“Who pulls you out?”
“No one.” Landon shrugged, and I could imagine him in his office until the late hours of the night, his brilliant mind working incessantly on finding a solution. He was so intent on saving everyone else, but maybe he needed a little saving himself.
“Maddie, tell me you’re not leaving because we kissed.”
“Of course not! I don’t run away from problems.”
But I did avoid temptations... especially when they came in the form of Landon Connor. Some might call this cowardly. If they had better tactics to keep from wanting to jump a man’s bones after he’d just kissed you like his life depended on it, I was happy to take notes.
He grinned. “I’m a problem? No one’s called me that.”
“You’ve got everyone pussyfooting around you?”
“I call it strong leadership.”
“Some might go with dictator.”
“Depends on who you ask.” He laughed softly, opened his mouth again, but then his phone rang. I used that as my way out.
“Will you tell Val that I left early because of the rain? I promise I’ll be back with a full crew on Monday. And I’m going to borrow one of her umbrellas.”
“I’ll relay the message.”
I pointed to the phone he was clutching in his hand. “And that needs to stop. Don’t make me fail at my spy job. I can’t keep it a secret from Val forever.”
Grinning widely, he stepped closer. “Oh, I think you can. We’re good at keeping our secrets, aren’t we, Maddie?”
He was much too close, and the scent of soap fresh on his skin was clouding my thoughts. I blinked a few times, then stepped back nonchalantly. Not knowing what to reply—or if to reply at all—I waved at him. Waved.
“I’ll see myself out. I know where the umbrellas are.”
He nodded as his phone rang again. His voice reached me as I hurried to the foyer, picked up a pink umbrella with silver stars sprinkled on it, and let myself out. On the porch, I instinctively looked to my right. Just seeing the wall he’d kissed me against sent tingles up my fingertips. I could still remember every little detail about that kiss.
I had a feeling I wouldn’t forget them until Monday.
Chapter Ten
Landon
Adam was tiptoeing around me, and it was pissing me off. The only logical conclusion was that things weren’t going as smoothly as we’d hoped, but also not serious enough to warrant my return. He’d called to give me the rundown of this week’s events, including how Sullivan, the owner of the company we were partnering with, was dra
gging his ass on signing the papers.
He wasn’t sticking to our terms and was making additional requests. Adam said he hadn’t cc’d me on any of his e-mails because he could handle it all and didn’t want to spoil my vacation. I trusted him, but I didn’t want to be left out of conversations.
It took two more semi-threatening phone calls until Adam finally did send me the entire e-mail exchange with Sullivan. Sitting in the armchair under the window, I scrolled on my phone, analyzing every word. It was frustrating and would prolong the process by a few weeks, but it was what it was.
With no choice but to admit Adam had been right, I set the phone on the small ottoman next to the armchair. Adam could handle this. It didn’t warrant my interference, much less a quicker return to San Jose. Thank God.
Rachel and I had had big dreams for DBC Payment Solutions. Even though she had been working as a teacher and hadn’t been part of the company, she’d always cheered for it. So far, I’d surpassed our dreams, but all the success felt... empty. For the first time in years, I wasn’t looking forward to heading back to San Jose. I wanted more time here. More time with Maddie. My mind was so full of her. Jesus, how she’d surrendered to me! I could still feel her warmth. Her delicious taste and sweet moans were branded in my memory.
I rose to my feet and headed outside. It was still raining, so I paced the porch, half hoping Maddie would step through the front gate. Even though I was here on vacation, even though I wasn’t really soul mate material anymore, or any kind of mate material, I wanted Maddie. I wanted her badly. It was like allowing myself to taste Maddie had opened a door for other wants I’d denied myself.
“Fucking hell, is the great flood upon us?”
I blinked up to see Val hurrying up on the porch. The rain had covered the sound of her steps. She shook her umbrella, shuddering.
“Can’t leave this out here to dry, the wind will blow it away,” she mumbled. Taking in her yard, she added, “Oh, Maddie covered the ground.”