“You’re not working for free. Don’t bother arguing with me about it, because I won’t be swayed.”
He nodded in agreement. He’d work up a proposal, but he’d charge her for materials only. He wasn’t going to let her pay him for labor. They made the rest of the drive in silence, and then they walked to the house together.
Amelia unlocked the door and flipped the switch, frowning when nothing happened. “Bugger. The electricity is out.”
Seth turned to her and gave her a quick kiss. “Stay here for a minute, and I’ll go check the breakers. Be right back.”
Jogging back to his car, he quickly popped the trunk and grabbed a flashlight. He thought the breaker box was in the basement, and it would be dark in there. Giving Amelia a reassuring smile, he quickly entered the house and went to the kitchen, opening the door to the basement and carefully making his way down the old and sunken stairs. They weren’t very sound, and they’d be at the top of his list when he started making fixes around here.
Quickly finding the box and flipping the switch, he smiled when the lights came back on. When he got back to the kitchen, Amelia was waiting on him with a relieved smile.
“Thank goodness. I never would have known to do that,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging tightly.
Giving her a kiss, he pulled back and said, “Stay with me tonight.”
Freezing in surprise, she searched his eyes as she hesitated. “You mean, at your house? With the rest of the fighters?”
“Yeah,” he replied, taking in the trepidation creepi
ng into her gaze. “I’d like for you to get to know the guys. They’re more like my brothers than anything. Don’t look so nervous. They’re good people, and they won’t bite. You hung out with them at Cocky Pete’s, and everything was fine then.”
“Not from my perspective,” she said with an embarrassed smile. “I made a fool of myself.”
“No, you didn’t,” he assured her. “I promise you, they like you. It’ll be fine. Unless—unless you don’t see the need, if you’re going back to England,” he said, swallowing hard when his voice caught.
Leaning up, she placed a soft kiss on his lips, lingering as she whispered, “Going back to England isn’t even on my radar right now.”
Relief threatened to buckle his knees as he whispered back, lips still touching, “Good.”
Easing back down, she smiled hesitantly. “I’ll stay with you tonight. Let me go pack my bag.”
“Okay,” he said, trying not to show how relieved he was over the way the conversation had gone.
He watched her walk out of the room, and once she was out of sight, he slumped into one of the kitchen chairs. Rubbing his hand over his stubble, he blew out a breath, dispelling the rest of the unexpected nerves that attacked when he mentioned her going back to England.
Who’s the pansy ass wimp now? his cat taunted.
Give it a rest, he told his cat, exasperated. And don’t pretend you weren’t just as nervous as I was.
Silence. Seth had scored with that one. Satisfied, he smiled as he leaned back in his chair and waited for Amelia.
Amelia stepped out of Seth’s car, looking around her with interest. She’d never been to Rocky River before, and it was beautiful. The house was a sprawling two-story ranch house, a white washed brick, with dark blue shutters around the windows, and a large porch stretched the length of the home. There was a large oak tree in the yard, complete with a tire swing swaying in the breeze, and she felt the strangest urge to have Seth push her while she swung in it.
Rounding the car to get her overnight bag, Seth pointed to a large barn off to the right. “That’s where we have our gym set up. Everything we need to train is right there. And that shed over there?” he said, pointing to a smaller barn she could just barely see, situated slightly behind the house. “That’s my workshop.”
He led her to the front door, and she resolved to take a peek in those later. She wanted to see where he spent so much of his time, where he made her gorgeous table. They walked in the house, and she let out a breath when she saw that the living room was empty. She’d have to socialize eventually, of course, but after already making a fool of herself once in front of them, she was nervous about it.
So many times since meeting Seth, she’d made a fool of herself. He didn’t mind, even found it endearing, but that didn’t mean the fighters would, as well. These were his friends, his family really, and she wanted to make a good impression, something to counteract the night at Cocky Pete’s. And her track record since arriving in America was pretty dismal, so the odds seemed stacked against her.
She followed him to his bedroom. It was fairly minimal, no pictures, or any decorations other than wooden animals and woodland scenes scattered throughout the room.
“This used to be Cammie’s room, but I took it after she moved out. It has its own bathroom, through that door there,” he said, pointing it out as he placed her bag on the bed. “That door over there is the closet. Ian and his daughter Shelby have rooms at the other end of the hall, and Jax’s room is in the attic. It’s usually pretty quiet up here, especially since Ian and Shelby are way on the other end of the house.”
Nodding, she walked over to a carving of a forest scene, and carefully picking it up so she could study it. “Did you make all these?”
“I whittled them, yeah. It’s pretty easy, and the turnaround is fast on them. I sell a lot in town and online.” He hesitated for a moment, looking nervous, and then he opened a drawer in his bedside table and removed another carving. “I made this with you in mind. I even painted it, and I don’t normally do that. I don’t even know if you like cats, so if you don’t and you don’t want it, don’t be shy in telling me. I can make you something else.”
Curious, she put the woodland scene back down, and turned to face him as he walked over. He held his carving out, and she took it, letting out a soft gasp when she realized what she was holding. It was a leopard, and the detail on it was exquisite. He might not paint often, but even that was perfect, each spot precisely placed. It was incredibly lifelike, and it was gorgeous.