Amanda_A Contemporary Retelling of Emma Read online

  Chewing the gum like a turbo-charged rodent, Amanda grappled with the best answer and wondered how Nate Knighton always managed to read her mind. The phone’s buzz saved her from the burden of an answer.

  “See you at six.” She picked up the receiver and turned to face the floor-to-ceiling window behind her desk. As she answered the phone and peered onto downtown Highland, Tasmania, her office door clicked shut. She relaxed.

  “Amanda,” Haley’s professional voice floated over the line, “there’s a Mason Eldridge on the phone.”

  “Perfect!” she mouthed and pulled a tissue from the dispenser on the desk’s corner.

  “He says he needs to talk with you about the church choir schedule. I tried to get him to let me have you call him back, but he said you’d left a voice mail for him this morning. Do you have time to—”

  “Yes—yes, by all means,” Amanda rushed. She held the tissue to her mouth and released the mint gum into its folds. “Put him through.”

  As a series of ticks cracked over the line, Amanda’s mind spun with schemes. This couldn’t be better timing, she thought and decided her whole brainstorm was nothing but the hand of God. By the time the minister of music voiced his greeting, Amanda’s plans were well laid. All she lacked was the cooperation of those involved. Given her persuasive powers, she figured their compliance was inevitable.

  Two

  Nate checked his gold watch as he stepped into O’Brien’s foyer. The Aussie chain restaurant advertised that they served the best steaks and fish in the world. The staff, dressed in black jackets and slacks, gave the restaurant a high-class appeal, as did their advertisements. So did the décor—right down to the velvet-covered chairs and rich tapestry drapes. Nate wasn’t as impressed with the atmosphere as he was the smell of the food.

  He was also five minutes late. Nate scanned the restaurant’s crowded entryway in search of Amanda and Haley. His effort was wasted. His expectations of a quick meal plummeted. Not only were the women not present, the waiting list was probably as long as the Tamar River.

  The smell of sizzling prawns and somebody’s baked potato nearly sent him to his knees. Nate’s stomach grumbled. He rubbed his gut, loosened his tie, and decided to go ahead and place his name on the waiting list. Nate glanced toward the empty hostess station. He scowled. At this rate he was going to get grumpy, and swiftly.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Nate had the impression a couple of women were watching him from a corner crowded with ceiling-high plants. Curiosity and a load of male interest suggested he should investigate. He’d learned many years ago that single women were interested in tall and lean men in a business suit—especially when the suit hinted of tailor-made success.

  Nate had also learned that the same women who were interested for those reasons were the ones who usually didn’t care to know the real him. They weren’t concerned about respecting him for who he was when what he and his family owned was so impressive. By the time he was twenty-eight, Nate realized that too many women viewed the vice president and heir of Knighton’s Department Stores as an all-expenses-paid lifetime shopping trip.

  That’s when Nate decided to stop the whole dating game and just wait on God to bring him his future mate. That had been seven years ago. Lately, Nate had begun to wonder if God had forgotten he needed a wife.

  The pressure of the gawking females finally got the best of him. Nate glanced in their direction. Even though the plants cast a shadow across their faces, Nate could tell they were well-polished and attractive. One was a tall redhead with short, sleek hair and a pair of bronze lips that would probably stop traffic in downtown Hobart. The other was a petite brunette, not quite as attractive as the redhead, but dressed in enough high-fashion gear to bless any New York designer. Nate vaguely recognized the redhead’s denim jacket and billowing skirt as one of the new lines the Knighton’s clothing buyer had added to their spring lineup.

  The redhead wiggled her fingers at Nate, winked, and blew him a kiss.

  As much as Nate wanted to act cool, he couldn’t stop his eyes from widening. All sorts of possibilities crashed through his mind. The option that topped the list involved forgetting that he’d sworn off dating.

  The brunette mumbled something, the two women giggled, and the redhead moved closer. Once she stepped from behind the plants and merged out of the shadows, Nate recognized her.

  “Amanda!” he spouted and didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. “I didn’t recognize you.” As she neared, he dismissed the unexpected zip through his gut as surprise and nothing more.

