by Mia Ford
It was crazy to me that Nathan owned the company that Lindsey’s fiancé worked for. All the past drama aside, I was really excited to get to know him better. Not only did he know Jordan, but he was taking me to the place where they got engaged. I was starting to think that fate was reaching down and playing a hand in all of these things. I pushed that thought down, though, remembering how dangerous it could be to think of relationships like they were designed. You tended to lose track of reality and that was when you missed the things that could be huge red flags. I had done that once in my life, and once was enough.
“I just want you to be careful,” she said, smiling at the waiter as he took her plate. “I’ve heard that Nathan is a bit of playboy.”
“I think I am finally in a place where I can handle myself,” I said. “Though I do love you and thank you for being such a great friend.”
“Always,” she said. “So, are we done with all the wedding talk?”
“I think so,” I said, scanning my notes.
“Good, let’s figure out what you are going to wear tomorrow night,” Lindsey said.
Chapter 4
Nathan
When I was done with work for the day, I grabbed my suit jacket and raced out of the office. I had to get ready for my date with Amanda, and I didn’t want to be late picking her up. This was going to be our very first real date, and I wanted to impress her in every way. When I got home, I jumped in the shower and picked out a nice suit to wear to dinner. I smoothed my hair back and made sure that every thread was in the right place. I had to admit, I looked pretty good in a five-thousand-dollar suit, even though I hated paying that much for it. I might be a billionaire, but I was picky about what I spent money on.
As I stood in front of the mirror picking lint off the bottom of my suit jacket, I noticed my stomach churning. I looked up at myself and took a deep breath, realizing that I was a lot more nervous than I thought I would be. This girl had kind of turned my world upside down, and only in the blink of an eye. She was beautiful, smart, ambitious, and sexy in a way that made me hot just by the touch of her hand. Usually, I would wait a week before calling a girl, but with Amanda, I had to see her again right away. I was nervous that she would be put off by my forwardness, but on the phone, she sounded just as excited to see me as I was to see her. Taking her to Iliad’s was a big deal to me because I never took dates there, not that I had very many dates anyway.
I shook the nerves off and finished getting ready, seeing that I was cutting it close on time. I headed outside to the street where the limo for the evening was waiting. The driver opened the door for me and smiled as I climbed inside. I thought it would be a nice touch to pick her up in a fancy limo instead of just a town car. When I got to her place, she came to the door, stunning me in a little black dress that sat off her shoulders. It was tight and hugged all of her curves, sitting right below the knee. She was wearing six-inch heels, and her hair cascaded over her shoulders. She was beautiful.
“You look amazing,” I said, leading her outside to the limo.
“Thank you,” she said, her eyes wide at the car parked outside.
“I thought it would be nice to ride in style,” I said, helping her inside.
“Did you know that my best friend’s fiancé works for you?” she asked. “His name is Jordan.”
“Jordan,” I said, laughing. “It’s a really small world.”
“That is what I said when I found out,” she replied. “Lindsey told me what he did but never the company he worked for, so it didn’t click until I mentioned it at lunch yesterday. I couldn’t help but think how strange it was that we were connected in that way.”
“I am pretty sure Jordan asked Lindsey to marry him at the restaurant we are going to tonight,” I said, thinking about it.
“He did,” she said excitedly. “I mean, I wasn’t there, but when I told Lindsey where we were going, she freaked out. She loves the place.”
“I don’t think I have ever met Lindsey,” I said. “I’ve heard all about her, though. Jordan is head over heels in love, and we all knew she was it when he first started talking about her. She is a model, right?”
“Yeah, she landed her first gig when she was like sixteen and has been doing it ever since,” she explained. “It’s funny to think of her that way, for me at least. I’ve known her my whole life.”
“I’m sure she is an amazing woman,” I said. “Jordan is a hell of a guy.”
“He is, and they are perfect or each other,” she said dreamily.
“I am actually going to their wedding,” I said, laughing. “I hope you didn’t talk them into paisley.”
She laughed. “No, I did not fulfill your request on the paisley,” she said. “There is enough craziness going on with everything.”
“You are doing a lot of the planning with her?”
“You mean for her? Sure.” She chuckled. “I am working closely with the wedding planner and trying to pry decisions out of Lindsey. She made me her Maid of Honor, which was really exciting until I figured out exactly what that meant. Lindsey is like the opposite of bridezilla. The guests she invited are expecting this big shindig, but I am pretty sure she would be happy getting married in her living room.”
“Poor girl.” I laughed.
“No, I don’t think she truly understands everything going on,” she said, rolling her eyes. “She is caught up in this love cloud and just signs the checks. If I weren’t there, we would still be on track for floral, and no one would be eating anything but the lobster rolls she said she wanted there. I really don’t know why she is having food anyway. Half the list is made up of models from the industry. She could have just served lettuce and water.”
