Natalie |Beyond Heights|

|Thirteen|

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.