Maddie

I groaned when I pulled into Val’s street the next morning. I’d borrowed Grace’s tiny Volvo

for the occasion, anticipating that parking my Chevy, which I’d retrieved from the mechanic’s shop yesterday evening, might be a challenge. Everyone had guests over for the celebration. I glanced along the street, and it was clear I had more chances of hocus-pocusing the car into thin air than parking it anywhere.

I was just about to call Val and ask if there was a nearby parking garage when Landon stepped into my view, walking at a brisk pace along the row of parked cars. I tried not to shimmy in my seat as we made eye contact, but I lost the battle. Landon was affecting me on a visceral level, in a way no other man ever had.

“Hi, Maddie,” he said, climbing into the passenger seat and throwing his thumb over his shoulder. “Reverse the car. There’s a field we’ve been using as a parking lot a few streets away.”

“You don’t have to ride with me. Just give me instructions.”

“Trust me, it’s easier this way.”

One hand on the wheel, I grabbed the stick with the other, moving it into Reverse, glancing in the rearview mirror as I backed away. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Landon’s gaze trained on me, and a current of awareness zinged me.

I followed his instructions. He’d been right. If he’d just explained it to me, no way would I have found the field. It was a vast open space between two fence-surrounded parcels atop of which sat ranch-style homes. A few cars were already parked there. I pulled next to a black Chevrolet.

“I have cake in the trunk,” I explained as we climbed out. When we reached the rear of the car, I bit my lip, looking around at the parcel. “Are we allowed to park here?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I stood on my toes, inspecting my surroundings for any “No Trespassing” signs. When Landon leaned in slightly, I nearly lost my balance.

“Maddie, seriously. Don’t worry.” On a huskier, playful note, he added, “I only break the rules on special occasions.”

Oh, and I remembered said occasions in such vivid detail.

“I don’t want to risk the car getting towed away.”

“I own the parcel.”

I felt my eyes widen. “Oh, okay.”

“I bought it at the same time Val did. It was a good investment. Relatively cheap when we bought them, but prices skyrocketed.”

“It’s a great neighborhood. I have my eye on it too, even though prices are ridiculous. But who knows... maybe in a few years. I like the small-town feeling of it, even if it’s far away from the ocean.” My landscaper’s eye inspected the area. The terrain was sloped too, but less than Val’s. Oh, the things I could do with this place. “It’s a great place to build a house, raise a family.”

Way to overshare, Maddie. We hadn’t even gone on a date and I was already talking about a family. I’d shelved those dreams after the engagement fiasco, but Landon was bringing out my romantic side. All that maleness was overpowering.

I focused on opening my trunk. I’d packed the cake in a round, huge plastic form, which was designed especially for transporting cake... but the lid had fallen off, and my entire trunk was smeared with frosting and lemon cream.

“Oh, no, no, no!”

“Maddie, it’s no big deal.”

“Val said everyone has to bring something. I don’t want to show up empty-handed.”

“There’s enough food anyway.”

“I worked on this the entire morning. I don’t want to show up with nothing.”

“There’s a bakery on the way.”

“It’s open today? That’s great. It won’t be homemade, but at least I’ll bring something.”

“That’s a plan. What kind of cake was it?” he asked.

“Lemon.”

He dipped a finger into the mess, then brought it to his open mouth. I saw half an inch of tongue before the side of his finger disappeared into his mouth, and I licked my lips. Landon grimaced.

“What?”

He shrugged. “I’m sorry but that’s... terrible.”

“You’re pulling my leg.” I dipped one finger and tasted it too, and nearly puked. “Crap. I should have stuck to the carrot cake I made when I finished Val’s project. She’d seemed to like it, even though she didn’t eat much.” I was a good cook, but cakes were challenging. “Not that it matters, considering the Tupperware disaster.”

After I closed my trunk, we walked side by side down the labyrinth of streets, coming to a halt when we reached a delicious-looking storefront. Felicia’s Sweets.

“Yummm,” I exclaimed, rubbing my palms together as Landon held the door open for me. The shop was small, just an L-shaped display containing goodies, but no sitting area.

“Happy Fourth of July,” a woman greeted us. “What can I get you?”

“Do you have lemon cake?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. We only have what you can see here in the display.”

I squinted at the small labels under each cake, my mouth already watering. Landon pointed to an apple cake with a small American flag made out of whipped cream on top.

“This looks more homemade than the others.”

I straightened up, scandalized. “Landon Connor, are you suggesting I pass a store-bought dessert for a homemade one?”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

“Wouldn’t have occurred to me.”

Leaning in, he whispered, “Always happy to save your honor.”

I wondered what other honor-saving techniques he had in his arsenal, and if kissing me against the wall was among them, but I kept the question to myself.