  “No joke,” Amanda replied. Her bronze lips curved into a mischievous smile as she stopped at Nate’s side and looped her hand through his arm. “You acted like you thought a couple of wild women were after you!” The scent of her exotic perfume completed the disconcerting experience.

  “Oh, we’re wild, all right,” the brunette drawled as she drew close. “I nearly fell on my face three times in these heels. She looked down at the pointed-toed spikes that perfectly matched her steel-colored knit skirt.

  Nate tilted his head and tried to recall why the gray-eyed woman looked so familiar.

  “Allow me to introduce you,” Amanda teased. “Nate Knighton, meet Haley Schmitz.”

  “Haley?” Nate wheezed. “Oh my word! I didn’t even recognize you!”

  “Is there that much difference?” Haley wrinkled her brow and touched her shining hair.

  Her head full of tangled frizz had been transformed into a straight, shoulder-length bob. Her pale skin glowed with a cosmetic miracle. And Nate guessed somebody must have talked her into replacing her thick glasses with contacts.

  “Wow!” he blurted. “You look great!”

  “See, I told you,” Amanda affirmed as Haley’s cheeks grew pinker.

  “You don’t look so bad yourself, Amanda,” Haley encouraged.

  “And I’d have to agree,” Nate affirmed and touched the end of Amanda’s nose.

  She wrinkled it. “I guess cute enough to give you a heart attack, anyway.” She tilted her head back and laughed. “You should have seen your face.” She slid him a saucy look out of the corners of her eyes. Those eyes had never looked so green . . . or so inviting.

  Nate glanced down and hoped to hide the sudden attack of embarrassment. Being attracted to Amanda was the same as being attracted to a teenaged cousin. Even though the sensation lasted a few seconds, it was enough to disturb him for hours. The music filtering through the restaurant thumped in sequence with his heart.

  He loosened his tie another notch.

  “Have you signed us onto the waiting list?” he asked.

  “Of course,” Amanda answered and looked toward the restaurant door.

  “Priebe, party of four,” the hostess called.

  “Party of four?” Nate glanced from Amanda to Haley.

  “I’ve invited one other . . . uh . . . friend,” Amanda hedged and glanced at the door again.

  Nate narrowed his eyes. His first thoughts included a matchmaking scheme that involved him and some unnamed woman he wouldn’t be caught dead with. Amanda was forever trying to marry off the world. During the last two years, she’d been able to claim one successful match out of six tries. Her former governess had been married three months to a man Amanda introduced her to. Amanda hadn’t stopped gloating ever since.

  Even though she’d never attempted to pair Nate with anyone, she had mentioned something about his getting married and having twelve kids earlier today. Nate tensed. He had enough problems when he was trying to find a mate. The last thing he needed was the interference of Amanda-the-matchmaker.

  Amanda stepped toward the hostess, looked back at Nate and Haley, and then eyed the door again. “Why don’t you two go on in. I’ll stay here and wait for— I’ll just wait.”

  “Sure,” Haley said and cast a curious glance toward Nate.

  Deciding he was better off not knowing, he shrugged and turned toward the hostess. Maybe she’s waiting on her da
d or something, he reasoned, but wasn’t the least bit convinced.

  Amanda stood alone in the foyer for only two minutes when a lean man with blond, wind-blown hair and pale blue eyes stepped through the doorway.

  “Mason!” she called and strode toward him.

  “Hello!” Mason replied and hurried forward like an eager child ready for his first day of school. “The wind is horrible.” He smoothed away the irregular spikes in his hair. “Sorry I’m late,” he panted and adjusted his sport coat.

  “Not a problem,” Amanda replied and moved her purse’s strap to her shoulder. “We were just getting seated.”

  “We?” Mason questioned

  “Oh, yes, I invited my secretary, Haley Schmitz, and my friend Nate Knighton, as well. I thought I told you.”

  “If you did, I don’t remember,” Mason said as he gazed up at her. “You look great!”

  “Thanks,” Amanda replied. Good thing Haley’s short, she thought and estimated Mason to be not quite five and a half feet. Haley was just over five feet. The two will be perfect together, Amanda thought as she spotted Haley and Nate sitting near the restaurant’s entryway.

