Kicking out of her heels, Amelia didn’t waste any time joining him in the bedroom. She’d been feeling a little feisty when she’d packed for this trip. Beneath her modest dress today, she’d opted for a lacy black demibra with matching panties and garter belt. The sheer black silk stockings were topped with lace that contrasted sharply with her pale skin.

Tyler’s mouth dropped open when her dress fell to the ground and she exposed the sexy lingerie she’d kept hidden all day. She did a little twirl, showcasing the revealing thong cut of the panties before slipping her thumbs beneath the sides and sliding them down her legs. She’d worn them outside the garter belt just for this reason. “Do you mind if I keep the rest on?” she asked innocently.

A frantic shake of his head was all she received in reply. Approaching the bed, she crawled slowly across it, putting the brakes on his rapid-fire seduction. When she reached the hard-carved muscles of Tyler’s bare abdomen, she threw one leg over his torso and straddled him. The movement immediately brought their most sensitive parts into contact, and the sensation brought a gasp of pleasure to her lips and a wicked smile to her face.

“All day?” He groaned. “You’ve been wearing that all day?”

“Mmm-hmm,” she hummed, reaching for the pins holding up her hair. When she removed the third and final one, her red curls spilled down over her shoulders, and she shook them out to great effect.

Tyler’s palms slid up her silky thighs, running his fingertips over the silver snaps of the garters and lacy tops of the stockings. “I...” he began, but Amelia brought a finger to his lips to quiet him.

They had done enough talking for today. There had been too many emotions and too much angst. Right now she just wanted to lose herself in making love to him. He wanted her to let go, and tonight, she would.

Rising up onto her knees, Amelia planted her hands on the pillows on both sides of Tyler’s head. Her breasts nearly tumbled from their confines as she moved, but he was quick to offer his hands to support them. As he kneaded her flesh, she slowly moved back, finding his firm heat and easing the length of him inside her hot, aching body.

Sitting up, Amelia rocked her hips forward, the pleasure of the moment forcing her eyes shut. It was better that way, so she kept them closed. With her eyes shut, she could focus on the feeling of Tyler’s hands cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples through the lace. She could absorb every powerful sensation as she moved her hips and forced the length of him deeper inside her body. She could hear Tyler’s murmurs of encouragement, her own soft gasps, the faint squeak of the bed as she moved...

But most of all, she could focus on the feeling deep in her chest. It was there, as she gave herself to Tyler, that she really opened up. He’d asked her tonight to let him in, to allow herself to love him, so she would. As though she’d turned the key in a rusty, old lock, she opened herself up to the emotions she’d held at bay for so long.

It was a stunning moment when the feelings hit her. The warmth of love heated her from the inside out, with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. But along with the feeling was a revelation she’d never expected—she not only loved Tyler, but she always had. No other man would ever meet her stringent qualifications because no other man could be Tyler. He was her better half, the part she’d always searched for and failed to find because she’d refused to look in the most obvious of places.

And now she was giving herself to him, heart and soul.

“Amelia...” Tyler groaned, bringing his hands to her hips. His palms cupped the lace-covered curve of her rear, guiding her movements, and she knew neither of them would be able to last much longer.

She placed her hands on his chest, one covering the rapid tattoo of his heart. Moving more forcefully, she quickly drove herself to the edge. When her climax came, her whole body shook with the strength of it. Every nerve lit up; every muscle tensed. She cried out to the dim room, gasping for breath.

Tyler rode out her orgasm, then pressed his fingers hard into her soft flesh and drove into her from beneath until he shouted his own pleasure.

Unable to hold herself up any longer, Amelia collapsed against him. She buried her face in his neck, their bodies both trembling with the power of their release. She kept her hand over his heart as they lay there, feeling the beat slow along with their breaths.

She had given Tyler her heart. It was too late for her to consider fighting the feelings anymore. She just didn’t have the strength. The thirty days would be up soon after they returned to Nashville, and she knew what her answer would be. She wanted to stay with him and start their family together.

The only problem was that Amelia wasn’t entirely sure if she would ever have Tyler’s love. He would stay for their child. She knew him well enough to know that. But that big fantasy of love she’d always dreamed of? That still seemed out of reach.

She couldn’t have it when only one of the people had fallen in love.

Ten

“London was amazing,” Amelia said to her coworkers seated around the conference room table of From This Moment. It seemed like forever since she’d been in the office, although it had just been a week. As Natalie had insisted, she didn’t come in over the weekend. She’d been right about the jet lag. Friday, she’d nodded off whenever she had a quiet or still moment. “I take back every ugly thing I said about Tyler.”

“I told you,” Gretchen said. “What was the best part of the trip?”

“That’s a hard one. The food was great. Seeing all the historic landmarks was nice, too. I think I ate my weight in scones.”

“Has your morning sickness gone away?” Bree asked.

“Actually, yeah.” She hadn’t felt anything even close to queasiness since they’d gone to London. She’d had more energy, too, which had been nice to have on the trip. “I was so happy to be able to eat. Our hotel was beautiful. Everything there is so different, yet familiar. Well, aside from driving on the other side of the road. I very nearly got hit by cabs two or three times because I looked the wrong way before crossing the street. They even have big painted letters on the street that say ‘look right’ for idiots like me.”

“You’re probably not the only one to nearly get hit,” Natalie noted.

“What about the lovin’?” Bree asked with a sneaky smile. Amelia could tell she wasn’t the least bit interested in discussions of scones or old churches. “You’ve got a look about you today—a rosy, well-loved look.”

“Bree!” Amelia complained, but she couldn’t help smiling. Things had changed between her and Tyler in London. Once they’d both agreed to let down their barriers, their physical and emotional connection had become stronger than it had ever been. She still had a mountain to climb where Tyler and his emotions were concerned, but they’d made significant progress. “I do think we’ve had a bit of a breakthrough in the relationship.”

“Are you in love?” Gretchen asked, perking up in her chair. “He has until Wednesday to make it happen, and judging by the fact that you can’t stop smiling, I think Tyler was successful.”

“I think he was, too,” Amelia admitted.

“Have you said it to him?”

Amelia wrinkled her nose. “No. I want to wait until we reach the end of the thirty days and make it official. Besides, I’ve never said that to a man before. I’m a little nervous.”

“Make him say it first,” Natalie noted, her eyes never leaving her tablet.

That probably wasn’t a bad idea. She still had her worries and reservations about how Tyler felt. Outwardly, he hadn’t given her any reason to doubt he had feelings for her, but she couldn’t shake it.