Landen (The Murphy Boys, Book 1)

by Holly C. Webb

  They were just starting dessert when Landen shifted nervously before he reached into his pocket.

  “I have something for you,” he said as he set a small flat rectangle box down in front of her. Amelia had no clue what it could be.

  Amelia looked up at Landen and smiled.

  “You know there really is no need to keep buying me things,” Amelia said, knowing Landen had already bought her so much. He had insisted that she would need a proper new wardrobe for work, which he also insisted that he pay for. He had bought her a beautiful bracelet when they were together a month, and a pair of earrings when she was a month working for Callum.

  He had also insisted that he was paying for the dress that Nikki was getting for her for the charity ball the following evening.

  “This is not a gift,” Landen said, once more he looked nervous. “I just want you not to over think it. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Amelia replied, feeling even more confused than she had been before. Landen pushed the box closer to her. Amelia took a deep breath before she reached out and picked it up.

  She glanced up at Landen once more, before she carefully opened the box, and looked inside it. In the box there was a key and a security card. Amelia looked back up at Landen, still unsure what they were for.

  “I want you to move in with me,” Landen said, surprising Amelia. “Before you answer, I want you to take some time to think about it. It’s just, we either stay over at my place, or we stay at yours, and on the nights that we aren’t together; well, I hate those nights.”

  “I see,” Amelia said, completely stunned by his request.

  “I know you probably think it’s too soon,” Landen continued. “And maybe for others it is, but we aren’t like others. At least, I don’t think we are. I’m almost thirty-four, I’m too old to do this dating thing. I know how I feel about you, I know I want to spend my life with you, so it just seems the right thing to do.”

  Amelia knew that he was probably right, they were good together, so it made sense. If she was honest, she hated the nights that they were apart too, but thankfully they were fewer and fewer as the time past.

  In her heart, she wanted to say yes, she wanted to tell him that there was nothing she would have liked more than to move in with him. There was just a tiny part of her that was still scared, it was that tiny part stopped her from giving Landen the answer he wanted.

  “You don’t have to answer me now,” Landen said, but Amelia could hear the disappointment in his voice.

  “I just need some time,” Amelia said, giving him a nervous smile. She pushed the box back across the table toward Landen. “Maybe you should hold on to these.”

  “No,” he replied without missing a beat. “I want you to have them one way or another. Even if you decide not to move in just yet, I want you to be able to come and go as you please.”

  “But it’s your home,” Amelia said, feeling it was somehow wrong to take them until she at least gave him an answer.

  “And I want you to feel welcome in it,” Landen insisted, as he pushed the box even closer to her. “Please.”

  “Thank you,” Amelia said, as she picked them up, putting them into her handbag.

  A little over an hour later, Amelia and Landen were riding up in the elevator to Amelia’s apartment. Since Landen asked her to move in with him, Amelia could sense a little bit of uncertainty in him. She knew he wanted to push her for an answer, but he was holding back, and it was making things a little tense between them.

  Amelia released a long breath and leaned her head down against Landen’s shoulder.

  “Are you okay?” Landen asked as he rested his head against hers.

  “Yeah,” she said as she released another long breath. “I’m just tired.”

  Landen didn’t reply. Amelia knew that he was thinking again. Before she could ask if he was okay, the elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened. Amelia stepped off, followed closely by Landen.

  Amelia walked to the door, slipping her key into the lock.

  “Actually,” Landen said as she opened the door. Amelia stopped and turned back to look at Landen. “I think I might just call it a night.”

  “What?” Amelia said, feeling a little thrown by what he said. “Why? Is it because I haven’t given you an answer? Are you mad at me?”

  “Of course I’m not mad at you,” Landen replied and Amelia could hear the surprise in his voice. “Believe me, there is nothing more I want to do than to go in there and spend the night with you,”

  Landen stopped for a moment as he shoved his hands into his pockets, giving her a strange look before he continued. “But if I go in there, I am going to be waiting for an answer to my question, but I promised to give you some time.”

  He looked at her for a moment, and Amelia knew that he really didn’t want to leave, but she also knew that he was right. She needed time to think but having him there with her would just make that impossible.

  She stepped closer to him, pressing her lips to his, as she softly placed her hand against his face.

  “I will see you tomorrow,” Amelia whispered against his lips. “And I promise I will give you my answer.”

  “Goodnight, Amelia,” Landen breathed against her mouth before he pressed his lips to hers once more.

  Suddenly he pulled back abruptly, as he let out a long frustrated groan.

  “You know that you’re killing me, woman!” He said as he pushed his fingers through his wavy hair. Before she had time to respond, he slammed his mouth to hers once more. His kiss was firm, deep, and full of passion. Then he breathlessly broke his lips away from hers once more, then quickly took a step back.

  He stared at her for a moment, before he smiled as he took another step backward.

  “Goodnight, Amelia,” he said as he reached for the call button for the elevator. The doors opened almost instantly. “Till tomorrow.”

  He gave her one last smile, then stepped back into the elevator, pressing the button to the ground floor.

