Conception (The Wellingtons #4) - Tessa Teevan Page 0,132

our lives, in fact.”

Her dazzling smile does little to extinguish my temptation. “I like the sound of that.”

I take her hand before changing my mind and taking her right here. “Come on. I want you to see the backyard. It was one of the selling points for me.”

Amelia gasps when we walk through the double doors off the dining room. The massive backyard isn’t nearly as impressive as it is in the daylight, but the moonlight adequately illuminates the vast green space that’s a blank canvas for her to do with as she pleases. The estate sits on twenty acres, more than enough room to expand our brood and then some. I can already envision the birthday parties, summer bashes, and holidays we’ll spend celebrating here.

“Knox, I can imagine raising our family here. I never want to leave this place.”

“Then we never will.”

She smiles and then yawns, declaring her exhaustion from the day.

Just as Amelia’s ready to climb the stairs back to our bedroom, I remove the sash I placed in my back pocket. I catch her hand when she reaches the third step.

“One more thing?” she asks, her eyes drooping, her voice laced with exhaustion. She stifles another yawn. “Today has been so overwhelming. In the best way possible. I’m not sure I can take any more.”

“Trust me. You can take this,” I promise, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

She laughs, playing swatting my arm. “It is our wedding night.”

Even though that’s not what I mean, I chuckle anyway. She holds still while I tie the sash around her eyes and lead her a room at the back of the house. I open the door and guide her in, turning on the dim light so she’ll be able to see clearly.

When I remove the sash, I take a step back, letting Amelia take it all in.

Her sharp intake of breath has pride swelling in me.

Amelia bursts into tears. Pretty much the reaction I was expecting. She walks into the dark room, examining the photos of our summer together. She turns to me, her eyes rounded and in awe.

“You built me a darkroom?” she whispers, her fingers coming to her lips.

“This house wouldn’t be your home without it.”

“And who developed the pictures…” Her voice trails off when she sees I’m beaming with pride. “You?”

“Since I graduated early, I decided to take a course on developing film. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again…and it made me feel closer to you.”

“Oh, Knox.” She throws her arms around my shoulders and peppers kisses all over my face. “You’re the sweetest man I’ve ever known. God, I love you so much my heart could burst.”

Before I can respond, she goes back to the photos, eyeing each and every one.

“I got the camera and the film from Sunny. She told me you never developed it after I left,” I explain. “Gotta say, babe, I’m a little disappointed you never developed my photos. I, for one, used yours every single night.”

She blushes at the memory of the dirty photos she snuck into my bag. “Glad to hear it. I had the polaroid. That one memento hurt to look at. A whole slew of them? I wasn’t strong enough… But looking at them now, I sure was missing out.”

I wrap my arms around her waist, nuzzling the nape of her neck. “We both were, baby. But the good news is, Mrs. Wellington, we’ll never have to miss out again.”

Amelia tilts her neck, giving me better access. She places her hands over mine and squeezes. “Take me to bed, Mr. Wellington.”

She doesn’t have to ask me twice. We close up the darkroom and make our way through our new home.

That sounds so damn good.

Amelia pauses as the bottom of the staircase. Her expression is wistful.

“What’s wrong, babe?”

She shrugs. “It’s silly. This night… This day. It’s been perfect. More than I could have ever imagined. It’s just… I wish Branson were here. It feels wrong spending the night in our new home without him.” She waves the thought off. “I’m probably just out of sorts since it’s the first night I’ve spent away from him. That we’ve spent away from him. Do you think we could call your mom just to check in?”

Just as I’m about to agree, the doorbell chimes.

Right. On. Cue.

“Who could that be this late?” she wonders. Then her eyes widen. “I’m barely dressed! We can’t have visitors!”

Having prepared for this, I go to the coat closet, grab a robe, and toss it to