Page 24 of Nolan (The Doherty Mafia)
“Which is perfect, right? Less chance of us bumping into someone.”
She had a point. Besides, I realized it’d be impossible to refuse this girl anything.
“My family isn’t the most welcoming to strangers,” I warned her.
Amelia rolled her eyes as she slipped her top on after she’d put her bra on.
“You don’t have to worry about me. I can look after myself just fine.”
“You don’t know my family.”
She shrugged, getting up to pull up her jeans.
“And they don’t know me. And if we’re lucky, we won’t have to actually meet any of them.”
This felt like it could turn messy very quickly. The best idea would’ve been to keep Amelia as far away from my family as possible. No need to get the two entities involved. But she seemed so excited now and I didn’t want to have to disappoint her.
Amelia was completely dressed now and she stood in front of me with her hands on her hips.
“Ready?” she said, with her face glowing.
It looked like I didn’t have a choice.
I was taking Amelia home.
The premises of the house were quiet and dark when we got there.
There were armed security guards at the gates and all around the estate. Dad hadn’t taken any chances with security measures now that we were in a full-scale war with Aldo. Especially since he’d already attempted to hurt members of the family.
I wasn’t sure what Amelia thought of all the men walking around with weapons. She didn’t mention them. Not yet. I didn’t know how I’d explain it to her either, if she asked.
First we went into the garden, just like I promised.
There weren’t many lights illuminating the place.
“We should’ve come here in the daytime, then you’d actually be able to see it.”
“It looks beautiful,” she said, walking into the mazes.
I followed her while she looked around in amazement.
“I never knew a place like this existed so close to where I live,” she murmured. I saw how she was genuinely impressed, and I liked that she was enjoying herself. I liked seeing her happy and I didn’t know why I cared.
“My father and stepmother take a lot of pride in the garden,” I said.
She stood in the middle of a leafy tunnel, spinning round and around, looking up at the clear starry sky.
I couldn’t resist.
I reached for her and pulled her into my arms. I kissed her lips and cheek, leaving a wet trail down her chin and neck. She giggled and pulled away.
“I want to see the rest of the place. This is amazing.”
She skipped ahead and I chased her around the maze. I knew we were picked up by the security cameras placed everywhere. But nobody would interrupt us. The men watching the security cameras would be looking away now because they knew we valued our privacy as a family. And nothing had happened yet that warranted my father being alerted.
Amelia skipped away from me and every time I grabbed her, I kissed her and she kissed me back fiercely. Eventually, she was out of breath from all the running. I wrapped her in my arms and she snuggled into my chest.
I knew this was different.
I’d never been in an actual relationship with a girl. I’d never been that interested, but Amelia was something else. She made me want other things. I’d never considered something serious before but I pictured it now. I imagined what it’d be like to wake up with her next to me every morning.
She looked into my eyes, clinging to my neck.
“Do you even know how lucky you are?” she asked.
Yeah, I began to see it that way. I got lucky we met. I got lucky she came into the tattoo store today. That she wanted to be with me, even if it was just a casual thing.
Would it be crazy if it was not just casual? If we could actually have something real?
She said she wanted to see the house too, and now we were in it too deep for me to refuse.
I realized I was holding her hand when we walked into my family home. It was late, but not late enough for everyone to be asleep. My dad and stepmother were definitely in the house, but I didn’t know who else was here.
“Are you worried we’ll bump into somebody?” she asked, whispering as we walked through the foyer.
“No, Amelia, I’m not worried,” I said in a serious voice. “I don’t care if I have to introduce you to somebody.”
“Good, because I’d love to meet them. Somebody from your family. Just to see how you fit into all this.”
She broke away from me, spinning around in circles again as she looked up at the big crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
“Ooh! A winding staircase!” she exclaimed, rushing up the steps. I had to run to keep up with her.
