Natalie
*****
My mom and Amelia joined me shopping. I wanted the perfect outfit for my book signing tomorrow afternoon. They insisted on a day of shopping, mani/pedis, and lunch. It sounded good to me.
I picked out the perfect gray and white houndstooth suit. It had a slim fit skirt and a cropped jacket. Amelia saw the cutest light gray top that she thought would be the perfect compliment. I found a gorgeous pair of heels and jewelry. Then we were off to lunch.
My cellphone rang as I dug through my bag to find it. "Hi Miles, I'm glad you didn't hang up. I'm out with your mama and my mom. We're having girl time." I winked at both of them, as they were intently listening to my phone call.
"Oh, my book signing is at 1 p.m. I hope you make it in time. I'll be there until 5 p.m. My father, Lucas, is taking me to dinner afterward." I figured it best to clarify since my mother was sitting narrowing her eyes at me. As far as she's concerned, I only have one father.
"I had planned on being there on time. I know this is important to you. I'm helping Jenna with a new sales account. She made arrangements with this client, not knowing I had a prior engagement." Miles was silent, waiting for a response.
"No worries, I messaged you last minute. This was a surprise for me too, when my agent called last night. If you can make it, great. If not, I'll see you before I leave for Seattle." I tried to sound nonchalant and like it was no big deal.
I was keeping my sudden tears at bay. My mother and Amelia were fussing in the background for me to hand them the phone.
How did Jenna enter the picture? I should have seen that coming, the way she looked at Miles when we were at the restaurant.
Amelia grabbed the phone from my hands. "You listen good Miles Pennington. . . . You had better do everything in your power to be at Natalie's book signing. That's all I'm going to say for now." She calmly handed me back my iPhone.
"I'll make sure I'm there tomorrow. I told Jenna that I would give her potential client one hour, at 1 p.m. I won't get to the book store until around 2:45 pm. But I plan on coming, I want to see you. I thought about you and our time together yesterday," he became very nervous and his voice was shaky.
"I enjoyed my time with you too." I felt the heat rise to my flushed cheeks.
I couldn't say much about him kissing me. Both of our mothers were sitting across the table. "I hope you make it. Enjoy the rest of your day." I hit end and placed my phone on the table.
The tears were threatening to spill from my eyes.
I felt like a deflated balloon. The excitement that I initially felt about tomorrow wasn't quite the same. I wanted to share this experience with Miles. I had more feelings for him than I cared to admit. I had thought about him all last year, hoping I'd get to see him at one of Logan's races.
Then, here he is in Savannah and my sister's brother-in-law. He took me on an unofficial date. I was mesmerized when he gently pressed his lips to mine. I felt goosebumps traveling up my arms. It was indelibly etched in my mind. He is an exceptional man.
My mom was waving trying to get my attention. "Honey it's okay. Don't you worry
about a thing. Miles will come to your book signing. I like him for you and it's all going
to work out." She spoke with her Seattle accent.
She came and sat next to me, laying my head on her shoulder. She placed her hand
comfortingly on my cheek.
Amelia's eyes were watery. "Listen to your mother, sweetie pie. My son is a man of his word. Not to mention, he doesn't like upsetting his mama. He'll be there tomorrow, don't you worry. Now let's go get our mani/pedis. I think we should have your eyebrows done too. You want to knock the socks off of Miles. He likes you, I can tell." Amelia kissed the top of my head.
Her and my mom looped one arm through each of my two arms and we were off.
*****
Miles
"Knock knock, it's me." Skyler entered my office with a grimace.
I looked up from some orders I was compiling. "Hey Skyler, what's up?"
"My wife just informed me that Natalie's book signing is tomorrow at 1 p.m. So I
rescheduled our conference call for Wednesday morning. I don't know how long it's going to take. I have to be there on time to be with Nicole and Evelyn. We're bringing Mimi also. Even Lucas, June, and April are coming." Skyler flashed his eyes at me, waiting for me to speak.
"Natalie invited me this morning and I agreed to come. Then Jenna told me I'm having lunch with her, and a potential sales client tomorrow at 1 p.m." I frowned in frustration and rubbed both hands over my face.
