“Hehe,” I laugh gleefully, pleased that I’d had a valid reason to avoid the Foster family Sunday lunch. Though I’d have liked to see my Dad, Dylan, uncle Taylor, who always proclaims that I’m his favorite niece no matter how many times I remind him that I’m his only niece, and aunt Jacie, even though she always conspires with my mom, as if they’re the twins in the family. “Did they make their signature Foster family everything-salad?” I ask Laurie.
“Arghh, don’t remind me. Brett loved it though.” I hear the sound of a kiss. “He says hurry back home, you’re not fooling anyone into thinking you’re getting any work done over there.”
“Tell him I said boo.”
She laughs. “I miss you, but don’t hurry back just because of me.”
After we hang up, Landon looks up from whatever he’s reading on his tablet. He looks handsome and well rested. His wavy hair gleaming, making me want to run a hand through the silky strands. “Your cousin?”
“Yup,” I reply. We’re back in the city, on our way back to the hotel after spending the morning exploring the rocky beach, lying in the sun, and making love in the warmth of the patio. I haven’t mentioned his nightmare, and I’m not sure I should. I don’t know what I can do to help, or if I’m even equipped to.
“She must miss you,” he says, still talking about Laurie.
“Nah, she just misses having someone to torture with her teasing.” I chuckle at Landon’s frown. “I’m joking, I miss her too.”
He considers me for a moment. “Maybe I can cheer you up,” he suggests. “How would you like to go to a party tonight?”
“A party?”
“Well, not really a party per se. It’s the opening night gala for the San Francisco ballet.”
A gala? “Isn’t that a big deal?”
He shrugs. “I wasn’t planning to go, but I thought you might want to. My mother used to be part of the company before she was hired away to New York. I’ve always been a sponsor.”
My first thought is that I have nothing to wear to a high society gala. “Well, thanks for telling me now,” I say, lips pursed, “instead of when I could have actually packed a dress to wear to a ball.”
He smiles at my petulance. “Don’t worry about what to wear baby, that’s what fairy godmothers are for.”
“If you were the fairy godmother, Cinderella would never have made it to the ball,” I tease. “She wouldn’t even want to, not with the multiple orgasms she’d be getting in the pumpkin carriage.”
“I wouldn’t ruin a children’s fairy tale just for sex,” he replies, chuckling, “but thanks for letting me know that you think I’m more desirable than prince charming.”
I laugh softly. “I love how humble you are.”
His blue eyes hold mine. “Is that all you love?”
The question is a replay of the one I asked him in an earlier conversation, so I repeat the same words he replied the first time. “You have no idea.”
True to Landon’s promise, there are delivery boxes on my bed when we arrive back at the suite. The larger box contains a dress covered in layers of tissue, another contains underwear, and yet another contains matching shoes which are exactly my size. I pull the dress out of the box, feeling the exquisite material brush against my skin. It’s a deep purple gown made out of the softest, most luxurious silk. Holding it against my body, I walk over to the adjoining dressing room to look in the mirror. It’s gorgeous.
After hanging up the dress, I return to my room to find Landon waiting for me at the door. “I’m going to be in the library. I have a long call to make.”
On a Sunday? Well, with everything he has to take care of, he probably works every single day. “Thanks for the dress.”
“I should be thanking you. You’ll save me from drowning in socialites, I promise.”
“I can look fierce and glare at any woman who comes within two feet of you.”
“That would be ideal,” he says, his blue eyes serious. “There’re going to be a few people here later to help you get ready.
I grin. “Yay! Pampering!”
He looks amused. “I’ll just hide out in the library till they’re gone.”
“You’re scared of makeup brushes and hair styling implements?”
“Not scared,” he pauses, “just wary of the whole process, although I have no doubt that I’ll appreciate the results.”