by Mia Ford
“We will be reaching out to you in the upcoming months for statements from everyone who was involved,” she said. “That will include all staff that came in to help get the system back on track. Those statements can be done in writing with a notarized signature at the bottom. We will give you all the details when we have our next meeting.”
“Absolutely,” I said, shaking her hand. “We will give you any cooperation that we can.”
The agent cleaned up her things and shook John and Jordan’s hands before leaving. I turned and looked at the guys, smiling since everything was finally getting resolved. Jordan got up and tapped his folders on the desk while John avoided eye contact.
“Jordan let me know when everything is corrected,” I said.
“Will do,” he replied.
I walked out of the room and down the hall to my office. I sat down at my desk and looked at my phone, wondering what Amanda was up to and how she felt. I didn’t want to bother her if she was sleeping, so I put the phone back on the desk and watched as John walked in, sitting at the chair in front of me.
“My secretary is at lunch,” I said with a smirk.
“I’m glad to see that your head is back in the game.” He chuckled. “Listen, I wanted to come in and tell you that I was sorry for how I acted the other day. It was out of line to talk to you like that about your own decisions. You are a grown man, perfectly capable of sniffing out foul play on your own. I should have been more supportive and voiced my concerns in a less offensive manner to you. So yeah, I apologize.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. “I know that you were just being a good friend. It is difficult when you are so happy about something and your closest friend is not, but at the same time, you have always looked out for me. Though I don’t share your sentiments about Amanda, I did think about what you said. I just want you to know that I heard you and I took it into consideration. In fact, it was the whole reason that I came to my final conclusion.”
“I’m glad that you can see that I am only trying to protect you,” he said. “I really want you to be happy, but not for just a short time, for a really long time. I want you to have someone that loves you as much as you love them.”
“And I do,” I said, smiling. “In fact, I’ve decided that I want to marry her.”
There was something satisfying about watching John’s mouth drop down to the floor. I knew that shock was going to be part of everyone’s reaction when I told them, but I was prepared for it. I understood that I hadn’t been with Amanda that long, and I knew that people were going to look down on us for that, but it was my life and my decisions. I didn’t need a babysitter or a big brother. I needed a supportive group of people that could accept Amanda the way that I had.
Just as I had expected, John was completely shocked. He sat there in his chair for several minutes, just staring down at the desk. I smirked to myself and picked up my phone, scanning through my pictures as I waited for him to come to terms with what I had just said. I wanted to marry Amanda, and though it was shocking to everyone else, it just made perfect sense to me. I loved her, I couldn’t be away from her, and I wanted to share my life with her. It was simple in my eyes, though I could tell it wasn’t so simple in John’s eyes. He looked almost panicked.
“I’m sorry, but what did you just say? You said you are going to marry this girl?”
“My connection to Amanda is incredibly powerful,” I said. “I don’t feel okay or at home until she is by my side. Every time we are away from each other, it feels like an eternity. I have never felt this way about anyone in my life. Marrying Amanda feels like the right thing for me to do. I want to grow old with her, to experience life with her, and maybe even start a family one day. When you know, you know, and what I know is that I love her and don’t want to be without her ever.”
“There is a difference between loving someone and getting to know them, and jumping into marriage, Nathan,” he said. “Have you really given this thought, or did you jump in feet first because I told you it wasn’t right?”
“I know this may be hard to believe, John, but not everything revolves around what you think,” I said, irritation brewing in my belly. “I know her enough to know that I want to spend my life with her. Sure, we could wait until we’ve been together the allotted, appropriate time, but I know for sure that we would still be getting married. I don’t want to wait.”
“You are making a mistake,” he said pointedly.
“Please, tell me why,” I said.
“Because you don’t know this woman,” he said loudly. “It is a huge mistake, and I don’t understand why you are making it.”
“I feel like the only mistake I have made thus far is confiding in you,” I said angrily. “Apparently, you weren’t sorry for how you acted at all. I am not a child under your care. Telling me you are sorry does not negate all the things you are continuing to do.”
“I was sorry for bringing it up the way I did, not for telling you the truth,” he said. “I have always told you the truth, and this was the first time I had to apologize to you. Maybe you should think about that. Maybe clear your head a little, and look at things objectively. I mean, how do you know that she isn’t some sort of gold digger? Did you check out her history or her past? Do you really know this girl like you think you do?”
“There you go, acting too big for your britches again, assuming any decision I made was going to be the wrong one,” I said. “I can promise you that Amanda is not a gold digger. She has never once given me pause about my money. My ex gave me red flags all over the place. I just refused to see them. Believe it or not, my eyes are open wider than they have ever been. She is not with me for my money. She was interested in me even before she knew who I was.”
