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ALLEY
I had lockedmyself in my writing cave first thing Monday morning.
Not only did I need to finish my book, but I was also working to tune Landon out. I could hear him puttering around the house, his presence killing my concentration.
If I wasn’t careful, I could accidentally take my plot somewhere the Safety Squad would scold me for. They were known in the book world to be rather hardcore on what was acceptable. And if you went against what they viewed okay, you better be prepared to get slammed on a review with a lash of their tongue. I hadn’t been the subject of their scrutiny since my books were all a one man and one woman show, but the way my emotions had been lately, that could change and then I would be busted.
It might be okay though, because who could have written with all the banging going on? I could hear Landon in the kitchen, pots, and pans clanging away.What in the world is he doing?
Summer had told me that he’d left the firm, so I guess that meant he would be around all day since he didn’t have a job. I worked from home, so I was at the house all day too. Those two things together equaled a problem. Us together and in the same place all day was out of the question.
I had another issue as well. The smell seeping under my door was calling my name. I usually didn’t eat breakfast, just loaded up on coffee and got to writing, but the aroma filling my nose was starting to change my mind.
I can hold out.
Then my phone chimed with an incoming text from Landon. A damn picture. The jerk sent me a snapshot of a plate of fluffy Star Wars pancakes and sausage links next to them. How the hell did he even know I had that pancake maker? The man was playing dirty. He knew how much I loved pancakes with loads of butter and syrup on them. Adding the Star Wars effect was a shit move because now I had to eat them.
After closing my laptop, I took a deep breath and headed out of my office. Padding down the hall toward the kitchen still in my oversized sleep shirt because I hadn’t felt like adulting and getting dressed this morning, I walked slowly trying to buy myself a few extra seconds before I saw Landon.
My husband. Now how absurd was that? As I had thought before, it was something that needed to be rectified and couldn’t stay that way, but at least for a short time, I could say I had married the man of my dreams.
I must have taken another deep breath and let out a whoosh of air, along with a big sigh as I rounded the corner into the kitchen.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Landon said with a smug look on his face.
What the hell was that look for?
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to handle not coming out for star wars pancakes.”
That’s why the asswipe was so smug. I should’ve just walked out of the kitchen and showed him a thing or two.
Shit, I want the pancakes.
And although the pancakes tasted like heaven, even if I tried to act like it was no big deal, it was also strange sitting with Landon in one sense, and so familiar in another.
I had never thought in a million years that he and I would ever be eating breakfast together again. Well, we ate breakfast with one another when we were with our friends, but not just the two of us alone again like we used to do.
The comfortable silence that had felt so right back when we were first together, now put me on edge. It was like a million bubbles were floating in the air with unsaid words inside each of them ready to pop and rain down on us there at the table.
But I still wasn’t ready to tackle most of them, so they needed to just stay afloat for the time being. There was one I could give a whirl, so breaking the silence I said what I’d already told the man in front of me previously.
“It’s time we talked about how we will handle getting out of the marriage.” The words left a bad taste in my mouth. Because Landon had been, and always would be, the only man I’d ever had the notion of being married to.
Watching my parents trainwreck of a relationship and idea of how to raise their children, left me thinking neither would ever be for me, from a very early age.
Until Landon.
For a time, I’d been blissfully happy and Landon had changed my way of thinking about two people joining together as husband and wife, but I had been wrong. It was a dream that couldn’t come true for me after everything that happened.
And after losing Hannah…I couldn’t finish that thought. I was broken enough with all the memories bombarding me over the last couple of days and I knew I still needed to talk to my brother and tell him what I’d told the girls.
“Nothing to talk about, we can stay married,” he said as if that was it and it was settled. There was no smug look on his face now, but he looked serious and there was no hesitation in his voice.
Is he crazy?
With a scowl, I asked, “Yeah, give me one good reason that should happen?”
“Because I want to date you, for real this time.” He tried to reach out and grab my hand from over across the table, but I snatched mine back just before he got mine. If he touched me, I knew I would waver.
