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“Well, you’re probably right. But just in case, I have an idea. The Atwaters have a pool house. It’s not meant to be lived in so it’s not huge, more of a guest house, but if Jackie did kick you out after your 18thbirthday, I bet I could convince Hayden to let you live there while you finish out the school year. I haven’t asked yet, but I’ve started planting seeds so that if the time comes, he’ll be primed to say yes.”
Hannah smiles faintly. “Shouldn’t he keep the guest house free in caseLandonneeds to be evicted?”
I roll my eyes at the mere mention of Landon. “Even if he did act up, Landon isn’t going anywhere unless I tell on him. It’s entirely within my control.”
Hannah shakes her head. “No, thank you. I already have one friend being held captive by a jerk. I want you free to sing like a bird if he ever gives you a reason.”
___
Helping Hannah takes longer than expected—that house has alotof windows—so by the time I get home, I expect I’ll have missed dinner.
I feel bad about not texting Mom to let her know I was running later than expected, but I shot off a quick “on my way!” text before I left Hannah’s so she’d know I’m coming.
The Atwater lair does not have the homey drop-zone we had at our old house, so once more, I lug my heavy-ass backpack all the way to the kitchen. I look around for a plate of food Mom might have set aside for me, but there’s nothing in the microwave, and looking around, I don’t even see any signs anything was cooked.
Grabbing my phone out of my back pocket, I shoot her a text, “Are we being proper Californians now and having a juice entrée for dinner tonight?”
“With some kale chips, of course. What kind of mother do you think I am?”
I crack a smile. “Where are you?”
As I’m pressing send, I hear the patio door slide open. Mom comes in looking adorable in a sun hat and a blue dress. Hayden trails behind her, still dressed from work.
Mom looks so light and happy, like someone who just got back from vacation—or maybe even someone stillonvacation. “Hey honey.”
Hayden stops beside the staircase while Mom enters the kitchen. My gaze follows his to the stairs, and a moment later, Landon comes down.
“What?” he demands, his voice heavy with annoyance.
His dad looks up at him. “We’re going out for dinner. Do you want to come?”
“What do you think?” Landon shoots back bitingly.
Ignoring the sullen ass, I ask Mom, “Where are we going?”
“The club,” she answers.
I don’t mean to brighten so visibly, but I could use a pick-me-up, too, and hearing we’re having a Landon-free dinner at the club is much more appealing now than it was even the first time we went.
If Landon had been there, the whole evening would have gone differently. I would have been distracted by him, and I never would have noticed the handsome dark-haired valet. I wouldn’t have been having an enjoyable, relaxing time with my family, so maybe he wouldn’t have noticed me, either.
I don’t know if he’ll even be working tonight, but on the off chance he is, I already feel happier. “Okay,” I chirp. “Do I have time to shower?”
Mom laughs at first, but when she sees I’m serious, she looks at me oddly. “No. Why would you need to shower before we leave?”
My cheeks warm, and not just because I realize now that was a bit silly.
It’s because I can feel Landon’s gaze locked on me.
It’s the sensation I always got at Baymont High when he would catch me off-guard by showing up somewhere I wasn’t expecting to see him.
“Right, yeah, of course.” I shake my head to dismiss the silly idea of needing to shower to go eat when I was perfectly presentable at school all day. “Just let me change clothes real quick, and then I’ll be right down.”
Chapter Five
Landon
There’s a long list of things I know about Parker Johansson, but somewhere near the top is this: unless she’s eating at the fucking White House, she is not the type of girl who needs to change clothes to go to dinner.
