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Landon: This is amazing!
I figured she wouldn’t see it until later, because Maddie didn’t keep the phone with her when she worked. She answered within seconds.
Maddie: There’s a bench behind that big fern.
Landon: Thanks.
I laughed when I found the bench, wondering how I could already miss Maddie. Did she miss me? Maybe she’d kept her phone with her because she’d hoped to hear from me, even though it was more likely that she was waiting for a business call. This morning had felt like a slice of someone else’s life: waking up next to her, our closeness, her cute determination to smooth the hell out of my shirt and suit. How would life feel if every morning started this way?
I allowed that fantasy to take over just for a moment before diving into work.
Chapter Twenty
Maddie
Over the next few days, Val’s house became a revolving door for her entire family. Will stopped by every day to check on her, Lori brought food by, and Hailey had flown in for a quick visit the day Val was brought home. Jace had visited her daily between his training sessions, and seeing a six-foot-three soccer player hover around his sister as if she were a baby was endearing to watch.
Val’s yard was looking so much better. The mason was scheduled to work on the stone steps next week, and I still had some work left, but I’d planted drought-resistant plants like the California mountain lilac and California yarrow on each of the terrace levels.
I still had to plant two Jacaranda trees near the outer edges of the porch, and on Thursday morning, I went to pick them up from Elise’s Plants and Flowers.
Elise was hands down my favorite supplier. She owned a small shop, but anything I needed, Elise could make it happen in half the time anyone else did, and at a decent price.
“Everything okay? You seem a little on edge,” I said as she helped me load the baby Jacaranda trees in the back of my Chevy. Her raven-dark hair was piled up in a bun on top of her head, and she just looked tired.
“Yeah, I’m just... redoing my website, hoping it’ll bring in more business. I just don’t know how to pimp it up.”
“I could give you a testimonial. Or better yet, you could include the pictures from the Murieta project.” That was the one I won the Best Garden award for.
Her eyes widened. “Are you sure? I don’t want to steal your laurels.”
“You’re not stealing anything, Elise. You really should list it. I bought all those flowers from you.”
“Okay, I’ll do it. Thanks. You sure have a knack for business, girl.”
I left her shop with a smile on my face, brainstorming other possibilities for cross promoting. Elise and I were both one-woman shows, even though she did have two part-time employees. She had suggested a formal partnership a few months ago, but I didn’t want that. The mere word partnership still brought memories of lawyers, financial messes, and feeling small. However, it was smart to use our synergies. I was bursting with excitement when I pulled into Val’s driveway.
My time with Landon was limited to sharing a morning coffee in his sister’s kitchen. I was happy to spend any time with him at all, but I couldn’t help wanting more. I was working up the courage to ask him to spend a night or two (or every night) at my house, but I didn’t know if inviting him even deeper into my life was a good idea. I’d put defenses in place, but he seemed to demolish them with every kiss, every stolen moment together.
“What are you doing this evening?” he asked on Friday morning. I was on my second coffee. I usually didn’t drink more than one, but Landon never left before I finished, which made me want to drink an entire bucket if it meant he’d stay around a little longer.
“Nothing planned yet.”
I was perched on the kitchen counter, dangling my feet. Landon stepped between my thighs, nudging them farther apart.
“Keep tonight free.” He looked down at me with that molten gaze of his, and it did delicious things to me. My fingers itched to touch him. I wasn’t particular about where. But if I had a choice, it wou
ld be his ass. I wondered if I could run my hands down his back and accidentally on purpose grab it. Maybe I could pass it off as... what? Hmm... maybe I should keep my hands to myself until I came up with a good excuse to grope him in his sister’s kitchen.
“And why would I do that?” I teased as my stomach whooped and cartwheeled.
“Because after the family dinner, I want us to spend time together. I haven’t planned anything yet.” He dragged his nose up and down my neck. I loved when he did that. I loved everything he did to me. “I just want to spend time with you,” he went on, placing open-mouthed kisses on my neck. They worked my nerve endings into a frenzy. When he slid me closer to him, wedging his hands under my ass and rolling my hips against him, I figured I had free rein to grope his ass too.
Damn, I loved his suits. The fabric was so thin it was almost like touching his skin. Almost. He groaned seconds into my exploration of his glutes.
“Maddie, stop, or I’ll fuck you on this counter.”
I weighed the cons: Val was upstairs, but common decency dictated this was not okay. Unfortunately, I hadn’t completely forgotten my decency. But I could feel it melting away the longer I felt Landon’s breath on my lips.
