Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (3 page)

“What if we’re caught?” Amanda asked.

“That’s part of the thrill. Anyway, I doubt anyone
would bring kids to watch
American Hustle
. I’ve heard it’s a bit too… steamy.”

Amanda smirked as Nathan ran a hand down the side of
her chest and abdomen.

“You’re so dazzling that sometimes I’m afraid you
might disappear. Dating you is a dream come true.”

“I think the same,” Amanda said. “I love you.”

“Me, too.”

Amanda beamed. Nathan’s lips met hers. His hand ran
under Amanda’s blouse, caressing her soft skin. After that, Nathan undid the
top buttons, and kissed her cleavage. They continued until the trailers
started. Luckily, no one had spotted them making out.

The first Saturday of the year arrived. As the second
semester at Cornell University approached, Amanda proposed to go shopping.
Nathan agreed to go with her. They weren’t staying in New York for long.

“And I’ll call Emmy,” Amanda said. She pulled out her
smartphone from her jacket pocket. “She won’t forgive me if I go shopping
without her.”

Nathan stood by the window as Amanda called her
friend. They spoke for a few moments, and then Amanda hung up.

“Emmy’s going with us.”

Amanda and Nathan walked toward the elevator.

“Let’s take advantage of the ride,” Nathan said. He
placed his hands on Amanda’s shoulders.

“’Kay. Just be quick. I don’t live in the penthouse.”

Several minutes later, Amanda and Nathan were on the
road. She wanted to shop at Fifth Avenue. Nathan hadn’t been there yet.

Amanda found parking. She and Nathan then went on
foot. Amanda adjusted her scarf.

“Emmy’s meeting us at the store. Let’s go.”

The first place that they visited was Abercrombie and Fitch.
As she had agreed, Emmy was waiting at the entrance.

“Hey, guys!” Emmy greeted. Amanda walked forward and
hugged her. “How have you been doing?”

“Great,” Nathan replied. He and Emmy kissed each other
on the cheeks. “How about you?”

“This little shopping trip is a lifesaver. I was
starting to get bored in my apartment.”

Nathan’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You’re bored in New York. Wow. Is such a thing even
possible? What
can’t
one do here?”

“I know. It’s just…Brad’s flying back to Europe.”

“He told us that,” Amanda said. “Brad stopped by his
suite to say goodbye.”

The three of them walked into the store.

“Did he mention me?”

Amanda was about to say the truth, but she decided to
appease Emmy.

“Brad asked me to tell you to take care for him.”

Emmy looked pleased.

Amanda and Emmy led Nathan to the women’s clothing
section first. They looked through the blouses.

“You can go to the men’s section, Nathan,” Amanda told
him. “We might take a bit long here.”

“Will you be all right?”

“We’ll be fine.”

Nathan nodded. He then walked to the men’s section. As
he did, he thought it would be a good idea if Amanda re-hired her bodyguards.
After Hilbert’s capture, she had allowed Hughes and Grayson to be with their
families. Amanda hadn’t hired them back because she felt safe. Nathan knew that
Amanda felt protected with him around, but having bodyguards wouldn’t hurt.

Not now
,
Nathan thought. He shook his head.
Amanda is perfectly safe. No one can hurt
her anymore.

Little over a half hour later, Nathan walked back to
where Amanda was. They’d texted each other. Amanda said she was trying out some
clothes.

Nathan arrived at the changing stalls. He looked
around. The area was pretty deserted, so he walked into the women’s section.
One of the stalls was in use. Nathan knocked.

“I’m here, love.”

“Nathan, what are you doing here?” Amanda asked. He
slipped inside. “Jesus, you’re bold.”

Nathan chuckled, looking Amanda up and down. She was
in her undershirt, as well as a new pair of dark gray pants that she was trying
on.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing. You look
dazzling, by the way.”

“Thanks. Go get your own stall now. I’d hate for you
to get kicked out of the store.”

“That won’t happen. Where’s Emmy?”

“In the restroom.”

Nathan went to the men’s changing stalls. He tried out the
clothes he wanted to buy.

Once they made their purchases, the girls took Nathan
to Nine West. Amanda found a pair of teal blue pumps she liked so much that
she bought them on the spot. They set her back a little over a hundred.

After that, the trio went to a different clothing
store. This time, they went to the winter wear section. Nathan thought it was
time to replace some of his old jackets. He’d had them for around four years.
It wasn’t surprising, as they only saw use during the winter.

When Amanda was alone, putting on a lilac jacket to
see how it fit, a guy approached her. She turned to him, arching her eyebrow.

“Hi,” the guy said, a little too slow.

“Hi,” Amanda replied, confused.

“It’s a nice jacket.”

“Yes, it is.”

The guy watched Amanda. His face had turned red, an
obvious sign that he was nervous.

“M-my name’s Louis,” he said, offering his hand.
Amanda took it. She’d thought Louis knew her.

“I’m Amanda,” she said. Amanda looked for any signs of
recognition in Louis’s eyes. There were none. She doubted he didn’t recognize
her from a magazine.

“Glad to meet you, Amanda. You look…pretty.”

“Thanks.”

Louis paused, as though thinking about what he should
say next.

“Are you from around here?”

“No. I’m on holiday.”

“Oh. I thought you might attend Columbia.”

Amanda shook her head. She realized that Louis might
be hitting on her. It felt flattering.

“You’re not a movie star, are you?”

“No. I’m just a student.”

“Really? You just look like an actress. Or a
supermodel.” He nodded to a spot behind Amanda. There was a cardboard cutout of
Selena Gomez.

