Chapter Nine
At ten forty-five the next morning, I was dressed and ready to go in jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt that read, I know you are, but what am I?
I was also nervous. More nervous than I typically was before a second date. Unable to help myself, I walked back into my bathroom and checked my lip-gloss one more time. Then I realized I hadn’t put any on. Just in case Landen kissed me.
Feeling silly, I grabbed a lightly tinted balm that tasted like raspberries and slicked it over my lips. Once that was done, I fiddled with my hair for a few minutes.
My phone chimed at five to eleven and I laughed when I saw Landen’s message.
Here.
Thinking he was waiting for me in his car out front, I turned all the lights off in my apartment, grabbed my phone and keys, and headed toward the door. When I opened it, I hit a hot, solid wall.
“Omph,” I mumbled, stumbling back.
Landen reached out and grabbed my elbows to steady me. “Easy now.”
I tossed my hair back and frowned at him. “How did you get up here?”
Using his gentle grip on my elbow, he guided me out of the apartment and into the hallway. “I followed a guy in downstairs. He didn’t even look at me twice. You need to find an apartment with better security if you’re going to open the door without confirming the identity of the person on your doorstep.”
I narrowed my eyes at his bossiness. “First of all, I thought you were downstairs. I opened the door because I was leaving and I didn’t want to keep you waiting. Secondly, the security here is great. It’s the residents that are too relaxed.”
He squinted back at me before he smirked. “If you say so.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Are you taking me to a picnic or what?”
He grinned as he took in my stance, his smile growing wider when he saw the words on my shirt. Then he surprised the heck out of me by reaching up and tugging on one of my curls.
“Hey!” I exclaimed, swatting his hand away.
“Couldn’t resist. I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I saw your hair,” he stated. He reached out and took one of my hands off my hips. “Is your door locked?”
Though I huffed a sigh, I liked that he was concerned with my safety. Only my father had ever mentioned his worries about me living in this building. “Just a sec.”
Releasing his fingers, I pulled my keys out of my pocket and quickly locked the deadbolt. “There. All set.”
Once again he took my hand before he started down the hall, tugging me behind him.
“Slow down there, Legs. You’re nearly a foot taller than me and most of that length is below your waist.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I recognized how they sounded. Landen came to a stop and turned toward me, a surprised expression on his face. My cheeks heated but I laughed anyway because it was funny, even if it hadn’t been intentional.
“I just mean your legs are longer than mine,” I sputtered between giggles.
Landen grinned and shook his head before he continued toward the elevator, his pace more sedate after my outburst. Once we were in the elevator, he tugged me closer to his side.
“So, where are you taking me?” I asked.
Landen glanced down at my face as we descended quickly to the lobby level. “I thought I mentioned it last night, a picnic.”
At his droll tone, I nodded. “I understood that, but where will this picnic take place?”
The doors opened and we stepped off the elevator together. “White Rock Lake.”
We exited the apartment building and he headed straight toward a dark grey Dodge Durango. When he stopped beside it and opened the passenger door for me, I hesitated. I’d expected Landen to be more of a luxury car kind of guy. Maybe a Mercedes or Audi, so his vehicle surprised me.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
I brushed past him and slid into the seat, running my hands over the soft leather. He studied me for a moment before he shut the door and walked around to the other side of the SUV.
After he climbed inside, started the vehicle, and maneuvered us into traffic, it dawned on me that he’d managed to get a parking space right in front of the apartment building.
“So why did you hesitate before you got in the car?” he asked casually.
I shrugged one shoulder. “It surprised me that you found a parking space in front of my building. I usually see the same ten cars parked out there while the rest of us losers have to use the parking garage.”
Though Landen was in profile, I saw the corner of his mouth tilt up. “Just lucky, I guess.”
I didn’t speak again as I looked out the window, taking in the pretty late spring day. Landen seemed at ease with the silence, he didn’t even turn the radio on.
As we pulled into the park, I stated, “You know, I’ve lived here for nearly all my life and I’ve never been to White Rock Lake.”
