I take a sip of coffee and readily welcome the warmth as it snakes down my throat. I go to take another when Landon grabs my free hand and pulls me to stand.
“Hey, what?—”
Before I can finish, he’s taking my seat, then pulling me down into his lap. He places a possessive hand on my bare thigh before relaxing back into the couch as if this is something we do every day.
I’m not the only one that picks up on it as Bella, Connor, Cora and Andrew all look at him like he’s grown two heads. Looks like he can’t carry this act all by himself.
“What?” I ask the group.
Cora shakes her head slowly. Her yellow rabbit is in her lap, and she mindlessly runs her hand over its ears.
“Nothing, I just… don’t you guys hate each other?”
“I knew a good hate-fuck would have you both coming around,” Luna murmurs as she stumbles into the kitchen.
God, I love her.
She reaches into the cabinet and grabs two cups before making a new batch of coffee.
“How was it?” Kenzie asks from the couch behind me, leaning forward to insert herself into the conversation.
I play along, smiling coyly before I shrug. “You’ve seen the man, do I need to elaborate?”
Kenzie looks Landon over and nods like she can imagine, andit’s actually cute how it fires up Calvin. He pinches her cheeks together and pulls her face away, pressing his lips against hers as he grumbles something under his breath that has her chuckling.
Landon takes that opportunity to grab the plate he set down beside me and put it into my lap. Then he cuts up a huge forkful before holding it in front of my mouth. “Eat.”
I lift my eyebrow at him because if this man thinks I’m going to respond to caveman commands, he’s got another think coming. His gaze is unwavering, though, and he pinches my inner thigh in a way that has me yelping before I open my mouth and let him feed me the bite.
Someone makes a little “aww” sound, and as I’m chewing the surprisingly delicious pancake, I realize how far and how long we’ll have to sell this image to achieve our goals. Losing clearly isn’t an option for either of us, so we’re in it for the long haul.
Landon begins gently caressing my inner thigh with his thumb as he cuts me off another piece and another, and I chew them in between sips of coffee. I suppose there are worse arrangements than tolerating a man who makes me coffee and breakfast before feeding me. On second thought, when you spell it out like that, this isn’t a half-bad deal.
Chapter Twenty One
Landon
I’m relieved that I’ve hardly seen a showrunner or assistant all day. Where the hell do they all stay anyway? Clearly, they aren’t living here. This place is huge, and there are some hallways that have been deemed off-limits, but it’s not like it could house over a dozen extra people. Maybe they have trailers out in the woods behind the house somewhere, or there’s another house down the road. Though road is a stretch of the word. I’ve explored the perimeter of this place a little, and I haven’t found a single trail or road in any direction.
We haven’t been told explicitly that we can’t explore. It’s more like it’s implied. I figure as long as I don’t go too far, or at least don’t get caught, then what’s the harm really?
The day has been really nice actually. After yesterday’s insane storm, I wasn’t sure what the weather would be today. Just as fast as it came, though, it disappeared, and it was back to harsh sunshine and not a cloud in sight. Now that the sun is setting, the temperature has cooled off enough that we’re actually slipping into the hot tub. Technically, it was Courtney’s idea, but given our new strategy of selling this love story, where she goes, I go.
She used to drive me up the fucking wall, but I guess I’m getting used to her quirks. Like how she can’t finish everything on her plate, she has to leave one bite, even if she’s still hungry. Or how she gets out of the shower dripping wet even while wrapped in a towel. Soaks my fucking socks every time, so I’ve taken the precaution of waiting to put socks on until I’m in the hallway.
Kenzie and Calvin are also in the hot tub, and while the girls talk about hair or something, Calvin and I are discussing things that are truly important in life. Like whether Trevor Michaels will retire from the Seattle Crusaders or go on for one more season.
“As far as QBs go, there are plenty with a lot more talent who are a hell of a lot younger,” I say with a shrug.
“Dude, he’s gone to the Super Bowl and won, seven times. There isn’t a rookie out there that can touch him,” Calvin disagrees.
“True, but you can’t deny since he got married and started pumping out a million kids, his focus just isn’t what it used to be.”
Calvin nods as he settles further back into the hot tub. “True, but with a wife like that, how can you blame him, right?”
I laugh and we fist-bump before Kenzie clears her throat. We both glance over to see the girls staring at us with unimpressed expressions.
“What? Your dad is a huge football fan, I know you know who Trevor Michaels is, and his wife,” Calvin defends with his hands in the air.
