Inseparable_A Second Chance Romance Read online

  With Amanda, though, I could feel the excitement and nervousness that I had felt before. I didn’t think it was actually possible for me to feel that way again, and I almost trusted that she was being honest with her thoughts toward me. I had to keep it in the back of my head that she was a woman, though, and that the first period of time with someone was the most dangerous. Hormones were raging, emotions were heightened, and it was easy to make choices surrounded by wants and not the facts right in front of your face. I wanted to stay grounded, but I was finding it difficult to do so.

  There was something about this girl that drew me in. I felt like we were magnetic, and I was disappointed when I looked down at my watch and saw that the time had passed by so quickly. I didn’t want to leave this girl. I felt like the separation would be painful. Visions of her sensual body rolling over mine flooded through my head as she talked, and I could feel the heat in my stomach begin to rise once again. Usually if I slept with a girl, it was over that night. No breakfasts, no flirting, and definitely no more lustful thoughts. This was different, though. I wanted to spend the entire day with her, listening to her talk about her dreams and dragging her back into that warm, comfortable bed of hers.

  In my mind, I wanted to ask her if she was feeling the same way, but I didn’t want to be too forward and scare her off. She seemed like a level-headed girl, and although I usually was the same way, I was floating on cloud nine. I kept my mouth shut anyway and watched her as she moved from subject to subject, spilling her story over pancakes and eggs. From the sound of her voice and the way she looked at me across the table, I could tell her feelings were similar to mine. I wondered if this would be our only breakfast or if I would be able to pull her away once again. My thoughts were interrupted at the sound of my phone alarm, letting me know it was time for me to head to my meeting.

  I paid the tab and slowly walked Amanda outside. She held tightly to my arm as we strolled toward the car, still talking about the future. She was so sweet, and I was having a hard time not ignoring the texts coming through on my phone.

  “So yeah.” She laughed. “That’s my story.”

  “And it’s an amazing one,” I said, leaning down and kissing her cheek. “Listen, I’m sorry. I have to get to this meeting. The car will take you home. I’ll grab a cab. Can I have your number? Maybe we can have dinner soon.”

  “That would be great.” She smiled, taking my phone and putting her number into the system.

  “I’ll call you soon.” I smiled, putting my phone in my pocket and shutting her into the car.

  I watched as the car headed down the street and around the corner. Then I grabbed a cab and headed to my apartment to get ready for the lunch meeting I was already late for. I changed quickly and then met the car downstairs, my hair still wet from the shower. I was meeting my best friend and right-hand man, John, and some investors for lunch at a chic little café downtown. I didn’t want to go to a meeting like this on a Saturday, but it was the only time we could meet with these guys. When I got there, they were already starting appetizers, and I apologized profusely for being late.

  The guys talked about business, and John rambled on about the numbers and growth from the prior year. I pushed the lettuce around on my plate and focused my thoughts on Amanda. She had infiltrated my mind, and I couldn’t push the electric feeling out of my chest every time I thought about the hot sex we had the night before. It was distracting, to say the least, but luckily, I had John to carry the weight through the meeting. I was usually always on my game, and John nudged me several times under the table to signal me to say something. Luckily, he was the only one to notice, and by the end of lunch, the investors were ready to move forward with the new project we had in the works.

  “Thank you, I promise you will not regret this,” I said, shaking their hands.

  John paid the check while I gathered the folders from the table, just then realizing we had sealed the deal. I probably should have paid more attention, but my mind just wouldn’t let me. John walked back over and shook my hand.

  “That was easy.” He laughed. “Though I felt like I was in that meeting alone. What’s up with you? Where was your head during all of that? You seemed extremely distracted, and I know that means something is going on.”

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Don’t be sorry. Just tell me what’s up.” He chuckled.

  “I went to Maggio’s last night to get some dinner, a few drinks, and to clear my head,” I explained. “That place is quiet enough for people not to know who I am.”

  “Yeah,” he said, walking with me outside.

  “I met someone while I was there,” I said. “She’s this adorable little vixen that just knocked my feet out from under me. We ended up drinking and then went back to her place. I took her to breakfast this morning. That was why I was late. I completely lost track of time.”

  “Wow,” John said, nodding.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing.” He chuckled. “I’m just surprised. That’s all. You swore off women after Tracy screwed you over.”

  “I didn’t go looking for it,” I replied.

  “I know,” he said. “I just want you to be careful. That’s all. I just don’t want things to end up like last time. You remember last time, right? I told you from the beginning that I didn’t trust Tracy, and I was right. I’m not saying that about this girl—I’ve never met her—but I worry about you. Girls have a tendency to get inside of your brain, and you go blind for a little while. I just want you to keep your eyes open, see things clearly, and make sure that her interest is in you and not your money. It sucks you have to live your life suspecting everyone, but you became a billionaire by the time you were twenty-five. There are downsides to that.”

