The Wedding Date

Chapter Six

Amelia

Thus far, I was f*****g unimpressed with Jack Priest. I had been sitting in silence in his drawing room for what felt like an eternity. But, to be precise it had actually been an hour and forty-five minutes. Prior to a few months ago, I had never had a problem waiting on men. As long as I got what I wanted. Now however, it held no merit for me. I was fuming.

"He's got some important guests." Jennifer told me after I had pounded on the door I had watched her walk through a few minutes before. The door that led into the rest of the master suite.

"Tell him he has ten minutes." I told her. She gave me a sickly sweet smile to match the one I had given her earlier before closing the door. I sucked in angry breath and held it punching the air.

Flustered I turned to try to distract myself for my final few minutes trapped in this room. I walked over to the window that overlooked the bay outside. I let out a gasp when I saw several people I recognized in a group windsurfing. I almost screeched with anger.

"You have to go!" Lucy had been animated to say the least since the moment I told her about my invitation to the wedding. I had never seen the little old woman so excited. She was visibly shaking. "Oh my, Amelia! This is your chance to not only clear the air with your family but, also go and enjoy yourself!"

I had intended to do that and take hundreds of photos to show Lucy as soon as I got home. Now, thanks to Jack f*****g Priest, I had missed out on two activities. A scavenger hunt and now of all things windsurfing. My father had tried to get us to windsurf when we came when I was sixteen. But, Abbey and I had been so hung over we couldn't even leave our rooms. I lied and told my mother we had eaten some bad shrimp.

Anger surging, I remembered the layout of the suite in my mind. If he was in meeting with important people, he'd be meeting them in the drawing room. Where he obviously isn't. So where then? The entire floor consisted of three rooms, one of which was considerably larger than the other two. My money was on the master bedroom which, included a small office space.

I marched straight through the door Jennifer had gone through. I kept going straight down the hall. Seconds later I was spotted by Jennifer who marched after me heels clicking loudly as she ran after me. I was completely focused on the beautiful suite we were in. They had at least changed the decor since my father had rented it. Topical plants grew everywhere and were very clearly well tended to. It was honestly like something out of a dream.

"You shouldn't be back here! This is a private suite!" She was practically screeching. Her voice became a panicked sort of high pitched that was deafening. I ignored her and marched forward and without knocking I pulled open the door to the master suite.

Standing less than six feet from me stood a hulking form with his back to me. I could see from where I was standing, he was infront of a camera and a laptop. On the laptop, I could see the screen, were the big faces of two very well dressed men. One of which was an old man with a well taken care of white beard. I recognized him immediately as Fletcher Johnson, a close friend of my father's.

The hulking form turned to look to investigate the sudden intrusion and I had to stop myself from gasping a loud. Jack Priest it seemed was the drop dead gorgeous man I had so carelessly flirted with on the plane. Now he only wore a white button up shirt instead of the jacket blazer combo he had been wearing the first time we had run into each other. I could see the form of his chest beneath the material as he moved his arms I could see the muscles ripple like water under the thin layer. His carmel brown eyes snapped to mine, filled with a look of annoyance. His statuesque strong jaw was set, his well-defined brow was furrowed. My heart was hammering in my chest.

I was just about to stumble over an awkward apology when Mr.Johnson seemed to recognize me.

"Is that Amelia Anderson? Oh my! It's been so long since I've seen you dear!" He said in a jolly tone. Fletcher was the only man I had met in my entire life other than my father who had been genuinely good to me. I had played with his daughters when I was little and on several occasions, I had called him for help. The first time I had been fourteen, the only reason I had asked him then was because the Johnson family house phone was the only phone number I had memorized and he happened to answer the phone. But, he had come through for me and shown genuine concern.

Once when I was seventeen a party had got raided and I had been terrified of calling my mother to come get me, so I had called Fletcher. He had shown up and without missing a beat pretended to be my father and talked me out of a ticket. I had not seen or spoken to him in over a year.

"Hello Mr.Johnson!" I replied back with a wave and a genuine smile stepping closer into the view of the camera, pretending as if an angry Mr.Priest wasn't glowering at me. "How are you and the family?"

"We are doing just great. We just got back from a trip in the Maldives. I have to tell you Amelia it was so beautiful there! Oh, and the people there were so kind to us- Oh and I know you'll find this interesting- The area we were staying in had a rich histo-" Fletcher started and with every word he said it was like I could feel Jack's angry glare intensifying. I mentally made a note to call Fletcher as soon as I got home to New York. One of my favorite things about him is that he is a talker, once he started there was no stopping him. I knew I had to nip it in the bud before he started really getting into it. Plus, he was one of the only people who knew that since I was a little girl I had a secret love for history.

"I'm so sorry, Fletcher! I actually have to go! I'm so sorry I interrupted your meeting! Give my love to Susan and the girls!" I said with a huge smile. I felt Jack's searing glare on me, burning into my skin. It was like being under a heat lamp. I felt my cheeks flush.

As I turned and practically ran back through the door I heard Fletcher say, "I'm so glad to see she's doing well."

Well the embarrassment of the entire encounter wore off a few moments later, I felt a huge smile creepy across my cheeks. Why had it felt so good to heat Fletcher say that? He's the only person from my old life whose opinion still matters to me on an emotional level.

After checking in with Lizzie and feeling reassured I would not miss out on windsurfing, lessons would continue all day, I decided to wait around for Mr.Priest a little while longer. Yawning I slumped onto the couch near the window that overlooked the beach. I had not realized how tired I had been until I layed my head back against the arm rest. I closed my eyes letting out a soft sigh. I fought sleep for a few long minutes but, lacked any real motivation to sit up. Listening to the soft sound of the wave hitting the beach in the distance, I drifted off to sleep.