I’d lasted a full two days before I made my first weak excuse to wander the lobby of the hotel in search of her. When that proved fruitless, I got more desperate. I even found myself walking the halls of the upper floors on the off chance that I’d cross her path. I’d like to say my need to find her was purely to unburden myself and explain who I really was. Partly, that was true. But there was another side of me that simply wanted to see her again—to feel that slight rush of electricity I’d felt when I was leading her through the club on my arm.
So, I’d sat outside the hotel in my car and waited to catch her leaving. And I may have sort of followed her to her job. Once I saw the apartment she went to, I was able to do a little detective work on my phone and found the blog she helped with.
Was I neck deep in stalker territory by now? Yes. Did I give a shit? No.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Andi asked.
“You seem to think this all gets to happen on your schedule,” I said. I was beginning to realize I should’ve planned what I was going to say. I’d been so focused on finding her that I had let the details of the conversation be an afterthought. Now, the same, old anger at my father was creeping in and coloring my words. “Either you finish the list and stop wasting my time, or I’ll go to the lawyers. Tonight.”
She held her hands up and looked around helplessly. “And you thought stalking me was the best way to get me to come back to your creepy club?”
“No,” I said. I still wasn’t sure if I was tracking her down because I wanted to use my father’s list to break her or if I just wanted more of her. Whatever it was, I knew I needed to do what I’d come here to do first.
I clenched my teeth. Tell her now. This is the moment where it makes sense. Say that you’re William’s son, and you let your anger over how he replaced you leak into this whole thing, but now you’re ready to be reasonable—to simply hand her the share of his hotel and walk away. Even as the thoughts skidded around my mind, I knew I wasn’t going to take the smart route. I was going to do something stupid, to chase that faint, dark thread of desire I felt for Andi.
The truth seemed to come together all at once in my head.
I didn’t care about making her prove she deserved a share of the hotel. I didn’t even care about my father’s vague promise of some greater reward if I finished the list with Andi. I simply wasn’t ready to give her a ticket out of my life. I wanted more. Greedily, I wanted the excuse to keep her tethered to me, even if it was only for the duration of the list. And some small part of me still liked the idea that if this all went to hell, it’d still be a final “fuck you” to my father for being foolish enough to try to force us together.
“Well?” she asked. “Are you going to just growl ‘no’ and keep staring at me like I’m a turd on your carpet, or are you going to explain why?”
The truth. Tell her the fucking truth, Landon.
“Because I tried my damndest not to like you from the moment I heard your last name. And despite my best efforts, I find myself not hating the idea of spending time with you.”
She stared for a few seconds before cocking her head to the side. “Is that like the world’s most backward way of saying you like me?”
I found myself chuckling and shaking my head. When I’d planned to tell her the truth, it certainly hadn’t been that truth. But maybe it was a start. “Let’s not get carried away,” I said. “All I’m saying is that it’s not entirely unpleasant to be around you.”
“Jesus,” Andi said, laughing. She bit her lip, then smiled. “I can tell you’re trying to say something nice, so I’m going to choose to just read between the lines and say thank you.”
I nodded.
Andi tapped her foot, almost like she was trying to stop from saying what she was about to say. “I’m sorry I disappeared on you. Honestly, I think I got scared. I went into that club to talk sense into you and wound up watching a woman get banged on stage with the handle of a whip. And then there was you.”
I raised an eyebrow.
She looked up at me with a slightly bashful expression. “I’m just saying it wasn’t… horrible. And it’s important to me that I finish the list because it’s what my grandpa wanted. So, no. I still don’t really trust you, but I’m strongly considering moving forward.”