Landen (The Murphy Boys, Book 1)

by Holly C. Webb

  “Would you like some breakfast, Mr. Murphy?” Carla asked turned her attention to Landen. “Or some coffee?”

  “Actually, Amelia and I are just heading out,” Landen replied taking hold of Amelia’s hand. “I’m taking her out for breakfast; then I’ve got a surprise for her.”

  “What kind of surprise?” Liam asked giving her brother a questioning look.

  “I could tell you, Little Brother,” Landen replied with a grin, then added. “But then I’d have to kill you.”

  “HA!” Liam exclaimed, then laughed out loud. “Now that I would love to see.”

  “Don’t tempt me,” Landen chuckled as he turned and started out of the kitchen. “But for now, I’ll leave you here with Carla, while I take my beautiful Bride-to-be, to breakfast.”

  “Enjoy,” Liam replied, then added. “And be careful.”

  Landen stopped in the doorway, looking back at his brother.

  “I will,” he assured him with a half-smile. “I’ll call you later.”

  “Talk to you then,” Landen said before he led Amelia out of the kitchen and down towards the hallway.

  Isaac, a six foot four inch, African American mountain, who said very little, was standing by the elevator. He nodded at Amelia before he turned his attention to Landen. In the three days that he had been protecting Amelia, Landen had barely heard him say more than ten words. He knew that Amelia wasn’t thrilled about having Isaac follow her around, but until Pete Reynolds was off the street, Isaac was going nowhere.

  “Mike is down at the car, Sir,” Isaac informed Landen.

  “Thank you, Isaac,” Landen said as the elevator doors open. Landen led Amelia into the elevator, before Isaac stepped in behind them.

  When they reached the basement, and the doors opened, Landen could feel Amelia tense before they both stepped off the elevator. He gave her hand a squeeze as he led her to the car.

  “Good morning, Ms. Davenport,” Mike said, and Landen could see the surprise in Amelia’s face.

  The truth was, Mike always knew who Amelia was, but Landen had asked him to keep up the pretense that her name was Coleman. Now that Pete knew where she was, there was no point in pretending anymore.

  “Good morning, Mike,” Amelia replied, giving him a smile before she climbed into the back of the car.

  “Good morning, Sir,” Mike said, giving Landen a nod.

  “Mike,” Landen replied, before he too climbed into the back of the car, next to Amelia.

  Twenty minutes later, they were pulling up outside The Four Seasons.

  “What are we doing here?” Amelia asked as she leaned over Landen, looking up at the building they had stopped in front of.

  “We are going to have breakfast,” Landen replied like it was the most normal thing in the world.

  “At the Four Seasons”? Amelia asked with a smile, as she turned, glancing up at Landen.

  “Why not?” Landen replied with a laugh as Mike opened Amelia’s door, and the doorman opened Landen’s.

  Landen waited for Amelia to join him, before he turned and walked into the hotel, followed closely by Mike.

  Landen led Amelia across the foyer, then up one flight of stairs, through two sets of double doors to a small private dining room with a table set for two, while Mike took a seat outside, and waited for Landen and Amelia to be finished with the early morning feast.

  Once they were inside, Landen walked to the table, pulling out Amelia’s chair before he looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to take her seat.

  “Thank you,” Amelia said with a smile, as she took her chair. Once she was seated, Landen took his seat across from her. He reached for the bottle of champagne that was sitting in a chiller on the side of the table and quickly tore open the foil wrapping from the bottle, then opened the bottle with a pop.

  “Champagne for breakfast, Mr. Murphy?” Amelia asked with a giggle.

  “Of course, Ms. Davenport,” Landen replied with a grin. “Nothing but the best for my girl.”

  “Your girl?” Amelia laughed as she raised her eyebrows.

  “You will always be my girl, Amelia Davenport,” Landen said as he poured her a glass of champagne, then one for himself. He picked up his glass and held it up to Amelia, waiting for her to raise her glass too.

