Page 103 of In The Dark

Jo grinned and stepped closer, her camera hanging from her neck. Even now, after weeks of calling this woman hers, she couldn’t help staring just a little longer than necessary. It didn’t matter what Amelia wore—today it was dark jeans and a tucked-in white shirt, effortlessly elegant—she still had Jo’s heart racing. But it wasn’t her clothes that drew Jo in. It was just the way she was. Steady, playful, luminous in her quiet strength. She made the world feel less like a battlefield and more like a home.

“You’re doing it again,” Amelia said, reaching out and smoothing a thumb against Jo’s cheek.

“Doing what?”

“Looking at me like I invented oxygen.”

“I don’t know about you inventing it…” Jo smirked. “But you certainly know how to take it from a room with a single look.”

Jo leaned into Amelia’s touch for a moment. Just…a second, because the warmth of it would undo her otherwise.

“I was thinking,” Jo said as she stepped back. “We should have Ada and Evie over this weekend. I’ve barely seen Ada since we stopped going to Satin.”

“I’d love that. Let’s do wine and nibbles at mine on Saturday?”

Jo nodded. “Perfect. You still up for cooking dinner tonight?”

Amelia slid her hands into her pockets. “Absolutely, but only if you help me choose. I’m thinking aubergine parmigiana or that Thai green curry you’ve made me addicted to.”

“You’re not still dreaming about that, are you?”

“Every night.”

Jo grinned and lifted her camera back to her face, snapping a quick, unposed photo of Amelia. Half-laughing, those gorgeous eyes on Jo, her hair tucked behind one ear.

“I hope you’re not filling the website gallery with pictures of me again.”

Jo shrugged. “Too late.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’min love,” Jo said as she fanned herself and sighed. “Nothing you can do about it.”

They spent the next hour moving through the house while Jo snapped final shots of the lounge, the terrace, and the bespoke kitchen Amelia had poured her heart into. They talked the way they often did now…seamlessly andeffortlessly, kind of like time had rewired itself to give them more of it.

More space to be together. Tobreathetogether.

Between frames, they discussed when to restock the wine rack. Then whether Ada would bring her new date to dinner in a couple of weeks. And then the most important question…whether Jo should finally update her photography website bio to say she was taken.

They were rarely apart now unless work demanded it, and even then, Jo’s phone would buzz with a message. Usually something along the lines of…

Miss you already.

Come home soon.

Wearing nothing but your hoodie, FYI.

It was normal, it was all-consuming, and it was theirs.

As Jo packed up her camera gear, she looked around at the space Amelia had built from the rubble up. It was a wreck turned into a dream home. The kind of thing that mirrored the woman who’d created it herself. Quiet resilience in every corner.

Amelia crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Jo from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder. “All done?”

Jo leaned back into her. “All done.”

“Good. Then I vote we stop by the supermarket on the way back and pick up some ingredients. That curry isn’t going to make itself.”

Jo turned in her arms and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”