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I knew I needed to figure out a way to live with my new reality. But, at present, I wanted to get the fuck out of the office and not have to deal with Landon being there. I didn’t do well as a contained creature. Holding on to my emotions was like waiting for a jack-in-the-box to pop open.
That was why I’d agreed to meet Nick for dinner after work. This was the third date, and I couldn’t have Landon Wright in my head when I went into this. I could almost convince myself that I was looking forward to it.
My hand strayed to my hair, and I tucked a lock behind my ear. Even though Landon’s office was on the way out, I promised myself I wouldn’t take a peek and see what he was doing. I didn’t need to know if he looked frazzled, as he had for the last couple of days. I wasn’t going to see if he’d already taken off his jacket, removed his tie, and rolled up his sleeves. Those things weren’t important.
Yet my eyes darted in there anyway.
To my surprise, he had his jacket and tie in place. His hair wasn’t mussed, like he had been running his fingers through it in irritation all day. He looked relaxed. And, when he saw me, he smiled.
Oh, fuck.
I’m a goner.
“Hey,” Landon said. He stepped out of his office and leaned against the door.
My heart stuttered. “Hey.”
We hadn’t had a conversation longer than this since he started. He’d given me room to breathe. Even though I couldn’t avoid him even if I wanted to.
“You heading out early?” he asked.
I stalled and faced him. “Yeah. It’s Friday. Is that a problem?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Not a problem with me.”
“Great,” I said. “I didn’t think I needed permission.”
His smile slipped for a second, and then it came back, maxed out. God, that smile.
“You don’t. Not from me at least.”
“Wonderful,” I said drily. I wasn’t trying to be a sarcastic bitch, but it was a defense mechanism against his charm.
“Heidi, can we not do this?”
“Oh, I’m Heidi now? What happened to Miss Martin?”
Landon leveled me with a you-know-why-I-said-that look. “If we’re going to be around each other, then we should maybe try to be civil. Friends even.”
“We are friends, Landon,” I said with a sad smile. “Just friends.”
I pushed past his door and headed for the elevator. I didn’t know how much longer I could do this, and it had only been five days.
Landon and I were just friends. All we were ever going to be was friends. Him putting on the charm and smiling at me like that was not helping a goddamn thing.
The elevator doors swung open. I stepped inside and hit the button for the lobby. As the doors were sliding shut, Landon’s hand shot out to stop them. He held them open with both hands and intently stared at me.
I swallowed hard and felt my body seize up. Here we were. Just the two of us. Alone. Yet…not exactly alone. Anyone could come around the corner and see us together. Wonder why he was holding the doors open like that while watching me like a starved animal.
“What?” I asked when he didn’t say anything.
“Don’t walk out of here like this.”
I arched an eyebrow. “It’s only a half hour early.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t—”
