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.
“Judith isn’t going to force her friend to dance in that condition.”
“For a moment, I thought she would.”
Judith looked like she was trying to avoid being stepped on by Christopher. He was at least four inches taller than her, but that’s not what she was worried about. Judith was making a show about doubting Christopher’s skills on the dance floor.
“Let’s go rest for a bit,” Amanda suggested. Nathan took her hand, and they walked back to their table. Halfway there, Amanda felt her smartphone vibrate.
“Excuse me,” Amanda said. She pulled out her phone from her jacket. “It’s my agent.”
Amanda walked outside. Nathan followed after her. She answered the call.
“Mr. Stanley?”
“Good evening, Ms. Tilley. How are you doing?”
“Better. I’m able to dance now.”
Stanley didn’t laugh, or even react to that.
“I don’t have very good news for you. There’s a problem with your next photo shoot for Lancôme.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re going to lose the contract, Ms. Tilley. The photo shoot was set to be done soon. Unfortunately, you’re no longer fit for it.”
It took Amanda a moment to catch that.
“What? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I tried to convince them to move the shoot to another date. They’re already talking about finding someone else to replace you.”
“Why?”
“Your injuri
es, Ms. Tilley. I’ve seen a photo of you on the Web. You’re not going to make magazine covers looking like that anymore. Billboard ads? Not a chance.”
“That’s what makeup and Photoshop are for.”
Stanley finally laughed.
“So now you’re willing to be Photoshopped? That’s something you always strongly refused, according to your past employers. You would throw a fit whenever someone so much as erased a freckle.”
“I wanted people to see the true me, not some artist’s idea of perfection!”
“Digital tricks won’t be much help to you now, Ms. Tilley. I’m sorry. Fighting to keep the Lancôme contract is pointless. They were already hesitant to work with you because you just don’t want to be airbrushed.”
“Can’t you do something about it? Letting me go just because of my injuries is ridiculous.”
“You’re just not what you used to be.”
Amanda became angry at the implication.
“They don’t want me because I’m no longer perfect? Because people can’t stand a few bruises and a scar?”
“Lancôme is a prestigious brand. They advertise their products using only the most beautiful women.”
“I’m a beautiful woman!”
“That’s debatable.”
Amanda’s jaw dropped.
“Screw you,” she said, hanging up. Amanda started pacing around the side of the building, fuming. Luckily, no one was there to see her.
When Nathan learned that Amanda was at risk of losing her job, he became outraged.
“Some talent agent he is,” Nathan said. He and Amanda were in his apartment after coming back from the night club. They were sitting on his sofa. “I thought he was better than you know who.”
“That’s what I thought, too! This is a new side of him I’ve never seen before. I can’t believe he doesn’t want to help me.”
“Can you fire him?”
“What good would that do? No one’s going to want to work with me now. And just because I don’t project an image of perfection anymore.”
“No one is perfect, baby. If those bastards think you’re not attractive anymore, it’s their loss.”
Amanda was still feeling let down.
“They’re not totally wrong. No one would put an injured female model on a billboard. They think scars are sexy and macho on a man, but ugly on a woman.”
Nathan scoffed.
“They’re entitled to their own opinion.”
Nathan caressed the injured side of Amanda’s face, being careful with the scar. Then he leaned forward and kissed her in the lips. Amanda was pushed back onto the sofa. She reached around Nathan, touching his hair.
Nathan pulled Amanda toward him. He took off her sweater and then the blouse underneath. Amanda closed her eyes when Nathan kissed her shoulder. His hands traveled down her body. When they reached a certain spot in her back, she recoiled.
“I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” Nathan asked.
“I’m fine,” Amanda said. Nathan tried to look around. Amanda moved to give him a better view. She had a fading bruise on the left side of her upper back.
“There’s even a small scar here.”
“If Stanley found out about it, he’d be even more unwilling to let me model. I’m sure that injury looks worse than my head.”
“It’ll heal.”
Nathan kissed her shoulder blade. He then pushed her hair aside to get better access to her neck.
“If you truly wanted to,” Nathan said, “you could model without an agent. Claire told me about independent models.”
“I could,” Amanda agreed. “I just don’t know if I would want to do it.”
“It’s your decision. Whatever you choose to do, I’ll support you.”
Amanda met Nathan’s lips again.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling.
Things were normal the rest of the week. Amanda didn’t hear anything more from Stanley, and she wasn’t looking forward to. She also told her family about the situation with the Lancôme contract. They were sad to learn how they treated her. Amanda’s world was highly competitive, even for a model as powerful as she was. William and Ryan both told Amanda not to allow anyone to let her down.
Detective Sutton called Kellan and Amanda on Friday to give them an update on the case. The DNA that they found on the abandoned car matched only that of the owners. No one else’s DNA was there, which meant that the car may as well not have been stolen in the first place. Kellan feared that they may be dealing with a cunning, yet unidentified criminal.