  Amelia just stood there and watched as the door closed slowly, then he was gone. She stood there long after the elevator jumped to life, and descended through the building.

  Amelia turned slowly, walking into her apartment, wondering what the hell had just happened.

  On Saturday evening, Amelia stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, looking at her reflection. She was wearing the dress that Nikki had chosen for her, while she thought it was possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, somehow it just didn’t feel like her.

  When Amelia was growing up, her father worked hard to provide a good life for them both, but their life was at best modest. The dress she was wearing probably cost more than her father would have made in a month in his pharmacy.

  But it was beautiful. Amelia wasn’t sure if she had ever seen that kind of material before. It was as soft as silk, but it was heavier. It was red in colour, with a high, neckline, but the back plunged down low, with a small train at the back, it hugged her figure perfectly. It complimented her chestnut coloured hair, which she had decided to wear up in soft curls on the back of her head.

  “Wow!” Nikki exclaimed from the doorway of her room. “You look sensational.”

  “I look like someone I hardly recognise,” Amelia said as she looked at her friend. “But I guess that’s the point.”

  “You need to stop worrying,” Nikki said with a smile as she stepped further into the room. She was wearing a black dress, with a split almost the entire length of the skirt of the dress, she looked stunning too.

  “Easy for you to say,” Amelia said with a laugh. “You look like you were born to wear those clothes.”

  “That’s because I was,” Nikki replied with a shrug. “But believe me, it’s nothing to be proud of.”

  “I’m sorry, Nik,” Amelia said worried she might have upset her friend.

  “Don’t be,” Nikki said with a grin. “If nothing else, my dad gave me long legs so that I can pull off dresses like this. You’v
e got to look at the bright side.”

  Amelia knew Nikki meant what she said, but she was also partially covering up her feelings. It was something Amelia had learned that Nikki did in the three months that she had known her. Nikki came across as a strong, confident woman, and for the most part, she was, but there was a part of her that was still the vulnerable girl that was beaten down by her father.

  “So, you want to tell me what’s going on with you and Landen?” Nikki said, surprising her with her question.

  “What makes you think that there’s something going on?” Amelia asked, but she knew that there was no real point in lying to her.

  “Because Landen was not himself yesterday at the office,” Nikki said with a grin, as she continued to watch Amelia. “Then he didn’t stay last night, also you’ve barely said two words all day long. So, something happened.”

  “Landen asked me to move in with him,” Amelia told Nikki, as Nikki’s face instantly lit up with a knowing smile.

  “I knew it,” Nikki said, and Amelia could hear the excitement in her voice. “I knew yesterday that there was something he wasn’t saying. I can’t believe he actually asked you.”

  “I told him I needed to think about it,” Amelia added, and Nikki’s smile faded a little.

  “And that’s why he didn’t stay last night,” Nikki finished Amelia’s story.

  “Yep,” she replied just as the doorbell sounded out in the apartment. “That’s probably him.”

  “You wait here,” Nikki said as once more she smiled. “I will open the door. Wait till Landen sees you. He is going to have a coronary when he sees you in that dress.”

  Nikki turned, hurrying out of the room, leaving Amelia standing there. She knew that tonight she would have to give him an answer to his question. The only trouble was, she still didn’t know what that answer was.

  Chapter 15

  As Landen stood at the door, waiting for it to be opened, he was surprised by how nervous he felt. Leaving the night before was probably the hardest thing Landen had ever done, but he knew it had been the right thing to do.

  He had known it was a big deal to ask her to move in with him, but it hadn’t been a decision he had made lightly.

  For Landen, this was a step he had never imagined he would want to take. He had his life exactly how he had always wanted it, also he had never felt like he was missing out on anything. That was until he had met Amelia, and in a heartbeat, all that had changed.

  He was surprised just how quickly he had gotten used to sleeping next to her, and how good it felt. It gave him a kind of comfort that he had never imagine it would. He hated when she wasn’t there.

  It almost felt alien to Landen to feel this way, but he did, and now he wanted more. Everything about her just made sense to him, he knew that whatever life had in store for him, he wanted to share that life with Amelia.

  Landen knew he had surprised her the night before, but he hadn’t really thought that she might not feel the same way about him. The moment he saw the expression on her face when she found the key and security card in the box, Landen knew that he might have made a huge mistake.

  What had surprised him the most was the disappointment he felt when she didn’t instantly say yes to moving in with him. He had tried so hard to seem unfazed by her reluctance, but he knew she could see through him.

  That was why he decided the right thing to do was go home.

  Landen knew that if he had stayed, he would have pushed her for an answer, and that would have been unfair for him to do. Amelia said she needed a little time, so he thought the best thing to do was give her a little space too.

  But now that he was standing there once more, he knew that any answer other than yes was going to break his heart, and this was shocking to him.

  Finally, the door opened, and Landen breathed a little sigh of relief when he saw Nikki standing there instead of Amelia.

  “You look amazing,” Landen said as he gave his friend a nervous smile.

  “And now I know exactly how you looked the night of your prom,” Nikki said with a smile as she stepped back to let Landen into the apartment.

