Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (16 page)

“We don’t know that yet. For now, we asked the
Rochester PD forensics team to analyze the prints and DNA found in the car. The
results are expected to arrive next week.”

“Did you question the neighbors?” Kellan asked.

“Yes. Most of them didn’t notice anything out of the
ordinary. A neighbor two houses down did tell us that a dark sedan drove past
the street on Sunday. He was watering his front yard. Monday evening, the
neighbor was watching a late night talk show. He heard a car door closing, and
took a look through the window.”

“Was this man able to see anything?”

“He saw the neighbors’ car driving away,” Sutton
replied. “The man knows the family well, so at first he thought they were just
going somewhere. But the woman who was driving the car didn’t look familiar.”

“Do you have a description?”

“The neighbor said that the woman appeared young, with
light-colored hair. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a clear look. The Cortland PD
couldn’t get a sketch done.”

“Shame,” Amanda said.

“We’re still working with them to find more leads.
It’s possible the suspect refueled at a gas station or something in that
nature.”

“If the car got stolen on Monday,” Kellan began, “and
Amanda was attacked on Thursday evening, what was the suspect doing with the
car that whole time?”

“The suspect could have taken the car anywhere. Most
likely, she had it in an indoor garage. When we get the DNA results, I hope
we’ll be able to ID her.”

“She could still be out there,” Amanda said.

“They’ll find her,” Kellan reassured her.

“I wouldn’t count on the suspect still being in town.
If she’s got half a brain, she could be in Florida by now. Things are dangerous
for her, especially when the case involves a celebrity. A minor one, but still
a celebrity.”

Amanda nodded. She’d received a lot of tweets and
e-mails from her close fans. They expressed outrage about the attack she
suffered.

“For the moment, that’s all I have,” Sutton said. He
stood up. Amanda and Kellan followed suit. “I’ll keep you informed of any new
developments.”

“Thanks, Detective,” Kellan replied. He shook hands
with Sutton. “Let’s go,” he said to Amanda. They walked back to the car.
Caldwell opened the front passenger door for Amanda. She thanked him.

“We’re on the lookout for a light-haired young woman,”
said Kellan once they were on the road. Caldwell was driving.

“That’s nothing to go on. It would help if you at
least knew the color of her eyes, and skin.”

“She’s pasty, with freckles,” Amanda said.

“Were you able to see her eyes?”

“No. It was dark, and I was too busy defending myself.
She was considerably fierce.”

“At least the description isn’t too vague,” said
Kellan. “How many pasty, freckly blonde women do we know?”

“That sounds like me. Apart from the freckles.”

Kellan let out a soft laugh.

“I don’t know about others, but I wouldn’t call you
pasty. Your skin actually has color.”

Amanda shook her head,
smiling. Kellan knew her so well already he could break the tension when
needed.

While Nathan was reorganizing his locker the next
morning, he received a phone call. Ashton and Grecia were with him.

“Hello?” Nathan answered.

“Is this Mr. Nathan Ferland?”
a male voice asked.

“Yes, that is me.”

“This is Mr. Jones, calling from the Law Offices of
Edwin Brandt. I’m calling to congratulate you, Mr. Ferland. You got the job.”

Nathan’s mouth opened wide. He smiled, looking at
Ashton. The latter’s expression turned quizzical.

“Thanks, Mr. Jones. I appreciate this opportunity.”

“You’re to report to the building next Monday at two.
Ask for Mr. Brandt. He’ll give you more details about your job duties and
schedule.”

“All right. I’ll be there. Thanks again, Mr. Jones.”

“Have a good day, Mr. Ferland,”
the recruiter said. He then hung up.

“You got the job?” Ashton asked.

“Yes. I’m going to work at Mr. Brandt’s law office.
I’ll be a secretary, but something is something. At least it pays more than my
previous job.”

“Cool, man!”

“What kind of law does he practice?” asked Grecia.

“Accidents, personal injury, trust, and estate.”

“You weren’t able to find law offices to deal with
what you’re studying?”

“Business law? There’s an office, but it’s not big and
they’re not recruiting at the moment.”

“No problem,” Ashton said. “When you graduate from law
school, you’ll be able to apply wherever you want.”

“I look forward to that,” Nathan replied. He closed
his locker.

“We’re going to class now, Nathan,” Grecia said. “See
you during lunch.”

“See you, bro,” Ashton told him.

“Same,” Nathan replied.
He turned in the opposite direction to go to class. He felt good about the new
job. It was low-level, but at least Nathan would be making more money. He
wanted to be able to get Amanda whatever she wanted. They could dine at nicer
restaurants, and he’d be able to pay for his own business-class plane tickets.

Amanda stood before the mirror in her bedroom. She was
removing her bandages. Although Amanda wasn’t vain, she didn’t really want to
head out wearing them. People kept staring at her now, but not for the reasons
she was used to.

The faint red line on Amanda’s temple still hadn’t
faded. Her bruises hadn’t, either. The doctors had told her that, after three
days or so, makeup wouldn’t cause trouble. In a couple weeks, the scar wouldn’t
be visible.

Amanda applied more makeup than usual to conceal her
bruises. She put on a liberal amount of smoky eye shadow, plus lip gloss. Once
she was ready, Amanda grabbed her purse and left the room.

Judith, Christopher, and Nathan were to arrive in a
few minutes. Amanda checked her e-mail inbox while she waited. There were no
new messages. Amanda then went to Twitter. She was impressed at her fan’s
response to her attack. An article had already been posted on the U.S. Magazine.
They called Amanda’s attack “shameful and deeply appalling.” She hadn’t made a
statement to the media about that yet. Amanda was waiting for word from her
agent before taking that step.

