Amanda rolls over and looks at me. She’s smiling.
“I love you, too,” she says quietly.
She kisses me softly. Yes, there are a lot of things to think about. But, right now, I just want to hold onto this little bit of peace.
We can deal with the rest of the world later.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Amanda
“Are you sure?” Lyle asks, watching me as I dress. “You’re welcome to stay here.”
I look over at him and smile. The blankets are pooling on his lap.
“Yeah,” I say. “I have work in the morning, and Dad will probably tell me whether the alliance is going ahead or not. Either way, I’ll need clean clothes for tomorrow, and I don’t have anything here.”
“We can change that,” Lyle offers.
I laugh and walk over to him as I do up the last button on my blouse. I kiss him chastely.
“Not today, we can’t,” I say.
Lyle sighs.
“Fine,” he says reluctantly.
“I’ll stay over another night,” I promise.
“I’ll hold you to that,” he says, cracking a smile. “Let me just call Ewan. He should be able to drive you home.”
“It won’t be a problem,” I try to protest.
“No, we’re pretty far from your apartment, and I’d feel better if you were with Ewan,” Lyle says firmly, already dialing a number on his phone. “Besides, it’s getting late. Taxis are notorious for being slow around here at this time of night.”
I roll my eyes and give up. This is what it means to have a ridiculously rich boyfriend, I suppose. I pick up my bag and slip my shoes back on as Lyle speaks into his phone. A moment later, he hangs up.
“Ewan will meet you at the door,” he says.
“Thanks,” I say.
I kiss him softly again, and he laces my fingers with his.
“See you tomorrow?” he asks,
“Definitely,” I reply with a grin.
It’s hard to walk away from the warm, comfortable room. I would love to stay with Lyle for the rest of the night. But, unfortunately, I do have work tomorrow, and I need fresh clothes for tomorrow.
Maybe, if things continue going well for us, I’ll put some of my clothes in the spare room. Just in case…
I almost miss the staircase and I blush as I fumble down it, hoping that Lyle never realizes that I almost got lost in his huge home. When I open the front doors, the black car is waiting for me. Ewan stands patiently beside it.
“Thank you for this, Ewan,” I say. “I hope I didn’t pull you away from anything important.”
“Not at all,” he says, smiling at me. “My hours are technically from six in the morning to ten at night, anyway, though Mr. Thompson rarely goes out at that time of night.”
I laugh. It does sound like Lyle to pay the driver for a certain amount of time “just in case”. Privately, I suspect that he did it this way so he could pay Ewan more than normal as thanks.