  “You’ve seen me in formal before,” Landen replied, not really knowing what she was talking about.

  “I was actually talking about the look of terror on your face,” Nikki said as she led him down the hallway to the living room.

  “I do not have a look of terror on my face,” Landen replied with a sigh, as he rolled his eyes.

  “If you say so, Boss Man,” Nikki said as she giving him a knowing smile.

  “Do I really look nervous?” Landen asked, giving his friend a worried look.

  “Yes,” Nikki replied honestly. “But you are not the only one.”

  “She’s nervous too?” Landen asked in a hushed voice.

  “Well, it’s not every day that Landen Murphy asks you to move in with you!” Nikki exclaimed, then gave him a wink.

  “So, she told you,” Landen said, unsure if this was a good or a bad sign.

  “Yes, she told me,” Nikki confirmed, but then added with a smile. “And for what it’s worth, I think she would be mad to say no.”

  “Thanks, Nikki,” Landen said as he gave her a grateful smile. “I just hope she feels the same way.”

  “I don’t know how she feels,” Nikki said as she walked to the mirror above the fireplace, checking her make-up. “She is as deep as you sometimes, but she looks fantastic. I think I outdid myself on this dress, Boss Man.”

  “I’m sure you did,” Landen replied with a laugh, but he stopped as Nikki nodded behind him and he quickly turned around to Amelia standing there. There were no words to describe how simply stunning she was.

  “Do you like?” She asked as she gave him a nervous smile before she gave him a twirl, so he could see her entire dress.

  “I love,” Landen said as he slowly walked towards her, with the biggest smile on his face. He stopped right in front of her, his smile widened even more. “How did I ever get this lucky?”

  “I think you mean how did I get this lucky?” Amelia replied as her voice cracked with nervous energy.

  “Okay you two,” Nikki chimed in from behind Landen. “Get a room already. All you’re short of doing is dropping down and doing it right here.”

  “Classy as ever, Nik,” Landen sighed turning and giving her a scolding look.

  “Always, Boss Man,” Nikki laughed as she picked up her clutch from the coffee table. “Now are we going to get this show on the road, or will I need to break out a couple of ice buckets.”

  “Move,” Landen pointed towards the door, as he tried his hardest not to smile.

  He knew exactly what Nikki was doing, and he was grateful to her. She could sense that they were both as nervous as each other, and she was doing what she did best. She was lightening the mood.

  “Charming,” Nikki said as she walked past Landen, as she did, she stuck out her tongue. Landen couldn’t help but smile this time. He turned, looking at Amelia, and his smile widened once more.

  “Shall we?” He asked as he offered her his arm. She just smiled as she took it, and let Landen lead her out to the door, and then into the elevator.

  “Amelia,” Nikki said as the three friends rode down in the elevator side by side.

  “Yes,” Amelia said as she leaned forward slightly, glancing over at Nikki.

  “If you decide to move in with Landen,” Nikki said, and Landen could hear the amusement in her voice. “You should know there’s no givesies backsies. You move in with him, and this grumpy old fart is all yours.”

  Amelia just laughed out loud, and Landen almost choked, he couldn’t believe she had said that even for Nikki.

  He glanced over at her, and she gave him a smile that told him she believed that everything was going to be okay, and something told him, right at that moment, it really would.

  When they arrived at the ball, Landen could feel all eyes were on him and Amelia, or more precisely, Amelia. He knew mostly it was
because she was probably the most beautiful woman in the room, but also because this was a first for him. He never brought dates to these things. He never really brought dates anywhere, so to see the great and powerful Bulldozer with a date on his arm was a surprise to most there.

  As they made their way through the crowd, they were stopped time and time again, as people clambered over each other to talk to him. He knew that it was in part because of who his family was, as much as his own reputation. As he did, he introduced Amelia to everyone they talked to.

  “Ms. Coleman,” one man said as his eyes raked over her entire body. “You look awfully familiar, are you perhaps related to an old college friend of mine, Marion Coleman. Her family was from Chicago I believe.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m not,” Amelia replied with a smile. Landen was impressed how natural she was in this environment. He was sure that she would have been more nervous, but instead, she fit in perfectly like she had been doing this all her life.

  Suddenly a flash exploded in front of them, almost blinding Landen, as someone took their picture.

  “Sorry, Mr. Murphy,” the young man behind the camera said with an apologetic look. “I’m supposed to get photographs of all the guests.”

  “Well you got your photo,” Landen said impatiently. “Now stay the hell out of my way.”

  “Of course, Sir,” the young man spluttered out nervously.

  “Why was he taking our photo?” Amelia asked, and there was a nervous tone in her voice.

  “For that,” Landen replied, pointing to the large display of photographs on the wall behind them. They were pictures from the year before. “They hang the pictures every year from the previous event. It’s become something of a tradition. They said it’s because each year we lose a supporter or two with this illness, so it means they get to be here for one more event after they are gone. But I think it’s more to remind us that there are no guarantees in life, that we should make a difference while we can.”