I fisted my hands, frustrated that I couldn’t think of something appropriate to say—something to prove him wrong. “I don’t need anything from . . .” Anyone, I thought to myself.
“Are we going into this restaurant or what?”
“Absolutely not.” I stormed past him and toward the path that ran in front of the restaurant and down through the hills.
I hadn’t gone more than five steps when he caught my wrist and pulled me to a halt. “Skylar. Come on. I don’t want to fight with you. I want to enjoy the day. Let’s just go inside and have a good time.”
“Will you take the money for the cab?” I asked.
“I can’t do that. It’s just not . . . how I’m built. And I’ve never had a day out with a woman before. Indulge me.”
He was sneaky. How could I say no to that kind of response?
“Let’s just go inside,” he said.
My heart sank. I wanted it to be just the two of us, even i
f we were only eating sandwiches. “You want to eat in the restaurant? It’s pretty fancy. I’m not sure they’ll have a table for us.”
“You didn’t bring us here to eat in the restaurant?”
I shook my head. “Are you disappointed?”
“Not at all. I just assumed—”
“That I’d be dragging you around Louis Vuitton?”
“Well, you did say that you were taking me to your favorite place.”
“Think about it, Landon, have you ever seen me wearing designer anything?” I rolled my eyes. “And if we ever stop bickering, we might actually get there.”
He chuckled. “But you’re not going to tell me?”
“If you’re hoping for a big surprise then you need to readjust your expectations. It’s my favorite place, but you might hate it.”
“Lead the way,” he said, gesturing me forward, “and we’ll find out.”
The restaurant was full and the bustle and chatter followed us down the hill as we walked in single file. There was only a slight breeze in the air and although the sun was high in the sky, it was a dry heat and perfect for walking. I always preferred the Med over the Caribbean season because of the lack of humidity.
We walked in silence down the track, though we didn’t meet anyone going the opposite direction. Often people from the restaurant walked a hundred yards or so to take pictures, but today we had the place to ourselves.
The trail turned sharply right and continued.
“You okay?” I called over my shoulder.
“Worried I won’t be able to keep up?”
“Maybe? I don’t know. You’ve been out of the army seven years. And you’re older now,” I said on a giggle.
Landon growled from behind me, and the next thing I knew, he’d tossed me over his shoulder, and he was jogging down the trail.
I squirmed. “Landon, put me down. I was kidding.”
He ignored me until I screeched. “Stop, stop, stop! This is one of the places I wanted to show you!”
He stopped, set me down, and held me up as I stumbled. “You can’t just do that,” I said, smoothing down my pants.
“I think I just proved I can,” he replied and winked at me.