On Saturday afternoon, Nathan was preparing to go shopping. He needed to buy new clothes to wear for his new job. Nathan was in his bedroom, using his computer. He was checking how much money he had in the bank.
When Nathan passed by the living room to head to the kitchen, someone knocked on his door. He changed directions and went to answer.
“Hi,” Kayla said. She waved her right hand once in greeting. Nathan saw that she was carrying a book in the other hand.
“Hi, Kayla. Come on in.”
Kayla walked inside, and Nathan closed the door.
“Are you going out?” she asked, noticing that he had dressed up and was wearing his shoes.
“Yes. I’m going shopping in a bit. I’m going to a new job on Monday and need to dress the part.”
“You got a new job?”
“Yes. I’m working at a law firm now. It’s a low-tier job, but still.”
“That’s great. Congratulations!”
“Thank you.”
Kayla looked down at the floor. She still couldn’t snap out of acting weird around Nathan.
“What’s that book?” he asked to diffuse the tension.
“Oh. It’s mine, actually,” said Kayla. She showed the cover to Nathan. “It’s got my real name and everything.”
“You’re also publishing it in paper?”
“Print format. Yes, it was a recent decision. An author friend of mine advised me to do it. My book has the potential to sell lots of copies in print.”
“That is awesome news, Kayla. I’m glad for the success you’re having.”
“Thanks. I actually brought this for you.” Kayla handed Nathan the book.
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s an ARC version, technically. But I’m not making any more changes. What you’ll see inside is what will be available when the book goes on sale.”
Nathan perused through the book.
“As you can see, I signed it.”
“Cool.” Nathan read the note that accompanied the signature. It read, “For Nathan, one of the people that matter the most in my life. Your friend always, Kayla.”
Nathan looked up at Kayla. Her cheeks turned red.
“Thanks, Kayla. You mean a lot to me, too.”
Kayla beamed. She then walked forward and hugged Nathan.
“You may not believe me, but I thank God every night before I go to sleep.”
Nathan’s eyebrows furrowed. “For what?”
“I’m glad that we never acted weird around each other after breaking up.”
“Loving you is so natural,” Nathan said to Kayla. He leaned back to look at her. “You’re my best friend.”
Kayla smiled.
“After Ashton?”
Nathan chuckled.
“There’s more than enough space in my heart for you and all my friends. You’re all great.”
Kayla rested her head on Nathan’s shoulder for a moment, thoughtful. He stroked her hair, which fell like a cascade down her back. Kayla broke out of the embrace.
“How are Amanda and Emmy doing?”
“They’re all right. Emmy thinks that she will not need the crutches soon.”
“That’s good,” said Kayla.
“Would you like to go shop with me?” Nathan asked her. She blinked.
“I’m sorry, but I promised Grecia I’d go somewhere with her. You know how she is.”
Nathan laughed.
“Yeah. No
problem. You go and have fun. A busy month awaits you.”
“I know,” said Kayla, raising her eyebrows. “It’s going to be hectic. At least I love my job.”
There was silence while Nathan waited for Kayla to say more. She cleared her throat.
“Well, I have to go. Have fun on your shopping trip.”
“Yeah. You have fun with Grecia, too.”
“Thanks. See you later.”
Nathan opened his door for Kayla. She smiled at him, and then walked out. Nathan closed the door. He looked at the book Kayla had brought him. The cover art was excellent, and it fit the story well. Nathan went to his bedroom to put the book in his bookshelf. This was the first print book he had from Kayla.
An irate Amanda left Stanley’s office in New York. She had just fired him. It turned out that Lancôme hadn’t said they no longer wanted to work with Amanda. Stanley was just unwilling to represent a “broken” model. That was why he’d told the Lancôme representatives that Amanda was indisposed. When she forced that confession out of Stanley, Amanda was furious.
“That jerk just made me sign up with him in hopes he would get big bucks,” Amanda told Kellan. They were now in a rented car, en route to the next destination. Amanda was going to see her plastic surgeon. “He knew that I was the model every agent wanted to have, so he set out to win me over.”
Amanda had checked the resumes of various talent agents after Hilbert’s arrest. Stanley had made a clever pitch to Amanda, making sweet offers to make her choose him. “You can be the world’s top supermodel. I’ll get you there,” he’d promised. That wasn’t exactly Amanda’s dream in life, but Stanley had impressed her.
“Don’t think about him,” Kellan said. “You’re not going to have to put up with that bastard anymore.”
“He was lucky I didn’t badmouth him in front of his superiors.”
“That wouldn’t have helped. Technically, he didn’t do anything wrong, at least in the eyes of the law. He was just using you for his own gain.”
Despite her anger, Amanda still lamented the abrupt end of her modeling career. She didn’t think she could carry on.
Later in the afternoon, Amanda woke up. She didn’t know what she must have heard. Sitting up, Amanda looked toward the living room. There were voices coming from there.
Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) Page 14