Chapter Nine
Riley
Who was I to keep Landon Michel from his guests? Besides, my equilibrium was still off because of his kiss. I stepped out of the alcove and stood at the railing for a moment, looking down at the dancers on the ballroom floor. His ballroom floor.
The splendor of his mansion, no castle, was enough to make me forget about his cousin. The woman he called Lyla smiled politely at me, but I felt her snarl. She didn’t want me anywhere near Landon, and I couldn't blame her. I was some random disaster of a woman who had coasted into Michel's Beach in a broken rental car. I had no connections, no talent to recommend me, and, most importantly, I didn't have enough money. I wasn't welcome in their stratosphere and, frankly, the thin air up there made me woozy.
I told myself that my wooziness had nothing to do with Landon's kiss. It had been so unexpected, so explosive, that I couldn’t form a complete thought about it. The twirling crowd on the dance floor and the guests now lining the mezzanine railing only clarified my racing thoughts into one question. Why me?
It was much easier to concentrate on the amazing sights all around me. I brushed past Lyla and left the mezzanine. The possibility of Landon finding me again in such a thick, glamorous crowd was unlikely, so I decided it was time to do what any solo party-goer tends to do: I found the buffet.
Except in Landon's world, this could hardly be called a buffet, just like his dining room had to be called a dining hall. I thought of the breakfast nook at my grandfather's farmhouse. The funny thing was not the immense difference in size, but the fact that I could clearly picture Landon in the farmhouse’s white-washed kitchen. It still didn’t seem real that he was the heir of Golden Bluff Estate.
A waiter offered me a brightly colored canapé. I thanked him and he bowed, revealing Lyla frowning behind him.
"He doesn't have any more room in his life for hungry women," she said.
I lowered the canapé back to the small, gilded plate. "Don't worry, you've killed my appetite."
Lyla's lips quirked in a humorless smile. "Pretty lucky turn of events for you, yes?"
"Lucky will be if I get to my friend's graduation in time."
Lyla produced a business card and held it out with her thumb and pointer finger pinching the corner. As if I would dirty her manicure by touching her. "Town car driver, lives a couple of miles away. Call, leave a message, and he'll pick you up first thing in the morning."
I took a bite of the canapé then plucked the card from her hands. I enjoyed the sour turn of her smile as my sticky fingers brushed against hers. "Thank you."
She blew out a sharp breath. "So you'll be gone first thing in the morning?"
I shrugged just to irritate her. "Now I won't have to rush, thanks to you."
"All right, fine. How much?"
I choked on my second bite of canapé. "I'm sorry, how much what?"
"How much to make sure you move along and never see him again?" She didn’t say his name, and her eyes discreetly brushed the crowd around us in case anyone was listening. "I understand this takes the fun out of your little game, but trust me, it will be a lot easier this way."
"So you've done this before?"
Lyla crossed her arms over her chest before she realized people could see her. Then she dropped her arms into a casual gesture and said, "It’s come up once or twice. You're not the first penniless stray to catch his eye."
What a poisonous woman. Deep frown lines haunted her lips, and I wondered just how unhappy she was at her job. The mansion itself must take an army-sized staff to maintain, and it seemed she also managed the financial and business sides of the estate. She did all the work while Landon was the figurehead, the carefree playboy.
She seemed to sense my thoughts. "It's a game to him, too. Charming women, then shocking them and watching how they squirm. He finds women who don't recognize him so the reveal is even more effective."
"You're scared of being wrong," I said. It didn't matter how much the pattern made sense —I couldn't let Lyla have the upper hand.
Lyla blinked, her green eyes sharp. "He doesn't need another distraction. It is time Landon focused on work and doing what is right by his family legacy."
The pause between her last two words was interesting, but I couldn't keep up my bravado. It was impossible to feign complete self-confidence when I had recently discovered I didn't know myself at all. I was in California with nothing yet to define me, and I was no match for this woman.
"So, let's just cut this short. Now that you have a ride to wherever you're going, you need the means. I understand. I'll ask again, just to be polite. How much?"
I took a deep breath but was deflated by her sudden wide smile. On instinct, I followed her gaze and saw what made her so happy.
"She's the daughter of an airplane tycoon,” she said in a conspiratorial whisper. “One of our biggest donors and a good friend. They've had a lively flirtation for years and everyone is hoping it will end in a proposal. Don't they make a perfect couple?"
I watched Landon smile at the willowy heiress. Her long, blond hair flowed effortlessly over her bare shoulders. Her haute couture dress was nothing more than a satin sheath that highlighted the thin perfection of her figure. She stood out in bright white, but, then again, she would have stood out no matter what she wore.
