Mid Life Love: At Last (Mid Life Love #2)(15)

“You think you know what it could be?” I took a bite of my cookie. “Oh god, these are really amazing. You should sell these someday. Can I take half of them home?”

She didn’t answer me. She stood there silently, staring off into the distance like she was in an awful trance.

“Amanda?” I waved my hand in the air. “Hello? Amanda? You there?”

She shook her head and smiled nervously. “Yeah, sorry...Would you excuse me for one minute? I need to call someone...If those brownies go off, would you please take them out for me?” She slid a pair of oven mitts towards me and rushed out of the room before giving me the chance to respond.

When she returned—ten minutes later, it was as if that odd little episode had never happened. And for the rest of the afternoon she and I laughed over our favorite pastime—baking.

“Promise me that we’ll do this for the rest of our lives, Amanda.” I smiled at her as I placed my favorite cookies into Ziploc bags. “Ashley and Caroline are going to be disasters in the kitchen, so I’ll need you to do this with me when life stresses me out.”

“Of course,” she said. “I’ll always be here when you need me. No matter what happens between us...”

“What could possibly happen between us to make us not be friends, Amanda?”

She smiled and picked up a cookie. “Nothing...”

“Damn right...Next to Ryan, you’re my everything, and don’t you ever forget it.”

Tears fell down my face as I tossed quarters into the toll booth, as I flipped through more memories and realized that there were “signs,” but the two of them had worked so hard to cover them, and they’d purposely left me in the dark.

Maybe from the outside looking in the cracks had been easy to see, but from where I’d been standing everything had looked complete.

I sped onto the next highway and turned my music up, trying to drown out the cries I was finally letting free, promising my heart that I would never allow myself to be so trusting and vulnerable.

I’ll never allow another man to get that close to me again... Ever.

Chapter 2

Jonathan

“I don’t want Ryan Hayes within ten miles of my fiancée. Are we clear?”

“Yes sir.” “Of course, Mr. Statham.” “As you wish sir.” My top security personnel nodded their heads in agreement.

“I need to know why he’s here by the end of the week, and if he’s still here at that point, we need to figure out a way to get him the f**k out of here and back to Pittsburgh. Dead or alive.”

“Mr. Statham...” Greg narrowed his eyes at me.

I rolled my eyes. “Barely alive or alive...You’re dismissed gentlemen.” I waited for them to leave before falling back into my chair.

I’d been too angry to sleep the night before, and I could tell by the way Claire looked when she woke up this morning that she hadn’t slept well either.

On the one hand, I was happy she’d told me about Ryan making an unwanted visit at her store, but on the other, I was angry with myself. If I had gotten there a few minutes sooner, I could’ve personally made sure he would never bother her again.

Claire was mine. Period. I didn’t need him trying to win his way back into her life, or whatever the f**k he was trying to do now that she was happy. I’d worked too damn hard to repair all the damage he’d done, too damn hard to earn her trust and show her that she could be loved again, and I wasn’t going to let him f**k that up.

I need a drink...

“Mr. Statham?” Angela walked into my office without knocking.

“What happened to using the intercom?”

“I have special privileges. Plus, I’m covering for Hayley today so protocol is going to be a little loopy.”

“Why are you covering for her?”

“She has a breakfast date.” She shrugged. “It’s no biggie. She’ll be back in two hours. Anyway, your daily flower delivery to Miss Gracen has just been confirmed, your meeting with Flynn tech is set for noon, the wedding planner’s meeting with you and Miss Gracen is set for three, and you have another appointment with your mother and the therapist at four thirty.”

I hadn’t heard anything she’d said past the words “breakfast date.” Hayley hadn’t mentioned anyone new to me in months. That had to be a mistake.

I shook my head and forced myself to believe that my little sister had simply said the word “date” instead of “meeting.” Then again, I’d heard her and Claire giggling about something over dinner a few days ago, something neither of them seemed interested in telling me.

“And the City Foster Center has invited you to receive the annual Humanitarian Award. “Angela slid an envelope across my desk. “They say they’ll plan the ceremony around your schedule. I know you have the month in mind, but have you set an actual wedding date yet?”

“Not yet...” I leaned back in my chair. “Send me a text later tonight. I think we’ll have one in mind by the end of the day.”

“Of course sir. Do you need anything else from me before I run down to executive affairs?”

“No, Angela. Thank you.”

As soon as she left my office, I picked up my phone and called Corey.

“Yes?” he answered. “Who are we stalking on this lovely day?”