Skyler stood with his brows furrowed. "Ouch, you can't be in two places at one time. Just my two cents, I would make sure I came for Natalie's book signing. Especially if she personally invited you."
He put his finger underneath his lip, thinking. "You two obviously have something I can't quite describe for each other. Oh, I forgot to mention Lance is coming too. So everyone is coming from both sides of the family."
Skyler, really just put me in the doghouse. I'm sure Lance would be happy to fill in for me.
"Thank you Skyler, for your unsolicited opinion."
"Anytime bro. I'll leave you to your solitude. I have to make a phone call, and catch up with Shayne."
"Tell your buddy that I said hello. Don't tell me he's flying here too?" I questioned sarcastically.
"Ha ha very funny. No, but I'm buying a set of autographed books to send to Shayne's daughter, Madalyn."
"Great. . . . Really rub it in Skyler."
"Don't be so grumpy. Just tell Jenna, you can't make the lunch. She'll have to take someone else with her. Natalie is going back to Seattle soon. You won't have a lot of opportunities to spend time with her." Skyler had a point. But I'm always Mr. Nice guy.
*****
Miles
Tuesday
Natalie's Book Signing
Jenna entered my office flustered and panicked. "Miles, can I ride with you to lunch? My car won't start. I think the battery is dead and we don't have time to diagnose the problem. I'll just go to the book signing with you after we meet with the client."
"Okay, but I have to leave after one hour." I grabbed my portfolio and deposited it in my briefcase. Jenna stood their gaping at me.
"If our lunch meeting runs over one hour, you can't just leave me with this guy. I don't feel comfortable being by myself." She touched my arm, as I turned around to face her.
I ran my fingers through my hair that needed to be cut. "That wasn't our original agreement. I would have said no, if I knew all of this ahead of time. Let's hurry and make it to lunch on time. You can ride with me." I shook my head and tightened my jaw, as I closed my office door.
I pushed the unlock button on my car remote. It made a chirping sound, echoing in the parking lot. I picked up my walking pace on my way to my car. Jenna was sprinting to catch up with me.
"Nice car!" She yelled from behind me.
"Thanks, I just recently bought it!" I yelled back, never turning around.
I was fuming when I got in the car. I got the feeling that I wasn't going to make it to the book signing. Natalie's whole family was going to be there. Her brother, Logan, sent me a text this morning. He's back from his race and here in Savannah. The Dunbars are going and my whole family. And I'm here with Jenna.
"I didn't plan this Miles. I didn't know you even had a girlfriend, before I saw you with Natalie yesterday." Jenna folded her arms while looking out of the window. I was biting my tongue.
I remained silent, as I drove thinking about how I let Jenna talk me into this. She placed her hand on mine. "I'm sorry Miles. I hope we can conclude our business in time to make it to the bookstore."
I removed her hand from mine. "There is no we, Jenna. I'm doing this because you work on my sales team. You are one of my top employees. But I'm not interested in anything other than business. I hope I'm making myself clear."
She was making her intentions obvious, when she didn't respond. Her eyes gazed out of her window for the rest of the ride. I didn't feel it necessary to discuss whether, or not Natalie was my girlfriend.
At this point Natalie and I are friends. We may not be that, after today.
We arrived at the restaurant and were seated. We let our server know that we were expecting a third person to join us. I kept looking at my watch. I was getting rather agitated that this so called client was late. Where was he? I need to get to Natalie's book signing.
I snapped my head in Jenna's direction. "Didn't you tell Mr. McGuire we were meeting at 1 p.m.?"
"I...I think I did. I'll ca-call him again." She stuttered nervously.
She found his phone number in her contacts and called. "He's not answering. It went straight to voicemail. I don't know what happened to him. He's usually punctual." She wore a perplexed expression. I was livid for getting myself into this situation.
"Have you had lunch with him before?"
"Yes, that's why I wanted you to come. This guy is a little weird. I appreciate you being here."
"I just want to get this over with, and make it to Natalie's book signing." I spoke through clenched teeth.
What must Natalie be thinking, since I'm not there yet?
*****
A/N: Do you think Miles is going to make it for the book signing? 🤔
Votes and Comments Appreciated ❤️