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“You can’t hover like this,” I said. “You look scary.”
Landon’s face darkened with annoyance. “I’m not hovering. That woman is climbing the fucking ladder with her kid. Tell her not to hover.”
“That woman is with a two-year-old, and she doesn’t look like the secret service.”
With undisguised irritation, Landon followed me back to the bench. As we sat, he drummed his fingers on his knees and fought the urge to circle the playground like a shark, intercepting every potential negative actor. Though I was nervous that if a kid knocked into Emma, he’d enact a citizen’s arrest, my heart still swelled as I watched him.
Ever since he spotted her, his face had changed. That calm-to-the-point-of-bored expression was gone. A hard, protective light shone in his eyes, but his mouth was softer somehow. More mobile. When Emma’s laughter rang out across the playground, reaching his ears, his mouth curved in an answering smile. When a little girl refused to let Emma see her doll, his lips pursed, displeased.
“I’ll call her over,” I said, glancing down at my phone to see we only had an hour before we had to leave. I wasn’t sure how much time Landon wanted.
“No, don’t,” he said absently. “I like watching her play.”
Secure in the knowledge that Landon was keeping a watchful eye on Emma, I settled back on the bench to check my messages. I had one from Robert saying that he would be meeting us at the playground in an hour instead of my mother. I wasn’t annoyed, but I wasn’t surprised. Elyna was furious that I’d told Landon about Emma. Though she’d been wailing dramatically that it was gone, it wasall goneonly days before, now she insisted that everything would be fine. Yes, the house in Hawaii was gone, but we still had resources and options and friends, had I really thought we’d be destitute?
I knew Robert wasn’t thrilled about my reunion with Landon either. He’d never approved of our relationship. “It’s not the age difference,” he’d said gravely. “He just isn’t flexible. You have to be able to bend with a partner, or you’ll break. They say you shouldn’t have to change for someone, but that’s absurd. You have to change, and they have to change or else you won’t be able to fit together. You’ll never be greater than the sum of your parts.”
I’d laughed off his concerns back then and told him it wasn’t that serious. We’d both known I was lying. I was lucky that Robert wasn’t the type to sayI told you so. Instead, as always, he was showing up when I needed him without a hint of reprobation or judgment.
I had another message from my mom. She claimed that something had come up unexpectedly–something too important to miss. She was sorry. She’d see me back at the hotel after our meeting. Somehow, with their assets being seized, they were still staying in a bungalow at The Beverly Hills Hotel, the most expensive hotel in the city.
“What’s wrong?” Landon asked, glancing over at me.
He never asked if anything was wrong. He always knew when something was, so there was no point in denying it.
“My mom isn’t meeting us anymore,” I said, putting my phone away. “Robert is coming instead.”
“She didn’t want you to tell me, did she?”
Again, there was no point in denying it. Landon always knew.
“She’s worried,” I deflected.
Landon nodded as though that made sense to him. “But Robert isn’t?”
“Robert is, but he comes through anyway.”
“They haven’t changed then.”
I knew that was a slight against my mom, but I didn’t feel like defending her. She’d done this my entire life in bigger and smaller ways. Something always came up. Robert always stepped in to fill the gap.
It was impossible to stew for long though. Not while I was watching the greatest change I’d ever seen take place in a man. If Robert thought Landon was as inflexible as a steel rod, he’d think differently if he could see him watching his daughter. For once, Landon’s thoughts weren’t hidden behind an inscrutable expression. I saw them all, the approving nod when Emma tried to climb a particularly difficult structure. Concern when she slipped, his muscles tensing as he decided whether or not to intervene; pride when she made it to the top without assistance. Then, tenderness and something like vulnerability when she got tired of playing and came running back toward me. Always so comfortable in his skin and his expensive suits, now he shifted like he wasn’t sure where to put his arms or his hands. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and braided his fingers together.
On impulse, I reached over and squeezed his interlocked fingers. I didn’t have any words of advice to offer, but I wanted to offer something.
Landon’s hands were hard fists beneath mine. I saw him take a deep breath and try to relax. “What do I say to her when she gets here?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure if he was asking me or himself. I answered anyway. “Just…be yourself.”
He shot me a sideways glance. “Myself?” I could hear the irony in the question. Landon knew exactly who he was. Robert wasn’t the only one who would describe him as inflexible. Other adjectives, such as cold and remote had often been applied to him, too. Worse ones, like asshole, were just as common. He knew it, and he liked it that way. It allowed him to keep people at a distance. The way he preferred.
I hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. Yourself.” I didn’t add that I meant the version he only showed to a few, select people. One of whom I used to be.
“Worst fucking advice ever,” he murmured just as Emma reached us.
“No swearing,” I murmured back just as she threw her warm body into my arms.
“Water!” she demanded.
