Dream Date (49 page)

“Thank you all for coming,” Nathan told his friends. “It means a lot.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Ashton replied. “To be there for each other.”

Nathan noticed that Ashton had his arm around Grecia. He was happy that they seemed to be together now. Grecia had made Ashton fight for her as hard as Amanda had to Nathan.

“Frankly, we couldn’t wait another couple hours,” Judith admitted. “We just had to see you.”

“Oh, Judi. Yesterday, when that creep tried to kidnap me, you were one of the people I thought about,” said Amanda. She glanced at Nathan briefly and then looked back at Judith. “I have really missed you for these past several hours.”

“I missed you too, friend,” Judith replied, standing up. Amanda did the same, and they hugged.

***

When Thanksgiving break came, Nathan and Amanda flew together to Joliet to see their families. The former first drove Amanda to his house in a rental. They arrived shortly after noon.

Nathan’s dad looked overjoyed to see him back.

“Son!” Jeffrey said, hugging Nathan soon after opening the door. Amanda watched them with a smile. “It’s great to see you back.”

“It’s great to see you too, dad.”

They broke apart. Jeffrey glanced at Amanda. He had a warm and easygoing smile that clearly charmed the ladies in his youth. Underneath, though, she knew that he kept pain hidden from view. It took one to know one.

“Is this the lovely lady I’ve been hearing so much about?”

“Yep,” Nathan said, standing a little to the side. Amanda walked forward to shake Jeffrey’s hand.

“I’m Amanda Tilley.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Come in, you both. I presume you are hungry.”

Jeffrey entered back inside the house with Amanda and Nathan. The latter looked around.

“It’s a nice place,” he said. “Looks bigger than in the photos.”

“Of course. Nothing beats seeing the real thing.”

Jeffrey led them both towards the kitchen. He had prepared omelets.

“Eggs?” Nathan asked.

“Yes. We’ll be eating turkey soon, so I thought I’d make something that’s not meat. You don’t want to get sick of meat so soon, do you?”

“Guess not.”

“It looks delicious, Mr. Ferland.”

“Thanks. You can call me Jeffrey.”

Jeffrey served the plates, and then sat down on his chair. The three of them started eating.

“Nathan tells me you’re a mechanic,” Amanda told Jeffrey. “Like his best friend Ashton wants to be.”

“Well, sort of. I’m an expert who can fix cars in a jiffy, but electric cars and all that new tech are different. Ashton likes cars, but he also likes technology. His ambition is to work at an electric car factory.”

“Like Tesla?”

“Right.”

“He’s actually saving for one of those cars,” Nathan told them. “Ashton believes electric is the future.”

“Oh, it is, son. Oil won’t last forever, as old-school fellows like me.”

Nathan gave an uneasy laugh.

“I would like to hear more about you,” Jeffrey said to Amanda. “The way my son talks about you, it’s clear that you’re the woman of his dreams.”

Amanda blushed, and began telling Jeffrey a bit about her life, and how she’d met Nathan.

The following afternoon, Amanda took Nathan to meet her family. The Tilleys lived in a big, but not so ostentatious house northwest of the city.

Nathan stopped outside a gate that would open into a rotunda. Amanda got off the car to open it. When she returned, Nathan drove on.

Moments later, Amanda rang the doorbell. She and Nathan waited, until the door opened. An attractive, tall blonde woman who bore a striking resemblance to Amanda looked out at the two of them.

“Ma fille!” said Mrs. Tilley, joining her hands together in front of her. “It’s been so long, baby. And…oh, this must be Nathan Ferland.”

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Nathan said, shaking hands with the woman.

“I’m Florence Tilley,” she said. “Come in, come in.”

Amanda and Nathan followed Mrs. Tilley inside the house. It looked much as it did outside. The furniture and décor indicated that an affluent family lived there, but it wasn’t in-your-face obvious.

“Nice house, Mrs. Tilley,” Nathan said.

“Thank you. You make yourselves at home. I’m going to fetch Will.”

Mrs. Tilley walked to the back of the house. Nathan continued taking in the living room.

“Whoever came up with this color scheme really has a way with aesthetics.”

“My mom,” Amanda said. “When we bought this house, it was she who assumed most of the responsibility for how we wanted it to look.”

“If I didn’t know what she was, I’d venture a guess at interior designer.”

“You don’t know what she is, and she actually hired an interior designer. Mom’s a realtor.”

Nathan chuckled.

“My guess was close enough.”

“And my father is a doctor.”

At that moment, someone came into the room. It was a guy who appeared to be high school age (
well, Amanda still does, too,
Nathan thought). He was muscular, dressed in a mix of casual and elegant, and exuded charisma.

“Sister!” said Ryan, walking forward. When he noticed Nathan, he nodded. “I’m Ryan Tilley.”

