Chapter 10

Damian

I stand perfectly still next to Amelia in the driveway of her house. She's staring at the front door as if it might come to her instead.

The house itself is closer to MVM than any of the other Garrett properties. Eleanor's is a few houses down, and my mother's is a few streets over. Amelia and Jackson's house is perfectly situated on the corner of two busy roads. However, this far back from the street means the traffic noise is almost absent. It's a perfect location for a restaurant, but I squash that thought down in case I accidentally verbalize it. That's the last thing Amelia needs.

"It's just a house," I whisper.

She presses the key into my chest. "Go on then. It'll be yours soon, anyway."

I sigh and don't take it. "What are you going to do? You can't live with Jackson's mother for the rest of your life."

"Why not? I don't have a mom; she doesn't have a child. It's the perfect fit."

"Mila," I murmur. "Her child wasn't much of a child. He was a grown man."

She slowly shakes her head, and a soft smile crosses her face. "No," she whispers. "He was still a child."

Amelia takes a slow inhale, before turning on her heel and walking back towards the car.

"Amelia."

"Nope!"

I follow her quickly, and she slides into the backseat, leaving room for me. We sit in silence for a moment before Edgar, her driver, smiles kindly at her. He's an older man who seems to have a real fondness for her. I realize he's probably not that much older than me, but he looks at Amelia like a father might look at his daughter.

"Where to, Amelia?" he says softly. There are only two people in Amelia's employment that call her by her first name. Her assistant, Robyn, and Edgar. I wonder how close you have to be to her to get the privilege.

Amelia stares out of the window in the opposite direction to her house.

I clear my throat and look at Edgar. "My house, thanks."

Edgar waits for a subtle nod from Amelia before starting the car.

Amelia relaxes more the further we get away from the house. "We have the Garrett charity dinner tonight," she says in a clipped tone, as if she was talking to Robyn.

"I remember. I'm catering it." I exhale a laugh. "Eleanor's planning it, isn't she? My mom has turned her attention to that rather than anything you're doing, so you're welcome."

That gets a small smile.

"But," I say softly. "We don't have to be anywhere for another two hours. Why don't we relax a little before we pretend to hate each other from across the room?"

"Pretend?" she says with eyebrows raised.

I laugh and shake my head in exasperation. "If it wasn't for your sense of humor, Mila dear, we'd be in a whole different situation."

We arrive at the front of my place, and I get out first before helping her out.

"Next time," I whisper in her ear. "We'll walk right up to the front door."

"Next time," she breathes.

Amelia left my house early, both of us satisfied enough to make it through the torturous evening, so when she walks to the top of the stairs in the entrance to the ballroom, with Eleanor on her arm, my breath is momentarily taken from my lungs. I'm in a tux my mother made sure I was wearing, and the other members of the family are all wearing their most expensive evening wear, but Amelia knocks them out of the park.

Her hair is up, like always, but it's pinned up into an elegant bun at the back of her head, with just a few golden ringlets loose and framing her face. Her make-up is dark and sultry, but it's all meaningless against the stunning dark blue gown that falls so gracefully to the floor, pooling around her feet. She catches my gaze before subtly smirking and drifting her attention back to what Eleanor is murmuring in her ear. Eleanor pats her hand, and they both walk down the stairs to mingle with the rest of the crowd.

My mother simmers in anger next to me. "They're not even Garretts," she hisses in my ear.

"They have power," I murmur back. "Lots of it. Don't test them."

Mom narrows her eyes at me before planting a smile on her face as Eleanor and Amelia come close enough to have somewhat of an introduction.

"Mr. Blake," Amelia says with just enough tease in her voice to indicate what we'd spent a good chunk of the last few hours doing was not far from her mind.

"Mrs. Garrett," I smirk. "You look lovely this evening."

"This old thing? Found it at the back of my closet." Her gaze drifts over my attire. "That looks new. Your restaurant must be doing okay, then."

I glance over at where members of my staff are milling around, serving drinks and canapes. "We are. Coincidentally, we're catering tonight."

"Oh." Amelia looks around us before giving an ill-disguised grimace. "Remind me not to eat anything then."

She barely glances at my mom before drifting into the crowd again, as gracefully as if she's floating.

I think a blood vessel in Mom's head is about to burst. "The nerve of her," she spits.

"She didn't say anything too bad." I grab a champagne from Rosie, one of my catering staff, and grin at Mom. "Come on. Let's raise money for charity."

"I'll catch up to you in a moment," Mom says suspiciously quietly. "I've found someone I need to talk to."

I watch her with a frown before sighing as I spot the deer in the headlights. Ernest, the lawyer for MVM. Good luck to him.

Before I can go find Amelia and make her pay attention to me, I spot a familiar stare with a daring amount of the back of her dress cut out.

"How'd I know you'd be at a Garrett family event," I say low in Rachel's ear, drawing her out of a conversation with someone I've never seen before.

She gives me a sly grin. "Come on now, sweetheart, you know I'm not one to turn down an invitation."

"Who invited you?"

A voice from behind me answers for her. "I did."

Eleanor moves to stand next to me. "I'm so glad you could make it, Ms. Stein. I believe you had some things you wanted to discuss."

Rachel smiles coolly at my aunt and ignores me entirely as they both fade into the crowd, chatting quietly. That's not good at all. I wonder briefly how much Amelia has told Eleanor and if there was a plan there that had not been passed onto me.

