Landon talks around a ball of noodles in his cheek. “Not a thing has changed.”
“Speaking of changes...” I glance around the kitchen. “Can you really spruce up these cabinets?”
“Absolutely.” He dabs the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “They’ll still look the same, only smoother with a fresh coat of paint.”
New cabinets and floors would totally transform the room. “Then it won’t look so outdated in here.”
“See, I don’t mind it. That’s what gives it life. This place holds memories.”
“My dad used to say that.” I bite into my egg roll. “Everything in this house holds a memory of the times my family shared. The stained carpets, the dented walls, Dad’s torn recliner. And now it feels like I’m erasing it. Like I’m erasing pieces of my parents. And to think, someone else is going to live here, and it’ll be as if we never existed at all.”
“It won’t erase the memories in your head. You get to take those with you, wherever you go.” Landon reaches across the table and clasps my hand. “But you don’t have to sell this house. If it upsets you to sell it, then maybe that means you shouldn’t.”
“What about you?” I volley the seriousness to him instead. “Did you enjoy living in California? Do you miss it now that you’re back?”
Will you stay?
I wait for his answer while he chews. “It’s definitely beautiful. And I did enjoy my time there. But it didn’t feel like home. All those years, and it still felt like I was visiting.”
My head tilts. “What do you think was missing?”
He gazes into my eyes as if he’s searching for the answer. “If it weren’t for my dad, I would’ve moved back here after college. I only stayed out there to get away from him.”
I hum, nodding as I bring my fork to my lips. “Did you date anyone?”
“College was college.” The corner of his mouth tips up. “Then I had a girlfriend for a while, but I ended things when I felt it getting too serious.”
My eyebrows jump. “Really? Why?”
“She wanted more from me than I was willing to give.”
My breath catches. “And what is it that you’re not willing to give?”
“My heart.”
I quirk a brow. “To her, or to anyone?”
“I’ll only give my heart to the person I’m meant to be with. No sense wasting time with anyone else.”
A vision of Landon holding his future child with his future wife by his side flashes through my mind. It catches me off guard, never having thought about either of us in the future.
Why does it hurt?
Landon’s chair scrapes against the floor as he pushes out of his chair, collecting the garbage.
“What about you? Have you given your heart away yet?” he asks.
The closest I ever got was giving it away to him.
I look up into his brown eyes, and shake my head. “No.”
He leans close, and presses his lips to my cheek. “Good.”
Wearing a small smirk, he struts over to the garbage and drops the empty cartons into it.
Leaving me dumbfounded at the kitchen table.
Chapter 24
