register. This was the time she needed a panic button. They had talked about programming it, but they had yet to do it. Amelia walked backward away from the counter. “What would he say about you? He wouldn’t waste his time talking about you.”
Courtney stopped and furrowed her eyebrows. She pointed dramatically at her stomach and yelled, “This is his baby!”
Amelia shrugged. She knew Courtney was upset, but she couldn’t care less. “You’ve said that before, haven’t you?”
Courtney stepped back as though she had been smacked in the face. Amelia watched her every move. Courtney pointed a finger at Amelia and said, “You don’t know anything about me!”
Amelia smiled. “I know enough about you to know the baby isn’t Zach’s,” Amelia stated.
Courtney shook her head. “This baby is his. I’ll prove it is once he’s born!”
She’s having a boy? Amelia thought to herself. Amelia nodded. “Okay, that’s fine. I would love to find out if it’s Zach’s baby or not,” Amelia reiterated.
Courtney’s face flushed with anger. “He is Zach’s baby!”
Amelia tried to settle the tension in the room when she asked, “When are you due?”
Courtney stuck her nose in the air and crossed her arms in front of her. “That’s none of your business.”
Amelia shrugged. “So it isn’t, you’re right. But Zach and I are a couple, so it is somewhat my business.”
Courtney curled her lip and said, “He doesn’t love you. He never will. Once I have his baby, he’ll leave you for me.”
Amelia stood still. Her heart raced and her palms were wet. Anger and frustration burned throughout her body. She shrugged her shoulders in a way to prove to Courtney her words had not fazed her. “If the baby is his and he decides to leave me for you and the baby, so be it. There’s nothing I’ll do to stand in the way of what he wants.”
Courtney smiled and nodded her head. “You don’t believe me. You think this is all a joke, but you’ll see. He still loves me, he told me.”
Amelia’s heart sank. She knew not to believe this lunatic of a woman, but a piece of her somewhere deep inside of her wanted to. She shook her head. Pain and frustration creased her face as she said, “I’m sorry, you never told me when you’re due. Do you have a due date?”
Courtney chuckled. “Of course I have a due date,” she sneered. “The baby’s due in two weeks.”
Amelia’s gut twisted. Two weeks was too soon. They had no time to prepare for this situation to unfold. She wondered how she would inform Zach of Courtney’s confrontation. She wondered how he would handle this situation.
When she didn’t respond to Courtney, Courtney said, “I’m actually on my way to his furniture store. I need to pick out some furniture for the baby’s nursery.”
Amelia’s stomach knotted. She could not believe this. She felt Courtney’s eyes burn through her. She looked up and saw Courtney’s evil smile. Amelia told herself to not show defeat. Instead of a grimace, Amelia smiled. “Best of luck to you. I hope you find everything you need for your little one.”
Courtney turned on a heel and stomped out of the store. Amelia grabbed the phone from the counter and called Zach. She watched Courtney drive off as she waited for Zach to answer the phone.
* * *
“Of course he won’t answer,” Amelia said as she slammed the phone down on the counter. She paced the length of the counter. She wondered if Courtney had arrived at the store while she had tried to call him. She wondered if Zach was just as surprised as she had been to see Courtney walk into the grocery store. She continued to pace the length of the counter. She debated on what she should do next. She thought about driving to the furniture store to make sure Zach was okay. She dismissed that thought when she figured it would make her look like the crazy one.
The bell above the door rang again. Amelia quickly turned and was relieved to see it was only a customer. The tall man smiled and said, “Good mornin’ young lady.”
Amelia smiled. She let out a slow breath and replied, “Good morning.”
The man grabbed a cart and went about his mission. Amelia wondered if he had seen any sign of panic in her face. She picked up the phone and dialed the furniture store number again. This time, after three rings, Zach’s voice answered, “Gallagher’s Furniture store, this is Zach. How may I help—”
She interrupted him mid-sentence, “Zach, it’s Amelia. Has anyone been there?”
He hesitated for a moment and finally answered, “Well, yes, a few people have been in here.”
Amelia gripped the phone. “Has a woman been in there?”
She sounded crazier by the minute. He would think she had lost her mind.
“Well, yes, there have been men, women, and a few kids,” he told her. “Amelia, what’s this about?”
“Crazy Courtney was just here,” she informed him. She hated the fact she had to tell him like this, but there was no other way to tell him. There was no way she could wait until tonight to tell him.
“She was?” Zach asked in disbelief.
“Yes!” Amelia hollered into the phone. She turned and realized the customer had approached the counter. The man watched her with wide eyes. She held up a finger to tell him to wait a minute. She continued to tell Zach what Courtney had said and how she had acted.
“We’ll talk about this later, okay?” Zach asked.
Amelia put her hand on her hip. She impatiently said, “Wait, you didn’t tell me if she has been there or not.”
Zach hesitated and then replied, “No, Amelia, she hasn’t been here.”
Amelia placed a hand on her forehead.
“Amelia, are you there?” Zach’s tone was impatient.