“Nathan, think about it for one damn minute,” John pleaded. “You barely know this girl at all. You have spent a small amount of time with her. You don’t know what she is after at all. I think you are just as blind as with your ex, if not more. At least when you were dating her, you checked into it, ultimately finding that I was right. With this girl, you won’t even take two seconds to listen to an outside opinion.”
“Probably because outside opinion has no place inside of a relationship,” I said angrily. “Look, just go. I don’t want to talk to you about this anymore.”
“Fine,” he said, standing up and marching out of my office.
Who the hell did he think he was? He came into my office, talking about my personal life, and he hadn’t even given Amanda a chance. I was starting to think he liked to watch me struggle, having zero faith in the fact that I could make my own choices. I was fuming mad at that point, and I knew I couldn’t depend on John to be there for me anymore. I was going to have to make my own choices.
Chapter 13
Amanda
I laid there on the couch, having moved from the bed halfway through the day. The only thing I could assume was that I had the flu. It was going around, as usual, but it had been a long time since I’d caught anything. Maybe I was due for a sickness. Either way, I knew that I felt like total shit, not even being able to keep water down for very long.
I knew Nathan wanted to take care of me all day, but I was glad that he didn’t. I didn’t want him to see me huddled over the toilet puking my guts out. I still felt nauseated as hell, I was exhausted, and I couldn’t get comfortable in my own body. One minute, I was freezing cold, and the next minute, I was burning alive. I had taken my temperature, and it wasn’t much more than normal, which shocked me since I was totally expecting to be sporting a pretty bad fever with whatever viral plague had entered my body. All I wanted to do was sleep, but my stomach was so upset that it wouldn’t let me rest for even a couple of minutes.
Just as I calmed my mind down from all the sick thoughts, I heard the door open and shut. Nathan walked around the corner carrying a bouquet of flowers and a case of ginger ale. The man knew exactly how to get to my heart. I smiled and gave him my cheek as he leaned over to kiss me.
&nbs
p; “You feel warm,” he said, sitting down on the edge of the table.
“I took my temperature twenty minutes ago, and I only have a slight fever,” I said.
“Well, I came over to help take care of you and to make sure that you were doing okay,” he said. “I have been worried about you all day. I’m glad to see you got out of bed and made your way to the couch.”
“I had to have a change of scenery,” I said. “I was staring at the fan going around and around, and it was only making me feel worse.”
“Can I get you anything?” he asked, standing up. “I’m going to go put these flowers in water and put your soda in the fridge.”
“No, I’m okay,” I said. “I am trying to get that water down before I drink any more soda.”
“Good,” he said, smiling. “I’ll be right back.”
Nathan was extremely worried about me, and although it made me feel bad for him, I appreciated that he was there to look out for me. He was showing me just how good of a husband he was going to be. I had been thinking about his marriage proposal all day, and normally, all that time would have changed my mind, but not with Nathan. I knew that I wanted to marry him and to spend our time together living life. I finally knew what Lindsey felt when she met Jordan. I was pretty sure she would have married him after a week if he had asked her.
“So, I was thinking,” I said as he walked back in. “We should just get married at the courthouse. You can tell me if you feel differently, but I really don’t want a big wedding. I always thought they were so overblown and ridiculous. We are getting married because we love each other, and I want it to be about us.”
“I think that is a fantastic idea,” he said, smiling. “I don’t want a big wedding, either, though I would do it if it was important to you.”
“It’s not,” I said. “What’s important to me is being with you.”
“Me too,” he replied, kissing my forehead. “I don’t think anyone else really understands our relationship anyway. I don’t want people there that have doubts in their mind. It takes away from what the real purpose of all of it is.”
“I agree, though I haven’t told anyone yet,” I said. “I’ve been dying on the couch.”
“You are so cute when you get melodramatic,” he said, laughing.
“Wait fifty years, and see if you still feel that way.” I laughed.
“I will feel that way five hundred years from now,” he replied. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too,” I said. “I would go to the courthouse with you tonight and get married.”
“I would do it right here and right now if we could,” he said.
“We should,” I replied, pulling myself up. “We should get me dressed and just go do it now. I want to be married to you.”
“As much as I love your enthusiasm and feel the same way, I think that we should wait until you are feeling a bit better,” he said with a kind smile. “We don’t want you puking on the Justice of the Peace in the middle of the ceremony or anything.”
“Yeah,” I said, rubbing my belly. “And sadly, that would be a real possibility.”
“That might put a damper on our plans.” He chuckled. “I don’t want our marriage license to smell like puke and plague.”
“Me neither.” I sighed, laying back down.
As much as I wanted to fight him on that point, I knew he was right. I could barely make it to the kitchen, much less get dressed and get married. I knew that I could be patient. He wasn’t going anywhere, and neither were our feelings for each other.