  “May I help you?” a lithe man questioned from behind the hosting booth. The golden badge on his black jacket read Zachary Benedict, Host.

  “We’re with them.” Amanda pointed toward Nate and Haley. “I was waiting for my friend.” She rested her hand on Mason’s shoulder and noticed four menus already lying on the table. “We’ll just seat ourselves.”

  The host nodded and pointed toward the entry.

  Mason stepped aside and allowed Amanda to precede him. Nice touch, she thought. He’s a gentleman. That should impress Haley.

  The smells of grilling meat and steamed veggies enveloped them as they neared Nate and Haley, who were thick in conversation.

  “You know Roger Miller?” Haley’s exclamation greeted Amanda.

  “Know him?” Nate replied. “He’s my third cousin.”

  “That’s absolutely marvelous!” Haley leaned forward, and her smile couldn’t have been more ecstatic.

  Amanda suppressed a groan. The last thing she needed was Haley to be focused on the baboon when she was being matched with Mason. Nate’s being distantly related to Roger only compounded matters.

  “Well, we’re here,” she announced and hurried forward.

  “Oh, hello,” Nate replied, his face tight. He looked past Amanda at Mason, and his features relaxed as Amanda made the appropriate introductions.

  “I believe we’ve met at church, Nate,” Mason said.

  “Yes, briefly.” Nate stood and shook Mason’s hand while Amanda nudged Mason toward sitting beside Haley. She scooted over one seat and took her water glass with her. When she placed Mason’s water in front of him, he was just taking his seat. His arm nearly brushed the glass, and Haley jerked it away. In the midst of the jerk, the glass leaned toward him and filled his lap with icy liquid.

  Amanda, who’d been about to claim the chair across from Haley, groaned, “Oh no.”

  “Yikes!” Mason squeaked and jumped back up. The ice toppled from his taupe-colored slacks and scattered across the short-piled carpet.

  “Oh me! I’m so—so sorry!” Haley exclaimed. “Oh my goodness. I cannot believe this happened again.” She stood. Armed with her linen napkin, Haley began to dab at Mason’s wet trouser legs.

  “Again?” Mason croaked.

  “Yes, oh yes,” Haley muttered. “I seem to be prone to spilling water in restaurants. I think it’s some kind of a curse.”

  Still hunched over, she looked up at Mason, whose face was mere inches from hers.

  Amanda held her breath. She wrapped her purse’s strap around her knuckles and squeezed. Maybe—just maybe—the sparks were already starting to fly.

  A dark-skinned woman wearing a badge that said “Manager” appeared from around the corner. “Oops! Looks like we have a little problem,” she cooed.

  “A little problem?” Nate interjected with a mild grin. “I guess that depends on whether you’re the one with the drenched pants.”

  “We have a hair dryer in the employee lounge,” the manager said.

  “Great!” Mason said.

  “If you’ll follow me . . .”

  “I’ll go, too,” Haley insisted and scurried after the two. “I need to find the ladies’ room!” After several wobbling steps in her spike-heeled sandals, Haley stumbled and yelped. She grabbed Mason’s arm to steady herself. He lunged forward and caught himself on an empty chair.

  Mason cast a desperate glance over his shoulder. Amanda smothered her laugh until the three disappeared down a hallway.

  Nate’s chuckle mingled with her own. “We shouldn’t laugh,” he scolded, yet his words lacked conviction as he scooted out Amanda’s chair for her.

  She took her seat, deposited her new purse near the chair, and covered her mouth. “I know,” she admitted. “But Mason looked like he was worried sick about what Haley might do to him between here and the ladies’ room.”

  “That’s what got to me, too,” Nate admitted.

  “Oh well, maybe the whole thing will turn into a bonding experience.”

  “A bonding experience?”

  “Well, yes. I was hoping Mason and Haley could make a go of it.”

  “As in . . .”

  “You know, dating . . . engagement . . . marriage . . .” Amanda said and sipped her cold water.

  “Oh?” Nate’s brows arched. “Have you already hired the clergyman?”

  Amanda dashed him a sour look. “Oh please.”

