Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (15 page)

Once again, Amanda found herself blushing.

“In that case, you won’t mind if I call a few of my
friends to go with us. Right?”

Christopher raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

“You have other friends?”

“I know it’s hard to believe,” Amanda said, winking.

“Witty.”

Christopher stood up, and Amanda did the same.

“Okay. Tuesday, then. I’ll pick you up.”

“I’d rather drive, if you don’t mind. I have to take
Kellan with me.”

“No problem. I’ll still bring my car.”

Monday finally arrived. Soft, relaxing music made
Amanda think she was still dreaming. Until she felt a hand brushing past her
temple and lips kissing her cheek. Those sensations felt too real to be
happening in a dream.

Amanda opened her eyes. She saw Nathan next to her on
the bed, flashing a smile. He caressed the bare skin of her shoulder, and then
planted a kiss there.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. Amanda looked
sleepy.

“Making you happy.”

Nathan moved the bedcovers away from Amanda. He
lightly kissed her abdomen.

“Hey! It’s ticklish,” Amanda said with a laugh.

“I know.”

Nathan moved to kiss her chest, and then leaned up,
using his arms for support. Amanda noticed he was already dressed, except for
his shoes.

“How did you get past the guards?”

“Get past? They let me in, of course.”

“Know that I’m still mad at you.”

“I’m aware.”

Nathan kissed her closed lips. She turned her head
away.

“I haven’t brushed my mouth!”

“Oh, shit, you’re right! Here, let me help you get out
of bed.”

Amanda stifled a laugh. Nathan stood up and then
picked her up.

“What are you doing?” Amanda asked. She put her arms
around Nathan. He couldn’t help noticing that Amanda wasn’t wearing a bra under
her thin blouse.

“Getting you to the bathroom.”

“I can do it by myself. Besides, I have no shorts on!
Do you want Kellan and Caldwell to see me like this? Not to mention Emmy, who I
don’t mind.”

Emmy had returned the previous morning. She was still
healing from her injury. The doctors had her using crutches in the meantime.

“Your guards are outside. Emmy’s asleep.”

Nathan set Amanda on her feet so he could open the
door to the bathroom.

“Are you going to share your apartment with your
guards once again?”

“No, I can’t just kick Emmy out. Kellan managed to
move next door from me. The landlord moved the previous occupants to a
different room.”

“That’s good to know.”

Amanda stood watching Nathan. He was admiring her
body, in a loving kind of way.

“Are you seriously going to watch me brush my teeth?”

“You make that sound boring, sweetheart. Actually, I
was wondering if you’re taking a shower.”

Amanda went red.

“If you’re going to do…other stuff, I’ll obviously
leave without your having to ask.”

“Thanks. In that case, could you please make me a nice
breakfast?”

“With pleasure.”

Nathan left the bathroom, closing the door. Amanda
looked in the mirror, smiling to herself.

Amanda walked into the kitchen moments later. She saw
that Nathan had made Belgian waffles. Emmy was with him, helping with what she
could.

“Yummy,” Amanda said. Nathan and Emmy both turned to
look at her.

“Hi, gorgeous,” Nathan replied.

“Morning, Amanda.”

Amanda smiled shyly. Her hand instinctively reached up
to cover the scars on her temple. Nathan frowned.

“Hey,” Nathan said, walking toward her. “Don’t be
self-conscious. That cut doesn’t make you any less beautiful. Soon enough,
it’ll barely be visible.”

“It looks horrible now.”

“Don’t say that, sweetheart. You could never look
horrible to me.”

Nathan leaned forward to meet Amanda’s lips. She
placed her arms around him. Emmy cleared her throat.

“Sorry,” Amanda said, going red again.

“It’s okay. I’m glad to see you happy.”

Nathan brushed a strand of hair behind Amanda’s ear.

“Let’s sit down. Breakfast is ready.”

While Amanda served the plates, Nathan helped Emmy
into a chair.

“Thanks,” she said.

Nathan looked at Amanda. She was pouring syrup on her
waffles.

“I was thinking about something.”

Amanda looked up. She grabbed her forks and knife and
cut a piece from a waffle. Emmy looked between them both.

“What is it?”

“It’s about your recent attack. The idea that you may
have been specifically targeted keeps nagging me.”

“Anyone can get mugged.”

“Yes, but why did the so-called thief try to kill
you?”

Amanda thought about it.

“I don’t know. Besides Hilbert, I don’t have any other
enemies who’d want to kill me.”

Emmy and Nathan exchanged glances.

“Would it be a good idea to call Patrick Hayden?”

It took a short moment for Amanda to recognize the
name. She raised her eyebrows.

“The PI? For what, ask him to go on a pointless hunt?
We’re uncertain the thief singled me out. The police will find her, and we’ll
learn the truth.”

“I hope so.”

While he was walking to class alone, Nathan felt his
smartphone vibrate. He stopped near his locker and checked his phone. There was
a new message from Marissa.
Here’s the song!

Nathan smiled. He scrolled down and saw a file
attachment. It was the complete song. Now, all that Nathan had to do was make a
reservation at a great restaurant. Amanda would love it.

As soon as lunchtime arrived, Nathan called Emmy. He
wanted to know her opinion about the song. Emmy agreed to meet him at
Starbucks. Judith would be there, too.

Nathan walked inside the café. He looked around and
saw Emmy sitting at a table. Her crutches were propped against the wall.

“Hi,” Nathan said. He sat in front of Emmy.