  “To us,” Landen said when Amelia lifted her glass.

  “To us,” Amelia repeated then brought the champagne to her lips, taking a long sip. “I can’t believe I am drinking champagne at ten o’clock in the morning.”

  “Well get used to it,” Landen laughed, and he gave her a broad smile. “Because this is what our life is going to be. Just you and me, enjoying what this world has to offer; and the rest of the world can just disappear.”

  “Wouldn’t that be perfect,” Amelia replied with a sad smile, and Landen knew her mind was filled with worry about Pete Reynolds.

  “I promise you,” Landen said as he set his glass down, then leaned over and took hold of her hand. “Someday soon, this nightmare will be over, and we will have the rest of our lives to look forward too.”

  “I know we will,” Amelia replied with a smile, as Landen brought her hand up to his lips, and kissed it softly.

  “So, what’s this surprise?” Amelia asked Landen as they sat side by side in the back of the car, heading God knows where.

  “Now if I told you that,” Landen chuckled as he brought her hand to his lips once more kissing if softly. “It wouldn’t be much of a surprise, now, would it?”

  “I guess not,” Amelia sighed and smiles, as she glanced out the window, trying to figure out where the hell they were.

  A few minutes later, Mike pulled the car through a huge set of gates, before he drove up a long, gravel driveway, then finally pulling the car to a stop outside a huge cream coloured house.

  “Where are we?” Amelia asked as she leaned over Landen once more, looking up at the beautiful building in front of them.

  “Come on, I’ll show you,” Landen said as Mike opened the car door. He quickly climbed out of the car, unable to hide his excitement as he reached back to Amelia, offering her his hand.

  For the last two weeks, he had been keeping this secret from her, it had been the hardest thing he ever had to do, but now that the time had come to tell her everything, Landen was more nervous than he had thought he would be.

  As Amelia stepped out of the car, she looked up at the house, and Landen prayed that she would love this place as much as he had the first time he saw it.

  “Let me show you inside,” Landen said as he led her up the front steps of the house, slipping the key into the lock.

  “Wow,” Amelia said as Landen stepped back to let her in through the front door. “This place is gorgeous.”

  Landen watched Amelia as she took in her surroundings, and he couldn’t help but smile as he watched her fall in love with this beautiful home too.

  It was a beautiful building. It was freshly decorated in muted tones, the hardwood floor that ran through the entire building was recently redone too. On the ground floor, there were two large reception rooms, a beautiful modern kitchen, a living room, a dining room, and two other smaller rooms that could be used as a home office or maybe someday, a playroom.

  On the second floor, there were six large bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms, a further two more bedrooms in the attic. The front of the house was private, completely hidden from the street by a line of huge oak trees. The back of the house was overlooking San Francisco Bay, the view was simply breathtaking. There was a large patio area with a pool, and beyond that, there was a beautiful manicured garden. This house was perfect.

  “So, what do you think?” Landen finally asked, when he had finished showing Amelia around the house.

  “It’s beautiful,” Amelia said as she turned to Landen and gave him a smile. “I have honestly never seen anything like this.”

  “Well, I’m glad that’s how you feel,” Landen said as he held pulled another set of keys from his pocket, but these
had a tiny pink bow on them. “Because it’s yours.”

  “I’m sorry,” Amelia said as the blood drained from her face. “It’s what?”

  “It’s yours,” Landen repeated with a grin. “Well, ours, but you know what I mean. I bought this for you as a wedding present.”

  “You bought me a house?” Amelia replied, completely stunned by what Landen had said.

  “I want us to have a real home, Amelia,” Landen said as he stepped closer to her. “Somewhere to make a future and grow old together. Somewhere to raise a family.”

  “You want a family?” Amelia asked, almost sounding stunned.

  “I want it all, Amelia,” Landen said as he slipped his arms around her waist and drew her closer to him. “But I only want it with you. You have been my game changer. I never imagined I could be this happy, but I am.”