  “It’s not going to end like last time,” I said. “And I know, you pretty much saved me from a sham of a marriage. I owe you forever on that one, and I won’t take your advice for granted next time around. Besides, I don’t even know if I’ll ever see this girl again. I got her number, I told her I’d call her, but I don’t know if I actually will.”

  “You should,” he said, shrugging. “I don’t see you get excited about a girl very often.”

  “I’m not excited, just replaying the hot sex we had. That’s all.” I laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “Now, go enjoy the rest of your weekend. I’m going to go home and get some sleep, maybe watch the Lakers game on television or something.”

  “Alright.” He laughed, climbing in the back of the car. “I’ll see you later.”

  I nodded and watched the car drive off before climbing into mine. As we made our way to my place, I thought about what John said, and I was glad I chose to brush things off around him. Sure, what I felt was pretty intense, especially for me, but he didn’t need to know that. I needed to figure it out for myself first, show him that I could judge this girl’s character, and that I had learned from my mistakes. He had been my best friend since college, and my frat brother, and I wasn’t going to ignore his advice without giving it serious thought.

  Chapter 3

  Amanda

  When I woke up on Sunday, I was happy to see that Lindsey had the day free and could meet me for lunch. I had been so caught up in meeting Nathan that I had completely forgotten about rescheduling things with her. I got ready and headed over to a small café uptown, smiling as I climbed out of my car and waved at Lindsey standing on the corner. She was so beautiful, with her long blonde hair, perfect body, and blue eyes that every guy fell for immediately. The entire world wept when Lindsey announced her engagement to Jordan, fantasies of thousands of men crumbling at their fingertips. To me, though, she was just Lindsey, the goofy chick that fell into modeling by accident and just kind of went with it. I wish my life would explode into superstardom without me even trying.

  “Hi, love,” she said, kissing my cheek. “I’m sorry again about Friday. It was a nightmare.”

  “It’s alright. I kept myself busy.” I felt my c
heeks blush as I held open the door and followed her inside.

  We sat down and ordered some salads and coffee, and I pulled out my notebook. We were finally getting to talk about all the details that I had been chasing her down about for months. We went through each page, laughing and checking off the choices that she had finally made. We were cutting everything close, but while I was extremely anxious about it, she seemed cool as a cucumber.

  “We should have just brought everyone to Tahiti and eloped.” She sighed.

  “Yes, you should have.” I laughed. “I could use a tan.”

  “Me too,” she said, swallowing her bite of salad. “Did you decide whether you are going to bring a date or not?”

  “No, probably not,” I said. “I’ll have too much to deal with as your Maid of Honor to watch over a date, too.”

  “You make your title sound like you’re my nanny.” She giggled.

  “Am I not?” I asked. “No, I just want to make sure everything is perfect and that you don’t have to worry about a thing. That is my job as your Maid of Honor.”

  She went on gushing about the dresses that had come in a couple of weeks before, thanking me profusely for talking her out of floral print. My mind wandered as she spoke, going back to the conversation Nathan and I had over breakfast. He really was an awesome person to be around, and I hadn’t been able to get him off my mind since we parted ways on Saturday morning.

  “Uh, hello? Amanda, are you in there?”

  “Huh?”

  “What’s up?” she asked. “You seem slightly distracted.”

  “Truthfully?”

  “Duh.” She rolled her eyes.

  “I met someone,” I said, realizing I had to get it out.

  “Oh, my God, tell me everything,” she said, leaning forward.

  “Well, after you canceled dinner, I moved to the bar and met this really hot guy,” I said. “We ate dinner, drank, talked a lot, and then we went back to my place.”

  “Saucy,” she said, jiggling her eyebrows. “Who is he?”

  “His name is Nathan Roberts, and he owns—”

  “iTech,” she blurted out. “Holy cow. You had sex with Nathan Roberts? That is crazy. Jordan works for him in the IT department.”

  “That’s who Jordan works for?”

  “I told you that,” she said excitedly.

  “No, you told me he was VP of technology for some big company,” I said, astounded. “That’s so crazy.”

  “Are you going to see him again?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, shrugging. “I mean, I think I want to.”

  “You think?”

  “Okay, I know I want to, but I gave him my number, and I have to wait for him to call,” I said, looking down at my phone.

  “Ugh, guys always wait forever to call back,” she said. “Jordan didn’t call me for a second date for like a week. It is so exhausting.”

  “We both know they live in their own little world, thinking these crazy things about chasing a girl,” I said. “It’s like they think if they call the same day or the next, they will come off as needy. Personally, if you call me within a couple of days, I know you are really interested and not leaving me as back up because you have something better on the books.”

  “Right?”