  “And what about Roger?” Nate yanked at his tie, loosened the knot more, and whipped off the red strip of silk.

  “Roger can go milk his cows,” Amanda growled. She pulled the tie from Nate’s hands and began folding it.

  “But Roger really cares for her.” Nate picked up his spoon and tapped the table. The noise added a rhythmic thud to the clink and scrape of the patrons’ silverware and the hum of their conversations. The restaurant’s upbeat music blended with the counter-rhythm.

  “How can you be so sure?” Amanda, satisfied with the tie’s folds, bent and inserted it into the top of her leather handbag.

  “Like I was telling Haley when you walked up, he’s my third cousin. We’re friends. He mentioned Haley a few weeks ago. Somehow I missed the connection that his Haley was your Haley. I think he believes she’s the one.”

  “All the more reason to get her distracted with Mason.” A good-looking, dark-haired waiter arrived and placed another tall glass of water at Mason’s place. He smiled at Nate. The smile grew warmer when he directed it toward Amanda.

  Nate glowered and stopped tapping the spoon. The waiter hurried with mopping up the water in Mason’s seat and cleaning the spill on the floor.

  Amanda cleared her throat. “Thanks,” she offered.

  “Sure. Just let me know when you’re ready to order,” he added and ignored Nate.

  As the waiter hustled away, Amanda cast a furtive glance toward Nate. His straight-nosed profile looked as taut as the uptight energy he was emitting. On top of that, the guy was acting as if he’d eaten a whole truckload of sour apples.

  “So what do you have against Roger?” he asked and started drumming the spoon against the table again. “Have you even met him?” The spoon’s tempo grew fierce.

  “Yes, I’ve met him.” Amanda scowled. “He’s a farmer. And he doesn’t even have the decency to be a wealthy farmer. Haley deserves better than that.” She picked up the water glass and downed a sizable gulp.

  “So Mason’s wealthy?” Nate asked.

  “No, but at least he has class, and he enjoys traveling.” She plunked down the glass.

  “Well, Roger has high morals, and he’s a hard worker. He’s even out of town right now, so it’s not like he never travels.”

  “Yes, but for the most part he’s stuck on a farm, lacks money, and has no class.”

  “So good morals and being a hard worker don’t count in the
face of class and money?”

  “Mason has morals. He’s a hard worker, too!” Amanda countered.

  “Well, what if Haley’s in love with Roger?”

  “She needs to fall out of love with him.” The water chilled her stomach as intensely as the fear chilling her heart—the fear of her dearest friend saying “I do” to a miserable existence in a trap disguised as a farm.

  “I guess I didn’t think you were this shallow, Amanda,” Nate mumbled.

  “Shallow?” Amanda sputtered.

  “Yes. Haley has the opportunity to maybe marry a hard-working Christian man who adores her. But since he’s not good-looking and doesn’t have money, he’s not good enough for you!” He drove the spoon against the table and released it. The utensil clattered to a stop against his water glass.

  Amanda gaped and tried to formulate some retort. All she could think to say was, “How dare you!” Once that was out, more spewed forth. “All I want is what’s best for my friend. And I just cannot believe she’ll be happy with Roger!” Amanda’s voice rose a few decibels, and she balled her fists in her lap. “Even if he had money stuck to his walls, I don’t think they’re a good match! I really, really don’t!”

  A woman and man sitting at the next table turned and looked at Amanda.

  “Shhh,” Nate said and squeezed her fists. “Sorry there, okay?”

  “If I were as shallow as you say, I wouldn’t be introducing her to Mason. Like I already said, he doesn’t have money, either!”

  Nate took a lemon wedge from a dish at the table’s center and squeezed it over his ice water until his fingers were white and the lemon released its final drop. “Nevertheless,” he dropped the wedge into his water, “I really think you should leave her alone. Let her make her own choices.”

  “I will,” Amanda asserted and didn’t try to lessen the tension in her voice. In her opinion, Nate Knighton was being the worst kind of judgmental boor. “But at least this way she’ll have a choice. Before tonight, it was Roger or no one. And quite frankly I believe she was just settling for whoever she could get. She was raised as a foster child, you know.”

  “No, I didn’t know.”