The heiress batted doe-like brown eyes up at Landon and brushed her blond hair back off her shoulders. His eyes naturally fell to the skin she exposed. He practically licked his lips as he stepped closer and shared a personal observation that made her laugh.
Lyla laid a cold hand on my arm. "I'm sorry. My cousin is incorrigible. I’m sorry he roped you into being the flavor of the weekend."
Not even a full weekend, I thought dully. Landon had moved on just minutes after our kiss. The tingling heat of his lips still warmed me, but it was obvious he had been unaffected.
"Won't it feel better to get back to your own life?" Lyla asked.
She was right. My nerves had been jangling ever since I mistook the gatehouse for the mansion. I was out of place. That felt true for the whole state of California and everything I seemed to be doing lately, but I knew I was not going to find my place in a glittering castle on the cliffs.
"I don't need your money," I said.
"Well, Landon might be many things, but the one thing everyone can agree on is that he is very generous. I'm sure he promised he would see you on your way if you appeared here as his date," Lyla said.
"Just part of the game?" I asked.
Across the dining hall, Landon and the heiress sampled caviar. He dabbed a careful selection on a plate for her then offered his arm. The willowy blond took it, and they retired together to a quiet corner by the grand fireplace. He leaned close over her shoulder as she took a slow bite. My stomach turned to ice.
"Men like Landon can make everything a game," Lyla said.
I turned my back on Landon and glared at Lyla. "You seem awfully fixated on him. Has it ever occurred to you that you're projecting all your own fears and flaws onto him? Maybe it's easier to find fault with him, so you don't have to face any of your own problems."
I shoved my plate at her. Startled, she took the plate and gaped at me, but I marched away before she could say another word.
At the impressive archway of the dining hall, I allowed myself one glance behind me. My stomach clutched as I realized Landon was weaving through the crowd. Even at a distance, I could see the electric blue of his gaze, and I felt a current pass through me. I told myself there wasn't concern in his eyes, only a desire to finish a conquest. After seeing him with the blond heiress, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
I slipped through the crowd, damning the bright sheen of my dress. Landon knew every inch of his home better than me, and my heart hammered at the thought of him cutting me off before I made it out the door.
What would I say to him? It was fun, but I'm not a game.
My fingers itched to slap him. He had kissed me, stirred up a volcano of feelings I had thought only existed in romance novels. Landon had pulled me out of my rut and made me feel like I really could start over.
But it had all been a lie.
I moved faster through the polite crowd and had just cleared the threshold as Landon appeared from a side door. Luckily, he was caught by a rock n' roll legend holding court at the foot of the grand staircase.
On the driveway, I realized where I was. High on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean with miles of curving, steep driveway between me and the small apartment at The Sand Dollar. I skittered down the front steps in the shadows beside the red carpet. My first thought was to hide by the garage while I figured out how to get back to The Sand Dollar.
Part of me was thrilled that Landon was chasing me, but the other half was mortified. Even if his cousin had filled my head with lies, it didn't matter. A relationship between Landon Michel and me was impossible.
"Ms. Cullen, how is your evening?" James' polite question didn’t match the sympathetic expression on his face.
How many times had Landon's driver seen women like me? I was pale and sweaty, near tears, and at a loss for where to go or how to get there.
"Oh, you know, it’s been splendid," I said.
He smiled and reminded me once again of my grandfather. I blinked back hot tears and strode aimlessly onto the driveway.
"Would you like a ride back to The Sand Dollar?" James followed at an easy distance. "We can take the car directly in front of you."
I noticed the silver sports car I had seen in The Sand Dollar parking lot the night before. How had I not realized it belonged to Landon? Stupid, blind, naive.
"No, thanks," I said shortly.
"I'm sorry, miss, I’m just trying to help. You seem anxious to leave, and I am a driver, after all."
My head pounded. I rubbed my forehead and thought out loud. "I don't want to give her the satisfaction," I muttered. "I'll accept a ride but on one condition —you tell Landon that I was not feeling well, and that’s the only reason I left."
James gently turned me toward the silver town car he picked me up in earlier. "You'll be more comfortable riding in this. As far as I can see, you don't feel well."
"You can't tell Landon I was upset." I let James help me into the back seat. "I shouldn't be upset."
"His lifestyle can be quite overwhelming."
"It's not that. I just don't fit in," I said.
James shook his head before he closed the door. "She feels the same way."
I looked up. "Who? Lyla?"
James didn’t say anything, but gave me the kind of look I took to be a “yes.” He shut the door and said nothing more about Lyla. We drove down the long, curving driveway and back to The Sand Dollar in peace.
* * * * *
I was still awake when the sunrise finally reached my east-facing, ocean view window. The golden dress and Cinderella shoes were packed away in their boxes and tucked under the bed. I figured Andrew would discover them and return them to Rosalyn. I had also signed over a decent amount of traveler's checks to Andrew to pay for the room.
