Family Bonds- Drew and Amanda (Amore Island Book 2)

by Natalie Ann

  “Neither do I,” she said. Which was odd, considering she’d felt trapped often in her life growing up. Maybe that was why she loved it here so much. To prove she could live where others felt isolated yet she could thrive.

  “Did you get a lot of shopping done with Kayla?”

  Even though they talked last night, it wasn’t long. He was just checking in to say he’d be back today. “We did. Lots of baby clothes and a few things for the nursery. She told me to stop buying things because she’d get stuff for the shower, but I couldn’t help myself. All those cute little clothes.”

  He smiled in the chair while she grabbed the clippers and got to work. “I bet you’ll make one hell of a mother one day.”

  “Someday,” she said. If she was lucky and it seemed she never really was.

  22

  Hit The Jackpot

  Amanda looked at herself in the mirror one more time, satisfied she might be looking the hottest she’d ever looked in her life.

  Had she’d purposely tried to achieve that? Hell yeah!

  “Look at you,” Bri said, walking into her room. “You are going to knock him on his ass more than you did the night you had my faux leather pants on.”

  She laughed. “The dress isn’t too much? I mean it’s not as fancy as the one I wore to the fundraiser.”

  “It’s not, but it’s more killer. Red always is,” Bri said, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “It’s not red. It’s burgundy. Even though it’s a Christmas party, I wasn’t going for that bright of a red.”

  “I don’t know why,” Bri argued. “You’d stop traffic just walking out of the house. You might even stop the slot machines if you showed up on the floor in that dress. Or hit the jackpot. Oh wait. You already hit the jackpot dating Drew.”

  Amanda rolled her eyes over that comment. One of many she often got from Bri lately. “I don’t need that many eyes on me. Now I’m starting to wonder if this is too much and I should put on my black dress.”

  “I’m going to go in your closet and snatch that black one out if you even think of it. I might even put some food on it so it’d be dirty. Don’t change.”

  When the doorbell went off, she didn’t have much of a choice. “Drew is here,” she said. “He’s earlier than I thought.”

  “Early is good. Except if it’s in bed. No one likes a premature man.”

  “Always sex with you,” she said. “You’re past Mark now?”

  “It wasn’t meant. I’ve got to believe that. Maybe I shouldn’t try so hard.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t,” she said, walking out of her room to get the door. “Or just take a break.”

  “We’ll see,” Bri said. “I want to see Drew’s reaction when his eyes land on yours. I bet it’s the same as when Malcolm Bond first laid eyes on Elizabeth on this island.”

  “What?” Amanda asked.

  “Ask Drew about it. I can’t believe you’ve lived here longer than me and don’t know the origin of the island.”

  “I know enough. It just threw me off, what you’d said.” She opened the door. “Hello there, handsome.”

  He was in a black suit with a tie that matched her dress. It hadn’t been planned at all. “Don’t we look like a couple? Imagine that.”

  “Some might say it’s fate,” Bri said letting out a giggle. “Amanda doesn’t know the story of Malcolm and Elizabeth. I told her she might garner that reaction out of you with that dress.”

  “Bri,” she said, feeling some mortification creeping up her spine like the fear of losing what she’d wanted so much. “Get lost.”

  “She’s right,” Drew said. “You’ve knocked the breath right out of me. Where’s your bag?”

  “Oh, it’s in my room. I’m sorry. I was anxious to come see you.”

  “I’ll get it,” Bri said. “You can kiss her now with me gone. I know you won’t do that when I’m in the room. Not sure why. I know you kiss and do much more.”

  “She means well. Thinks she is funny when she’s not though,” she said.

  “I do want to kiss you. I would have when you opened the door regardless of her standing there but the truth is I needed to roll my tongue back in my mouth first.”

  “Then I did what I set out to with this dress.”

  “And what is that?” he asked.

  “Looking better than I did for the fundraiser.”

  “Am I going to get just as good of a night out of it?”

  “You should,” Bri said, walking back in. “Sorry. I can’t resist. Here you go. You two kids have a good night.”

  “Are you okay here by yourself?” she asked Bri. Bri wasn’t one for being alone even though Sidney would be home later.

  “I’m good, Mom,” she said. “I’m going to change into my sexy jeans and a slinky top and go hang out with Sidney at the bar while she works.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Maybe I’ll meet my own Prince Charming there.”

  So much for Bri taking a break. “In a bar? Good luck,” she said back. “But have fun.”

  “I will. You too. Give it to her good tonight, Drew.”

  “Bri!”

  Once they were in his car, he turned to her. “I think my face is on fire. Am I blushing? I sure the hell feel like it after she said that. Not that I didn’t plan on doing that, but I wasn’t expecting her to call you Mom in one sentence and then tell me to give it to you good in another.”

  She tilted her head in the car. It was dark out but the moonlight was coming through. “I think there is a little pink to your cheeks.”

  “She is a piece of work.”

  “She adds some excitement and entertainment to the house. Among the drama. Just like having a child, I suppose.”

  “Except unlike a child she can do what she wants, support herself, and then still whine when things don’t go her way.”

