Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (26 page)

Utterly perplexed, Nathan looked at the screen. When
he saw the photo, his pulse seemed to stop.

Nathan looked at the photos, and he still couldn’t
believe they were real. The photos claimed that he had kissed Erika, not just
in the lips, but her body. Nathan didn’t even remember what she felt like—not
counting the disastrous Valentine’s night.

“This means nothing, Amanda,” he said, handing the phone
back to her. “I can’t even remember doing what you see in the photos.”

“Of course you don’t,” Amanda replied. Her expression
suggested she thought that Nathan was trying to fool her.

“I swear, Amanda. Nothing happened the day I went to
Erika’s apartment. She later told me so herself!”

“Photos don’t lie. Or are you going to claim that
these are forged?”

“I wouldn’t put it past Erika.”

“Oh, great.”

Amanda made to turn around. Nathan grabbed her arm to
stop her.

“There’s only one woman I love. It’s you.”

“That’s just what I hate, Nathan. You tell me that you
love me, and then you kiss another woman behind my back. What would you call
that?”

“Erika’s determined to have me! She wants to get you
out of the way for that.”

“And she attracts you enough that you don’t even try
to fight her.”

“I—”

“Enough!” Amanda said, looking aggravated. “I’ve heard
enough about this. I don’t want you near me ever again, do you hear me?”

“You and I can’t be apart, Amanda,” Nathan replied. He
closed the distance between them, grabbing her arms. She looked down while he
caressed the side of her face. “I know that you want me, too.”

Amanda moved away.

“I can’t be with a guy who would leave me for another
woman. Never.”

With that, Amanda nodded to Kellan. He opened the door
for her, and they walked out.

“You’re making a huge
mistake,” Nathan said to the closed door. He would prove his love to Amanda
once again, no matter what it took.

The next time that Nathan was to have a class with
Amanda, he put off showing up. He still wasn’t ready to face her disappointment
again. It tore at him. Nathan would linger in the corridors until the last
second.

When Nathan turned around a corner, he saw Ashton
walking toward him.

“Hey, bro,” Ashton said. “I thought you would be in
class by now.”

“Yeah. I’m just putting it off.”

Ashton frowned.

“It’s about Amanda, right?”

“Yes. Have you seen her?”

“I just walked by your classroom, but she wasn’t
there. A few students were outside.”

Nathan looked away, closing his eyes.

“I wish I could get Amanda’s trust back.”

“You could just go see Erika and make her tell the
truth to Amanda. Isn’t that what you did with Kayla?”

“It won’t work this time. Erika isn’t going to tell
the truth. She won’t let me go easily.”

Ashton laughed.

“In different circumstances, I’d say you were damn
lucky. You have—or had—three gorgeous women vying for your affection. Kayla,
Amanda, and now Erika.”

“The only one I want is Amanda.”

“Want a piece of advice? Don’t give up on her. I
suggest you send her gifts. Chip away at her armor.”

“Would that work? Amanda might just destroy any gift I
send her.
If
they even get past the bodyguards.”

“Then bring her a serenade. I don’t think the guards
would be rude enough to kick out the poor musicians.”

Nathan smiled, considering the idea.

“It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

When Nathan finally got to class, he noticed that
Amanda wasn’t there yet. Her usual seat at the front was empty. Nathan took his
own seat and waited. Amanda had most likely been waiting to get to class at the
last minute, like him.

The lecture started. Minutes passed, and Amanda still
didn’t show up. Nathan had thought that Amanda wasn’t the type to skip class
for such a trivial matter.

By the end of class, Nathan was a little worried. He
would go look for Amanda to see that she was all right. She had two guards now,
so she was probably safe.

Nathan knew Amanda’s full schedule, so he stopped by
her next classroom. He put his jacket hood over his head to try going
unnoticed. Just a couple of minutes after that, Amanda showed up. She was with
Christopher. Nathan watched them both stop a few feet from the classroom door.
They leaned their backs against the wall, starting a conversation.

So Amanda’s not sick or away from school. Why didn’t
she show up to class?

Nathan tried to guess what Amanda could have done to
avoid him. Had she been with Christopher all this time? Nathan felt inclined to
think that that wasn’t the case. He still didn’t like seeing them together.
Amanda hadn’t told Nathan she shared a class with Christopher.

As he watched, Nathan saw Amanda rest her head on
Christopher’s shoulder. The latter seemed to be comforting her, playing with
strands of her hair. Amanda then looked up at him. Christopher was looking at
her lips, but she seemed oblivious to it.

If he kisses her, I’m going to kick his ass.

Fortunately, nothing unpleasant to Nathan happened
between Amanda and Christopher. Still, Nathan didn’t want to watch anymore. He
walked away, unhappy.

Oblivious to Nathan watching her, Amanda leaned into
Christopher’s shoulder. She felt fragile, and that was thanks to Nathan. Where
was her strength when she needed it most?

“I’m not going to let you down like Nathan did,” said
Christopher. He touched some of her hair, enjoying how silky it felt.

Amanda looked up at Christopher, wanting to know if he
was telling the truth.

As she looked into Christopher’s eyes, Amanda got a
phone call. She read the caller ID and answered.

“Hi, Brad. It’s nice to hear from you.”

