And over on the Battlelands, the man she loved was alone with his plans. She hoped he was as lonely as she was.
* * *
“Sure am glad the diner’s back open.”
It was a couple of days later when Hank Bristow lifted a cup of coffee and took a long, leisurely sip. He sighed in pure pleasure before picking up his coffee and heading for a group of his friends at a far table. “Didn’t know what to do with myself when you girls were closed.”
“We’re glad to be open again, too, Hank,” Amanda assured him as he walked away.
She glanced at her sister. Pam was like a different person. The old bitterness was gone and she and Amanda had spent the last couple of days building a shaky bridge between them. Someday, Amanda hoped the two of them would be close. It wouldn’t happen overnight, of course, but at least now there was a chance that the Altman girls were finally going to have a good relationship.
“Earth to Amanda…”
She jolted a little and, laughing, turned to look at Piper, sitting on a stool at the counter. “Sorry. Mind wandering.”
“It’s okay, but since I’m starving, how about a doughnut to go with this excellent coffee?”
“You bet.” It was good to have friends, Amanda thought as she opened the door to the glass display case and set a doughnut on a plate. Piper had been the one Amanda went to after Nathan’s abrupt proposal. And Piper was the one who had insisted that Nathan did love Amanda, that he was just being male and sometimes that had to be overlooked.
Amanda wasn’t so sure. She’d missed Nathan desperately the last couple of days. He hadn’t called. Hadn’t come to her. Was he waiting for her to go to him? How could she?
She set the doughnut in front of Piper and whispered, “Thanks again for everything.”
“No problem,” Piper told her and took a sip of coffee. “I’m guessing you still haven’t heard from him.”
“No.” Amanda planted both hands on the counter. “I don’t think I will, either. Nathan’s a proud man—maybe too proud. And I turned him down and walked away.”
“Then maybe you should go to him,” Piper said matter-of-factly.
“How can I?” Amanda shook her head.
“Give him a chance, Amanda. Heck, everyone in town knows Nathan’s crazy about you. Why can’t you believe it?”
She wanted to. More than anything.
* * *
Walking along the length of the counter, Pam refilled coffee cups, chatted with customers and stopped when she reached JT in his usual spot. “More coffee?”
“Thanks.” He watched her in silence for a second, then said, “Looks like you and Amanda got things sorted out.”
She set the coffeepot down and glanced at her sister. “We’re getting there. I guess you could say I finally grew up.”
All around them, the diner was buzzing with morning conversations, so JT’s words were almost lost in the sound when he said, “It’s about time.”
Pam smiled. “True enough. JT, why are you always so nice to me?”
In answer, he stood up and came around the end of the counter. When he was close enough, he grabbed hold of Pam, pulled her in tight, then bent her over in a dip as he kissed her, long and slow. Finally, he swung her back onto her feet and let her go.
“That’s why,” he said, grinning at her. “Any other questions?”
The whole diner was silent as everyone in the place focused on the drama playing out right in front of them. A second ticked past, then two. Pam lifted one hand and rubbed her fingertips across her lips, then grinned widely. “Only one question, JT McKenna. What in hell took you so long?”
Applause burst into the room as Pam leapt into JT’s arms and kissed him back.
* * *
The rest of the day passed quickly as people came and went, and life in Royal marched on. Amanda did her work, smiled and talked with her customers all while trying to breathe past the knot in her throat. Thoughts of Nathan crowded her mind and the emptiness she felt without him left an ache in the center of her chest.
JT had taken up permanent roost at the end of the counter and Pam took every chance she could to stop for a kiss as she passed him. A patient man, JT had waited years for Pam to finally realize that he was the man for her.
Nathan wasn’t patient, Amanda told herself. He didn’t wait. He pushed. He nudged. He ordered and when that didn’t work, just went ahead and did whatever he thought was the right thing to do.
As those thoughts wandered through her mind, Amanda realized that she’d always known that about Nathan. And she loved him for who he was, irritations and all. So how could she blame him for doing everything he could now to make sure she married him?
Sighing, she glanced out the front window toward Main Street and her breath caught when she saw Nathan headed for the diner. Just one look at him and her heartbeat jumped into a gallop. He had his hat pulled down low against the brilliant summer sunshine and his steps were long and determined. She could almost feel the intensity preceding him as he stalked ever closer, people instinctively moving out of his way.
Amanda fought for calm and didn’t find it. Her heartbeat continued to race and her stomach swirled with expectation.
He stepped into the diner and his gaze swept the place in seconds, finally landing on her as if drawn to her by some immutable force. She felt the power of his stare from across the room and couldn’t look away from those dark brown eyes that were filled with heat and charged with emotion.