“Thank you. That’s sweet.”

Nathan chose that moment to appear.

“Everything all right, Amanda?” he asked, stopping
behind her. He put an arm around her shoulders.

“Yes. We were just doing small talk.”

Louis was looking at Nathan with eyes as wide as
saucers. Amanda struggled not to laugh.

“See you later. I hope,” Louis said to Amanda. With
one last nervous look at Nathan, he walked away.

“Who was that?” Nathan asked.

“I just met him. He says he goes to Columbia. I
thought he knew who I was.

“He didn’t recognize you?”

“No.”

“Funny. It was obvious he liked you.”

Amanda rolled her eyes.

“He was a young guy, most likely single. Of course he
liked me.”

Nathan said nothing. Amanda looked at him.

“Are you jealous?”

“No. I just wanted to make sure that guy knew you’re
not single.”

Amanda’s lips curved into a smile.

“Come on, Nathan. He might have just wanted to be
friends with me.”

Nathan scoffed.

“Yeah, right. Not even your cat would believe that,”
he replied with a laugh.

“I don’t have a cat,” Amanda said. She gave Nathan a
curious look. He seldom got jealous. Granted, it was happening a bit more
often. Amanda was young and gorgeous, so guys hit on her constantly.

Once they finished shopping, Amanda and Nathan
returned to her suite. He asked her if she wanted anything in particular for
lunch.

“How about some stew?” Amanda told him. “I need to
thaw out. It was pretty cold out.”

Nathan chuckled to
himself. He’d been living in the state of New York for three years. Despite
that, the winter weather still froze him almost to the bone.

Hours later, Nathan was in his bedroom. He’d left
Amanda on the phone in the living room. She was talking to Stanley, her new
talent agent. Nathan was using his computer to look for a gift for Amanda.
Valentine’s Day was approaching, and he wanted it to be special. Amanda would
have the best day of her life.

What can I give the girl who has everything?

Some Web sites advised Nathan to get Amanda new
jewelry or shoes. Women supposedly never got tired of those things. But Nathan
wanted to be more creative.

How about giving her an experience?

That sounded great. Although Amanda had traveled abroad,
there were still a lot of new places to see. Nathan would be able to take her
if he got a higher-paying job. He made a mental note to search for one.

As he browsed the Web, Nathan wondered if the
apartment managers allowed pets. He felt that Amanda would like a dog. Only
after thinking it through did Nathan realize that there was no one to care for
a pet. Both he and Amanda were pretty busy at school, and they had work the
rest of the day.

Nathan clicked a link in the search results. In the
page that loaded, there was a photo of a guy taking his girl to a restaurant.
It appeared that he was proposing.

Proposing.

Nathan thought hard for a moment. Although he and
Amanda had only been dating for a few months, he was sure about what he felt
for her. After all, Nathan had waited years to see Amanda again. He’d realized
that his love for her had been true. Dating Amanda used to be as improbable as
receiving a kiss from the likes of Emma Watson. They were unreachable.

Am I ready to propose to Amanda?

Marriage was a huge step. Nathan felt he was almost
sure about taking it. He just didn’t know if Amanda was ready, too. He weighed
the pros and cons in his mind. The worst that could happen was that Amanda
would say no, but leave the option open for later on. Nathan had nothing to
lose. He loved Amanda.

Yes. I’ll ask her to marry me.

Nathan searched for jewelers in the city. He was aware
he couldn’t afford the cheapest ring at Tiffany’s. Still, any other jeweler was
better than what he could find at Ithaca. And Nathan only had so much time
left. He and Amanda would be returning for classes soon.

Search results revealed plenty of jeweler stores in
the vicinity. Nathan pulled up a map and searched for ones that were a little
farther. He had to go alone. Nathan didn’t want to chance running into Amanda.

Nathan found a trio of stores and wrote down their
addresses on his notepad. He then looked around the room. His new iPod Nano was
docked on top of a set of small speakers designed for it. There was no music
playing, but an album cover was on the screen.

Sighing, Nathan closed his eyes. Just then, he got a
great idea. He went on YouTube and searched for music videos. Nathan was
particularly interested in covers of popular romantic songs.

As a video loaded, Nathan went to grab his iPod. He
browsed through his favorite songs playlist. They weren’t all romantic, but
most were. He looked up covers for a few. Usually, the more popular a song was,
the more amateur singers covered them.

Nathan wondered how much it cost to have a musician
perform a song when he proposed to Amanda. He figured it would be expensive.
Nathan couldn’t afford it. And he didn’t have anyone who could help.

Maybe he did.
Marissa
.

Nathan thought about how to tell Marissa about his idea.
She’d probably think he was going over the top.

What’s the next best thing to hiring a musician?

And the answer hit him. He remembered that Kayla hired
amateur actors to shoot her half-minute book trailer. That had just given him an
idea.

Nathan grabbed his smartphone and dialed Marissa. She
picked up after the second ring.

“Hi, Nathan! What’s up?”

“Hi, Marissa. Are you busy?”

“No. I was watching a movie.”

“Listen, I have an idea. Valentine’s Day is coming,
and I want to do something special for Amanda. I want that day to be
unforgettable for her.”

Marissa wolf-whistled.

“Look at you, Nathan. Who knew you were this
lovey-dovey,”
she teased.

“I’m completely in love with her. And I know what I’m
going to do. I will propose to her.”

Marissa let out a gasp.

“What? You’re going to ask Amanda to marry you?”

“Yes. I’m sure about what I feel for her.”