  “I’m happy too,” Amelia replied as she leaned into him, looking up into his eyes.

  “So what do you say?” Landen asked. “Do you want to live here happily ever after?”

  “I do,” Amelia replied with a grin. “I really do.”

  “I can’t believe that my mom is actually insisting that tomorrow night we have to stay in separate places,” Landen said as he emerged from the bathroom in his boxer shorts, later that night. “I mean how ridiculous is that?”

  “It’s bad luck to see each other before the wedding,” Amelia replied with a laugh as she sat on the bed, watching Landen closely. “It’s just one night.”

  “I know,” Landen sighed as he pulled back the covers on his side of the bed, climbing beneath them. “I just hate being away from you.”

  “I know,” Amelia laughed, but there was a nervousness in her laughter that caught Landen’s attention.

  “You’re not worried are you?” He asked knowing that she was still terrified that Pete would show up at any moment.

  “I’m fine,” Amelia insisted as she gave Landen a reassuring smile.

  “You know you’ve said that word so many times these past few days,” Landen sighed as he reached out, taking hold of her hand. “It doesn’t even sound real anymore.”

  “But I am,” Amelia replied, and she gave him another smile. “Right at this moment, I’m perfect.”

  “Good,” Landen said as he leaned forward, softly kissed her on the lips.

  “I have something for you,” Amelia said as she looked up into Landen’s eyes.

  “You didn’t have to buy me anything,” Landen insisted wishing she didn’t feel like she needed to compete with him.

  “I didn’t actually buy it,” Amelia replied as she blushed a little. “And it’s definitely not a house. But it’s something that means the world to me, so I want you to have it.”

  She pulled a small box from beneath her pillow and handed it to Landen.

  Landen carefully pulled the ribbon off, before he slowly opened the box and found the most beautiful pocket watch inside.

  “It belonged to my dad,” Amelia explained. “My mom gave it to him on their wedding day, he carried it with him everywhere. That watch and the locket I have are the only two things I have left that belonged to my mom and dad, but I know if my dad were here, he would want you to have this. Especially on our wedding day.”

  “Amelia,” Landen said as he looked down at the watch, for the first time in his life, Landen was speechless. “It’s beautiful…”

  “Turn it over,” Amelia instructed him as her smile widened. “I had it engraved.”

  Landen did as she said, turning the watch over, then read the words.

  To Landen, time is never promised, but love can last forever, Amelia x.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Landen said as he looked up at this woman whom he loved more than life itself. “I will treasure this till the day I die. Thank you.”

  “No,” Amelia said as she leaned over, softly kissing him on the lips. “Thank you for teaching me to live again and letting me believe that sometimes happy ever afters come true.”

  Landen leaned forward and kissed her once more before he pushed her back down on the bed, claiming her mouth once more.

  Chapter 24

  Amelia

  Amelia woke up early on Saturday morning and was a little confused by her surroundings, but as the fog of sleep cleared, she remembered where she was and why she was there.

  She had spent the night at Landen’s parents’ house, and today she was going to become Mrs. Landen Murphy.

  Amelia pushed herself up in bed, staring over at the wedding gown that was hanging on the closet door. It was probably the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life, she still couldn’t believe she was going to get to wear it. She still couldn’t believe that she was actually going to marry Landen. She felt so happy, that not even Pete Reynolds, who was constantly at the back of her mind, could take away her happiness today.

  The night before, when Landen was leaving to go and stay at their penthouse with Finn, who was going to be Landen’s Best Man, he wasn’t really happy about leaving her alone.

  Amelia assured Landen that she wouldn’t be alone, she would be with his parents, plus Nikki was staying over too. But still, Landen wasn’t happy. In the end, Liam and Callum agreed to stay at their parent’s house too. Just to reassure Landen. Dylan went home with Landen and Finn.

  She had just climbed into bed when her phone beeped on her nightstand, Amelia knew straight away that the message would be from Landen, and she was right. She pressed open on the text message and smiled when she read his words.

