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CHAPTER ONE
Georgia
I knew I was in the right place because I could hear the music coming from the gathering from over a block away. Of course, Mikayla would make sure I could hear it from here because ever since she ended up with Brandon, she had done nothing but show off how perfect her life had become. The fact that she had dragged Brittany into it all made it even worse for me.
In all honesty, I resented the fact that I had been too naive to see that she would choose someone like Brandon. Brandon was always so wonderful, even though he was twice my age, and I had a huge crush on him. Of course, she was aware of my crush the entire time, and she was the one who ended up with him, not me. The bitterness of her betrayal still hurt to this day, and I was having difficulty forcing myself to attend this type of gathering.
Brittany was the only reason I came along. She promised that everything would be fine and that she would help me find someone before Valentine's Day, which was less than a week away. It seemed like a tall order, but, since she started dating George, her father's best friend, she was convinced she could do anything. After all, if she could find happiness, she believed the rest of us could as well.
As soon as I arrived at the spot specified by the GPS, my heart sank, and I shook my head at the image in front of me. Brittany had warned me that there would be a large number of people from the sheriff's department at the party, but I had no idea it would be this awful. There were so many cruisers parked along the sidewalk that it appeared they were here looking for a suspect rather than attending a party. The only thing missing was the flashing red and blue lights. Amused at the fact that I thought they were here to pick up someone rather than get together, I put the car in park and got out before crossing the street.
"Watch out!" someone yelled from across the street, and I saw a man in uniform sprinting towards me, a panicked expression on his face as he raced against the clock towards me. I initially thought I had done something wrong, but I turned just in time to see the automobile that had turned unexpectedly and was rushing down the street towards me.
Before I could even react, the man in uniform reached out and wrapped his arms around me before yanking me out of the way of the car, which barely missed the two of us as we tumbled to the ground. I got the wind knocked out of me but otherwise I was fine as I lay there on my back staring up at the sky, trying to process what had just happened when the man's face reappeared in my line of sight, a worried expression on his face.
"Ma'am?" he inquired, staring down at me, trying to get a response from me. "Can you hear me, ma'am?" I switched my focus back to the man, still reeling from the initial shock, and couldn't help but smile.
While he still appeared to be my father's age, he was a few years younger than Brandon. His hair wasn't as gray as Brandon's, and his eyes still had a youthful appearance to them as he peered down at me in horror, still attempting to get my full attention.
"Ma'am, if you can hear me, please react," he said, snapping his fingers in my face. I nodded in return, taking a big breath.
"I can hear you," I told him as I gazed around, my body reacting to the directions to move around more than it had previously. The man immediately exhaled in relief and shook his head at me.
"I'm really sorry about that, ma'am," he said as he helped me get to my feet and out of the center of the road. "I knew you weren't going to move in time when I saw them approaching, so I came to aid you. I didn't want to accidently knock you to the ground like that. Are you certain you're okay?" I looked at myself up and down as soon as I got to my feet, trying to figure out if I was okay.
Surprisingly, not only had the man saved my life, but he was also quite attractive. It felt like one of those cartoon moments where the superhero saves the damsel in distress and they fly off into the sunset to be together, only this wasn't a cartoon. This was real life, and it was forcing a smile. In reaction, I began to nod my head.
"I'm fine," I said almost robotically as I turned to face him. "I appreciate you saving my life." He chuckled as he fixed his shirt and extended his hand to me.
"Come on," he urged, waiting for me to take his hand in mine. "I'm not sure where the driver went, but a number of the other police are already on his tail. Meanwhile, we should take you inside where you'll be safer and collect a statement from you. When the driver is apprehended, we will be able to ensure that he is properly prosecuted." My heart skipped a beat as I placed my tiny hand in his, and I couldn't help but notice how crimson my cheeks were from the blush that had crept inside.
"Many thanks, Mr..." When he realized what I was doing, he grinned as I drew out my words, pushing him to fill in the gap with his name.
"Nathan," he said quietly, nodding in acknowledgement. "Sheriff's Station, Officer Nathan Porter."