The crowd in the diner took a collective breath and held it. Excitement fluttered through the room as people shifted positions to get a good view of whatever was coming next. Amanda didn’t care. She wasn’t thinking about anything but Nathan and why he’d come. If he was just here for more of the same, she’d have to tell him no and send him away again, though the thought of that tore at her.
Yes, he was arrogant and pushy and bossy and proud and she loved him desperately.
“Amanda,” he announced, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’ve got a few things to say to you.”
“Here?” she asked. “In front of half the town?”
“Right here, right now,” he told her, and his gaze bored into hers. “We’ve been trying to outrun or hide from gossip and rumor for so long… I think it’s time we just took a stand.” He moved a bit closer to her and his voice dropped a notch or two. “I don’t care what they think. What they say. Let ’em look, Amanda. We’re done hiding.”
A flush of heat swamped her, but she found herself nodding in agreement. He was right. They had worried over rumors. They’d allowed vicious lies to split them up seven years ago. Maybe it was time to just be themselves without worrying over what the rest of the town had to say about it.
“You’re right,” she said. “No more hiding.”
One corner of his mouth lifted into a brief half smile and she saw pride glittering in his eyes. For a second or two, the terrible tension in her chest eased and Amanda felt as if she and Nathan were a team. The two of them against the gossips.
Close enough to touch her now, he started talking. “I thought a lot about what we talked about the other night.”
His voice was low and deep and seemed to reverberate up and down her spine. His eyes were locked on hers and she couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried.
Reaching out, he stroked his fingertips along her cheek and Amanda shivered, closing her eyes briefly to revel in the sensation of his touch. When she opened her eyes again, he was still watching her.
“You were right, Amanda,” he said. “The night you told me about the baby, I said the words you needed to hear to help convince you to marry me.”
It felt as if all the air slid from her lungs at once. The tightness in her chest was painful and tears pooled at the backs of her eyes.
“Bu
t—” He cupped her face in his palms, and held her, forcing her to keep looking into his eyes. “That doesn’t mean they weren’t true.”
“Nathan—” She shook her head and tried to look away. He wouldn’t allow it.
“I do love you. I always have.” He bent and kissed her gently on the lips and the taste of him lingered on her mouth. “Maybe telling you when I did was bad timing.”
“Maybe?” she managed to ask.
He gave her a nod and a rueful smile. “You threw me that night, Amanda, but I do love you, with everything in me. If I hadn’t been too young and too arrogant to say the words seven years ago…maybe things would have been different for us.”
Amanda knew the whole diner was listening in and found she didn’t care. The only person she was interested in now was Nathan. “I want to believe you,” she said. “I really do.”
“You can,” he told her, moving into her, until every breath she took drew the clean, fresh scent of him deep into her lungs. “We’re meant to be together, and I think you know it.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, red velvet jeweler’s box. Her gaze landed on it even as her heart took another tumble in her chest. When she looked up at him again, he smiled.
“This is for you, Amanda.”
She shook her head even as he opened the lid to display a brilliant topaz stone surrounded by diamonds and set in a wide, gold band.
“This stone is sort of the color of your eyes,” he whispered, “at least, I think so. Every time I look in your eyes, I fall in love again. You’re the woman for me, Amanda. The only woman. So I’m asking you now. The right way. Amanda Altman, will you marry me?”
She shook her head and blinked to clear away the tears blurring her vision. He was offering her everything she’d ever wanted. Love. The promise of a future together. All she had to do was trust her heart and take a leap of faith.
She looked away from the ring and into his eyes and nearly cried again when she read in his eyes the truth she’d needed so much to see. Warmth, passion, love.
Before she could say anything, Nathan continued. “When you left the other night, you took my heart with you,” he said, gaze moving over her face like a caress. “I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t do anything but try to think of a way to bring you back home where you belong.”
“Oh, Nathan.” The diner, their audience, the whole world fell away and all that was left was the two of them. She and Nathan, together as she’d always dreamed they would be.
“I let you go once,” he said tightly. “I don’t know how I lived these years without you, but I know I can’t live the rest of my life without you.”
Her tears overflowed and tracked along her cheeks unheeded. Gently, he used his thumb to wipe the tears away and gave her a sad smile.
“I was young and stupid seven years ago,” Nathan said, “but I’ve changed as much as you have. I know you could raise our child on your own—but I hope you won’t.” He took the ring from the box and slowly, carefully, slid it onto her ring finger, then kissed it as if to seal the ring in place. When he looked into her eyes again, he said, “I want to be with you, Amanda. Always. I need you. And our baby. And the family we’ll build together. The family we should have started all those years ago.”