Sitting on the sofa, Amanda chuckled to herself. She’d
come to Ithaca to enjoy more privacy. Amanda had been in the public eye since
she was sixteen. The only time she’d taken a break was when Amanda went to
Europe to heal after her ex-boyfriend’s death. Now, everyone already knew where
she was living.

While Amanda was still lost in thought, there were
knocks on her front door. She shook her head. Kellan emerged from the kitchen.
He answered.

“It’s your friends,” Kellan said. He stood aside to
let them inside. Emmy arrived from her bedroom.

“Hi, Amanda. Hi, Emmy,” said Judith.

“Are you girls ready to head out?” Emmy asked, looking
at her girlfriends.

“Yeah. You’ll ride with Nathan and me. Judith, you’re
going with Christopher.”

Judith’s expression went panicked. She cast a sidelong
glance at Christopher, who looked deeply amused.

“Can Emmy come with us? That way you’ll be alone with
your boyfriend.”

Amanda and Nathan looked at each other. They both
laughed. Christopher was now miffed.

“If she wants to. But keep in mind that Caldwell is
also going with you. Kellan will be with me.”

“It’s okay,” Emmy said. “I’m going to love seeing
these two bicker.”

Judith’s eyes widened at Emmy. Christopher couldn’t
resist grinning.

“Okay. Let’s go,” Amanda told them.

Per Christopher’s request, they would be going to a
local music club. It was a bit…wilder than any spot they’d visited yet. The
place wasn’t far from the campus.

“What do you all think?” Christopher asked in a loud
voice, so they could hear him over the music. “Cool, huh?”

“Not bad,” said Amanda. “I confess that I’ve never
been to a place like this. Nola’s was tame in comparison.”

“Why? Were you too shy?”

“Just didn’t think it was for me.”

“Then you need to unravel,” Emmy said. The group went
to find a table. Caldwell and Kellan went to stand guard nearby. Nathan sat
next to Amanda. Judith tried to put Emmy between her and Christopher, but
couldn’t. The latter found Judith’s behavior quite funny.

“You’d think I have malaria,” Christopher whispered to
Emmy. She laughed. Judith’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Who gets the drinks?” Emmy asked.

“I will,” Judith said, raising her hand. She avoided
looking at the pair sitting next to her.

“I’ll go with you,” Nathan told her. Judith nodded,
and they both stood up.

“Judith’s trying to dislike me and failing miserably,”
Christopher said to Amanda and Emmy. They laughed.

“Just give her some time,” said Amanda. He nodded in
dismissal. Then his eyes glanced at her cleavage. It took Amanda a moment to
notice. She adjusted her jacket, flashing Christopher a scolding glance. Emmy
was too distracted looking around to notice the exchange.

“I miss Brad,” she said. “I wish he could have taken
more time off.”

“The movie he’s filming is highly anticipated,” Amanda
said. She’d heard a lot about it recently. It was another book-turned-into-film,
a sweet contemporary romance about hope and second chances. “He had to fly
back.”

“I know.” Emmy sighed. “Sometimes, I wish that I was
Lizzy Conley.”

Amanda shook her head.

“Brad loves you. I highly doubt he would drop
everything to see Lizzy if something happened to her.”

Emmy shrugged. Just then, Nathan and Judith returned
with a waitress, who was carrying drinks.

“Thanks,” Nathan said to the waitress. She left. “They
don’t serve food here, so we’ll have to go someplace else afterward.”

“That’s the point,” Christopher said to him. “You come
here to have fun, not to spend the time working out your jaw muscles.”

Judith tried to stifle a laugh. She sat down.

After finishing their drinks, Amanda and Nathan were
the first to go dance. A crowd was dancing to the music that a DJ was playing.

“You’re a much better dancer now,” Amanda said. Nathan
smiled at her.

“For you, I’d master anything I wanted.”

The song ended a few seconds later. Then another one
started right away. Amanda perked up.

“Oh, I like that song.”

Nathan chuckled. He continued dancing along with
Amanda, admiring how beautiful she looked.

“Sweetheart,” Nathan said, “whoever thought I’d love
you less with a scar and bruises had no idea what true love is.”

“Do you still notice them?” Amanda asked. She moved to
touch her cheek.

“No. Even if I could, that doesn’t matter to me. Your
outer beauty drew me to you, but your inner beauty kept me hooked in and never
let go.”

Amanda was almost overcome with emotion. She resisted
shedding a tear.

“You’re also better with words than when we met.”

Nathan shrugged.

“I dated a writer, you know.”

Amanda let out a laugh.

“Kayla’s books are awesome, you know. I was reading
them over winter break. She’s truly got talent.”

“I know. She’s got another book coming out.”

“I’ve read about it on the Internet. Kayla’s going on
a book tour this March, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s cool. The closest thing a model has to going
on tours is going to fashion shows.”

“How many times have you been to those?”

“Not enough to count on two hands. I’ve met lots of
people and seen various cities. Traveling is what I like the most about
modeling.”

“Which cities in the U.S. have you liked best?”

Amanda thought about it.

“I liked the Carolinas a lot, and also Los Angeles and
Las Vegas.”

“Las Vegas?” Nathan repeated. “You don’t seem like
that kind of girl.”

“You don’t think I can be dark?”

“Not in this world. You’re too bright.”

“Everyone has their darkness, you know. I just choose
to be good.”

“Thank God for that.”

Amanda and Nathan laughed together. They danced
through the next song, loving to be in each other’s company.

“Look at Christopher,” Amanda said to Nathan just
before the third song ended. He turned to look. “The poor guy almost had to
take an injured Emmy to dance because Judith just wouldn’t.”

Nathan shook his head in amusement.