  I miss you. I want you to come home. Lx,

  Amelia could even picture his pouting face as he typed in the message.

  She thought for a moment before she tapped in a reply.

  I don’t think your mother would be happy if I snuck out. Ax.

  She hit send and smiled once more as she waited for him to reply. She didn’t have to wait long.

  You’re no fun. I could sneak into your room??

  Amelia laughed out loud when she read this, quickly tapping in a response.

  How did I know you were going to say that? Behave!

  She hit send, waiting for Landen’s reply. He replied almost instantly.

  Spoilsport!

  Amelia laughed once more before she tapped in her response.

  Good night, Landen x

  She hit send and waited for him to reply. As she waited, she was surprised but how much she actually wanted him to insist on coming over, but she was never going to admit that to him. Her phone beeped once more with his response.

  Good night beautiful. See you in the morning. Just look for the guy with the biggest smile on his face. Lx.

  Amelia couldn’t have loved him anymore that she did at that very moment. She smiled as she tapped in her response.

  Love you, baby. Ax.

  She hit send and waited for him to reply.

  Love you more, Lx.

  Amelia smiled once more before she set her phone down on the nightstand, and soon she was fast asleep.

  The sound of her phone beeping pulled her from her thoughts, and just like the night before, she knew it would be Landen before she even picked up the phone.

  Good morning, Amelia. Hope you had sweets dreams. Make sure you have a good breakfast. You’ll need your strength today…and tonight xx

  Amelia could feel her face flush, and she imagined her night with Landen, she knew he meant it when he said she would need her strength. Landen knew exactly how to make her world spin, and having spent a night apart from him; Amelia knew Landen would have some catching up to do.

  She grinned to herself as she tapped in her response.

  Good morning, Mr. Murphy. You’re incorrigible.

  She hit send, imagining Landen’s face when he read her message. Her phone pinged with a new message moments later. Amelia quickly opened it.

  But you love me!

  Amelia wished more than anything he was there with her right at that moment. She missed him, which she knew was ridiculous, but s
he was used to waking up next to him. She tapped in her response.

  Always xx

  She hit send, setting her phone on the nightstand, before she pushed up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. She had a busy morning ahead of her before she got to marry the man of her dreams.

  Amelia wasted no time climbing into the shower, letting the hot water pour down over her, washing away all her worries. Today was going to be the happiest day of her life.

  Nell had arranged to have a hairdresser and a make-up artist come to the house, to get Amelia ready for her big day. She also had a girl coming to do her nails, so it was going to be a busy morning.

  Amelia had only left the bathroom, after her shower, when there was a soft tap on the bedroom door.

  “Come in,” she called out as she pulled her dressing gown tighter around her. The door opened slowly, and Liam’s head came around the door.

  “Is it okay if I come in?” He asked as he gave her a big smile.

  “Sure,” Amelia replied, as she smiled too.

  The door opened further, and Liam walked into the room, carrying a beautiful bouquet of red roses.

  “This came for you a few minutes ago,” Liam said as he walked across the bedroom, setting the flowers down on the chest of drawers across from the bed.

  Amelia walked towards where Liam had set them down and slipped the card from the flowers. Slipping the card from the tiny white envelope, Amelia smiled as she read the message.

  Love you today, and always. Lx.

  “From the smile on your face, I’d say my brother is being his cheesy self,” Liam said with a laugh.

  “He’s perfect,” Amelia replied with a smile as she looked up at Liam. “So you leave him alone.”

  “Okay, Sis,” Liam said, kissing Amelia on the cheek. “You know, that sounds nice. It will be good to have a sister for a change, instead of idiot brothers.”

  “Well I will love being your sister,” Amelia said as she walked to the bed, and sat down. “I’m not sure I would call your brothers, idiots.”

  “No, I guess not,” Liam chuckled, as he too walked to the bed and sat down. “But enough about them. How are you holding up?”