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I’m rapidly working to calm myself way down. I came out here ready for some kind of fight or flight moment (okay, let’s be honest, my track record shows I’m more of the flight type, but still). Instead, Landon just seems… normal. It’s like he’s here to ask if I saw that new show everybody’s talking about, as if he didn’t have to drive hours to get here.
“Oh,” I say. “The text. Well, um, I kind of didn’t read that.”
He looks confused and maybe a little hurt. “I texted you this morning and told you I was coming. I had to ask your parents where I could find you. And they had to ask some woman named Caroline.” He looks around, taking in the sight of Frosty Harbor after dark. “It’s really pretty here.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t read your text. I’ve kind of been avoiding a lot of stuff, and you are part of that stuff. I’m sorry. I know that’s not fair to you, and you were never–”
“Andi,” he says, smiling in a way that suddenly makes all the tension in my shoulders release. “Please, relax. I’ve come here to tell you I agree with your decision. Marriage wasn’t right for either of us. You did the right thing. Even if I wish your senses had come a day earlier and saved me the embarrassment. Because, I did have to deal with some awkward conversations after you bailed on the wedding. A lot of them. And I was mad for a little, but I get it. I do.”
I wince, but even as I freshly imagine him waiting for a bride who never came on his wedding day and I feel like the world’s biggest jerk all over again, I recognize what he’s saying. Even Landon agrees we weren’t supposed to get married.
“Why is nobody mad at me for this?” I ask. I realize I sound a little hysterical. “What I did was honestly terrible. Everybody should be telling me so, because I know it’s true. You should be the most mad of all of them.”
His well-sculpted eyebrows twitch downward. “You… wanted people to be mad?”
“No. I just went through a great deal of stress and conflict avoidance when I imagined how it was all going to play out. I pictured being disowned by my family. I thought maybe you would hire Keanu Reeves to come sexily assassinate me or something. I thought my friends were going to tell me I was an idiot.”
“You realize Keanu Reeves isn’t a real assassin, right?”
I wave off his point impatiently. “Thank you,” I say, smiling and feeling tears come to my eyes. “Thank you for understanding.”
I reach up and hug him, feeling the relief wash out of me like it’s draining from my pores.
“There’s one more thing,” Landon says.
“Yeah?” I step back from the hug and wipe my eyes.
“I thought about how I talked you out of applying for that job a few months back. You wanted to help with Bree’s bridal planning. I told you to wait until after the wedding and see how you felt.” He shakes his head, as if seeing that moment now through a different lens. “Well, I talked to my father. He has a contact with Javier Bridal. It’s an international firm out of Manhattan. He said he can get you an interview if you’re still interested. You’d have to suffer through some training, but–”
“Wow,” I whisper. “I didn’t think your dad even liked me.” I also don’t know if he realizes I didn’t offer to help Bree because I had dreams of being a bridal planner. I just thought it would be cool to work with my friend. But still…
Landon chuckles. “He likes you. But I asked him as a favor. Anyway, you don’t need to decide right this second, but they are planning to fill the position in early January. So, if it’s something you want to do, try to let me know by Christmas. Okay?”
“Okay,” I say, head spinning. “Um, not to be rude or anything, but is there a reason you came all the way here to tell me this in person?”
He grins. “Can I be honest?”
“Okay…”
“We might not have been marriage material, but I think I know you pretty well. I kind of had a feeling you’d ignore my text. And I kind of figured you’d be freaking out and need a little help calming down. So I came here as a favor.”
“Wow,” I laugh. “Well, that was super sweet of you. Thank you, Landon. I’m sorry again. For everything.”
“Don’t be. I’ll be around town through the holidays, I think. Unless that would be too awkward.”
“No, no. It’s fine. That’s great. Um, Landon? I should let you know I’m seeing someone here in town. It started after the wedding. I didn’t even meet him until I got here, but–”
His face twists, but he quickly clears his expression. “Alright. Thanks for telling me, Andi.” He smiles politely, gives me a tilt of the chin, then walks off with his hands in his pockets.
When I sit back down, Jesse gives me a concerned look. “Everything okay? You were gone a while.”
“Um, yeah.” I force a smile. “The weirdest thing just happened…” I take a moment and explain the ignored text and then Landon appearing and what he said, finishing with the job offer. “I didn’t want to tell you it was him in case you were going to turn barbarian and start punching or something. But he was harmless. I told him I’m seeing someone, now. So he knows.”
Jesse’s jaw is ticking, but he nods. “I wouldn’t have hurt him. But I get it.” There’s something he’s not saying. A feeling my words released in him that he doesn’t want to give words to.
“Yeah,” I say, pretending I don’t feel it, too. “It’s kind of crazy. I really never had a dream job–just this vague idea that I wanted to do some kind of work that made people happy and let me work face-to-face with other people. You know? Just not sitting at home with a computer and Zoom calls, or whatever. And he mentioned this huge job opportunity. It’s the kind of thing I should be over the moon about, right? Like how many people would say that’s their dream job?”
Jesse nods. I can’t read the look on his face, but I know what I want to see there. It’s not fair and it’s not logical, but I know what I want to see.
