Landon pulled me down on top of him and kissed me, slow and steady. Eventually, the medicine did its job, and the pain diminished. I liked to think that the kisses helped too.
By the time we’d eaten lunch and retreated back to the bedroom, I couldn’t believe the time. It was already well past time that I needed to go see Emery. I’d promised her a girls’ night. This thing with Landon was fresh, new, and shiny, and I wanted to succumb to it in every waking minute. Realistically though, that wasn’t going to be possible.
“Oh my God, I have to go home,” I told him, hopping out of bed and locating all my discarded clothes from last night. “I have a girls’ night tonight.”
“Don’t go,” Landon said. He eased back out of bed and wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me in for another kiss. “Just stay one more night.”
“I can’t,” I barely managed. “I promised Em.”
“Have a girls’ night tomorrow.” His lips grazed my jawline, and he nibbled on my ear in a way that made me want to throw myself back in his bed.
“Can’t. As much as I want to stay—”
“Then, stay.”
“Oh, you are trouble.”
“Yes,” he agreed easily.
I removed his hands from my ass with a sigh. “You’re making this really difficult.”
“I never promised to fight fair.”
I laughed. “That’s for damn sure.”
“When will I see you again?” he asked, following me to the door.
“I don’t know. Tomorrow?”
“Good.” His eyes lit up at that. “Tomorrow is a promise.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I like that.”
“Are you going to tell Em?”
“Yeah,” I said with a sheepish grin. “Can’t hide anything from her. Plus, anyway, she guessed what was going on back in December.”
“Of course, she did.” Landon tried to pull me back into him again. “You sure you can’t tell her tomorrow?”
I smiled and pressed a firm kiss to his lips. “I’ll miss you, too.”
He finally released me, and I slipped out the door. He stood in the open doorway in nothing but his boxers, and it was damn hard to walk away from that.
That body.
Those abs.
That V!
Fuck, I wanted that body, and everything he was capable of doing with it.
Somehow, I managed to make it out to my car and even start the ignition. He stood there, smirking at me, in the most come-hither display I’d ever witnessed. It took so much self-control to back out of that parking spot and go home.
When I entered the house, Emery was sprawled out on the couch with Buffy the Vampire Slayer on for the hundredth time.
“You’re back!” Emery said with a big smile. “I thought maybe you’d ditched me.”
“Nope. I remembered girls’ night. Just going to get into something a little more comfortable.”
Emery hopped off the couch and followed me into my room. “Why are you wearing work clothes?”
“That’s an excellent question.”
“Actually, where were you anyway?”
“Also a good question.”
I grabbed some pajamas and clean underwear before retreating into the bathroom without answering Emery’s questions. I needed a moment to compose myself before dishing the goods.
When I came back out, she was sitting on my bed with her legs crossed under her like a pretzel. “Avoiding the questions much?”
“No,” I said evasively.
“You got another letter today.” She held up the same standard white envelope that I had been getting once a week for the last six years. I frowned and plucked it out of her hand.
“Thanks,” I mumbled before stuffing it in my closet with all the other unopened letters.
Emery frowned. “Are you going to…”
“No,” I told her with more force than necessary. “I’m not.”
“K,” she said quickly. She knew when not to press. “So, spill where you were and what you were doing. Or else I’ll make you talk about the letters.”
“Okay, okay,” I said, holding up my hands in defense. “I was…with Landon.”
“I KNEW IT!” she yelled. Emery jumped off the bed. Her smile was wide and her green eyes bright.
I laughed at her overreaction. “I didn’t even say anything else.”
“Well, you’re finally fucking admitting to me that you’re into Landon. I’ve been waiting for this for months. So, are you like together, together?” Emery asked.
“Emery, I do not understand you. Why are you so excited about this? You dated Landon for two years. I was terrified of telling you.”
Emery shrugged and flipped her dark hair off her shoulders. “Besides the fact that I’m dating his brother? I think I got over my anger at the Wrights because of Jensen. We were kids, Heidi. Landon left me because he thought he was doing the right thing by his dad. I didn’t understand that at the time, but ten years gives you a lot of perspective. I do not begrudge you dating him, like I might have right after high school or something.”
“I guess that makes sense. I mean…I still feel weird, telling you about it.”
“You haven’t told me anything,” she groaned, dragging me out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. “Tell me all the details. I think we need ice cream and bubbles to celebrate.”
“Oh, champs, yes!” I agreed.
“Champs?” Emery snorted. “You are so Real Housewives right now. Oh my God, I hate myself for knowing that. Damn Morgan and her obsession with those kinds of shows and trash magazines.”
I laughed. “Does she still watch just to make fun of people?”
“Yes, though I think she’s secretly obsessed. Anyway, enough about Morgan. Tell me about Landon. You’re together?”
“Yes. Well, no. I mean, not technically since he’s in the middle of a divorce.”
“Oh, thank fuck about Miranda.”
“And there’s the whole issue with him being my boss,” I reminded her.
“Oh, right. You have that no-dating-coworkers thing.”
She plopped vanilla ice cream into bowls for us and drizzled chocolate fudge on top. I took one from her, and we headed back to the living room.
“Julia said that I’d probably get moved if something happened since he’s a Wright. But do not say anything to Jensen.”
“Ugh, seriously?” Emery said, digging into her ice cream.
“I don’t want Jensen to know. We’ll get in trouble, and I think I’m in line for a promotion. I’ve worked so hard for this job.”
“Okay,” Emery said, “I understand that. You got yourself where you are today. But what about Landon?”
“If he wanted to move…he would have asked already,” I said a bit defensively.
“So, you’re going to wait for him to make the move?”
“I’m not jeopardizing my career.”
Emery sighed. “I’m not saying to. I’m saying, if it bothers you this much, then talk to him about it.”
“I have. He knows how I feel about him being my boss, but he got this job for a reason. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to tell him to get a new job when our relationship is just starting, and he’s going through so much.”
“Well, if it get serious, then you’re going to have to talk about it.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.