  “One and the same,” she said, not wanting to talk about this much more. “So, is this a sit down dinner tonight or more like a buffet?”

  Drew was trying to focus on Amanda’s words.

  It wasn’t until Bri said what she had that he wondered if it was true. If he did feel like Malcolm when he first set eyes on Elizabeth.

  Damn. Was he getting bitten by the legend without realizing it?

  He couldn’t think of that. Not now. Not tonight.

  Not when he wasn’t sure what was going on with her at times.

  It was early and he wasn’t in any rush. They had plenty of time to get closer too. To find out more about each other.

  To find out if it was right and he wouldn’t get burned again.

  Yet the more he told himself that, the more he didn’t seem to listen to his own advice.

  And there she was again, changing the subject. She did that a lot when she didn’t want to talk about something.

  “It’s a sit down dinner. Bode and I will get up and thank everyone. Just talk about the future of the company or changes we might see coming. Nothing major. My father will talk of course. Though he doesn’t run everything like we do, he still owns a big share of the company and always will.”

  “Will we be sitting with Bode and your parents?” she asked.

  “Yes. It’s a big table up front and there will be a few other higher level staff there with their significant others. After the food, it’s just a party. There’s a DJ and dancing. The casino is obviously open to everyone. We give them some vouchers to go out and enjoy themselves. They all spend the night on the island too.”

  “That’s nice. You do that on purpose, don’t you? Have the party start at six so that people really can’t get the last ferry of the night?”

  “Yes and no. We also do it so that they have time to get here and check in and change here. Not many want to ride the ferry over in their clothes for the party.”

  “I’m surprised it’s so dressy,” she said.

  “I think people like that. Not many dress up anymore. We are always professional at work, but society is less about suits and ties. That
works for me, but there isn’t anything wrong with looking at you dressed like that either.”

  She laughed and ran her hand up and down his thigh. “Oh, tell me about it.”

  “We’ve got about thirty minutes on the trip. Do you really not know about how Malcolm and Elizabeth met?”

  “Your ancestors?” she asked. “That’s a change in topic.”

  “It is, but we’ve got time to kill. I guess I just assume everyone knows it.”

  “I know the name of the island is Amore Island and people come here for love or love at first sight. That some swear it’s fate. You name it, if it’s romantic that is what people are seeking.”

  “That’s true,” he said.

  “And there were five kids. All different lines. We had that conversation. I know Malcolm fell in love the first time he saw Elizabeth. It’s hard not to know those facts living here.”

  “Very true. So Elizabeth Rummer’s father was killed at sea. She was the only child. Her mother feared she’d lose the business and didn’t want that to happen. Women weren’t running businesses back then and she worried most would walk away and the business would fall to ruins. She decided to take matters into her own hands and since she’d heard of Malcolm’s name before, she approached him to marry her only daughter. Her only child.”

  “That’s a little cold. An arranged marriage.”

  “And not unheard of back then.”

  “Very true. So Elizabeth really had no say in it?”

  “No. If the stories are true, she wasn’t complaining though. Anyway, Victoria Rummer told Malcolm he had three days to find the island from their port. Which was in Boston.”

  “It shouldn’t have taken three days,” she said, laughing.

  “She didn’t let him know how to find it. She gave him a few hints and that was it. A storm came in and he ended up off course. When the sun rose on the final day, he saw land, and made his way toward it hoping to repair the storm damage.”

  “Are you kidding me? He ended up here?” she asked.

  “He did. When he set his eyes on Elizabeth it was said he was shaking almost as much as when he was navigating through the storm.”

  She started to laugh. “You’re making that up.”

  “I’m not,” he said, his hand on his heart. “I swear it. It was love at first sight.”

  “I get it now. How did Elizabeth feel though?” she asked.

  Funny how he never thought of that before. He supposed it would take another woman to think it though. “There actually wasn’t a lot of documentation on that. I want to believe she was fine with it, having the five kids and a long marriage.”

  “Which means nothing,” she said, “because it’s not like she’d have much of a choice to divorce back then either.”

  “I guess I want to believe she was as happy as him,” he said. “I’d think we would have heard otherwise if that wasn’t the case.”

  “You’ve got a romantic streak in you too, don’t you?”

  “I suppose I do. I used to say it was from my mother, but the truth is, it’s probably running down through the Bond men too.”

  23

  Worthy of You

  By the time they showed up at the party, Amanda wasn’t sure what to think of the story Drew had told her and she wondered why she’d never heard it quite like that before.

  Figures no one cared what Elizabeth thought back then. She had no choice. She wasn’t even controlled by her man, but her mother.

  Didn’t Amanda know exactly how that felt? More than she’d ever say to another person.

  They checked into their room, and left their stuff there. She looked in the mirror one more time to make sure she hadn’t gotten wrinkled from the drive.

  “You look great,” he said. “Stop fussing.”

  “I want to make sure I’m worthy of you in front of your employees.”

  She was grinning when she said it, but she really felt that way when she hadn’t felt that way about many men in her life.

  She’d always thought her love was enough with Randall. That their love was enough. It wasn’t though.