Amelia stuttered, “Yes, I’m here.”
“Can we talk about this later? I’ve got customers to tend to.”
“Okay,” Amelia said.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“I’ll see you tonight.”
Amelia clicked the phone off and stared at the customer. The man had placed his groceries on the counter. He stared at her as she put the phone down. She decided to go on and pretended nothing had happened. “Did you find everything you needed?”
The man smiled and said, “Yes, although, what would it have mattered if I hadn’t?”
Amelia dismissed his sarcasm and said, “Have a good day, sir.”
He grabbed his bags and walked out of the store. She could not believe how this day was going. She needed a break away and she had only been here for an hour.
Chapter Twelve
“I can’t believe she came into the grocery store today,” Zach said in disbelief.
Amelia watched him as he ate his supper. “Why can’t you believe it?”
Zach looked at her and shook his head. “I mean, I believe it, but at the same time, I can’t believe it.”
Amelia shrugged. “Well, she did. And she had told me she was going to the furniture store, too.”
Amelia took a drink out of her glass and set it down on the table. Zach shook his head. “She never came into the store.”
Amelia watched as he took a bite of his medium-rare steak. It was his choice for supper and she had made him grill it. She hated to grill food. She had always told him the grill would be the cause of her death. He always told her she was too dramatic.
“Well, I think she’s nuttier than a nut roll and I don’t trust her not to do something crazy,” Amelia announced.
Zach shook his head and wiped his mouth with his napkin.
After he swallowed, he said, “You have nothing to worry about. She’s harmless.”
Amelia laughed hysterically. “Yeah, right, says the man who is being set up for a baby that might not be his. She’s harmless my ass.”
Zach chuckled. Amelia was amused at the fact he had found humor in this whole situation. She wondered how he could be so mellow and calm about it. “What I meant is she wouldn’t physically hurt you.”
Amelia slowly nodded. “Ah, okay, I get it. She won’t physically hurt me, but she’ll harass the shit out of me and threaten me, huh?”
Zach set his fork and knife on his plate and crossed his hands in front of him. “Amelia, you’re blowing this way out of proportion.”
Amelia raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh, I am, am I?” She placed her napkin on the table and stood up. She grabbed her plate and placed it in the sink. She walked by the table on her way to the living room.
“Where are you going?” Zach asked as he stood up. He placed his plate and cup in the sink and followed her to the living room. He watched her as she tied her shoes. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m going for a run,” she stated. “What’re you doing?”
Zach ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe this.”
“What can’t you believe? That you’re sticking up for your crazy ex or that I’m going for a run?” She grabbed the house key from the hook by the door. She reached over to the shelf and grabbed her mp3 player. Without another word, she opened the door and jogged down the sidewalk.
* * *
She jogged on the street. She normally jogged in the daylight, but tonight was too much for her to take. She carried her flashlight and the mace she had bought a few weeks ago. She hated the fact Zach showed no sign of being serious. She wondered how he could defend Crazy Courtney and be okay with it.
She turned the volume up and jogged faster. She had figured out jogging was a stress reliever for her. She had begun jogging a few years ago when she went through hell with Ryan. She hoped this wasn’t a sign she would be going through it with Zach, too.
Headlights outlined her body. Her shadow bounced in front of her. She ripped the earbuds out of her ears. Fear and chills ran through her body. Her heart raced as it approached her. The car quickly swerved around her and continued down the road. Her heart rate settled to her normal as she walked. “Why am I so paranoid?”
She placed the earbuds back into her ears and turned the music down. She turned at the end of the block and decided to jog back toward home.
When she jogged up the front steps, she startled as she saw Zach in the corner of her eye.
“Did you have a nice run?” he asked as he patted the spot next to him on the swing.
Amelia ignored his invite to sit down and opened the front door. “Yeah, it was a nice run.”
She walked into the house and placed her mp3 player and the house key on the shelf. She kicked her shoes off and made her way into the kitchen. She reached for a cup from the cupboard and filled it with water. She turned to walk out of the kitchen and Zach blocked the doorway.
“Can you talk to me?” Zach pleaded.
Amelia shrugged. “Can you let me through the doorway?”
Zach moved his arms and allowed her to leave the kitchen. “Amelia, what has gotten into you?”
Amelia glared at him. “What has gotten into you?”
Zach shrugged. “Nothing that I know of.”
Amelia chuckled madly as she shoved the front door open. The night air had a crisp breeze to it, but spring was right around the corner, so it was warmer than it had been all winter. Amelia was thankful for the warmth as she sat on the swing. Zach followed her onto the porch and sat on the rail.
“I’m being serious, Amelia,” Zach stated. “What’s going on?”
“You tell me,” Amelia said as she drank her water. “You’re the one who has explaining to do, not me.”
“What do I have to explain?” Zach raised his arms. “There’s nothing to explain.”
“If you say so.” Amelia could not believe they were having their first argument. So this is what it feels like to argue with the love of your life. She watched him as his face turned two different shades of red. She wondered why he was so angry.
