Page 52

Tara leaned against the cool metal wall of the lift, her hand gently clasping Amelia’s. Amelia’s presence beside her was steady and comforting, like she belonged there. Tara had to remind herself they’d known each other less than a week.

Tara glanced at Amelia. ‘You’re not going to fart again, are you?’ she teased.

Amelia looked at her, a blush creeping up her neck. ‘Not unless you feed me more McDonald’s.’

Tara chuckled softly, squeezing Amelia’s hand. ‘You haven’t even tried a Big Mac. You wait. It’ll blow the roof off.’

But even as she laughed, a quiet thought lingered just beneath the surface. Amelia had given up Solhaven for her. She had walked away from everything she had known, from the life she had built, just to be here with Tara. The enormity of it swirled in her chest, and for the briefest of moments, Tara’s smile faltered, overwhelmed by the gravity of what Amelia had done. She didn’t know how she could make herself worthy of this, but she knew that she wanted to be.

‘I can get the application in by this afternoon, by the way,’ Tara assured her. ‘If I crack on right now.’

Amelia smiled. ‘We have some time. Let’s worry about it tomorrow.’

Tara was surprised. ‘Yeah?’

‘Yes.’ She inhaled nervously. ‘Today is ours.’

Tara felt a flutter in her stomach. It was a new experience to feel this.

The elevator opened, and they walked down the hall, exchanging nervous looks. Tara couldn’t wait to get in and kiss Amelia again. This time, there was nothing to stop them.

Tara unlocked the door to her flat, her excitement at getting Amelia alone evaporating. Paige was sitting on the sofa. Her arms were crossed, her face set in a mask of simmering anger.

‘Paige,’ Tara said, her voice tight, hand still on the door. ‘What the hell?’

Paige stood, her gaze flicking past Tara to Amelia, who froze in the doorway.

A bitter smile tugged at Paige’s lips. ‘I came to talk to you. It’s the wedding in a few weeks, and I wanted to give you the chance to firm it up. But I see you’re… busy.’

Tara glanced at Amelia. ‘Go into the bedroom,’ she said gently. ‘I’ll deal with this.’

‘Tara—’ Amelia started, but Tara shook her head.

‘I’ve got it.’

After a moment’s hesitation, Amelia nodded and disappeared into the bedroom, the soft click of the door shutting far too loud in the tension-filled flat.

As soon as they were alone, Paige’s mask cracked. Her voice was sharp, slicing through the space between them. ‘You’re shagging, aren’t you?’

‘No,’ Tara said honestly. And it was looking like she wasn’t going to get the chance any time soon. ‘Paige, I need your key back.’

Paige stepped closer, her movements sharp and deliberate. ‘How dare you ask for my key?!’

‘You don’t need it. It’s over between us.’

‘So that’s it? No wedding?’

‘I would never have married you. And you shouldn’t have wanted me to.’

‘This isn’t fair. I love you! I was waiting for you to get your shit together. And now you’re walking out on me like I meant nothing! And I find you playing house with someone else?’

‘It’s not like that,’ Tara said, her voice low but firm.

‘Then what is it like?’ Paige snapped. ‘Explain it to me. Because I’m struggling to understand how you could throw us away for someone you barely know!’

Tara swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she clenched them into fists. ‘We’re over, Paige.’

Paige smiled as though Tara had said something funny. ‘You still pick up the phone. You don’t really want to leave me. You want this. You’re just scared because you’re a sad little orphan who doesn’t understand love. But this is it. It won’t get any better than me. And I will forgive your little indiscretion, but you need to make her leave. Now.’

Tara sighed, tired and done. ‘Paige. We’re over. This is the last time we’ll speak.’

Paige’s lips curled into a sneer, her eyes flashing with anger. ‘It won’t be. You love me.’

Tara nodded. ‘I thought I did. But I can see now that I just didn’t know what it felt like to want more for myself.’