  Not for his family and not for him.

  She never expected she’d be in this situation again wondering if she’d measure up.

  “Please. We aren’t stuck-up. I hope you know that by now. No one in my family judges anyone. We all try to stay clear of gold diggers and think we’ve got a good radar for it. It’s probably why it takes so long for many of us to settle down.”

  “You know I’m not with you for your money,” she said firmly.

  He pulled her into his arms. “We’ve had this conversation before. I know that. What I’m saying is no one judges. You should know that by Hunter and Kayla’s relationship.”

  “Hunter’s father wasn’t happy about it. He thought Kayla was after Hunter for his money.”

  “Charlie Bond always was a little bit stiff. I don’t want to say stuck-up, because he’s not. But he’s not as open-minded or outgoing as the rest of them. Or the rest of us.”

  “He did come around,” she said. She’d felt horrible for Kayla and was glad at least Nicole Bond loved Kayla like a daughter and accepted her right away.

  “Our family is tight and strong. The divorce rate is pretty low among the Bonds.”

  “Really?” she said.

  “I know I told you about the legend. The lore. The rumors. Whatever words you want to put toward it. But the truth is, Bonds do seem to find their one true love and that’s it for them. Of course there are exceptions to the rule.”

  “Like Hunter’s Great-great-grandfather James. I heard all about him.”

  “Everyone knows about him and how he started the Retreat for his slew of women. William’s line is known to marry and divorce or just have some bastards running around more than any other line. But for the most part, it’s true love and we are happy with it.”

  “We are getting a little deep here. Why don’t we go down and party.”

  He stepped back and tilted his head to look at her. She expected him to want to continue this conversation but thankfully he humored her. “I guess we can go down.” When they were walking in the door, he said, “You aren’t always going to get your way, you know.”

  She didn’t need to ask what he was talking about. “I know.”

  He leaned in to kiss her when they got in the elevator. “I’m not sure what is in your past to make you so skittish, but I’m not like whoever it was.”

  There was no use arguing. “No, you aren’t.”

  The elevator door opened on the next floor down and more people piled in. The time for personal conversations was at an end and she was glad for it.

  When they got to the ballroom where the party was being held, she saw how stunning it looked in there. All gold and silver decorations. No bright or gaudy red or green like Bri told her to wear. She was glad she went with this dress.

  “Amanda,” Helena Bond said, coming forward. “Don’t you look just lovely. And you and Drew match. Did you plan on that?”

  “No, we didn’t,” she said. “Guess it was just our luck tonight.”

  “Luck, you say?” Helena said, wiggling her eyes. Oh please, don’t let Drew’s mother make some comment about fate or love at first sight. She wasn’t sure she could take much more of it.

  She was already feeling like the rhino teetering on the high wire trying not to fall with all eyes on her. The last thing she needed was to doubt herself even more.

  “Yes, it was luck,” Drew said, jumping in and slipping his arm around her waist. “Where’s Dad?”

  “He’s talking with Eli about something. He’ll be in here soon, I’m sure. We are at the front table, but I expect you to mingle and welcome everyone.”

  He laughed. “I know the drill.” He looked at Amanda. “Are you going to stay by my side or escape to the table by yourself?”

  “I’ll stand by you if you want,” she said. “It’s your choice. Or I can go with your mother.”

  “I ca
n take Amanda under my wing and introduce her around,” Helena said. “I don’t know half the people here either, but I love to talk.”

  “Amanda can stay with me. I’d rather introduce her to people than have my mother do it.”

  “Very well. I’ll go find Bode,” Helena said and floated away.

  “Does she always move so gracefully?” Amanda asked. It seemed like Helena walked on a cloud with a halo on her head. Even when she was pestering her sons she was polite about it.

  “She does. I’m not sure how she does it. She was meant to have a daughter. She never got that wish.”

  “Three children is a lot,” she said. But hadn’t Celeste said something about Helena losing a child?

  “It is. My mother wanted a lot more. My father would have loved it too. There was a child after Coy. Or should have been, but my mother miscarried. It was a little girl. She was only about six months pregnant but wasn’t able to conceive again after that.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I bet she was devastated.”

  “She was, but then I think as we got older she set her mind to getting her daughters through marriage.”

  And Amanda wasn’t handpicked by Helena. She’d have to remember that. “So that is why she tries so hard.”

  “It is. But she’s happy when we are dating. I’m the lucky one right now. Bode and Coy are feeling the pressure and they aren’t happy with me. Bode had been dating someone a few months ago and Coy and I were feeling the heat. You’d think she’d be happy with one of us in a relationship, but she feels we all should be.”

  “You boys tend to handle it well though.”

  “It’s a balancing act. And people are starting to come in. Let’s go mingle. I’ll stay by your side, but if you get bored or want to get off your feet, just tell me.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she said.

  It wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought it was going to be. There was no way she could meet everyone. Even Drew had whispered to her he didn’t know all the staff but had met several new ones in Cape Cod last week. His visit to the Boston offices was going to be put on hold until after the first of the year now along with the Plymouth one.