I take a quick shower and brush my teeth with a new toothbrush that’s been thoughtfully placed in a toothbrush holder on the sink. In the dressing room, my dress from yesterday is hanging, freshly laundered, while my undies are folded in a shelf next to it. After putting on my clothes, I find my way downstairs where the smell of breakfast leads me to the kitchen.
I’m disappointed when I don’t find Landon there. Instead, a plump woman with a rosy face is making toast and frying strips of bacon.
“Good morning,” she greets me with a cheerful smile. “You must be Rachel. I’m Betsy. Mrs. Hayes. Did you have a nice rest?”
“Yes thank you.”
“Why don’t you sit,” she suggests, going back to her cooking. “Landon is outside looking around the gardens. I’m sure he’ll be back in a moment.”
At that moment, Landon steps into the kitchen through the back door. He looks freshly showered, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts that show off his broad shoulders, sculpted chest and long muscular legs.
“You’re finally awake,” he comments, coming to the table to drop a kiss on my lips. “I thought I was going to have to transport you unconscious back to Manhattan.”
My eyes drink in his features. How is it possible to love him now even more than I d
id yesterday? “I was tired,” I reply to his question.
“Understandably.” He grins and I try to hide my blush from Betsy, who is smiling.
“Take a seat,” she tells Landon. “It’s been a while I had young people around to feed. So eat up.”
“Yes ma’am,” Landon says, grinning fondly as he does as she says.
Wilson joins us, and we all have breakfast together. The older couple are obviously fond of Landon and proud of both his and Aidan’s accomplishments. They’re the closest Landon has to real parents, I realize, feeling grateful towards them.
The house has a long stretch of beach attached to it, along with a tennis court, a swimming pool, and unending gardens. So after breakfast, Landon takes me for a walk along the beach. We find a secluded area, where he takes my clothes off and makes slow, sweet love to me against the sound of the surf breaking on the sand. My toes are tingling as we walk back to the house, but when we wash the sand off our bodies, we make love again, and this time, I ride him, dictating our movements as I take him deep inside me. By the time we finally start the drive back to the city, I’m drowsy, and pleasantly sore.
I spend the first few minutes on the phone with Laurie, while Landon drives. She’s back home, after spending the night at her parents’ place. Afterward, I scroll through Landon’s playlists, wrinkling my nose at the hard rock songs before finally settling on a playlist with classical music.
I sigh with contentment as the car fills with the sound of the Blue Danube. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Landon watching me. “What?”
“Nothing,” he turns back to the road, smiling.
I swat him on the arm playfully. “Tell me what you were thinking.”
“That I love to look at you.” His eyes are on the road. “I enjoy the way you enjoy little things.”
I’m about to respond when my phone rings. I look at the screen and I’m surprised to see Jack’s name. Landon’s eyes are on the road, and I frown at the phone. If I don’t take the call, Jack will keep calling, and it’ll just look weird if I don’t answer.
I answer the call. “Hello.”
“Hi Rachel. What’s up?”
“Nothing much? What’s up with you?”
“I’m great now, but I caught a bug before. Which you would know if you hadn’t abandoned me. Not even a call for an old friend.”
I sigh. “How’re you now?”
“Perfect. Though I had to come back early.”
“So you’re in New York?”
“Yes.” There’s a short pause. “I want to see you. How about we hang out tonight?”
“Not tonight.”
“Why not? Have pity on someone who’s dying to see you.” When I don’t answer, he sighs. “Tomorrow then, after work, we can go get a drink just like old times.”