The ocean sparkled and a fresh breeze toyed with the gauzy curtains, but I rolled over and turned my back on the picturesque scene. Somehow it hurt to look at the beautiful view and know I didn’t belong there.
I ignored the dull ache in my chest and grabbed my phone. "Hi, I was given your number by a, um, acquaintance. She told me you might be available today? I need a ride to Santa Cruz," I said.
"Yeah, Ms. Townsend told me to expect your call. Santa Cruz is easy. I'll get you there by lunch," the man said.
The mention of Lyla Townsend had my reflexes moving to hang up, but I stopped myself. "Thank you. How soon can you get to The Sand Dollar?"
"Fifteen minutes. I live just up the hill."
I thanked him, ended the call, and picked up my empty knapsack. My things were still strewn all over the attic apartment because they didn't need special care. All I had was a jumble of clothes that probably missed every fashion point. I stuffed them in my bag.
After the sleepless night, my hair was still decent in the upswept bun, but the rest of me looked like hell. I scowled at myself in the bathroom mirror, brushed my teeth, and gave up. No one was going to see me until I got to Anna's apartment.
Tears surprised me as I went back into the apartment's living room. I had hardly spent any time in Michel's Beach, but I felt deep pangs of sorrow at leaving.
"It's just stress. This whole detour has been nothing but dealing with stress," I told myself. Then I thought of Landon.
All night a wild hope that I would hear him on the stairs kept jolting me out of anxious dreams. I was not the type of person to leave without saying goodbye. Grandpa had taught me better than that. I steadied myself with a few deep breaths and picked up a pen and paper.
"Thanks for the detour. We had fun working that shift at The Sand Dollar." I couldn't bring myself to think about the gala, but it would have been rude not to mention it. "P. S. The song we danced to was 'Blue Moon’”.
I hesitated, and then pulled the sterling silver moon charm from my keyring. It was a cheap token, but I folded it into the note. Then I scrawled Landon's name on it and left it next to the envelope for Andrew.
The Sand Dollar was closed until noon and the place was eerily quiet. I walked through the empty bar. The only sound was my town car idling in the parking lot. I looked around once more and left.
* * * * *
"You made it!" Anna shrieked when she opened her apartment door. "I thought you said the rental car company couldn't send a mechanic until late today."
"I found another ride." My smile wavered, but Anna was too excited to notice.
"Is your rental car still in Michel's Beach? Are you going to have to go back and straighten everything out with them?"
I shook my head. "No, thank god. I called the rental car company and told them where I left it. They’re going to refund half my money and take care of everything else."
"Darn," Anna teased. "I was hoping we could head back up there later in the week. Maybe I could meet a mystery man and go to a fabulous gala, too."
Anna was too smart, too confident, and too comfortable saying whatever came into her mind. She would never get taken in by a man like Landon. "No, thanks. It's nice to be in an actual city again."
She slung my knapsack on a twin bed in her spare bedroom. The room was packed with a large desk, overflowing bookshelves, and a windowsill of pale, spindly houseplants. "Well, you look like you could use some coffee. I'll make you some while you tell me all about the billion dollar party. What was your date's name again?"
"Landon," I said as I flopped onto her sagging couch. I caught myself, but it was too late.
Anna marched back around the kitchen island and stood over me with the empty coffee pot. "Did you say Landon? As in Landon Michel?"
"Yes." I buried my face in my hands.
"You went on a date with Landon Michel?"
I smacked my hands down on the threadbare fabric. "Don't worry, I won't be making that mistake again. It was so embarrassing, Anna. I have no idea why he asked me to go."
She was dazed. "Are you going to call him again?"
"He never gave me his number. Besides, girls like me don't just call up Landon Michel. Girls like me never see him again."
“What a story,” she said. “I promise I will get the full story from you before the end of summer. But right now, we need to come up with a plan.”
“Yeah, what are you doing now, Ms. Master’s Degree?”
She gave a quick laugh. “A Ph.D., of course. How about you? You’ve finally left Owen, and now what?”
Before I left New York, I’d taught high school biology for two years. It was time for a change, though. I looked at the dying plants on Anna’s windowsill and thought about what that change could be.
“Maybe,” I said, “maybe I should go to grad school, too.”
* * * * *
"Riley, wake up!" Anna flung my bedroom door open. "You have class in forty minutes."
It was hard to imagine that summer was over, especially since the California weather was sunny and gorgeous as always. I was still shocked every morning I went to the UC Santa Cruz campus and saw flowers instead of fall foliage.
Flowers. Class.
Crap, I was going to be late for botany.