“Really?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I’ve heard about it, of course, but just never seemed to find the opportunity to go.” I turned my head toward him as he parked and shut off the car. “Then again, I’m not much on hiking, biking, or rowing, so that might be why.”
He grinned. “It’s a good thing I changed my mind about the hike then.”
He got out of the car and I followed suit, not waiting on him to open my door as he came around the hood. Landen frowned at me but didn’t say anything, though I could tell he wanted to. I bit back a snicker and followed him to the rear of the Durango.
When he lifted the back hatch, I stared in surprise to what the cargo area contained. There was, of course, a picnic basket, but next to it was something I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Is that a kite?” I asked, my tone shocked.
“Yes,” he answered simply, reaching inside and handing the kite to me.
It looked like a huge Monarch butterfly, complete with the coloration on the wings. Orange streamers were attached to the bottom. It was awesome but definitely not something I expected to see in Landen’s hands.
“It’s shaped like a butterfly,” I stated.
He laid a folded blanket on top of the picnic basket before he hefted it up. “I know.”
“You have a butterfly kite?”
He shook his head and closed the back hatch before using the remote to lock the SUV. “No, you have a butterfly kite. I bought it for today but I thought I would leave it with you.”
The kite was whimsical and fun—exactly what I would have chosen for myself. The fact that Landen understood that made me study him closely. Though I saw him in the office regularly, we rarely discussed personal details. I honestly hadn’t believed that he knew me as well as I knew him.
As an executive assistant, it was my job to pay attention to what my boss and his clients liked, to cater to their preferences. Well, that wasn’t all my job required, but it was part of it. Since I started working for Chris, I found that meetings and events that would have been hostile or full of tension became much more relaxed when I took the time to make sure each person was comfortable.
I knew how Landen took his coffee and that he liked shortbread cookies. I also knew that he was methodical and had an excellent eye for details. He caught small things in spreadsheets and programming that even Chris would sometimes miss.
Then again, his attention to minute details was probably how he knew that I would appreciate a silly kite that looked like a butterfly. I never hid my personality from Landen. I assumed he never paid attention.
Apparently, I assumed incorrectly.
The epiphany disturbed my equilibrium. In the months since Chris hired me, I thought Landen Weber was arrogant and irritating. I assumed he considered me beneath him until the night of Chris and Lucy’s wedding. Now, I was wondering if he’d been paying close attention to me all along. And if he perched his ass on my desk, not to annoy me, but because he enjoyed our verbal sparring.
Absently, I watched as Landen spread out the blanket and set the basket on one corner, but my thoughts were turned inward. I knew that he was physically attracted to me, but I’d believed that was all it was, a trick of body chemistry.
But something as simple as a silly kite made me realize that Landen Weber understood me better than I thought, and he still wanted to get to know me.
His voice broke me from my trance. “Are you hungry?”
I nodded and knelt on the blanket, setting the kite aside. “Yes. I missed breakfast.”
He opened the basket and started pulling out more food than I would have ever been able to eat.
“Did you make all this?” I asked, surprise evident in my tone.
Landen’s brows lifted as he looked at me. “You think I can’t cook?”
I sensed that he was toying with me so I replied, “Yes, I don’t think you can cook.”
He chuckled. “I can cook, but no, I didn’t make all this. Have you ever been to The Rustic?”
I shook my head and took the wrapped sandwich he held out to me.
“It’s a bar and restaurant near my house. They put together picnic baskets Thursday through Sunday. I ordered one.”
I peeled the paper off the sandwich and grinned. “Afraid you’d give me food poisoning?”
“Nope, just saving time,” he retorted.
I took a bite and nearly groaned at the delicious flavor of ciabatta and smoked turkey. “Wow, this is good,” I said after I swallowed the bite. “I’m just glad it has mustard on it instead of mayo.”
“I ordered all the sandwiches with mustard.”
“That’s good. I hate mayo,” I stated before I took another bite.
“I know.”
