Chapter 3

Amelia

Holy fuck. What was I doing here? I sat back against the headboard of the guest room bed, wine in hand. I’d told Henry I’d come to his home to deliver Ralph’s letter and while that wasn’t an outright lie, it wasn’t the entire reason I was here either.

My imagination had led me here. Faded and scant memories of a man who had loved my sister. Someone I’d remembered as a Prince. He could tell me things about Vee that I didn’t know that I’d been too young to know. I could make the vision of the person in my mind a reality. I had been just nine years old when I’d lost my sister. Far too young to experience such grief and so I found it had hit me again later in life. Times like when I got my period, or had a crush on a guy at school. Times when it would be too embarrassing to talk to Mom, but an older sister who’d trod the path before could have been a great adviser. Instead, it was like I barely knew her at all. She’d been fourteen years older than me and by the time I was properly aware of my big sister she’d moved away from home. She’d gotten along with Ralph okay, but the moment she could she had left the family home. She had a brilliant mind Mon said and was a billionaire in property by the age of twenty-one. To me she was a hero, an enigma. I had family photos of us, photos with my big sister hugging me and smiling fondly at me. However, the real keeper of her secrets, of what she was like in personality, was held within the cold tomb of Henry Carter. That’s how my mom had described him, anyway. She said he’d lost touch, had found it too difficult to remain around us. He’d thrown himself into his businesses — a club my parents thought I knew nothing about, and his property business. The business my sister had set up. She’d always said there would be a job for me when I was older and now I’d come to see if Henry would let me take that job. But if I was to get anywhere with him, I could see I was going to have to tread very carefully, go slowly. He was like a timid, but feral cat - wary and watching. As soon as I had sat across from him at the kitchen island, I could see I’d thrown his carefully ordered world upside down and that he was struggling to think straight. It was why I’d agreed I’d see him in the morning. Henry Carter needed to process things. He needed the time to consider his options. I had no idea what was in the letter my mom’s first husband, Ralph - Vee’s father - had sent him, but Ralph had asked me to make sure he was alright after reading it, so I would ask him about it in the morning.

I stared around the classic looking room with its high ceilings, high windows and muted tones of beiges and creams. It was beautiful and a much nicer room than anything I would be able to rent. When Henry had said I could stay the week I had breathed a huge sigh of relief. It had saved me asking him if I could stay.

Taking a drink of wine I rested my head back and closed my eyes. My thoughts taking me back in time.

“What’s it like being in love, Vee?” I asked my big sister. She was getting married soon. Her boyfriend, Henry, was like one of the princes in my fairy tale books. He had longish blond hair, all floppy over his face and when he smiled, it was like his face was sunshine. He gave my sister the sunshine look all the time. “Is it like sunshine?” I added.

Vee stroked my face.

“Sometimes. Well, a lot of the time, it’s like sunshine. It makes you feel all happy and warm inside, you know?” I nodded avidly.

“But it’s not like those fairy tales I keep catching you reading.” My face dulled. “Sometimes we argue, just like anyone. That could be the thunder and lightning I guess, and sometimes we can get upset with each other and I guess that’s the rain? But then the sun comes back out and everything is lovely again.”

“But is it mainly sunshine.”

She nodded. “It’s mainly sunshine, Lia.” (She was the only person who ever called me that. I was her special Lia.)

I beamed at her words. “I thought so.”

We didn’t know that the lightning would strike her down and leave ongoing storm damage.

Death is strange when you’re young. You don’t fully understand what is happening. All I knew was my princess sister had died and her prince had left forever, brokenhearted.

For years I had kept all my family photos in my room. I pored over photographs of Vee and of Henry. Eventually, as my teens hit, I found myself looking more and more at the photos of Henry. The prince with the smiling face, and I wondered whether he’d found another princess, another wife. But I’d searched for him via the internet and realized pretty quickly that he’d never settled down again. He was broken, just like me. We were missing a piece. A piece called Vee. I needed to find him and talk to him.

When I’d walked into the room, those kid-like feelings of seeing Prince Henry had come to the fore. He was Mr. Sunshine and I’d flung my arms around him. Then he’d held me at arms-length and I’d seen in his eyes that there was no sun shining there anymore. His gaze was intense. His long, prince-like hair now short and stripped away like Delilah had done a Samson on him.

But he was beautiful. The man was a beautiful storm, and I’d realized the truth of why I was really there. I’d crushed on my prince for many long years while I had mourned my sister and now I’d found him. A broken prince I was determined to save.

To bring the sunshine back.

For a short while the next morning as the alarm on my cell phone slowly awakened me, I wondered where I was. The vast king-size bed dwarfed my thin frame and the thick comforter was wrapped around my legs. I kicked it off and stared at the ceiling. It was my first full day in Manhattan. As I didn’t know how I would be spending the day yet, I fixed my hair into a ponytail, placed a robe over the top of my pajamas, and made my way towards the kitchen. The aroma of fresh coffee coupled with bacon drifted down the landing and my stomach growled in anticipation.

