AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can understand that,” I said. “It’s a smart choice. To be honest, I don’t always understand everything that Jordan does. We are close and work closely together every day, but we aren’t best friends or anything. Sometimes, it’s hard to be that close with everyone in your company. It can mess things up for you. I do know that he is a great guy, though. Oh, it looks like we’re pulling up now to Iliad’s.”
The driver opened the door to the limo and helped Amanda out, with me scooting out behind her. Before we had even reached
the door, the hostess had it open, greeting us like old friends. I had been going there since my company had its first stock exchange. Most people would need to make a reservation there at least six months in advance, but since I was who I was, and since I knew the owners pretty well, there was always a table available for me. It was one of the perks that I had grown accustomed to, and I liked how doe-eyed the attention made Amanda. I wanted to impress her, and I was starting to think that I was doing a really good job at it. Either way, I was just happy to be there with her, holding her hand as we walked through the restaurant and over to our table in the corner by the window.
The hostess pulled out Amanda’s chair and pushed it in as she sat. Immediately, we were rushed by servers, prepping the table and bringing my usual choice in wine over. Amanda watched them hurry around us, treating us like we were part of the royal family. One of the servers smiled sweetly at her as she tasted the wine, smiling and nodding her head. I could see by the look in her eye just how excited she was to be there, especially when she reached over and took my hand. The staff lit the candles in the center of the table and retreated, waiting in the wings for when we were ready to order our appetizers.
“Do you like it here?” I asked.
“It’s amazing,” she whispered. “And I think that is Robert Deniro over there, eating dinner.”
I smiled and turned around, waving at him from a distance. He waved back and nodded at Amanda, blushing her cheeks. She shook her head and laughed as she placed her napkin in her lap.
“I can’t believe that,” she said, trying to keep her voice down. “You are crazy.”
After a glass of wine, she began to relax, and we talked about everything from our childhood to my company. She told me the history behind the loss of her mother and how close she was to her father. My heart almost broke when she talked about it, flashes of sadness crossing her face. But then, as if her inspiration returned, excitement burst from her as she explained that it was the reason she wanted to start a clinic for children. I was finding that I really liked this girl, and it wasn’t just infatuation driving it. Everything she said was right on cue with how I felt about the world, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I could actually be comfortable talking to a woman.
When dinner and dessert were complete, I led her out to the street, watching and smiling as she closed her eyes and breathed in the warm air. We got in the limo and headed back to her house. I walked her to the door, feeling as nervous as I had the first time I took a girl out when I was just a teenager. She turned at the door and smiled at me.
“Do you want to come in?” she asked.
“I would love to,” I said. “But unfortunately, I have a very early meeting, and I think if I come in, I might not be able to leave you.”
“Then we’ll end things like a first date should end,” she said, smiling.
I wrapped my hands around her face and pressed my lips to hers, kissing her gently as the warm breeze blew around us. I could feel electricity shoot through my body as our skin touched, and it was hard to pull away. When I finally did, I looked her in the eyes for several moments.
“Sweet dreams,” I said, turning and walking to the car.
Sweet dreams, indeed.
Chapter 5
Amanda
My day was full, and I didn’t even have a job. This wedding had taken up my entire life, and I was starting to think that I had stumbled into a career change. Then I realized how much I hated being a part of the wedding world and brought myself back to reality. That morning, I was doing a bunch of stuff for the wedding since Lindsey wasn’t able to make it to the meeting with the planner. It wasn’t too bad, though, since I had gotten Lindsey’s choices for things ahead of time. I perused through the selections that the vendors had laid out in the planner’s office, trying to find what Lindsey wanted. Today, we were finalizing the flowers and the centerpieces which was super important to the whole theme.
“This one is perfect,” I said, standing in front of the tall, tiered candelabras with flowers and lights swirling around the shimmering platinum. “The other one just didn’t seem to fit.”
“Great,” the planner said, noting it in her book. “Then, that’s it for the day.”
“Perfect,” I said, looking at my watch. “I have plans for lunch.”
“Please have Lindsey call me,” the planner said. “I need to know if she is happy with the menu choice for the rehearsal dinner. The soon-to-be in-laws picked it, of course, but they wanted her approval.”
“I will tell her,” I said, smiling.
I left the planner’s office and headed over to the deli a couple blocks down. I had called in a to-go order and had to pick it up on the way to meet Lindsey. She was on a shoot that day and would be shooting well into the night. I agreed to grab her lunch so she wouldn’t have to eat from the cart again. She told me that she was going to puke if she ate another blueberry muffin for lunch.
When I got to the shoot, they directed me over to Lindsey’s trailer where she was waiting at the door. She closed the door behind me and plopped down on the couch. I pulled the food out and handed her the chicken salad she requested.
“You’re a lifesaver,” she said, sticking a piece of chicken in her mouth. “I swear they are trying to starve me to death.”
“You are a model,” I said, shrugging. “Just tell them what you want.”
“I wish it worked that way.” She laughed. “I’m the work horse for the brand, not the star. The ridiculous clothes are the star of the show. I’m pretty sure that this fashion week in New York is going to be a paisley nightmare.”
I laughed, almost choking on my sandwich. I thought about the quiet joke that Nathan and I had when it came to paisley. It was like everywhere I turned, the universe was showing me signs that I was supposed to be with him. It was starting to get a little strange.