“Same here, friend. Is Emmy in there with you?”

“No. I’m waiting for class to start. Why?”

“This won’t take long. I have some good news. Filming
over here has wrapped up. We’re preparing to shoot in Arkansas in the next
week.”

“That’s great to hear, Brad! How’s the movie going?”

Christopher put an arm around Amanda’s shoulder. She
didn’t mind that.

“Things are coming along like a charm. The rest of the
cast is really friendly. We hang out quite a bit.”

“I see. What about Lizzy Conley?”

Amanda heard Brad make a noise that suggested he was
unsure.

“She’s great. The director and producers love our
performance. When Lizzy was cast, I didn’t think she’d be able to pull off her
depressed character. She’s so sunny all the time, but she has done a stunning
job.”

“And you?”

“I’ve done well, too.”
Brad laughed.

“How long will it take for the rest of the filming to
wrap up?”

“Maybe another month or two. Would you still like to
visit me on the set?”

“Of course! It would be a nice change.”

At that moment, Brad detected something strange in
Amanda’s voice.

“Is something wrong over there?”

Amanda took a deep breath, trying to divert Brad’s
attention from her unhappiness.

“It’s all right. When will you be coming?”

“That depends. Just tell me which week spring break
falls on at your school. Let Nathan, Emmy, and Judith know that they’re invited
to come along, too.”

“I will. By the way, spring break is the second week
of next month.”

“Cool. I’ll stop by there to pick you girls up.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Okay. Let’s catch up later.”

“Yeah. Have a good day, Brad.”

“Bye,”
he
replied, and hung up. Amanda pocketed her phone. She looked at Christopher.

“That was your actor friend, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. He’s coming to take Emmy, Judith, and I to the
movie set in Arkansas to watch him act.”

“That’s so nice of him. Are you going there for spring
break?”

“Yes. To tell you the truth, I can’t wait to have some
alone time away from here.”

Christopher pouted.

“Is that because of me?”

Amanda laughed, poking him in the ribs softly.

“No, dummy. You’re one of the few people who have been
honest with me. And I’ve only known you for a few weeks.”

Christopher forced himself to smile at Amanda,
caressing the side of her face.

“I won’t fail you, home girl. Scout’s honor.”

Amanda raised an eyebrow.

“So you’re a Boy Scout, huh? What else should I know
about you?”

“You’ll find out over
time.”

Amanda managed to avoid Nathan for the rest of the
month. He wasn’t thrilled after finding out that Amanda dropped out of the
classes they shared. Nathan cornered Amanda in the hallway to demand answers.
Fortunately, her bodyguards forced him to leave. Amanda wasn’t going to give
Nathan any explanations.

Since Nathan wasn’t allowed near Amanda’s apartment
anymore, he’d resorted to send her gifts. She wanted nothing from him, so
Amanda had donated them all. At first, Nathan had put his name in the cards
that accompanied the gifts. He changed tactics and began to send anonymous
gifts. Amanda was already on to him, so it didn’t work. Nothing that Nathan
could buy her would make Amanda forgive him.

“Aren’t you tempted to keep at least a few of the
gifts for yourself?” Judith asked one day. Nathan had sent Amanda a pair of
spectacular diamond-shaped silver earrings. They both had a lentil-sized emerald
encrusted. Amanda saw her friend looking longingly at the jewelry.

The earrings had come with a note. Nathan had written
“For
the lovely woman with those gorgeous emerald eyes. Please forgive me.”

“Not even the Hope Diamond is going to make me forgive
Nathan on the spot. My trust isn’t something that anyone can buy.”

Amanda, though, couldn’t help but want to keep the
earrings. They must have cost quite a bit.

“No one has to know,” Judith said. Amanda rolled her
eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sure no one will notice it if I walk around
wearing these beauties. Nathan would get false hopes out of it. I won’t sink to
his level and lead him on.”

“Then, could I have them?”

Amanda chuckled to herself.

“I think I’ll keep them safe.”

Starting work at Best Buy also helped Amanda keep her
mind busy. She mostly worked in the computers and tablets section. If needed,
she could also help out in the smartphone and camera sections. As a geek,
Amanda loved the job. By the second week, she was tempted to buy herself a
laptop that she’d been admiring. It looked cool and elegant. Amanda already had
a MacBook that she’d been using for a year, though.

In that short time, Amanda came to feel at home in the
store. Her charisma and beauty drew customers to her. Amanda used her knowledge
of tech to help them get what they needed. One of Amanda’s coworkers told her
that he’d never seen a more attractive geek. They became good pals afterward.

Brad had let Amanda know that he would arrive on the
second week of March. He was taking her and her friends to Arkansas. The news
thrilled Emmy, so Amanda proposed to take her on a day out on the town on
Friday.

“Are we going shopping?” Emmy asked, trying to find
out what Amanda had planned.

“Sort of. You’ll like it.”

Kellan led Emmy and Amanda outside. Caldwell was
waiting for them in the car. Judith would also be going.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Amanda and
her group saw Judith waiting for them.

“Hi, Amanda. Hi, Emmy!” she greeted. The two girls
hugged Judith.

“Do you know what Amanda’s up to?” Emmy asked.

“No, I’m afraid not.”