“Good morning, Amelia. Did you sleep well?” Mary turned away from the stove. “Take a seat and I’ll bring you some breakfast. Coffee, and bacon and eggs, okay?”

“Oh my, that sounds like heaven, Mary. Thank you.” I said honestly, my stomach growled with the thought of a home-cooked breakfast.

“Toast is on the table.”

She brought my food over and I added some buttered toast and tucked in heartily. The food was delicious, and I told her so while still chewing.

“It’s nice to see someone enjoying my food.”

I turned to her and tilted my head. “Do you mean Henry doesn’t enjoy your food, or other, erm, people?”

“There are never other people.” She emphasized the word other as she spoke it. “Henry always says thank you, but I never see the look on his face I just saw on yours.”

“He’s a mess isn’t he?” I asked her, even though I already knew the answer.

“He’s a complex man. A hugely successful businessman. But he’s closed off. Emotional situations shut him down. He avoids them.”

I pick up my coffee, “How?”

Mary’s paused for a moment in thought. “Say an acquaintance of his is getting married. He’ll send them the most perfect present he can get them. It will be carefully considered, but he’ll always have a business trip that means he can’t attend the occasion.”

“Weddings are boring; sounds like a great excuse to get out of them.” I quipped.

A small smile appeared on Mary’s face. “Well, there is that. I’ve four daughters. I have to admit that by the fourth one’s wedding, I was praying none of them remarry! It’s more than that though. It’s like he can’t face anything like that. Still. After all this time.” Then Mary puts a hand to her chest. “I’m sorry, Amelia. I’m forgetting she was your sister.”

I waved her off, “It’s fine, Mary. I’m the opposite of Henry. I like to talk about my sister because I don’t remember her all that much. We, as you know, had different parents and Vee was fourteen years older than me. She stayed over sometimes though, once she’d left, just to see me.”

“It must have been very difficult for you.”

“It was strange because my mom changed. She became very overprotective, which now I’m older I understand, but at the time it was hard. She wouldn’t let me do the things other kids my age did. I couldn’t roller-blade or ride a horse. I felt like Rapunzel, you know, stuck in my ivory tower.”

“Morning.”

Mary and I turned our heads towards the doorway simultaneously and there he was, Henry. Already immaculately dressed in a sharp gray suit, with a pale gray shirt, and a black and navy striped tie. He sat down at the kitchen island and Mary passed him a coffee and a slice of toast.

“Are you not having the lovely breakfast Mary’s cooked for you?” I asked him.

He looked up at me, a frown on his face. “I only ever have coffee and toast. I need to rush to the office.”

“But she cooked, there’s bacon and-”

“I cooked for you, Amelia. I wanted to make sure you got a good start to your day.”

I blushed a little, surprised and heart-warmed. “Mary, you shouldn’t have. Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure, like I said before, to see someone enjoy my cooking.”

“Cook Henry some bacon and eggs, please.” I asked.

“Amelia.” Henry warned. “I’m in a rush.”

“Are you? I thought you were the boss? Delegate, or be late. It’s not every day you get a surprise visitor.”

“I got a surprise visitor yesterday,” he smirked. “Today, I know you’re here.”

“Well, I want to see you for a while. Who knows I may leave today and go get a job in Manhattan and not return, so you’d better hang on to see me right now.” I stuck my tongue in my cheek.

Henry sighed. “Fine. Mary, would you please fix me some bacon and eggs, so I may breakfast with Amelia, and if you haven’t eaten yourself yet, please fix some for yourself too, and let’s all sit down and entertain Amelia while she’s still here.” He picked up his cell, “Ashley. Something’s come up. Can you move my morning appointment to tomorrow? Thanks.” He placed his cell back on the table. “Satisfied? The boss moved things so you can watch him eat bacon.”

I laughed, and Mary joined in. We both looked at the very serious looking Henry who sounded as if he’d just had a tantrum. Then Henry began laughing too.

“Actually, the aroma in here is so good, it’s not a hardship to stay and eat a cooked breakfast. I’ll have to hit the gym harder tonight, that’s all.”

“You go to the gym a lot?” I asked him.

“Most days. It’s on the fifth floor. I’ll get you a guest pass.” He explained.

“Excellent. When will you be going?”

“I never have a set time, just when I get home from work.”

“Well, let me know, and I’ll come with you. You can show me the ropes.”

He turned to me, “You do realize there are instructors there who can ‘show you the ropes’, and the equipment, and the weights?”

“Yeah, but I’m shy, so I’d rather go there with you.”

Mary placed a plate of food in front of him and refilled his coffee.

“Help me, Mary. This girl has come and is causing chaos. She’s only been here a few hours.”

Mary took a seat at the table and smirked at me while Henry sliced up a piece of bacon.

“Yes, I’ve noticed the difference already,” she said, and she winked at me.