Amelia sat at her newly-set-up desk at Alex's house and sent yet another email to her clients who hadn't paid her. She doubted it would make any difference. They weren't going to pay her and she had no money for a lawyer. She sighed. She needed better clients and she'd hoped that her reputation would grow in the industry. It hadn't yet. She hadn't gotten to that sweet spot where people came to her so she'd have to hustle to get her next job. What a way to live. She was in a mansion larger than anything she'd ever seen. It was big enough that she got lost several times in it but she couldn't pay her bills. "Do you think this is going to last?"She turned to see Isabel in her doorway. Amelia hadn't seen the woman since she moved into the house yesterday. She'd assumed that Isabel had gone to work and, other than servants, she had the house to herself. Guess she was wrong. "Isabel.""I don't buy your lies," Isabel said, moving into the room. "I haven't lied, Isabel.""My father may l

Amelia was unable to sleep so she wandered down to the kitchen for some tea. She could fire up her computer and get work done, but she wasn't in the mood. Instead, she wandered around the first floor, tea in her hand. Just as she reached the front door the bell rang. She jumped enough that she almost spilled her tea. It was after midnight. Who would be at the front door? She knew there were people to answer it, but she felt silly waiting for them when she was perfectly capable of opening the door herself. She opened it to a woman dressed in a trench coat. It wasn't cold enough for one so Amelia looked at her puzzled. "Can I help you?""I'm Tara.""Okay.""Who are you?"The woman looked down her long nose at Amelia who wasn't ready to share her name with this stranger. "Are you looking for someone?""Not you."Amelia could have guessed that. Tara breezed into the house and Amelia wished for one of those servants to appear. She had no idea who Tara was and why the woman was wearing a

Isabel was nowhere to be found when Amelia reached the dining room. It could have been because she took a few wrong turns along the way. There was toast and coffee and some eggs. Her stomach rumbled and she put some food on a plate. She knew from reading literature that she shouldn't drink coffee. She also needed to make a doctor's appointment. She might as well acknowledge that she was pregnant by getting a checkup. She was surprised Alex hadn't insisted on it yet. She was ahead of him in her thinking. She yawned. At least she had gotten some sleep after the commotion last night. Would Alex make an appearance? Footsteps echoed on the tile and Alex strode into the dining room. He wasn't as put together as normal. He poured a larger cup of coffee and then sat at the table. "I wanted to apologize for the disruption last night. It won't happen again."There was no need to apologize. This was his house. "I'm not keeping you from your booty calls am I?"Alex grimaced. "No. I wanted no

Alex strolled into the kitchen from the garage. He'd driven to work this morning, leaving his driver home. He wasn't sure why, but he'd been in the mood to drive himself. A lot was going on and maybe he'd needed time to think. Driving helped him do that. The scent of meat cooking hit him as he hung his keys on their hook. His mouth watered and he wondered what had possessed his cook to make steak today. When he entered the kitchen fully, he realized that once again, Amelia had let the cook go home early. He'd guess Amelia had been restless. As if it were contagious from him. He'd been feeling unsettled for days. The addition of Amelia to his house hadn't precipitated it, but her presence had added to it. He was going to be a father again and he was going to be just as attentive to this one as he had been to Isabel. Could he see himself doing midnight feedings at his age? He wasn't so sure, but he and Amelia could work that out.He'd thought that as if they had a future together. We

"You don't think I handled it well," Amelia said. Alex knew he stepped in it. He had no right to judge her or her tactics. She was in her twenties and looked at life differently. She didn't have the benefit of experience, nor did she have a phalanx of lawyers behind her. She only had her stubbornness. That resulted in an hour in a jail cell. No convictions, but he had paid a fine for her. "I'm sorry, Amelia. It isn't my place to say anything.""It is your place. You took time out of your day to rescue me."Rescue. That was a loaded word. He hadn't ever planned on rescuing anybody, but if there was anyone in need of it, Amelia was it. She was pregnant. She had very little money and if he hadn't taken her in, she would be homeless. What he also knew was that she never would have asked for his help if she wasn't in jail. That had been the precipice for her to ask for help. She wouldn't again. It was up to him to offer or at least do it without her knowing it. He didn't like that idea,