More Than Friends (Friends, #2)(83)

I can’t go through that again.

“I don’t think I can meet with you after the carnival, Jordan,” I say, my voice soft. I see the hurt on his face, the pain in his eyes, and it makes me feel terrible. “I’m sorry, but I can’t go through this again. Have a good night.” I turn on my heel and walk away.

He follows after me. “Amanda, wait!” He grabs hold of my arm and stops me before I can get too far away. “Could we maybe talk tomorrow?”

“What else is there to talk about?” I jerk out of his hold and throw my hands in the air, wishing I could throw a punch at him instead. When I don’t want him to be persistent is, of course, when he actually is.

I can’t win with him. I just…can’t.

“What do you mean?” Jordan frowns, taking a step back.

“You don’t want to be with me. You’ve already told me that. Is that what you want to talk about? How it’ll never work out between us? Well, I got the message loud and clear yesterday, okay? We’re done. Over. Just the way you want it.” I glare at him, breathing so hard my chest rises and falls rapidly, and I swear I feel faint. It’s probably because I’m hungry.

That I can even still be hungry gives me hope. Maybe I am over Tuttle after all…

“I never said I didn’t want to be with you.” His voice drops and his gaze is intense as he watches me.

“You didn’t have to,” I whisper just before I turn and walk away.

And never once look back.



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Acknowledgements


First up…I’m so incredibly sorry, readers. I didn’t mean for this book to end in a cliffhanger, I swear. But as I wrote Amanda and Jordan’s story, I realized he’s a lot more complex than I originally thought. Truthfully, so is Amanda. So yes, I’m writing another book about them, and it will conclude their story, I promise.

Before I thank everyone, I want you all to know that Tuttle was only going to be a walk on character in Just Friends. A throwaway kind of guy who appeared every once in a while just to be a jerk or to be that extra friend Ryan and Dustin needed to talk to. Instead, Tuttle took over my brain and demanded his own story. So did Amanda. She became the girl so many readers rooted for—and so did I. So their story is not only for me (because it was a total joy to write, let me tell you), but for all of you too.

All right, now for the thanks…

A big, huge, sloppy kiss-filled thank you to my publicist and friend Nina, who has been such a loyal supporter of this series from the start and who will cut a bitch if anyone tries to take Tuttle away from her. Another big, huge, sloppy kiss-filled thanks to my assistant Kati. We’ve been together four (!!!) years now, and I don’t know what I’d do without you. Plus you make great graphics that every raves over. Huge thanks also to Jenn Watson for her advertising skills and general awesomeness. And to Gelytaz, who also makes beautiful graphics and trailers—thank you for all that you do.

To my daughter who is currently experiencing Just Friends-type drama, only it’s the eighth grade version (seriously – the inspiration is constant). Thank you for being so open with me, thank you for making smart choices and thank you for choosing such good friends. I love you.

I must always thank my critique partner, my friend, my wifey Katy Evans for always taking care of me in the best way possible. Big shout out to my cover designer for this series Hang Le – these covers are so gorgeous, I can’t stop staring at them! Plus, thank you to my editor Mackenzie Walton and my proofreader Dana Waganer—you ladies keep me in line and make sure the story is the best that it can be. Also, thank you to my formatter E.M. Tippetts—the interior of my books always look fabulous thanks to you and your team.

Last but not least, thank you to the readers, reviewers and bloggers who’ve read the Friends series so far and given me so much support. I know Livvy made a lot of you nuts. I know many of you couldn’t stand the majority of the characters in Just Friends. So thank you for enjoying their story anyway, and I hoped I changed your minds with Amanda and Jordan’s story. I adore these two. I hope you did too.