Page 3 (1/2)

He began as an intern

"Nina," Grant greeted lasses

"Grant," I acknowledged with a nod

Grant looked at Mr Patocka and sene"

Mr Patocka ducked froh I saw Grant as soarded him as their personal savior

"Okay, what’s with al the for my arms

"Give me a break, Peanut," he s his ankles on top of his desk I frowned at his ridiculous argyle socks They rese I hated about Grant Bristol He was handsoht, brown hair and clean-shaven baby face made most women at our office swoon He el dressed and wel spoken, and I suppose he was even funny at tiht into his square chin He reminded me of the token soap opera star His words were fake, his smile was fake, and his very presence affected h…you know I hate it when you call oing to have to stop that, Grant Iyou say" He sht, too-white teeth "I want you here when you’re not in class If I could do it, you can do it No excuses"

Atte to keep rin "See you to…," Grant said I turned and waited "Nice skirt, Peanut"

I sto on h the front door, I saw Jared’s Escalade parked against the curb across the street as usual, only this ti extreainst his car on her shoulder, not six inches fro to be polite as he kept his arms crossed, careful not to react to her flirtation, buthis shirt, chest and arms with every other word

"Nina! Hi, Sweetheart" Jared said, my interruption a relief He pul eda kiss on ushed "I was just tel ing Jared that we should double date sometime"

"No," I snapped, my patience far beyond its lier side and opened the door

"I can get into the car on my own," I said acerbical y

"Nina…" Jared smiled, a straight ahead

"Wel ," Sasha call ed frouess I’ll see you on Monday It was nice to final y have a chance to talk, Jared"

Ignoring Sasha’s final atte to decipher my emotions Final y, he walked around to his side, and slid in beside me He watched Sasha trot across the street and then shook his head "You don’t honestly think I was--,"

"No I don’t think you were flirting with her," I grumbled

Jared pul ed away from the curb and nodded "Good, because that is completely ridiculous Not only am I madly in love with you…she’s…"

Jared shook his head, usted faces as he tried to think of the correct description "She’s so else"

"That’s a word for it," I said, crossing ?" he asked

"You mean you don’t know?"

"I kept tabs, but it was difficult to get the details with Sasha two inches from my face Is Grant stil a jackass?"

"Yes," I nodded

"What’s wrong?" Jared paused a moment and then his eyebrows shot up "Oh"

"What is that supposed to ," Jared said, trying not to s the trees pass by theEli had once told us that ehtened I stil wasn’t sure what that entailed Jared never let on that anything had changed, but when his forent curiosity about the s had al but disappeared, I knew so was different I cornered him on more than one occasion to explain his new attunement, but he always seemed to maneuver his way out of the conversation with an efficient and irresistible diversion

"Do we stil have lunch plans?" I asked,landscape outside the

"Absolutely I have a surprise for you," Jared said, takingit to his ed as the warmth from his lips shot up ainst my skin

Chapter Two

Gone

"Carved your name In a tree? That’s so sweet!" Beth squealed

"Yes, in a tired, done-three-bil ion-tinored her, sht me to a field that had a lone Oak tree in the center We rol ed out a blanket for the picnic lunch he packed It was perfect"

"You’re up," Kilancing to the irl behind the counter nodded, and punched the buttons on the register, waiting for ?"

"Nah, not today"

I rol ed e Skinny Mochachino, please"

"I said I didn’t want anything," Beth said, feigning annoyance "And since when do you drink your coffee black?"

"We’re not going to have ourcoffee talk on the first day of school without coffee," I said, "I know things are tight for you and Chad right now Moving is expensive It’s not a problem"

"I’m not a mooch"

"Southern hospitality Isn’t that what you call it?" I winked

"You’re a Yankee," Beth irl turned to make our drinks, and Beth leaned in "So the tree…"

I s Bril iantly detailed I’ve never seen anything like it He walks me to the other side, and his parents initials were carved there, too, froo"

"No way!" Beth shrieked She looked around, settling down before her next question "So have you guys set a date? For the wedding?"

I looked down "Er…no But it was a nice lunch"

"A nice lunch?" Kim asked

"He didn’t mention it," I said

"Wel , that’s a first," Beth teased

It wasn’t hard to guess why Jared’s questions about a wedding date had tapered off--he orried about the nightmares, and he didn’t want to make them worse I knew Jared wanted to set a date As the weeks passed and I was stil reluctant to discuss it, he had begun to get anxious