“But then I would be hungry,” I said, smiling. “How long have you and Lindsey been friends?”
“Gosh, our entire lives pretty much,” she said. “My mom used to babysit her when she was like two, and we became inseparable after that. I thought when she got picked up for modeling, things might change, but she is the same old girl I used to sneak out of the house with, just with better style.”
“It’s nice to have those kinds of friends,” I said, smiling. “Ones you know will always be there, no matter what is going on in their lives. My right-hand man, John, is that guy for me. We met in college and have been best friends ever since. I don’t know what I would do without him sometimes.”
“He sounds like a great friend,” she said, smiling. “I don’t know what I would do without Lindsey, either. She has kept my feet on the ground for a long time.”
“You seem so level-headed,” I said.
“I am, but I’m still human,” she scoffed. “Making mistakes by the handful as I figure out life.”
“That’s me through and through.” I laughed.
“How long have you known Jordan?”
“Man, I met Jordan at a tech conference in college,” I said, thinking back. “I trusted him right away, and I could see how brilliant he was. It was right before I started the company. He loved the idea and has been on board with it ever since then. As soon as I could afford it, I made him VP of technology, and he is next in line for the President position. My main guy was in place right before I met Jordan, so they are kind of neck and neck for seniority. He is one of my greatest assets professionally, though. He is the mind behind some of the biggest technological creations that the company is known for.”
“Wow, I had no idea,” she said. “I knew he was really smart and successful, but I didn’t know how far that really went. Lindsey doesn’t really understand his job, not that I’m a whizz at it, but it keeps her from really discussing it with anyone. She is very careful with what she talks about since she doesn’t want to be given the ‘dumb model’ label that goes around in her world.”
“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. Someti
mes, 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.
Lindsey looked at me curiously and handed me a napkin. “How are you and Nathan?”
Immediately, my cheeks felt warm, and I knew that I was blushing hardcore from my forehead to my neck. I tried to control it, but I couldn’t help it. Even just thinking about his name gave me butterflies in my stomach. It was like I was a love-struck teenager all over again, and though normally I would roll my eyes at that sort of thing, I was enjoying every second of it. It was in those moments that I understood the haze that Lindsey had been walking around in for the last couple of years. The feeling of electricity in my chest hadn’t left me since I met Nathan, and I knew that had to mean something. I was fighting myself on it, and that was only natural after what I had been through with my ex, but I was starting to see myself lowering my guard and completely letting the idea of Nathan into my life.
“Wow, look at that reaction.” Lindsey giggled. “I don’t think I have ever seen you in that shade of red before.”
“The butterflies are everywhere.” I sighed. “I can’t even hear his name without getting warm in the face.”
“It sounds like you may have already fallen in love with this guy,” she said.
“I mean, I can’t lie to you; I think that I might have,” I said, realizing it at that moment. “It’s crazy, I know, but my emotions aren’t letting me feel any other way. I’ve tried to keep that wall up, to be cautious and think about everything before I do it, but when I am with him, it all goes out the window. When he kissed me the other night, I swear I thought my legs were going to melt right out from under me.”
“That is so awesome,” Lindsey said. Her phone rang, and she reached for it. “Oh, dammit. It’s my sister. Sorry, give me just a second.”
I nodded my head and stood up, walking to the other side of the trailer. She was the last person I neede
d to think about at a time like this. She had slept with my boyfriend, and even after knowing I had caught him numerous times before. I couldn’t blame her for the fact that I had forgiven him like an idiot every single time. I was in love and blind to the fact that once he cheated, he would always cheat. I didn’t even know if five was the total count, but that was how many I had actually caught him red-handed with. He was the reason I hadn’t dated anyone before I met Nathan. He left a really bad taste in my mouth when it came to men, and I never wanted to think about him again.
I had forgiven most of the girls, knowing that none of them knew that he was in a relationship when he met them, but not Sarah. Sarah was Lindsey’s little sister and someone who had spent many hours around all of us. She knew perfectly well that he was with me, and the worst part of it all was the fact that she didn’t really have any interest in him. She just did it to make me mad. I didn’t know what her problem with me was, but she had hated me for a long time and even worse now that I stood between her and her sister.
As Lindsey talked to her sister, I did my best to block out the whole conversation and tried hard not to look upset.
I had known Sarah since she was born, and when we were younger, she would hang out with me and Lindsey, trying to fit in with the older girls. As time went by, she grew into her own person and always seemed to resent me in some ways. I tried hard to be part of her life, but after she slept with my ex, I wrote her off. I couldn’t stand to even hear that she was on the phone, and although I knew it was petty to hold grudges and she’d probably done me a favor since I broke up with him after that, I still didn’t want to be anywhere near her. I knew that I would never be able to forgive her for what she did, and I knew that even if I ever could, I would never trust her again.