“It’s a pregnancy smoothie. I found the recipe online. It’s got cocoa and peanut butter, which you like, plus bananas to soothe a queasy stomach, milk for calcium and spinach for the iron and folic acid needed for healthy fetal development.”
She eyed the glass with suspicion. It sounded like a good idea. Maybe it tasted better than it looked. Even if it didn’t, Tyler was looking at her with such a pleased and hopeful expression, she’d have to drink it anyway. Lifting the glass to her nose, she sniffed it. It smelled like peanut butter and bananas, mostly. Nothing to make her recoil. Bringing the straw to her lips, she found it tasted the same. The spinach seemed to disappear, adding nutrition while letting the other flavors shine.
“Mmm,” she said, swallowing a large sip. “This is pretty good. You can feel free to make me one of these every day.”
“Absolutely,” he said with a smile. “Taking good care of our child means taking good care of you. I’m glad to do it.”
Amelia fought a small twinge in the back of her mind as he spoke. She recognized the feeling as the pang of jealousy, but that didn’t make any sense. Who was she jealous of? Their baby? That seemed silly. She should be happy that Tyler wanted them to have a happy, healthy child. And he most likely wanted her to be happy and healthy, too. Amelia was just being oversensitive. She would blame the hormones.
“And after what I experienced yesterday,” Tyler continued, “you’re going to need all the good nutrition you can get. Are all of your days like that?”
She swallowed another sip and set down the glass on the shiny granite countertop. “Just Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Saturdays are the worst. I have no idea when I’ll get home tonight. I probably won’t get back until one or two a.m., so don’t wait up. What are you doing today?”
Tyler set down his tablet. “I’m going to the estate auction of a country-music singer. She died last year, but her lawyers have finally gotten her estate settled. Her heirs just want to liquidate for cash.”
“Who is it?” Amelia asked. There were a lot of country-music stars in Nashville to choose from.
“Patty Travis. That woman was the country-music equivalent of Liberace. She spent almost every dime she earned on jewelry, and her famous roster of lovers over the years bought her even more. It’s almost as good as the Elizabeth Taylor auction a few years back. I’m hoping to snap up a few nice pieces.”
Amelia frowned at Tyler. “That’s why you really came to Nashville!” she accused at last.
He opened his mouth to argue but must have decided against it. “I came to Nashville,” he said, seeming to choose his words very carefully, “to see you and work out the details of the divorce we’re not getting. It was my first opportunity to come, and I was able to make the time because, yes, I was planning on coming to this auction and I could do it all in one trip. You’ll notice I arrived a full five days ahead of the auction so I could devote the time to you. I didn’t intend to spend those days renting a house and moving here.”
“That’s true,” she said, carrying her mostly empty smoothie glass over to the sink. She took one last sip and rinsed it out. “Do we need to schedule an auction here in Nashville the week of the baby’s birth so I’ll be certain you’re in town?”
“Very funny,” Tyler said without laughing.
“I’m not entirely kidding.” Amelia walked back to the counter and planted her palms on the cool stone. “It took over a month to nail you down about our elopement. If Patty Travis’s estate wasn’t having an auction this week, it might have taken even longer. I know you’ve reorganized what you can to make the thirty-day arrangement work out, and I appreciate it. But what are we going to do after that? Even if we stay together, I’m going to spend most of my time in this huge house, alone, while you trot around the world chasing flawless gemstones.”
“You could come with me, you know.”
Amelia snorted. As alluring as the idea might sound, it would never work. “I have a job, too, you know.”
“Do you not get vacation time?”
“It’s not a question of benefits, Ty. I am part owner of the company. If I’m not there to do my share, everyone else has to scramble to fill my space. We were lucky when I went to the reunion that the wedding that day was light appetizers and we were able to bring in a contractor. My maternity leave is going to be a huge impact to the business. Traveling with you is impossible.”
Tyler frowned. She could tell he wasn’t used to someone shooting down his great ideas. He needed to understand that From This Moment wasn’t just some job she was keen to cast aside once she had a rich man to take care of her. It was her career. Her passion. A rich husband only seemed to be complicating the issue.
“What if I could arrange the trip to depart on a Sunday night and come back on Thursday or Friday?”
“That would still be pushing it. It would have to be really important. And somewhere I’d like to go. I’m not getting a bunch of shots with weird side effects so
you can haul me to India when I’m four months pregnant.”
“What about London?” he asked with an optimistic tone.
Damn it if he didn’t pick the perfect location right out the gate. Amelia had always wanted to go to London. “Yes, I would like to see London, but timing is key. And,” she added, “that wasn’t really my point, Ty. In a few more months, I’m not going to be able to travel anywhere. After that, I’ll have an infant. More than stamps in my passport, I need you to be here.”
She looked down at the clock on her phone. “Just think about it. We can talk later. I’ve got to get to the chapel. Good luck at your auction.”
Tyler nodded thoughtfully and waved a hand at her. “Okay. Hope the wedding goes well. I’ll see you tonight.”
Amelia picked up her purse and went out the door. Tyler could be aggravating at times, but when it came down to it, he knew her better than anyone else. He could use that against her to get his way. Dangling a trip to London was just cruel because he knew how badly she wanted to go. But if she agreed to one trip, he’d find a reason she had to take another. And another. Then after the baby was born, they might as well just bring in a full-time caterer to replace her.
She might be softening on compromising for their relationship, but her job was her dream and she wouldn’t lose that. Even so, the whole drive to work she was taunted by thoughts of a proper English tea with fresh scones and the potential to lick clotted cream and strawberry jam from Tyler’s bare chest.
* * *