Rock Hard Neighbor

“I’ll do it.”

I stopped pouring our drinks in midair as I slowly turned my head toward her. She was sitting at the table with her eyes connected to mine. She was holding my stare, her entire body unwavering.

“What?” I asked.

“I’ll do it,” she said again. “I’ll marry you.”

I felt a burst of hope carry me right off my feet. I set the drinks down and ran to her, scooping her off her chair. I held her tightly in my arms as she giggled, then felt her arms snake around my waist. I couldn’t fucking believe it.

Amanda was going to help me keep Lanie.

“Thank you,” I said into her hair. “Thank you so much.”

“There’s a lot we need to talk about and figure out,” she said as she pulled away from me. “So, let’s sit and talk.”

I set her back down on her feet and finished getting our drinks. Amanda seemed different, more confident, and sure of her decision. It was a far cry from the confusion and shock she’d worn plain on her face earlier in the day. She was spooning lasagna onto our plates as I carried our drinks over, and I sat down in front of her before she drew in a deep breath.

“So, the first thing. With us being married—”

She snickered and shook her head as I reached over and took her hand.

“You have no idea what this means to me. To us. Thank you,” I said.

“Trust me, I understand more than you realize.”

I held her eyes, cradling her hand within mine before she looked away and sighed.

“Living together. I’m concerned about how confusing that’ll be for Lanie,” she said.

“We’ll figure it out,” I said. “You can keep some stuff here, and if you’re sleeping at your place for some reason and someone questions it, we’ll tell them what’s happening. You inherited that home, and you’re fixing it up.”

“Okay,” she said with a smile. “Good. Now, making this official. How do you want to go about that?”

“I figured we’d go down to the courthouse. Getting a marriage license doesn’t take long. We could get you a dress from somewhere, and it’ll be a quick ceremony. Legal. We can get all the paperwork filed, and it’ll be done in the eyes of the state.”

“When I am staying here,” she said, “where will I be sleeping?”

“With me.”

A blush crept up her delicate neck and settled in her cheeks. She nodded and cleared her throat.

“And once you’ve won custody?” she asked.

“You’ll have whatever out you need. You can trust me, Amanda. I’m not keeping you here against your will. You’re doing me a massive favor. I would never do something like that to you.”

“Good,” she said. “Which brings me to my next question.”

But before she could get it out, Lanie came running through the door with the nanny on her heels.

“Amana!”

Lanie jumped into Amanda’s arms and I watched as the two of them embraced. Tanya threw me a sly little grin, passing by me and nudging me before she went into the kitchen. I shrugged off the movement as I watched Lanie wrap her arms around Amanda’s neck, and that burning sensation in my gut happened again.

I enjoyed watching the two of them interact.

Amanda stayed for the rest of the afternoon. She watched Tanya go through the motions with Lanie and participated in the games we were playing. I contacted the courthouse and started the process to obtain a marriage license, then called my P.I. to see if he had made any progress with Lanie’s father.

He said he hadn’t found anything to prove the allegations in the paperwork false, but that he still had many avenues he could take.

The sun quickly set, which meant it was time for Lanie to go to bed. Amanda watched as Tanya bedded Lanie down, taking in her routine as I stood at the end of the hallway. My eyes scanned Amanda’s body, taking in her supple curves and her raven black hair. She was a beautiful young woman. Her hips swayed with every step she took, and her hair billowed around her face and enhancing her porcelain skin. Something in her eyes though, told me that she’d been through some pretty rough things in her life. Her haunted expression drew me to her even more.

Once Lanie was down for bed the nanny left, and it was only her and I standing in the hallway.

“I contacted the courthouse and started things going,” I said. “I’ll let you know when the marriage certificate is ready.”

“Okay,” she said.

“I’m never going to be able to thank you enough for this,” I said.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure I can come up with something,” she said.

“Oh really?”

I took a step toward her and her back straightened up. Her eyes fluttered up towards mine, looking at me from underneath her long eyelashes. Her emerald eyes were sparkling, and her raven hair was beckoning to my fingers. I reached my hand up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, watching as her eyes fluttered closed at my touch.