“Hi. Judith’s ordering food. I asked her to get some
for you, too.”

Nathan glanced over toward Judith.

“Thanks. I called you because I want to show you
something. It’s a surprise I have for Amanda.”

“A surprise! What kind? Does it have anything to do
with Valentine’s Day?”

Nathan laughed.

“It may.”

Emmy smiled knowingly. Nathan waited until the food
was ready. He helped Judith bring it all to the table.

“Thanks,” Judith said.

After they sat down, they started to eat. Nathan blew
air into his coffee. He didn’t like it scalding.

“Emmy said you wanted to tell us something,” Judith said.
Nathan nodded.

“I have a surprise for your friend.”

“Amanda?”

“Yep. I had Marissa give me a hand.”

“What’s the surprise?” Emmy asked.

Nathan pulled out his smartphone. He plugged his
earphones into it, and then loaded the MP3 player app. When Amanda’s song was
there, Nathan handed the phone to Emmy.

“Just click on play.”

Emmy put on the earphones and listened. Judith and
Nathan continued to eat. They watched Emmy. She seemed to be enjoying the song.

When Emmy finished listening, she pulled off the
earphones. She gave Nathan an awed look.

“Did you seriously do this?”

“I had it done, yeah.”

Emmy handed the smartphone to Judith so she could
listen to the song.

“The song is marvelous, Nathan. How did you get a
singer to do it?”

“Marissa commissioned him. He’s not well-known.”

“Then this guy should consider going to the X Factor. Frankly,
this is talent.”

Once Judith listened to the song, she had the same
opinion as Emmy. She handed the phone back to Nathan.

“This is…terrific. Amanda will love this song.”

“I know, right!” Emmy said. “How are you going to
reveal it to her?”

“I prefer to keep that to myself for now.”

“But you said it’s got to do with Valentine’s.”

“Yes,” Nathan replied.

“Why don’t you marry me?” Judith asked him. “I thought
guys like you didn’t exist.”

Nathan laughed.

“There’s Brad,” Emmy said. “I was ecstatic when he
dropped everything just to see me at the hospital.”

“What did he tell you?” asked Judith.

“That’s private.”

Emmy was grinning, making it obvious that she was half
joking.

Judith turned to Nathan.

“We know that Amanda is still a little mad with you.
So I think I’ll help you out. It wouldn’t hurt for you to know a few of
Amanda’s secrets.”

“What kind of secrets?”

“Stuff that will score you a ton of brownie points
with her. Like, things that Amanda
really
likes.”

“Oh? I’m all ears,” Nathan said, leaning forward.

“You know Amanda’s favorite flower, right?”

“Yes. She likes carnations.”

Emmy nodded, clapping twice. Judith gave her a curious
look.

“Emmy’s flamboyantly romantic.”

Nathan chuckled.

“Okay. So, have you given thought to what you’re going
to wear on Valentine’s Day? I assume you’re going out on a date with Amanda.”

“No. And yes to that last statement.”

“I see. You should know that Amanda’s a bit tired of
formalities. Don’t go for the usual penguin look. Opt to be stylish, more
relaxed. Maybe…a dark, faux leather jacket instead of a suit jacket would
impress Amanda.”

“Faux leather jacket? Got it,” Nathan said.

“You could also opt for a blazer, but skip ties. And
it goes without saying to wear clean shoes. Women
always
notice the
shoes that a guy wears.”

“Shoes? Got it. What else?”

“Style,” Emmy told him. “Amanda’s a model. She’s
unconsciously learned to enjoy style, so she goes for guys who can match their
outfits.”

Nathan already knew that. He’d been somewhat of a
wallflower once. One of Nathan’s classmates in his freshman year had called his
sense of style “lackluster.” So Nathan had enlisted Marissa’s help to give him
a makeover. It made him more popular with women.

“As for gifts,” Judith said, “Amanda’s into tech. Get
her something cutting-edge, but thoughtful. She also likes decorations,
especially of buildings. Just don’t go for something obvious like the Eiffel
Tower. You’ve seen the one she has in her living room.”

“I’ll come up with some ideas,” Nathan said. “Thanks
for the tips. I’ll keep them in mind.”

“One last thing,” said Emmy. “Whisper romantic stuff
in Amanda’s ears every once in a while. She seriously enjoys that.”

Nathan smiled, thinking
about stuff he knew Amanda would enjoy hearing.

Straight after school, Kellan and Caldwell drove with
Amanda to the police station. Detective Sutton had called her with news about
the case.

Caldwell stayed in the car while Kellan and Amanda
went inside the station. She asked an officer for Detective Sutton. The man led
them to an office near the back.

“Ms. Tilley,” said Sutton when Amanda stood in the
doorway. “Come in.”

Amanda and Kellan entered. They sat down on the chairs
opposite Sutton’s desk.

“What news do you have, Detective?”

“We found the vehicle in which the suspect allegedly
fled, according to witness testimony. It was abandoned at the Newfield State
Forest.”

“It’s south of here,” Kellan said in reply to Amanda’s
quizzical look.

“A hiker found the vehicle. We checked the plates and
found that the owners of the car are from Cortland. It’s a town to the
northeast.”

“What did you learn?” asked Kellan.

“Turns out that the Cortland PD had put out a BOLO on
the car. The owners are a family. When I drove there with a couple of our
officers, we questioned them. It turns out that the family reported the car
stolen last Wednesday. We found the car yesterday afternoon.”

“So, the suspect had already been planning to attack
me since then,” Amanda said.