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No one had noticed her yet.
She spied Landon.
Her breaths came hard and fast.
Do not act like a crazy person.
For reasons she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around, she sprinted through the shiny kitchen, the size of a mid-sized organic grocery store, then burst onto the scene.
“Sorry, I’m late,” she got out between puffs of air. “I wanted to get you a housewarming gift, and then I got into a fight with a lady over who was the rightful recipient of this plant, but as you can see, I was the victor,” she announced and held the droopy plant above her head like a trophy.
Totally not-crazy people entered a party like that, right?
Wrong.
She surveyed the group as all eyes fell on her.
Mitch, Rowen, Raz, Penny, Libby, and Charlotte stared at her with crinkled brows. And, oh shit, Madelyn was there, too. The only person not focused on her was her husband. The man drained a bottle of beer like a star frat recruit, then peered into the bottle as if it held the answer to his prayers.
She could use a few prayers, too.
From the befuddled looks on her friends’ faces, it was clear something was up.
And this something did not appear to be good.
She didn’t need Libby’s mind-reading powers to sense the tension in the air.
Do not jump to conclusions.
Perhaps it was her attire—or her scent. At least this gathering was outdoors.
But the stunned look on Landon’s face led her to believe it was more than chocolate-infused body odor or her raggedy orange socks and sweats that had the group in a state of shock.
He glanced at Madelyn, then turned away from the nanny matchmaker and met her gaze.
No one spoke for what seemed like the better part of a decade.
“What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas,” Landon said as the color drained from his face.
She sucked in a death gasp—at least, that’s what it sounded like, or maybe it was the sound of her brain cells working to piece together what everyone knew. Unfortunately, an all-consuming panic drowned out any connections her mind was able to make.
“I need a little more info, heartthrob,” she said, trying to keep it light as her stomach dropped, and she held on to the houseplant like it was the only thing grounding her to the planet.
“I’m sorry, bonbon. It got out,” Landon replied, tossing a glance over his shoulder at Madelyn.
She was about to drop the plant and hightail it out of there when Mitch cleared his throat.
“There it is,” the former hothead chef said under his breath as her friends nodded along with him.
Screw the getaway.What did these people think they had on her?
“What are you talking about, Mitch?” she asked, going into super-bitch mode.
When in doubt, heap on the attitude.
“It’s how you addressed Landon and how he answered you,” the chef replied with the ghost of a grin.
What the hell did she say? She couldn’t even remember how she addressed him.