I chewed and watched as he opened a container of what appeared to be dip and chips and another of fruit. Once I was done with that bite, I asked, “How?”
He frowned at me. “I’ve eaten lunch with you before, Chelsea.”
“You’ve eaten lunch with Chris. I usually eat at my desk or downstairs in the atrium,” I replied.
“Yes, but the last time we ordered from the deli, Chris traded sandwiches with you because they put mayo on yours instead of mustard.”
I let the topic drop as he pulled out two sealed cups and peeled the tape off the lids and stuck straws inside them. He handed me one and I sipped. It was tea, just barely sweet, which was exactly the way I liked it. I usually had to order my tea half sweet and half unsweet when I went to restaurants. In Texas, it wasn’t sweet tea unless it was practically syrup and that was too sweet for me.
Oh yeah, Landen Weber paid more attention to me than I’d realized.
As we ate, I asked him about his different companies. I knew some things about them due to the work I did with Chris, but not much. I wanted to know what made Landen tick. Unfortunately, most of his companies were based in tech, which meant the explanations flew over my head.
Once our meal was finished and all the trash collected, Landen stood and grabbed the kite. I noticed then that the light breeze from earlier had strengthened into a steady wind. It was warm and sunny also. The perfect kite flying weather.
“Ready to fly a kite?” he asked as he helped me to my feet.
I laughed. “Yeah. I don’t think I’ve done this since I was little.”
It took us a few hilarious tries to get the kite in the air, but we managed it. And then it was a blast. At one point a particularly strong gust of wind nearly pulled the kite out of my hands. Landen stepped in behind me, wrapping his arms around my body, and grasped the handle and string before they could fly out of my grip.
Instinctually, I leaned back into him. In my sneakers, I was so much shorter that my head fit perfectly beneath his chin. He was warm and solid behind me and he remained there, his body pressed to mine, for a long while.
Unfortunately, the wind died down and the kite took a nosedive. Otherwise, I could have stood there, surrounded by Landen, all day long. He managed to save the kite from crashing into the ground, but playtime was over.
Once we wrapped the string back around the bright orange handle, he turned to me. “Want to go for a hike?”
I shook my head. “I’m still too full from lunch.” I glanced at the blanket. “Let’s be lazy.”
As the midday sun grew stronger, Landen had placed a pair of sunglasses over his eyes but I had noticed the dark circles beneath them earlier. He looked tired. He needed rest, not a vigorous hike.
He shrugged and moved to the blanket. After he sat, I joined him and gently pushed his shoulder until he was lying down. His glasses hid his eyes from me but there was a ghost of a smile on his lips. Once he was in the right position, I turned perpendicular to him and reclined until my head rested on his flat belly.
He chuckled and I felt the vibration against my neck. “What are we doing?”
“Relaxing,” I stated. “Now, close your eyes and enjoy the peace and quiet.”
He shook his head but lifted his arms so that his hands were stacked beneath his skull. I glanced at him and from my vantage point, I could see beneath the lenses of his sunglasses. He’d closed his eyes as I directed.
I did the same.
While I intended for Landen to nap, I didn’t plan on falling asleep. But beneath the warm rays of the sun, I did anyway.
Five minutes later…well, what seemed like five minutes later, my pillow shifted beneath me. I grunted and turned onto my side, wrapping one arm around it to hold it still.
“Chelsea, your face is turning pink. I think we need to go.”
I grunted and smashed my face into the pillow. It was firmer than I usually liked but smelled divine.
Then the pillow vibrated. I squeezed it tighter, trying to hold it still, which only made it vibrate more.
“Stop moving,” I grumbled. “I’m trying to sleep, you stupid pillow.”
The vibration became full-on shaking. The minor earthquake was accompanied by a deep laugh right by my ear.
“Chelsea, you need to wake up,” my pillow stated.
“No, I’m comfy,” I argued, burrowing deeper against the soft fabric that smelled so good. I didn’t know where this pillow came from but it was the best thing ever. I was never getting rid of it.
