Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (25 page)

A quarter hour later, Amanda walked into the kitchen.
Emmy looked up. Her friend looked disheveled, but at least she’d freshened up a
bit.

“I know,” Amanda said, holding her hand up. “I’ve seen
better days.”

Emmy bit her lip, shrugging.

“How was last night?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Amanda grabbed the cup of coffee Emmy had set on the
counter. She drank some, and then went to the pantry. There was an open package
of cinnamon rolls inside.

“Have you heard back from any of the places you’ve
applied to?”

Amanda nodded. She sat on the table, carrying her cup
and a plate with two cinnamon rolls.

“I’m good at tech, so I applied at the Best Buy that’s
nearby. They called me back.”

“You don’t even have any degree in computer repair.”

“That’s not necessary. I wasn’t even intent on a job
with Geek Squad. I’ll be a sales associate.”

“That’s good.”

“I have an interview for next Monday. Hopefully, I can
get started soon.”

Amanda ate in silence. When she finished, she walked
to the sink to put the dishes there. After she left her plate there, Amanda’s
smartphone beeped once. She pulled it from her pocket and checked it.

A mild crashing sound made Emmy turn around to look.
She saw Amanda standing frozen next to the sink. Her hands were in front of
her, looking as though she were holding something. Emmy looked to the floor and
saw the smartphone.

“What’s wrong?” Emmy asked, standing up. Amanda took a
few steps back, covering her face with her hands. Emmy picked up the
smartphone. When she saw what had made Amanda thunderstruck, she went white.

“He. Did. Not,” Emmy said, taking a deep breath. She
looked at her friend, who was sobbing.

“This is…I can’t…he,” Amanda said, still in disbelief.
“Nathan couldn’t have done this to me.”

Emmy looked at the phone screen again. The message was
from Erika. It contained photos of Nathan making out with her.

“If Nathan wanted to push me away for good, he got
away with it.”

Fuming, Amanda left the kitchen. She walked out of the
apartment and went next door to her bodyguards. She knocked on their door.

“Open, it’s me.”

The door opened, and Kellan peered out.

“Amanda! What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing that she
was crying. Amanda embraced him.

“I don’t want to see that jerk in my life again.”

Kellan’s expression became confused. He gently stroked
Amanda’s back. As he did, Kellan noticed that she had dressed a bit too lightly
for the weather.

“Come on, let’s get inside.”

“No…I just want to go somewhere.”

Kellan broke from the embrace to look at Amanda.

“What did Nathan do to you now?”

Amanda stopped breathing.

“Never say his name again.”

Amanda took Kellan’s hand, starting to lead him.

“Wait. You should at least get a few more layers to
wear before we go.”

“Whatever. I want the car ready.”

While Amanda grabbed a jacket, Kellan walked to the parking
lot to start the car. Shortly after, Caldwell escorted Amanda there. The two
got in the car.

“Where to?” Kellan asked.

“Drive to the end of the world if you wish. I couldn’t
care less right now.”

Kellan and Caldwell exchanged glances. The former revved
the engine and started driving. Amanda looked absently out through her window
most of the way. She had an expression of anguish and determination on her
face. Kellan gritted his teeth, itching to know what Nathan could have done to
break Amanda’s heart that way.

Amanda felt disappointed. Nothing had ever hurt her
like now, not even Liam Stone’s death. That had just broken her heart. Nathan
not only did the same, he stepped on those pieces, pulverizing them.

Does life have meaning without love?
Amanda thought to herself. At only nineteen, she had experienced
so much hurt. Amanda was reluctant to look for love again. She wouldn’t do so
for a long time, if ever.

Kellan stopped outside a sports store. Amanda looked
at him, perplexed.

“What are we doing here?”

“I’m just stopping by. You stay here with Caldwell. I
won’t be long.”

Kellan opened the door. He hesitated, and then turned
back to Amanda.

“What shoe size do you wear, by the way?”

Amanda couldn’t help blushing. She shook it off. It
wasn’t like he’d asked her bra size.

“Seven point five.”

Kellan smiled, letting out a soft breath.

“Gotta look in the kids’ section, then.”

Amanda bumped Kellan in the shoulder.

“Get out,” she said, joking. Kellan laughed, closing
the door and walking to the store. Amanda couldn’t help but wonder what he was
up to.

To pass the time, Amanda grabbed a car magazine Kellan
had left in the glove box.

Cars. So typical of men.

Amanda was through half of the magazine—admiring a
Lamborghini Aventador—before Kellan returned. She saw him walk around to the
back of the car. Kellan opened the truck, leaving his purchases there. Then he
walked to the driver’s seat and got inside.

“What did you buy?” Amanda asked.

“You’ll find out soon.”

The three were on the road again. Amanda noticed that
Kellan was driving mostly north. The trip took only a few minutes. They arrived
at an area of town that had lots of trees. Most of them still had no leaves.
The green grass was partially covered by powder snow.

“This is Stewart Park,” Kellan said, killing the
engine. The three of them undid their seatbelts and stepped out.

“You brought me to a park?”

Kellan walked to the trunk. He opened it, and Amanda
saw three boxes inside shopping bags. Kellan grabbed the boxes, revealing what
they were.

“Roller skates?” Amanda asked incredulously.

“Yep. I’m challenging both of you to a race.”

Amanda hesitated.

“Kellan, I’m not sure I’m in the mood.”

“Just go along with us. You’ll have fun,” Kellan told
Amanda, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She nodded, and he handed
her a box.

