June 4, 2012
Amanda loved the school library when it was like this. Dead silent except for the noise that she made herself. No one in the world disturbed her here. Frankly, they didn't dare.
Her cell phone rang, echoing loudly off the walls, and she sighed.
Well, most people didn't dare to disturb her, anyway.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Amanda, it's Marsha. How are things going for you?"
"Hi and fine." Amanda replied.
Propping her cell phone between her ear and her shoulder, she picked up a stack of books and went back to work.
"How are things going with David?"
Amanda took a deep breath, and made the split-second decision to play the part of the giddy bride.
"We're engaged!" she squealed, knowing all the while that there was no way that she could pull this off if Marsha was standing right in front of her.
It sounded like Marsha choked on something before asking loudly, "What!?"
"Yeah, I know, amazing, right?" Amanda bubbled.
It scared her that she was so good at pulling off this lie.
"Not the word that I would use." Marsha said hesitantly.
Yeah, I know, right?
"Oh, don't worry. He's amazing in every way. Absolutely" - Amanda had to force herself not to choke on the word – "Gorgeous. I swear he hasn't aged a day since college." Which was true. " The way he handles Olivia…" – And Amanda really meant it when she said this – "He's an amazing father, Marsha. I definitely" – again she had to force herself not to choke on the words coming out of her mouth. – "Love him."
"Love him like 'spend the rest of your life with him as your husband' love him?" Marsha asked skeptically.
Amanda managed to squeak out an "of course," praying all the while that she didn't sound as false to Marsha's ears as she did to her own.
And then, mercifully, inspiration struck.
"Hey, Marsha, hold on a second. I want to send you a picture from my phone."
"Of prince charming?"
"Who else?"
Amanda sent her the photo that she had taken Saturday night and sent it to her friend, waiting for her comment.
"Awwwwwwwwww!"
Amanda smiled despite herself.
"Okay, and, honey, I just have to say, he is be-u-te-ful!"
Amanda felt the warmth spread through her cheeks. "I know, right?"
"If he acts like he looks now, you, Amanda, have struck gold."
The picture had apparently done a one eighty on Marsha's opinion of this situation.
"A man after God's own heart." Amanda murmured to herself.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing important. A man after God's own heart. David called Olivia his princess and me a queen, and Olivia says that makes him King David, who, in the Bible, is referenced as a man after God's own heart."
"Oh, honey," Marsha laughed. "You have got it bad. You. Are. In."
Marsha, please don't say it.
"Love!"
Amanda bit back the denial that sprang to the tip of her tongue. What did come out though was a yelp as she noticed someone standing by her desk across the library.
"Amanda? Are you okay?"
Amanda swallowed, finding her voice before she answered as calmly as she could, "Yeah, sure. Hey, Marsha, listen, I'm going to have to go. I've got a visitor."
"Okay, sure. 'Bye. And, hey! Congratulations! I am so happy for you guys!"
"Thanks, 'bye." Amanda ended the call and slid her phone into her pocket. "What are you doing here? Does no one understand that this is my sanctuary?"
"I'm sorry." David's tone was repentant, but his eyes were not.
As a matter of fact, he looked rather pleased with himself for having caught her off guard.
"No you're not." She pointed out, as David walked over to follow behind her as she began to shelve the books again. "And you never answered my question."
"Well, um, 'why am I here.'" In answer, he held up a bag of takeout that Amanda hadn't noticed before now.
Her eyebrows rose. "Jimmie's Hotdogs?"
He nodded. "As a peace offering."
"Peace offering accepted. How did you know?"
He smiled. "Let's call it an educated guess."
"So, did you take the day off or what?"
"The patrol car decided to quit in the middle of the day, so the sheriff told Nathan and I to just take the rest of the day off."
"How did you get in here anyway? It's not like the school's open to the public right now."
David blushed. "I, um, told the secretary that I was your, uh, fiancé."
"Which one of them, Diana or Betty?"
David thought for a second. "Uh, Diana."
"Okay, were safe. She'll keep it to herself. So how long had you been standing there by my desk? Before I noticed you, I mean?"
David smiled. "I think that I came in somewhere around, oh, I don't know," His eyebrows rose. "gorgeous. Did I hear that right?"
Amanda blushed to the roots of her hair and rested her forehead against the shelf at eye level as David began laughing. She didn't have to answer that question.
"You are a wonderful actress, milady."
Amanda's heart did this weird stuttering thing when he called her milady again. She lifted her head and told him to hush.
He just laughed again. "Should we eat and then work or work and then eat?" he asked.
"We?"
He nodded. "I brought enough for the both of us, if it's okay for me to eat with you."
She nodded. "Of course."
"So… hotdogs or books?"
Amanda looked at the greasy white paper bag. "What kind of hotdogs are they?"
He smirked and answered, "Ketchup, cheese, and" he wrinkled his nose. "Sauerkraut."
"Okay, who's your informant, Thomson?" she asked, because he was right on the money with her favorite in that bag.
"Hey, I'm not above using the kid."
She shook her head elbowed him, since her hands were full of books. "'The kid's' name is 'Olivia'."
"I know." He elbowed her back, and she wobbled, almost falling and dumping the books that she was holding.
David moved quickly, wrapping one arm around her waist and propping the books up with the other so that neither she nor they hit the floor. He steadied her and asked once he was sure that she wasn't going to fall over, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, noticing that he had yet to move his arms. She wasn't being held close to him exactly, but she could smell his cologne and for some reason the area on her side that his hand was covering seemed red-hot.
"Sorry about that." He said.
"It's fine." Her gaze deepened as she stared into his eyes and realized that, as a matter of fact, he was gorgeous. She looked away first, clearing her throat. "Hotdogs first, I think."
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