Before I can get my head around it, my mother is back at my side, looking suddenly bright with schemes and chaos. "Oh, Damian," she sings. "Oh, we've got it!" She takes my arm and leads me further away from everyone.

I sigh. "Mom, just leave Amelia alone. Or Eleanor. Whoever is on the other end of this. I'm sure she's—"

"I just overheard a conversation." She rubs her hands together. "Damian, this is absolutely perfect. Couldn't have planned it better if I'd tried!"

"You're going by a snippet of an eavesdropped conversation?"

"Amelia is pregnant."

I feel the blood drain from my face in an instant, and I nearly drop the glass in my hand. "What?" I breathe.

"I know! Isn't it fantastic? She's going to have to take maternity leave. Her little assistant, the brunette, was on the phone to Amelia's doctor. Something about Amelia being forced to rest because she's working too much. The assistant is worried that Amelia will get pre-eclampsia, which will affect her when the baby is born."

Oh fuck. How could I have been so stupid? It was Amelia's plan all along? While Mom thinks that she's won against Amelia, she doesn't know that Amelia has actually won against me.

"But," I mumble, sounding weak to my own ears. "Ja-Jackson's dead. How can—?"

"I know!" Mom looks around us before lowering her voice again. "That makes it better. She's having someone else's child. She's not a Garrett, and she's not even continuing the Garrett line anymore."

Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that.

Mom straightens up, tapping me to attention. I notice Amelia and Eleanor walking through the room, their heads together.

"Oh, Amelia," Mom calls out cheerfully. Amelia stops in suspicion and walks closer, the frown on both daughter and mother-in-law's faces. "I just wanted to say my congratulations."

"About what? Is this something to do with my house? I'm sure it—"

"No, sweetheart," Mom chuckles. "About the baby."

I watch a panicked look cross Amelia's face as Eleanor looks at her in alarm. Amelia doesn't even look in my direction. "What?"

"Yeah, I must be the last to know. Forgive me, I must have been left out when it was announced."

Eleanor looks between my mom and Amelia. "What baby?"

Mom feigns surprise, covering her hands over her mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry… when your assistant mentioned it to me, I thought it must have been common knowledge."

Amelia finally looks at me, but Eleanor takes her attention, grabbing her hands and pulling her closer. "Are you pregnant?" she whispers, tears in her eyes. Amelia's face crumples, and she slowly nods.

My heart falls in horror, and I grab another glass of champagne, downing it in one go, and grabbing another. I'm about to sink that one too, when Amelia's voice sounds, directed at me, not Eleanor. "It's Jackson's. I'm… four months now."

She's looking at me warily when I brave a look, and I think I'm about to die of some heart-related problem. I run a hand through my hair.

"Jesus Christ," I mutter under my breath, taking large sips of my champagne to get some sort of control over the up and down of the last five minutes.

Mom is livid all over again. "It can't be!" she splutters. "Four months? You've kept this for four months?"

"The baby or the secret?" Amelia says dryly.

Eleanor starts sobbing next to her. "You're having Jackson's baby? Really?"

"Really," Amelia says softly.

I can't take it anymore as Eleanor bursts into tears, drawing Amelia into her arms. "I'm going to get some air," I mutter to no one in particular, and I head outside.

It's quiet out here at least. Although the loudness in my head is drowning out any silence that might have offered some relief. I lean against the railing of the balcony and look over the dark gardens before groaning loudly.

All the signs were there. It wasn't fucking food poisoning… it was pregnancy sickness. How had I not put the two together? More importantly, what's going to happen now? Amelia is pregnant with someone else's child. I knew this thing between was going to end eventually, but at what point in her pregnancy is that going to be? Eleanor's going to be on her like a hawk.

I hear the gentle clicks of heels on the tiled balcony floor, and Amelia stands next to me, looking out at the dark scenery. "I was going to tell you," she says softly. "I just didn't know how."

I exhale a laugh. "You're sure, right? This isn't some elaborate—"

"I'm sure. Well, I was already over three months pregnant when I found out the morning after we first slept together, so unless your sperm works incredibly fast, there's no chance it's yours. And—" She gulps. "I haven't been with anyone else since Jackson."

I close my eyes. "Robyn didn't tell Mom, by the way. Mom overheard Robyn talking to someone on the phone. A doctor. She's worried you're on your feet too much."

"I am fine," she growls.

I study her. "Mila," I murmur. "If something happens to Jackson's baby…"

"I know," she says curtly. "I have it under control."

I twist to rest on my elbow to study her in the moonlight. "You look beautiful tonight," I whisper. "Like an angel."

Amelia closes her eyes, her jaw tense, her shoulders firm. "I'm sorry you were told that way. Your gossipy bitch of a mother shouldn't have been the one to say it. I imagine you don't want to risk being seen as the father, so it's best if we—"

I grab her hand and tug her a few steps to the right, where we're hidden by the wall of the ballroom. I hold her tight in my arms and brush my thumb over her cheek. "Haven't I already told you? I don't care what's said about me."

I cup her face towards me and kiss her slowly, feeling her relax into it. She's the one to deepen it, but she pulls away before we get too far. "I need to get back," she whispers.

"Mila," I whisper. "I… I'm not sure if I can…" A baby. I don't know how to deal with this. I've spent my whole life avoiding this very moment.

"I'll see you at work, I'm sure." She gives me a polite nod and moves out of my arms. "Mr. Blake."

I let her go and shake my head.

Damn you, Jackson Garrett. Still getting in my fucking way.