“Nathan Ferland,” he replied, shaking hands with Ryan. With his wavy blonde hair and blue eyes, Ryan was every bit as good-looking as his sister.

“How are you, sis?” Ryan asked, hugging his sister. Though he was younger, he was at least four inches taller than Amanda. That made him close to six feet.

“What grade are you in?” Nathan asked.

“Senior year.”

“You’re pretty tall for a high school student.”

Ryan laughed.

Mrs. Tilley came back, along with her husband.

“Hello, my daughter,” said Amanda’s dad, and she walked forward to hug him. “We missed you.”

“I missed you all, too.”

William smiled, and then looked at Nathan.

“You brought a friend from school, I see.”

“That’s Nathan,” Florence said. “The guy that Amanda has kept us waiting to meet.”

Amanda giggled.

“I’m Nathan Ferland, sir,” Nathan said, shaking hands with William.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Amanda’s dad said. “I assume you’d like to see the rest of the house. My wife told me you liked it.”

“Why don’t you give him a tour, Amanda?” Florence told her daughter.

“Okay,” she said.

“You two can come meet us in the game room,” said William. “We’ve got a Wii U and a Playstation.”

Florence gave a shy smile.

“Dad’s a doctor and all, and still likes his videogames,” Ryan commented.

“Hey, you’re never too old. Where do you think I got my hand dexterity from, to perform all those surgeries?”

Amanda let Nathan outside to the backyard, in which the Tilleys had a garden. It was mostly flowers, including roses and violets.

“Your dad’s a character,” Nathan said, walking hand in hand through the garden with Amanda.

“Yeah. I love them all. My family.”

“And they love you. We all do.”

Amanda looked at the flowers, going red.

“What’s your favorite flower?” Nathan asked.

“My mom’s is the violet. She likes that color. And my favorite flower is the carnation. I prefer them in red or pink. I like pink roses, too.”

“It’s no wonder there are carnations in this garden, too.”

“Yeah. They’ve been here for almost as long as I’ve been alive.”

Now I know what flower to pick for Valentine’s Day.

Nathan and Amanda stood in front of a few rows of carnations. There were white ones, and red, and pink, and violet.

“You don’t have a pet?” Nathan asked, looking around the garden. He had half-expected for a cat to spring out at them by then.

“My parents used to have an Aussie,” said Amanda. “She died when I was very little. Mom hasn’t wanted to get another pet. She doesn’t want to have her garden destroyed.”

“You could get a small-sized adult. Like a Chihuahua or a Pomeranian. Or even a cat.”

Amanda grimaced.

“Mom doesn’t like cats. Neither does dad.”

“You?”

“I can stand them.”

Amanda and Nathan continued to walk through the garden, admiring the flowers. The yard was decent-sized, and was surrounded by a tall, white wooden fence. It gave some privacy from the neighboring houses.

Nathan placed a hand around Amanda’s shoulder. She looked back at him. He thought she was the most dazzling woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Amanda looked cute with her curtain of golden hair falling down from under a royal-blue winter wool cap.

Amanda glanced down at the ground, sighing, and then looked at Nathan again.

“I never thought I could feel happy again after losing Liam. It was like the end of the world for me.”

Nathan squeezed Amanda’s hand gently.

“I wouldn’t have thought so, either, if I had known what happened to you.”

“Would you have still fought for me? If you’d known, that could have seemed like even worse odds to you.”

Nathan planted a quick kiss on her lips.

“My love, I’d fight for you with any odds and still come out on top. I’d confront
anything
for you. You’re the woman I’ve longed to meet, the most beautiful one that I’ve ever seen. My dream date.”

In that moment, Amanda looked like the happiest woman in the universe.

What did I do to deserve all this?
Amanda thought with a soft laugh. A tear escaped from her eyes.

“I love you,” Amanda said, placing her arms around Nathan’s neck and pushed him towards her. Their lips met in a kiss that signified the end of their lurid journey, and the beginning of a new and happier one. The beginning of their new lives together.

Ivan Kendrick
dreamed of writing books since he was in high school. Now that he’s free from the demands of schoolwork, he has extra time to devote to his passion for books. Kendrick prefers reading romances, mysteries, and thrillers—especially when they have strong, beautiful women and/or cool tech. When he’s not writing, Kendrick spends his time learning more about computers or playing videogames. Kendrick’s a big fan of Pokémon and the Legend of Zelda.

Kendrick currently lives in a small humdrum town in south Texas. He looks forward to moving to a better city. Due to being a fan of superheroes like Iron Man, Kendrick is fond of big cities with tall buildings.

http://authorivankendrick.wordpress.com

Twitter: @IvanKendrick

Goodreads

Pinterest

Google+