“Can you take out the apple cake?” I asked the vendor. “I want to take a closer look.”

My stomach rumbled when she put it on top of the glass case, right under my nose. Landon was right.

“It does look homemade... except for the whipped cream flag. It’s too perfect.”

He grinned. “We can mess it up. Can we have a spatula?”

The vendor was looking at us as if worried we were unhinged. “So you’re buying it?”

“Yes,” I assured her.

“I’m going in the back to bring you a box,” she said, handing me a spatula.

Landon and I both laughed once she disappeared through the door.

He held out his hand. “I believe I should do the honors. Since it was my idea.”

I pretended to consider this, tapping a finger against my chin. I loved the boyish enthusiasm lighting up his face.

“I didn’t peg you for a mischief maker.” I was still playing with the spatula between my fingers, and Landon was watching my every move. I wondered if he was making plans to snatch it away from me. Then I wondered if said plans included kissing me. I bit the inside of my cheek.

“Ah, that would be a correct impression. I was a mischief maker growing up. I just started taking myself too seriously in... recent years. You have an interesting effect on me.”

“Honored to claim that praise.”

I was slowly piecing together an image of who Landon had been over the years, and I was glad to help him rediscover bits of himself. Handing him the spatula, I pondered the effect he had on me. Usually, I wasn’t so open with people. It was as if Landon had dislodged some bricks off that wall I’d erected around myself on the day he kissed me. I wasn’t sure if it was because he’d pulled me out of the rain despite my manic stubbornness, or because being in his arms had felt so perfect. He maneuvered the spatula around the flag, messing up the whipped cream until it looked like an amateur chef had poured it.

“You’re good at this,” I said.

The multicolored cream on the edge of the spatula was beckoning to me. Which was why I was appalled when Landon brought it to his mouth without even offering it to me.

“Hey!” I gripped his hand after he’d had just one lick. “I want some of that too.”

“You’ll have to fight me on this, Maddie, because it’s so good, I don’t plan to leave you even a lick of it.” He took another swipe. “Come to think of it, Val might not buy it that you made this. It tastes too good.”

The nerve of him! That was it. I refused to be called out on my atrocious baking skills while he licked the spatula clean. I lunged at him, but he held his arm up, out of my reach. I was debating how ridiculous I’d look jumping up when I realized I didn’t have to. His armpit was ready to be tickled. He was wearing a rather thick cotton polo shirt, and the fabric was covering the sensitive area, but I was confident I could do some damage anyway. Landon shrieked when I ran my fingers over his armpit, his entire body coiling forward. He jerked his arm down, but then quickly raised it again. Damn, his reflexes were too good.

“You know how to play,” he teased.

“You’re standing between a woman and her whipped cream, Landon. That’s a dangerous place to be.”

“How dangerous?”

Lowering the spatula, he offered it to me. And then watched as I licked the frosting off. I went up in flames when I realized his mouth had been on it moments before. I didn’t know who leaned forward first, but suddenly his mouth was on mine and we were kissing like there was no tomorrow. He brought a hand to the small of my back, pressing me against him. I relished the contact, wanted even more. I didn’t want to let go. I wanted him to kiss me for hours. I hoped he planned to do that tonight after the fireworks. Or during the fireworks. I didn’t mind, really.

“Ahem.” The sound reached me as if through a haze, but it was a while until I realized it was the vendor clearing her throat. Landon and I stepped apart.

“Is the cake ready for packing?” she asked.

“Yes,” Landon and I answered at the same time. We watched in silence as she packed, then left after I paid. Landon’s phone buzzed when we stepped onto the street. He pulled it out, frowned, then shoved it back in.

“That looks like trouble,” I said.

“The partnership isn’t going as smoothly as it should.”

“Why not?”

“The owner of the other company keeps going back on points we’d already agreed upon.”

“Negotiations are your strong suit, though.”

“Yeah, but negotiations were supposed to be over. That’s why I took this vacation. I’m not looking forward to going back to deal with stuff I’ve already spent months on. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.” He shook his head, smiled. “But I don’t want to waste my time now thinking about it.”

“Wow. Who are you and what have you done with Landon Connor?”

“I think the more appropriate question is what have you done to me?”

Me? I could take credit for this? He definitely looked more relaxed than the evening he’d arrived, or even the next day, when having free time seemed to make him uncomfortable.

“I can’t wait for this evening,” he said, bringing a hand to my waist, tucking me into him. I warmed up all over. After having had his mouth on me, I was sure my body would combust if he kept touching me. But he seemed to have no plans to let me go. And I didn’t make any attempt to wiggle out because he felt amazing against me. I could get used to this, which I absolutely couldn’t do. I looked at the cake I was carrying and sighed. I wasn’t so sure my heart was safe.