Free A Royal's Love (Unit Matched #1) by Mary Smith

her, and she collapsed crying in my arms.
    “Why me?”
    Gia came up and hugged us both, as Amaya continued to sob.
    After several minutes, she calmed down. We got her up off the floor and onto my desk chair. I handed her a few tissues, as she cleaned herself up.
    “So, what happened after the party?” Gia asked carefully.
    “Well, we got home and Mom told me to go to the office to get pen and paper. You know how she is about thank you notes.” Amaya pushed her hands through her brown hair. Her purple highlights shimmering off the light. “And there he was, standing in the middle of the office. I told him that I didn’t want him to drive me home. I didn’t want to be around him.”
    I looked at Gia, who was trying not to cry herself. “Did he say anything?” I really hoped she wasn’t rude to Oliver.
    “‛Hi’. That’s what he said. What is that anyway? ‘Hi’.” She mimicked his voice.
    “It’s a greeting,” Gia told her.
    “Ugh.” Amaya rolled her eyes. “I’m praying to Mother Nature that she will hear me and let me be Pushed Back.”
    “What?” Gia and I exclaimed.
    “I’m not having a ceremony with him. Trust me.” She stood up. “I need to go home and take a hot shower.” Amaya didn’t say anything else just walked out of my room.
    When I looked at Gia, her tears finally fell. I handed her a tissue. “I’m getting Graham, aren’t I?” She wiped her face.
    “I don’t know. There are more available guys in town besides Graham,” I tried to sound hopeful.
    “I wanted Oliver,” she openly admitted.
    I hugged her tight. “It’ll be okay.” That was the only thing that I could think to say. I truly don’t know if it will be okay.

Chapter 8
    Just Another Weekend in Unit
     
    I had two weeks of classes before a short break, and then fall semester started. I had a lot of work to do in those two weeks and because other tellers were taking vacations at the bank, my schedule was becoming more chaotic. This week had passed so fast that I felt my head spinning.
    Amaya was barely talking to anyone and hadn’t been on campus since her birthday. Gia and I went over to her house, and her mom said she was ill. I texted her numerous times, but she would hardly say anything back. My father allowed me to go out on my own without my Protector, except Thaddeus made sure that Graham was close by since he was in the city working this week.
    Gia didn’t come to school today either. Her mother and she were going dress shopping, so I was at the library alone today.
    I was at the library in deep thought about a project I finished and hoping it is good enough for a high grade, when my phone alerted me of a text.
    Thaddeus: Dinner?
    I smiled at the display when I saw his name. He had been just as busy at his job that we hadn’t seen each other since the night he kissed my cheek.
    Me: Wish I could @ the library for a while
    Thaddeus: Have you eaten?
    Me: No, but I’ll grab something later
    He cared about whether I’ve eaten or not. I bite down on my lip because my insides were flipping thinking about it.
    Our conversations have been more frequent. He has texted me almost every night when he got home from work to say goodnight. I never thought a few simple words could mean so much to me.
    I closed my eyes thinking of his blue eyes and his lips.
    Oh, his lips.
    I have thought about them on my own lips. I could swear that I smelled him right now.
    When I opened my eyes, a single daisy was laying on my book.
    “Were you in dreamland?” Thaddeus’ voice made me stop breathing for a moment. “Shouldn’t you be studying?”
    I looked up to see his blue eyes and the smirk that only I see staring back at me. “I was only there for a moment.”
    “Hmm.” He sat next to me placing a paper bag in front of me. I looked at him confused. “It’s a sub sandwich and…” He pulled a bottle of water from behind his back.
    I felt my stomach rumble. I didn’t think I was that hungry, but I guess I was.