I kicked off the light quilt and sat up. Anna's big desk was gone, relegated to the dining room. We didn't have a dining room table and ate most of our meals on the living room floor. Now that the makeshift office was out, the guest bedroom felt much roomier. I had painted it a dreamy blue and one night, in a fit of creativity, Anna and I had painted white puffy clouds over one entire wall.
"For a wannabe winemaker, you sure are a lightweight," Anna teased as she passed my bedroom door again. "Here's some aspirin."
Despite the dull ache in my head, I smiled. Soon after arriving here, I’d started the grad program at UC Santa Cruz. They had an outstanding winemaking certification course, and I’d discovered my green thumb could be used for an entire career.
Lush houseplants lined the windowsill of my room. When I had arrived three months ago, the plants had been pale and dry. Now when I saw them flourishing, it helped me believe I could flourish, too.
I jumped up and got ready for class. Not only was I excited to be going back to school, but I was passionate about what I learned. That, and the fact that I had used some of my grandfather's money to fund my classes, made me determined to not be late.
"Coffee, please?" I called as I bustled through the small apartment to the kitchen.
"Careful, it's still hot.” Anna kept staring out the front window. “How does he get up so early?"
"Owen never got up early in his life," I said. I put a slice of bread in the toaster.
"He does now, even after staying out late after his shift. Why can’t we just let the poor guy sleep on the couch?" Anna dropped the curtain.
"Shift? Are you crazy? He doesn't work at the bar. His friend owns it. And that’s exactly why we can’t let him sleep on the couch. Don’t you want him to get his shit together?"
Anna poured me coffee while I stared at the toaster. "Yes, of course. Owen’s a good guy. He just needs to find his focus.”
I shrugged and took the coffee with both hands. "I don't know when he met these guys, maybe high school. They always wanted him to move to California."
"But he didn't until you ended up here." Anna shot another glance out the window.
"Until we moved out here,” I said. "Then I let you convince me to lend him the money for that security deposit.”
"He never spends any time at his apartment anyway. He's always here or waiting for us on campus.”
I swallowed the scalding coffee. "He was at Cafe Turnout the other night."
Anna turned to face me, curiosity glowing in her green eyes. "Was he there when your date showed up?"
I cringed at the memory. "I got there first, then Owen surprised me and sat down in the other chair. When Justin showed up, Owen didn't move. It was awful."
"What happened?"
"He finally left, but the date fizzled out from there." The coffee was in no way strong enough to help me deal with Owen.
Two weeks after Anna's graduation, Owen had shown up, pretending to be surprised when he ran into me and Anna at a surf shop. He’d claimed his old friends had a solid business opportunity, and he was there to make his fortune. He had also declared he was going to show us how he could change.
"You just can't see it yet," he’d told me.
So far his plan included following me and scaring away potential boyfriends. He also spent lots of time distracting Anna from her work. After months of seeing him everywhere, I wasn't sure what I’d ever seen in him in the first place.
When I’d mentioned the problem to a friend in one of my classes, she’d pulled out her phone, ready to call campus police and report him for stalking. It wasn’t that, though.
Before he and I had started dating, we’d all been friends. He wanted that back. He was determined to show us he could be dependable; he was just going about it in the wrong way.
"Oh, god!" Anna changed the subject with a sharp jab at our wall calendar. "There's that big dedication on campus today. The new science building. There'll be tons of alumni and donors and the traffic is going to be freakin' crazy."
I dropped my uneaten toast in the garbage. "I can't be late!"
Anna spun me toward the bathroom. "Just finish getting ready. I'll drive."
In my rush to get ready, I forgot all about Owen until Anna and I bounded down the front steps of the apartment building. He sprang up from where he had been leaning against his beat-up car and blocked my way.
"Good morning! Want me to give you a ride to campus?"
"No, thanks. I actually want to get to class on time and in one piece," I said.
He turned to Anna. “A ride, my lady?”
Anna smiled but I interrupted. “Don’t you have to get to work?”
His smile turned into a scowl. "Why are you so obsessed with that? Regular hours, regular paychecks. Where is your imagination? Not everyone fits into the normal nine-to-five mold, you know."
"I've gotta go, Owen. And you have to stop waiting for us out here. Our neighbors are starting to complain." I pushed past him and dragged Anna with me.
"He’s just lonely," she whispered.
"That's all right,” Owen called from behind us. “I'll see you up on campus. Apparently, there's some party over at the new science center."
I spun back around. "No, Owen. I don't want to see you on campus. We broke up and I need some space… And it’s not a party, it’s a dedication."
His stopped a respectful distance away from us. "Oh, Ok.. and I’ll try,” he said, “but you guys were always my best friends, and I miss you. I know our relationship wasn’t great, but I’m still a good guy."