  “Jordan, of course, is the exception because we all know he was head over heels for you the first time he saw you,” I reminded her. “And wasn’t the reason he didn’t call you for a week because he was taking care of his sick grandma?”

  “Yeah,” she said, pointing at me. “That’s right. I forgot that.”

  “How could you forget that?” I asked. “It’s like the sweetest thing ever.”

  “I’m sure he will call you soon,” she said.

  “Or not at all,” I replied. “I can’t really expect a lot. I met him at a bar and took him home that night. I gave up the goods right away.”

  “That means you know what you want,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Or I wanted to get laid.” I laughed. “I think it was a little of both. Anyway, if he doesn’t call, so be it. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ll be disappointed in a man.”

  Just as I said that, my phone buzzed on the table, making me jump. I looked down at the screen and saw a number I didn’t recognize. I looked back at Lindsey with wide eyes.

  “Is it him?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t have his number, remember?”

  “Answer it,” she said.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, beautiful, it’s Nathan,” he said.

  “Hey,” I replied, shaking my head at Lindsey. “How are you?”

  “I am excellent. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “No,” I said nonchalantly. “Just having lunch with my best friend.”

  “The one getting married?”

  “Yeah, the one getting married that stood me up on Friday,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her.

  “Tell her thank you for that.” He chuckled.

  My cheeks immediately went red, and I did not repeat what he said. I couldn’t believe that he had called so quickly. Maybe I should have had just a little more faith in him than I originally did. If he was calling that quickly, that meant I was on his mind, maybe even as much as he was on mine. I definitely wanted to see him again, but I wanted him to be the one to ask.

  “Why do I feel like you are blushing right now?” he asked.

  “Because I am.” I giggled, watching Lindsey’s face turn to shock at the sound of my girlish laughter.

  “I don’t want to keep you from your wedding duties,” he said. “I just wanted to call and find out if I could see you again. I really had an amazing time on Friday, and then again on Saturday morning. Well, actually consecutively. I consecutively had fun that whole time, and I wanted to start that all over again on an actual date where I asked you and you accepted.”

  “So, you are assuming I’ll accept? I’m just kidding.” I laughed, hearing his silence. “Yes, you can see me again, I would like that.”

  “That is awesome,” he said, chuckling. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

  “Tomorrow night?” I asked, smiling at Lindsey. “Nothing.”

  “How about I pick you up at your place at six, and we go have a nice dinner at Iliad’s?”

  “Iliad’s? Don’t you have to have a reservation like a year in advance?”

  “Usually, but the owner is a friend, so I have a standing reservation,” he said shyly.

  “Oh, well then yes, I would love to,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Perfect,” he replied. “I’ll see you at six then. And convince your friend to do the whole wedding in paisley. That would be so much more interesting.”

  “I will do that.” I laughed. “And I’ll see you at six.”

  I hung up the phone and sat there for a second, thinking about what just happened. I had just gotten done talking about guys calling in a few days, and then my phone rang. Did that mean he was interested in me more than just inside the bedroom? I shook my head and looked up at Lindsey.

  “So?” she asked.

  “We are going to dinner tomorrow night at Iliad’s,” I said quietly.

  “That’s a nice place.” She smiled. “That’s where Jordan asked me to marry him.”

  “I don’t think I have anything to wear to a place like that,” I said.

  “Come over to my place,” she said, waving her hand at me. “I have a ton of stuff for places like that. I can get you all dolled up for your date. You know how I like to do that kind of stuff.”

  “Yeah.” I laughed. “Like when you sent me to prom looking like a train wreck?”

  “I’ve gotten a lot better since prom.” She laughed. “I’ve picked up a few tricks of the trade along the way.”

  “I hope so,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Just be careful,” she added. “I saw how much it hurt you when you caught your ex cheating on you.”

  “With your
sister you mean?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “My sister and four other women. I just don’t want to ever see you hurt like that again. I mean, it kind of turned you into a scrooge when it comes to love, and I thought you would never get over it.”

  “Do you ever get over something like that?”

  “I hope so.” She smiled. “Because you are too amazing to not be sharing your life with someone else. You have a damn heart of gold, Amanda, and there is a guy out there that will appreciate that. I know it. Maybe it’s Nathan, maybe not, but I am happy that you are taking the opportunity to test the waters more than just the line of one night stands you’ve had since you and the asshole broke up.”

  “The asshole? Is that what you call him?”

  “I’ve always called him that,” she said, shaking her head. “I just think it’s now safe to call him that around you instead of in conversation when you aren’t listening.”

  “Just don’t tell your sister,” I said.

  “Of course not,” Lindsey replied. “I don’t really even talk to her. She thought it was a betrayal when I took your side during the whole drama. I don’t know why she would think I would stand by her after she slept with your boyfriend. Blood may be thicker than water, but I consider you my sister, too. She doesn’t need to know about anything going on in your life.”