Page 112 of Never Quiet

“Mm hmm.”

She stayed in close contact with her family, called them weekly so they could see her face, and texted them often.

Davis finally resurfaced and they caught up on everything. He admitted he’d been out of the country and wasn’t allowed to have his cell phone.

He murmured sheepishly, “There was no time to tell you before I left and Hayden said he let you know I was fine.”

“Not the same but yes, he did.”

“I got all your texts, videos, and updates. My lord, Amanda! You swept Hayden off his feet! How?” They spent six hours talking while she laid on her couch with her phone plugged in.

It was wonderful.

Toward the end of the conversation that covered everything in her life, his life, and their families, he asked, “Erick ever call or anything?”

“No.”

“Did you…reach out to him?”

“I left him a note the morning after he took my virginity. I’d say the ball was in his court and he kicked it over the fence.”

“Uh, yeah. You’re right.” He chuckled. “I mean, at least send a thanks for the cherry message, jerk!” Then they were laughing and it didn’t hurt nearly as much.

Davis made everything better.

Following the launch, Amanda started seeing her own face everywhere – billboards, taxi cabs, city buses. Morgan insisted on regular appearances in public at chic establishments, surrounded by protection.

There was no real routine. She worked out, trained with her men, attended meetings, and did jobs her uncle set up. Amanda talked to her family at random hours because they were working or she was working, texted Davis regularly, did her research, wrote, or read if she was alone.

Then there was her relationship with Hayden.

Amanda had always known love: how it felt to give and receive it, that it came with moments to cherish and others to overlook, that it required patience, nurturing, and a chance to grow into its’ full potential.

Hayden loved her and that translated to often finding her body limp, exhausted, and satiated in ways that didn’t seem possible.

If he wasn’t on a mission and she didn’t have a photo shoot or interview on her schedule, he wasn’t far away.

The middle Delkin son was known as a reclusive computer genius. There were few pictures of him before he started publicly seeing Amanda.

He wasn’t a recluse anymore.

They were plastered all over celebrity sightings columns in newspapers and magazines. Photos were usually of them in deep conversation, holding hands, and laughing.

Hayden showed her all over New York. They visited parks, tourist attractions, museums, science exhibits, and anything else he thought she’d find interesting.

Sometimes, they just walked, bundled up against the cold, fresh coffees in hand, talking about the things they loved.

He made their time together count and Amanda soaked it up. Otherwise, they lived in her bed and it was marvelous.

She absorbed her first adult love affair that was a give and take between two people with much in common. They were twenty years apart in age but he no longer seemed to notice and she never had trouble keeping up.

After hours of lovemaking or sightseeing or simply talking, he would say, “How different the world looks through your eyes.”

“Keep looking through them, Hayden.”

* * *

In April, Morgan escorted Amanda to the theater alone since Hayden was on assignment and Callie was recovering from a nasty flu that kept her on breathing treatments for a few days.

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