It took me 3 hours to get up here after I left the note on her car. I do some mental math and calculate her time of arrival-- if she comes.

It's Friday, she doesn't have court, she'll work till 6 and then pile her back seat full of more work to do at home.

If she heads up here directly from the office, I'm lucky if I have till 9 pm. If she goes home and grabs an overnight bag after seeing where the GPS coordinates will take her-- I have a little more time.

Either way, it won't be soon enough before I get to see her-- and I don't have enough time to get this place ready.

The cabin was something I bought a few years ago when the radio show took off. Even though I'm on the radio and I don't have to deal with people recognizing me on the street, it was still enough celebrity that I needed a place to just get out of town and kick back sometimes.

This place isn't much, just a little one bedroom A-frame, but it's remote and the lake has great fishing.

I haven't been up here in over a year now. Deciding to run for office in the next election has really tied up my free time.

Hiring Raven was a lot more time consuming than I expected it to be too.

It took me awhile to figure out a plan. I took Marina's words to heart though-- I didn't ask her or Rod or anyone else to help. This was all me.

Now I just have to hope Amanda decides to take a chance on coming up here. I know she's determined not to have anything more to do with me, but I also know her curiosity. I think there's a good chance she'll show.

That doesn't keep me from pacing the floor nervously.

Truth is, I'm not sure how I'm going to pull this off.

I stocked the fridge with food and put clean sheets and blankets on the bed. I have firewood stacked for the fire pit and propane for the gas grill. There's even a stack of DVDs for the TV if it comes to that.

There's fishing gear for both of us if she wants to walk to the lake or, hell, the lake is pretty nice this time of year, we can swim too. Not that there's a suit for her here.

Hopefully, we won't need suits.

Hopefully, we won't leave the cabin.

Hopefully, she'll show up.

I make my 30-thousandth trip to the front window and look at the long driveway leading up to the deck.

It's only 5 now, I notice as I glance at the clock. Amanda hasn't even left her office yet, and who knows how late she'll stay if she doesn't have anything planned for the evening?

I could be waiting all night.

I could be waiting the rest of my life. I try not to let the possibility that she won't show make its way into my head. I'm not sure what my Plan B is if this doesn't work out.

All I know is that my sister was right, I need to stop expecting my personal life to be something I can hire out. I need to get invested in my own relationships. Starting with Amanda.

Somehow, I'm going to convince her to give me another chance. I'm going to make her see how right Raven was about us fitting together.

If I can just get her alone and convince her to hear me out and talk this whole thing through, I know we can get back on track and start planning the future together that we were both looking forward to.

There's only a few hours left to finish getting this place ready before she gets here. I have to stop pacing and watching the driveway and get the rest of the lights strung up.

By the time Amanda pulls onto the private drive, this place is going to be lit up like a Christmas tree. I have about a zillion strings of fairy lights to finish hanging. I've already finished inside the cabin. There are string lights criss-crossing every inch of the ceiling, candles ready to light, wine ready to chill, dinner ready to prepare.

I just hope this is enough to convince Amanda how serious I am. It has to be, it's the only thing I can think of.

I grab the staple gun and head outside.

When I run out of strings of lights it's time to hit the switch and make sure the place lights up.

It's still light outside, I still have plenty of time to fix everything before Amanda gets here.

If she gets here. I can't let myself think that way. I know her well enough to know she won't be able to resist her curiosity.

I know her well enough to know a lot of things about her. I smile to myself as I head back out onto the deck to check the lights. Like that she's the only woman I want beside me. In my public life, in my private life, in my bed at night.

There's no denying it, my crazy match maker did a better job than I ever would have. If it had been up to me, I'd have ended up with the wrong woman for the wrong reasons.

I'm on the ladder trying to find the source of a 3 foot wide section of dark lights, grinning like a maniac and thinking how much I owe Raven when I hear the sounds of tires crunching on the gravel drive.