“I don’t know what you’re implying here, but you’re wrong,” he stated.
“I’m not implying anything. I’m simply looking for the truth in the matter,” Amelia said as she crossed her arms.
Zach shook his head. “What do you want to know?”
“I want to know everything there is to know,” she stated and continued on, “For starters, I want to know why you’re so calm about this situation?”
“I’m far from calm,” he said as he ran his hand through his hair.
Amelia shook her head. “I’m not referring to this situation. I’m referring to your situation with Courtney.”
He let out a deep growl and said, “The situation with Courtney and me is done with. There’s nothing I can do about it until she has the damn baby!”
Amelia wondered how men can remain so calm when their whole life was about to either crumble or stay the same. Amelia shrugged her shoulders. “Fine then, I won’t worry about it either.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Amelia sat back against the swing. She watched him as he crossed his arms in front of him. “It means exactly what I said. If you’re not worried, then I won’t be.” She stood up and opened the front door. She looked back at him and said, “But I can tell you one thing, she better not try to take what’s mine.”
Chapter Thirteen
“You said that to him?” Bailey nearly shrieked in amusement.
Amelia nodded. “Yeah, why not? I was pissed off.”
“Obviously!” Bailey exclaimed as she threw her head back and laughed.
“He wasn’t at all concerned by the fact the crazy nut had wandered into the store. He acted as though he couldn’t care less if I thought she was the devil himself.”
“I’m sure he cares, Amelia.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he does,” Amelia stated sarcastically.
“He does. Just because he expresses his concern different than you, doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.”
“What concern? He showed no concern at all,” Amelia reiterated.
“Men have a different way of handling stress,” Bailey mentioned.
“I’d say so,” Amelia said as she tapped her fingers on the table. “It’s almost like he knows the baby is his, so he’s not worried about it.”
Bailey choked as she took a drink of her pop. She spit pop from her mouth and it sprayed everywhere. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
Amelia shrugged. “Right now, I’m not so sure about anything.”
“Maybe you two just need a nice quiet night away,” Bailey suggested. “You know, maybe get a little busy, too, if you know what I mean.”
Amelia laughed and her face turned beet red and warm.
“How long has it been since you’ve, you know, had sex with him?” Bailey asked as she wiggled her eyebrows.
“A few days,” Amelia admitted. “Why does it matter?”
Bailey chuckled. “Tension builds up and causes the wrong thing to explode,” Bailey said as she winked.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Amelia shouted as she slapped Bailey’s arm.
“Nope, I’m being serious.”
Amelia covered her face with her hands. Out of all the things she imagined Bailey would say, what she had said was the most unexpected.
* * *
When Zach came home from work, Amelia waited for him. He opened the front door and walked into the living room. She sat on the couch and smiled when he looked at her. “How’d your day go?”
He shrugged out of his coat and hung it on the hook by the door. “It was alright. How was yours?”
“For a Saturday, it was relaxing.”
Zach smiled. “That’s good.”
Amelia stood and wrap
ped her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry.”
He leaned back and asked, “What for?”
“For the way I acted last night. I was totally out of control.” Amelia admitted.
Zach bounced his head back and forth and shrugged his shoulder. “Yeah, just a little bit, but it’s okay.”
Amelia shook her head. “No, it’s not okay. I don’t want to argue with you, especially about her.”
He leaned in and gently kissed her. “I know, babe, and I don’t want to argue with you. It’s not worth it.”
“So, you forgive me?” Amelia asked as she looked into his eyes.
He grinned and said, “Yes, I forgive you. Just don’t let it happen again.”
Amelia pressed her lips hard to his. He lifted her and carried her to the couch. He pressed hard against her. She shifted her hips to grind against him. He nibbled on her ear and she let out a moan. “For the love of God,” she said between moans.
“Mmm, I like when you talk dirty to me,” he said as he thrusted into her. She slapped his arm and he laughed. She shoved her pants down and shook them off of her ankles. She struggled to unbutton his jeans with his erection pressed tightly against the zipper. He helped unbutton them and stripped naked. He laid on top of her and she guided him in. He thrusted deeply and she let out a loud cry.
“Are you okay?” he stopped and asked.
She nodded. She ignored the sharp pain she had experienced in the lower section of her stomach. “Yes, I’m fine. Don’t stop.”
She gripped her fingernails into his back. He shifted and rolled underneath of her. She rode on top until they both climaxed. She collapsed onto his chest.
He ran a hand through her hair. “You’re great.”
She nodded as she breathed in deeply. The smell of his cologne hypnotized her. “Mmm, you’re pretty great yourself.”
They laid naked on the couch. She snuggled closer to him. He ran his hand up and down her back.
“Amelia, I never want to lose you.”
His voice had startled her as she drifted off to sleep. She opened her eyes and said, “You won’t lose me. I meant what I said last night.”
Unexpected Chances (Fairshore Series Book 2) Page 5