“I want you to make me a promise,” he said. “If you aren’t feeling better by Monday, I want you to go to the doctor. I’m serious. If nothing else, you could be getting way too dehydrated, and that will make you sick in itself.”
“I promise,” I said. “I don’t want to keep feeling like this. It’s absolutely miserable.”
“I know,” he said, pulling out his phone. “Sorry, hold on for one second. What’s up, John?”
I laid there and stared up at the ceiling as Nathan talked to John on the phone. It sounded like something was going on, and I felt bad that Nathan couldn’t seem to catch a break these days. There was always someone on his back about something, even if it had to do with work. I just wanted him to be able to relax. He hung up the phone and sighed, looking over at me.
“That was John being cryptic as usual,” he said. “He says it’s really important, so I have to go. I’ll call you when I’m done with him and see if you need anything.”
“Okay,” I said, smiling. “Be safe driving.”
“I will,” he replied, kissing my forehead.
I watched as Nathan left, looking more than annoyed that he was called away. I realized that I needed to tell Lindsey about getting married. She was my best friend, after all. I picked up the phone and dialed her number, pulling the phone to my ear.
“Hey, girl,” I said.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Like death.” I laughed. “How are you?”
“That’s a complicated question,” she said.
“Uh oh. What’s wrong?”
“I’m in the area,” she said. “I’ll swing by.”
“Alright, I’ll be here on the couch,” I said. “The front door is unlocked, so just come in.”
It took Lindsey about ten minutes before she pulled up out front. When she came through the front door and into the living room, she stopped, pouting her lip. I waved in a sickly motion and gestured for her to come in.
“You poor thing,” she said. “You look like you feel terrible.”
“I have definitely been better,” I said.
“Sorry to intrude on you while you are sick, but I really have to vent,” she said, sitting down in the chair. “You know I don’t do well holding things in, and I just have to get it out.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I am losing my mind in the quiet anyway. Is it Jordan?”
“No, it’s not Jordan,” she said. “He is wonderful. It’s Sarah.”
“Ugh.” I cringed.
“I know,” she said. “She is being the biggest fucking brat about every little thing that has to do with the wedding. She doesn’t like where she is sitting, she doesn’t like that she has to walk third down the aisle, she doesn’t like the color of her bouquet, and everything else you could imagine there was to complain about. She is driving me absolutely insane. I finally told her to shut the hell up today and then left my parents’ house.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with her,” I said. “I can hire a hitman if you would like. And what I mean by hire a hit man is me taking my sick ass to her house and kicking her butt up and down the street. She is in real need of a good ass kicking.”
“I appreciate it.” She laughed. “But you would make it three steps outside and collapse.”
“You may be right,” I said, laughing. “I have some good news.”
“Good,” Lindsey said. “Tell it to me.”
“Me and Nathan are going to get married at the courthouse as soon as I feel better,” I said, holding my breath for the reaction.
“What? Are you serious? Already? I mean, you love him that much?”
“Yes, of course, I do.” I chuckled. “When have I ever done something without thinking about it?”
“Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I want you to be as happy as you can be, but are you sure you really want to get married? You haven’t really known Nathan for very long. You learn a lot of things about people when you spend enough time together. Maybe you guys should move in together first and see how it works out. I’m not trying to mock you or make you think I don’t support you. I’m just being the devil’s advocate. That’s my job as your best friend.”
“Let me ask you a question,” I said. “Did I ask you that when you told me you were marrying Jordan after dating for seven months?”
“No, but seven months is a lot longer than you’ve known Nathan,” she said.
“Look, I am pos
itive that I want to marry him,” I said. “You knew way sooner than seven months. He just waited that long to ask you.”
I could feel Lindsey’s judgement as I laid there on the couch, trying to argue my side of things. I really wanted her to be happy for me, request to be at the courthouse, and start talking about cute outfits I could wear to get married in, but that didn’t happen. Instead of happy girl talk, I got a lecture on getting to know someone before jumping straight into marriage. It was like she didn’t understand that I knew that. I let it go, knowing that eventually, Lindsey would come around. She was my best friend, and the last thing I wanted to do was fight with her. She had her own big day coming up, and with her already being pissed with her sister, the last thing she needed was me picking a fight with her. So, instead, I changed the subject back to Sarah. It was the first time I had ever wanted to talk about Sarah over my own personal happiness.
After about twenty minutes, I could feel the nausea coming back full force, and I told Lindsey that I needed to close my eyes. She brought me a new soda and then let herself out. My heart was sad that I couldn’t share this special time with her. I knew one day, everyone would realize that Nathan and I were meant to be, but for now, I just had to be happy with knowing I was going to get to marry the man of my dreams soon. All I had to do was shake whatever was kicking my ass first.
Chapter 14