Paige laughed bitterly, the sound cold and cutting. ‘And now you do? With her?’

Tara’s voice was steady, even as her chest felt tight. ‘It’s not about her. It’s about me.’

Paige’s eyes narrowed, her body tense with frustration. ‘You think you’re better than me now? That you’ve outgrown me?’

‘I didn’t outgrow you, Paige,’ Tara said. She considered her next words carefully. And when they came, they were right and true. ‘I outgrew the version of me that needed you.’

Paige’s face twisted with something like rage and heartbreak. For a moment, Tara thought she might lash out. But instead, Paige grabbed her bag, her movements jerky and uncoordinated.

‘You’re a coward, Tara,’ she spat, her voice trembling. ‘You’ll never have the guts to be happy.’

She stormed past Tara, chucking the key onto the floor with a clink and slamming the door behind her.

Tara stood there, her pulse racing, the silence of the flat heavy in the aftermath. She closed her eyes and exhaled, long and shaky.

When she finally opened the bedroom door, Amelia was standing near the window, her eyes wide with concern.

‘Is she gone?’ Amelia asked softly.

‘She’s gone,’ Tara said, leaning against the doorframe. Her shoulders sagged, but the weight that had pressed on her chest for so long was finally gone.

Amelia stood, hesitant. ‘Are you OK?’

Tara nodded. ‘I am now.’

She crossed the room, her steps unsteady but certain. When she reached Amelia, she took her hand, their fingers intertwining.

‘Sorry you had to be witness to another row with Paige. But I promise, it was the last. I just wished she hadn’t ruined the, erm, moment.’ Tara stopped talking, realising she was implying that they were about to have sex. And it wasn’t a given.

But Amelia got it anyway. ‘Oh, well, I mean… I’m still sort of in the moment.’

‘You are?’ Tara asked.

‘Are you?’ Amelia asked nervously.

Tara nodded and then realised something. ‘Wait, can I just check we’re talking about the same thing?’

Amelia started blushing. ‘Well, I thought that maybe…’ She glanced at the bed. ‘I mean, I suppose I was sort of hoping…’

Tara smiled and leaned in, brushing her lips softly against Amelia’s. She felt Amelia smile into the kiss, and it began to build into something tender and warm and needed.

Tara's hand slid to the small of Amelia's back, guiding her gently towards the bed. Amelia’s hands found Tara’s waist and kept moving down, her touch a mix of hesitant and sure, tracing the outline of her body as though she were mapping it.

Tara's fingers trembled as they worked their way down to the edge of Amelia’s shirt, lifting it over her head and revealing the smoothness of her skin beneath. For a brief moment, Tara could only drink her in—studying the curve of Amelia’s collarbone, the softness of her chest, the vulnerability in her gaze as their eyes locked.

‘Amelia, are you sure... are you ready for this?’ Tara asked softly.

‘I’m not a virgin, you know,’ Amelia murmured with an eyebrow raised.

Tara smiled at her ruefully, and her hand gently cupped Amelia’s face. ‘I know,’ she said, her tone gentle. ‘But we don’t need to rush. We’ve got time now.’

‘I’ve waited long enough,’ Amelia whispered.

‘We’ve known each other a week.’

‘I’ve been waiting longer than that,’ Amelia said. ‘I just didn’t know it.’

She pushed Tara back on the bed. Concerns melted quickly. Clothes disappeared, skin meeting skin in a quiet exploration. Tara’s hands roamed, memorising every inch of Amelia, while she listened to Amelia moan in response, a sound that went straight to Tara’s core.

The world outside the room ceased to exist. There was no Paige, no Solhaven, no past. There was only the softness of Amelia’s skin beneath her fingertips, the warmth of her body against hers, and the way they fit together as if they had been made for this. For this moment, for each other.

And as they finally found stillness, the room humming with the unspoken promise of what was to come, Tara knew, without a doubt, that this—this connection, this moment—was everything she had been waiting for. She just hadn’t known it.