Suddenly, fingers threaded through my hair, tilting my head back until a bright light hit my face.
“Gah!” I exclaimed, lifting a hand to shield my eyes. “What kind of sadistic pillow are you?”
The rumbling laugh grew and my eyes snapped open to glare at the man who rolled above me, blocking out the sun. My narrowed eyes met Landen’s laughing blue ones and I blinked several times.
“Where in the hell are we?” I asked, my voice rough from sleep.
His even, white teeth were all on display as he grinned down at me. “White Rock Lake Park, remember?”
“I fell asleep.”
He nodded, a huge smile on his face. “You’re grouchy when you wake up.”
“If this were a romance novel, you would have carried me to the car and driven me home without waking me up,” I groused.
He threw his head back and laughed again. “The only way I could have done that would have been to wrap you in the blanket and flung you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.”
“Some alpha male you are,” I complained, looking around us. The sun was no longer as high in the sky and I guessed we’d slept for a little over an hour.
Landen was still chuckling beneath his breath as he straightened and helped me sit up. “I hated to wake you, but your face is getting pink. I was worried you’d get a sunburn.”
I blinked at him and realized my sunglasses had fallen off my face at some point. I looked around until I found them and slipped them on. “I’m wearing sunscreen, but this is the curse of fair skin.” My brain was slowly waking up. “Did you sleep?”
He nodded. “For a little while. Then I woke up when this octopus started wriggling around next to me.”
Though he couldn’t see me, I squinted at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Landen laughed again and shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s get out of here. I’m hungry again.”
My belly was still full, but I also wasn’t a six-foot-tall man with muscles to feed. “Okay.”
I helped him fold the blanket and gather up the rest of our things. Once again, he took my hand as we walked from the park area to his SUV. I leaned partially against him as we walked, the blanket clutched to my chest. I was still sleepy from my nap, though the fog of fatigue was starting to clear from my brain. We put everything in the back of the SUV and Landen guided me around to the passenger door.
After we were both settled inside the car and on our way, he glanced at me. “How do you feel about ice cream?” he asked.
“Ice cream is a food group,” I retorted, covering a huge yawn with my hand.
His mouth curved as he watched me for a second before returning his attention to the road. “Wanna grab a sundae?”
“Definitely,” I replied, blinking a few times.
This is why I hated napping. It always took me forever to wake up.
Leaning my head back on the headrest, I turned to watch Landen drive. He wasn’t bulky, but his lean arms were muscled. Especially his forearms. My eyes landed on the shifting muscles that ran from his wrist to elbow and I licked my lips.
Then I blinked again. I needed to snap out of it. Maybe if he talked to me I wouldn’t be so lethargic. Or inclined to ogle him.
“I had a lot of fun today,” I said.
He glanced at me again, his eyes bright. “Good. What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I’m going to brunch with some friends and doing laundry.” I made a face when I mentioned the laundry. It wasn’t my favorite chore. Which was why I always waited until nearly all my clothes were dirty before I did it. Sometimes I even bought a new outfit instead of washing the dirty ones. That’s how much I hated it.
“Want some company?”
I smirked at him. “For brunch or so you can help fold my underwear?”
He loosed a bark of laughter. “Either. Or both.”
I sighed. “The brunch is girls only. We don’t get to see each other often and it’s the only time we can gossip about men and our love lives. But I wouldn’t be opposed to help with the laundry. Especially if there’s wine involved.”
“So, I’m bringing wine?” he asked, still smiling.
“Only if you want to see my panties.”
Our flirty banter continued while we ate our sundaes and the entire drive home. Landen was usually so intense when he came to the office. Today, I felt as though I were seeing a completely different side of him. A side that most people would never see. He laughed openly and often, something I’d never seen him do with Chris. They usually resembled peas in a pod. They both seemed so stoic and wielded dry, biting wit like a weapon.
The Landen I was seeing today was…different. This man would be able to get beneath my armor and burrow under my skin. He would be able to become a part of me.
And I feared I would never want him to leave.