She couldn’t look away from his eyes and, in truth, she didn’t want to. The ring felt warm on her hand and her heart felt even warmer. Amanda took a breath and slowly let it out, enjoying this moment, wanting to treasure the memory of this one small slice of time forever.
This was everything she’d ever wanted. He was saying the words that were so important to her. Offering her the life she craved. And she believed him. Nathan’s eyes were filled with love as he looked at her and she knew that she would never doubt him again.
All around her, she sensed people’s attention, knew they were all listening in and found she simply didn’t care.
“I love you, too, Nathan,” she said and smiled when he grinned down at her. “I just needed to believe.”
“And now you do?” he asked, wrapping one arm around her waist to hold her to him.
“Now I do,” she said and realized she’d never been more sure of anything than she was of what she and Nathan shared. For a while, she had allowed doubts and fears from the past to cast dark shadows over the present and the future. But she was through looking backward.
“I swear, you’ll never be sorry.” He swept her up tightly to him and kissed her so deeply, Amanda would never again have any doubts about his feelings.
And while the people in the diner broke into applause, Amanda knew that she finally had everything she had ever wanted.
The man she loved, loved her back, and there was nothing in the world more beautiful than that.
Epilogue
The wedding wasn’t as small as Nathan wanted and not as large as Amanda had feared.
There was family—Jake, Terri and the kids. Pam and JT, practically joined at the hip. Amanda had the distinct feeling it wouldn’t be too long before there was another wedding in Royal.
And there were friends. Piper and Chance and Abby and so many others gathered together to wish them well.
Nathan had surprised her by outfitting the wraparound porch of their home with all of the rockers and gliders and chairs that she’d talked about once. She could see them in the years to come, sitting on that porch, surrounded by family, and it filled her heart to the point of bursting.
To avoid the steaming heat of a Texas summer, on the last day of July, the wedding was held in the evening. Lanterns were strewn across the yard, lending a soft glow that was matched only by the early starlight. Flowers in vases, wreaths and vines trailed from every available surface and sweetened the air with a perfume that flavored every breath.
Tables groaned with food and music played from the stereo situated on Jake’s front porch. Children clambered all over the swing set Jake and Nathan had built while their parents chatted with friends. There was laughter and there was love.
Amazing how love, when it finally arrived, made the whole world shinier, brighter, more filled with promise.
“A bride as beautiful as you are shouldn’t be standing here alone,” Nathan said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
She leaned back into him and smiled, loving the feel of him pressed close, knowing, trusting now, that he always would be. “I was just thinking how perfect today was.”
“Agreed,” he said and dipped his head to kiss her cheek. “The only way it could have been better was if Alex were here, too.”
Amanda turned in his arms and looked up at him. She knew his friend’s disappearance was haunting Nathan. It had been nearly a month now and there were just no clues to follow. “You’ll find him, Nathan. And everything will be okay.”
He nodded, glanced out over the crowd gathered at the Battlelands, then turned his gaze back to hers. “I’m going to have to officially declare him missing.”
A twinge of worry caught her, but she let it go again because of her faith in Nathan. He would find a way to make this right. “You’ll find him.”
“I will,” he said, then smiled. “But that’s for tomorrow. Today is for dancing in the moonlight with the woman I love.”
“I’m never going to get tired of hearing that, you know.”
He led her onto the makeshift dance floor installed on the front yard specifically for the wedding. And as they moved to the music and their friends and family applauded, Nathan promised, “I’m never going to stop saying it.”
Amanda gave herself up to the moment, to the magic, to the man who would always be the very beat of her heart.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Temporarily His Princess by Olivia Gates
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One
The present
Vincenzo Arsenio D’Agostino stared at his king and reached the only logical conclusion.
The man had lost his mind.
He must have buckled under the pressure of ruling Castaldini while steering his multibillion-dollar business empire. And being the most adoring and attentive husband and father who walked the planet. No man could possibly weather all that with his mental faculties intact.
That must be the explanation for what he’d just said.
Ferruccio Selvaggio-D’Agostino—the bastard king, as his opponents called him, relishing it being a literal slur, since Ferruccio was an illegitimate D’Agostino—twisted his lips. “Do pick your jaw off the floor, Vincenzo. And no, I’m not insane. Get. A. Wife. ASAP.”
Dio. He’d said it again.
This time Vincenzo found himself echoing it. “Get a wife.”
Rumor Has It Page 16
