I dab my lips with a napkin. “I’m not a possession to be stolen or owned, Mr. Court,” I say in my best Lauren Bacall impression.
He raises one perfect brow and my mind is momentarily derailed with thoughts of how amazingly gorgeous he is, and how lucky I am. “Don’t I know that? You own me, however, and I’m glad to be your possession.” He looks so serious that I can’t resist the smile that pulls at my lips.
“You’re so cute when you’re charming.”
“No,” he replies. “I’m charming when I’m charming.”
“Oh!” I raise my brows. “Is that what the women tell you?”
“What women?” He grins. “There’s only one woman. There’s only ever been one woman.” He reaches out and touches the edge of my lip. “And she’s right here.”
Lord! “I love you, Landon.”
He doesn’t reply immediately. His eyes scour my face, blue and dazzling, blazing with emotion. When he finally speaks, his voice is soft and clearly communicates the depth of his feelings for me. “There is absolutely nothing about you that doesn’t make me feel like I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
I sigh, my heart floating to an unexplored plane of pure pleasure. “You’re killing me here.”
His grin tells me that he’s aware of the effect his words have on me. “The Hayes are coming to town for Aidan’s opening night. You remember Wilson and Betsy?”
“Of course.” Wilson Hayes was the former manager of the Swanson Court New York, who was now retired and managing Windbreakers, Landon’s home upstate. He’d been the main father figure in Landon’s life, at least after his mother died. “I’d like to see them.”
He pours me some more wine. “They’d love to see you,” he says. “Dinner then, on Friday next week? The day after the play.”
I nod. “Okay.”
Landon’s eyes wander from my face, down the front of my dress. “Now that I’ve bought you dinner,” he says with a naugh
ty grin, “Can we leave so I can put your new found energy to good use?”
“I think I’ll linger for a while,” I tease, pretending that I’m not as eager to devour him as he is for me. “I love the ambiance of this place.”
He looks around the dimly lit restaurant. “Fuck the ambiance,” he mutters, turning back to me and letting the smolder his eyes communicate exactly what he wants to do to me. “I need to be inside you.”
I bite the corner of my lip. “Okay, boyfriend,” I reply, forcing a lightness into my voice that belies the pleasant ache of arousal building in my lower belly, “When you put it like that, how can I resist?”
THE next day, I have one of my final interviews at a travel app startup that has gotten widely popular in the last few months. The office is close to Landon’s building, so when I’m done, I decide to surprise him.
At the gleaming marble lobby of the SCT building, the security personnel wave me through to the elevators, but on Landon’s floor, the receptionist gives me a strange glance as she buzzes open the glass security doors. She greets me with a smile before she quickly picks up the phone.
Deciding not to wonder if surprising Landon was such a good idea, I continue to his office. At the large outer office, Tony Gillies isn’t there to greet me, but one of the other assistants meet me at the door.
“Hello Miss Foster, I’m Sharon.” She’s about my age, smiling, but brisk in her manner. “Mr. Court is in a meeting now.”
“Okay.” I glance at my watch. “I’ll wait.”
She starts to say something else, but at that moment the opaque glass doors to Landon’s office open and Ava Sinclair walks out.
I suddenly can’t hear what Sharon is saying. My eyes are locked on Landon, who’s holding the door open for Ava. He doesn’t see me at first, he’s too busy saying goodbye to Ava, the fond smile on his face making my stomach tense.
After a final word of goodbye, Ava starts to walk toward the exit, toward me. Her eyes flick over me, and her lips lift in her signature smirk, then as she walks past me, she winks.
I turn back to Landon, and he’s looking at me with a mixture of surprise and pleasure, and something else too. Apprehension maybe. I swallow the annoyance on the tip of my tongue, the jealousy boiling in my stomach, and the questions. What was she doing here? And that hateful, mocking wink? If I never saw that woman ever again, it would be too soon.
Landon is walking toward me now, and I try not to get distracted by how immaculate he looks in his suit, how perfectly the waves of his hair frame his heartbreakingly beautiful face. He reaches where I’m standing and drops a kiss to my mouth, and once he’s standing so close, and I’m surrounded by him, his scent, that slight hint of cologne, it’s hard to keep thinking of Ava. “I didn’t know you were coming,” he murmurs, taking my hand. “Come into the office.”
I follow him, giving Sharon, who has gone back toward her desk, a smile as we go. I wait for the door to close behind us before I face Landon. “I didn’t know you were still seeing Ava.”
“Seeing Ava?” He looks slightly amused, which, given the circumstances, is infuriating. “I saw Ava this afternoon because she arrived here and wanted to discuss an issue pertinent to the Gold Dust.” He draws me into his arms. “I’m seeing you.”