“These are yours. They really are kids’ size.”

“Not funny, Kellan,” said Amanda. The corners of her
lips barely turned up. She opened the box.

The three of them walked into the park. They found the
main trail, which surrounded most of the grounds.

“No throwing the game,” Kellan said to Amanda. He
began putting on his skates. The others did the same. Kellan had also brought
small backpacks for them to keep their regular shoes in.

On the count of three from Kellan, they started their
race. Amanda felt nervous about racing two muscular, highly trained men. They
could probably chase a criminal for miles. Due to the cold, they wouldn’t go too
fast, although none of them wanted to lose. Amanda pushed aside her thoughts
and focused on winning…or at least to not get left behind.

Caldwell seemed not to be the fastest of them, most
likely due to his heavier weight. So the contest was between Kellan and Amanda.
They both were fit, but the former had more years of training under his belt.
Amanda decided to use her considerably lower weight to her advantage.

Kellan won the first lap. Amanda lowered herself,
placing her hands on her knees. She felt winded.

“I thought you worked out,” said Kellan, laughing.

“I do. It’s just…”

“I know. You need to run more.”

Amanda straightened up, shrugging.

“There hasn’t been much chance for me to run lately,
what with the weather. I should go to a gym instead, as there’s no space in my
apartment for an elliptical.”

“That’s no problem. You can always come by our
apartment. Caldwell has an elliptical.”

Amanda looked at her other bodyguard.

“You do?”

“Yeah,” Caldwell said. “It’s not worth paying a gym
subscription simply to use one machine. You’re always welcome to use mine.”

“Um, thanks.”

Kellan clapped once.

“Who’s ready for round two?”

“Oh, I’m not losing this time,” Amanda said. This
time, she would use her rage, apart from her swiftness.

Amanda’s focus on winning impressed Kellan during that
round.

“Slow down, cute girl. You don’t want to plow into a
tree,” he teased.

“Taunting me won’t work,” Amanda replied while keeping
her gaze straight ahead.

Amanda managed to turn around the bends quite better
than her two opponents. She had the advantage of smaller size and less weight.
Amanda didn’t dare look back, but she could sense Kellan hot on her heels.

After another fifty feet of racing, Amanda won. She
lifted her arms in the air.

“Woo!”

Kellan and Caldwell blew past Amanda when she slowed
down. They turned around and skated back to where she was.

“Let’s do another one,” he said. “Give Caldwell
another chance.”

“That’s fine if you want to lose,” Caldwell joked.
“You two are tired, and I’ve got more endurance.”

Amanda felt a bit too tired after the one mile she had
raced. The sweat under her clothes also chilled her when the wind blew.

“I’ll pass this one.”

Kellan scoffed.

“Come with us, we can’t leave you alone.”

Amanda wiped her forehead, considering it.

“Okay. But just one more!”

“Softie,” Kellan
muttered. Amanda bumped him in the shoulder.

In his bedroom, Nathan was browsing Amanda’s Web site.
He liked the new design she had done the previous month. She now had several
albums of almost all her photo shoots. The photos were all high-resolution.

For me, there won’t be a woman more beautiful than my
Amanda Tilley.

Sighing, Nathan went to another tab. He logged on to
his social network profile. When Nathan realized that Amanda had unfriended
him, he tensed. At first, he thought that Amanda had just deleted her account
for some reason. When Nathan realized that Amanda really did unfriend him, it
was another blow.

Nathan stood up from his desk. It hadn’t been
twenty-four hours since he’d last kissed Amanda. He still missed her so much.
How could one live without the love of their existence?

Over the next few minutes, Nathan distracted himself
with the TV. He barely paid attention to the crime show that was currently
being aired.

Nathan’s phone rang at one point. He answered the call
without checking who it was.

“Hello?”

“Are you Nathan Ferland?”

“Yes, this is me.”

Nathan vaguely recognized the voice. The tone was
laced with anger.

“Listen, you piece of shit. I want you to stay the
hell away from my granddaughter. I’m already aware of what you did to her.”

“Sir, you don’t—”

“I don’t want to hear any poor excuses. No one messes
with Amanda, do you understand?”

“I would ne—”

“I wanted to be wrong about you, Mr. Ferland, but I
wasn’t. Why would a guy of your sort want Amanda? It could only be her beauty,
or her money.”

“Sir, please. I assure you that’s not—”

“Save your excuses. My granddaughter deserves a guy worthy
of her. You’ve just proved that you are not, so steer clear of her.”

Before Nathan could reply, Harold hung up. He took a
deep breath. Nathan tried not to let the scolding get to him. He particularly
resented the “of your sort” remark.

A few moments later, there were loud knocks on the
door. He shook his head, and then stood up. Nathan guessed he had a visit from
one of his friends.

When Nathan opened the door, he was face to face with
the woman that was the source of his torment.

“Amanda! I…what—”

Without warning, Amanda slapped Nathan. He looked at
her with wide eyes, covering his cheek.

“What’s ailing you now?”

Amanda entered the apartment uninvited, followed by
Kellan. He closed the door.

“Hey. What was that for?”

“You know damn well what. How could you be such a
cynic? Last night you were begging me to forgive you, and I had no idea what
you’d done. You lied to me.”

“Stop beating around the bush. I honestly have no idea
what you’re talking about.”

In answer, Amanda handed Nathan her smartphone.

“Your girlfriend is a devious bitch, but at least she
took off my blindfold.”