I smile back. “I hate to disappoint you but I still am.”
He shakes his head in an exaggerated gesture of mournfulness. “More’s the pity,” he intones.
“Shut up and stop bad mouthing me,” Landon says good-naturedly. They grin at each other and do the quick bro-hug thing, before Landon turns to the woman beside Cameron, a slightly built dark-haired woman whose tummy has a slight roundness pointing to early pregnancy.
“Hey Jules,” he says, kissing her on both cheeks, “how are you?”
“Knocked up.” She sighs and turns to me. “I’m Jules McDaniel, Cameron’s wife.”
“Rachel Foster. I’m here with Landon.”
“Okay.” She takes my hand and turns to her husband and Landon. “Where’s our table, or are you two planning to keep a pregnant woman standing all night?”
It’s almost comic the way her words galvanize them into action. They start off to find the table, engaging the help of an usher, who checks his chart and leads us to a table close to the raised podium, where a slideshow of dancers is showing on a huge screen.
The table is empty except for us. While Cameron is busy pulling out a seat for Jules, two additions show up to join us.
“I’m glad you could make it,” the distinguished looking older man with short silver hair and sparkling eyes says to Landon before his eyes skip to me. “Please introduce me to your lovely companion.”
Landon introduces us. The man is Nelson Bledsoe, a self-made cosmetics billionaire, who made his fortune developing and selling a line of men’s skin and hair care products. He’s also a sponsor of the ballet company. While Landon speaks, the man’s companion, a beautiful dark-haired girl with olive skin, sloe eyes, and a striking red mermaid gown, never takes her eyes off him.
While I’m still wondering if she’s his trophy girlfriend, Nelson turns to Landon. “I’m sure you don’t remember my daughter Davina. You met her once.”
“At my father’s funeral ten years ago,” Landon says, looking at her. “You’ve changed.”
She smiles. “So have you.”
Something about the exchange puts me on edge. Ten years ago, Landon was nineteen, and since the girl looks at least a few years younger than me, that puts her at about twelve or less, so definitely nothing could have happened between them at the time. Even so, there’s just something about the way she’s looking at him that makes me think that maybe she wants a lot more from this reunion than just hello.
“Davina served on the board for the gala this year,” her father says proudly. “She’s now a swan in her own right.”
“In San Francisco at least,” Davina says, in a tone that makes me think she’s more interested in conquering the rest of the world.
“Let’s sit.” Nelson pulls out a chair for his daughter while Landon does the same for me. I can’t help but notice that Davina is on his other side. He says something to her and she smiles, and I feel a thin sliver of jealousy slice its way through my stomach.
It’s ridiculous, I tell myself, ignoring the rich sound of Landon’s laughter as he discusses something with Nelson. I have absolutely no reason, no right to be jealous. I turn to Jules on my other side. She’s asking about my gown, while looking longingly at the glasses of champagne being consumed around the table. I answer her questions. While Cameron joins the conversation Landon is having with Nelson, Jules tells me about her work in restaurant management, through which she met her husband.
I hear Landon laugh again, and I turn to look at him, admiring the raw beauty in his profile. At that moment, he looks towards me and catches me staring. His piercing blue eyes hold mine, and he reaches for my hand under the table, squeezing it gently. In that moment, it’s just the two of us, nobody else exists, nobody else matters.
I turn away from his gaze, feeling confused and emotional.
“So Rachel,” Nelson says from across the table with a smile in my direction, “How would you compare the new San Francisco version to Swanson Court in New York?”
“I haven’t visited the New York hotel extensively, but from what I’ve seen, I’d say San Francisco tends more towards modern luxury, while New York is timeless elegance.”
“Well put.” Nelson nods.
“Modern luxury is the exact concept we had in mind for the refurbishment,” Landon adds. “It’s very gratifying that Rachel thinks we succeeded.”
I meet his eyes, and he’s looking at me, a small smile playing on his lips. “Your team did an excellent job bringing out the concept in their design.”
“Landon lives at the Swanson Court,” Davina says pointedly, her eyes on me, “If you haven’t spent a lot of time there, then you two are not very close.”
‘Oh, we’re close,’ I want to tell her, just to wipe the smirk from her face, but I resist the urge. “We’re as close as we need to be, I’m only writing a feature on his hotel.”
“Hmm,” she smiles. “Of course.”
“Landon here has a knack for building hotels people can’t resist,” Nelson tells me. “His father would be so proud of him. Preston had all these dreams for expanding the Swanson Court hotels, and Landon is bringing them to life.”