We all laugh and giggle.
After helping Edna with the dishes, I go back to my room, tired after a long week. I don’t have time to go to Napa with Claire and her friends tomorrow, but it will be a great diversion.
I crawl in bed, trying to decide if I want to text Landon when a text from him shows up.
Landon: You’re beautiful when you smile and laugh.
Me: You’re hot when you’re naked.
Landon: I was going to ease in, but you took us right there.
Me: I figured you had a rough day and needed the help.
Landon: I’m going to miss you this weekend.
Me: I’m only gone one day and night. I’ll be back on Sunday afternoon. I will need to get some work done, so my plan is to leave first thing.
Landon: What if I were to come up and spend the night with you tomorrow night?
Me: I’m at Claire’s house. She’ll know.
Landon: It was wishful thinking.
Me: Once we get beyond this, I think we should find a place to go away for a week, and be naked for most of it.
Landon: I like that idea.
Me: Me, too. Goodnight. Sleep well.
Landon: Goodnight.
Still seems like something is bothering him. Maybe I should have let him lead the conversation. I may have messed that up. Crap.
“Are you ready?” Claire’s voice echoes through the speakerphone. It’s barely six a.m. on Saturday morning.
“I’m up,” I tell her. “I don’t have any caffeine yet.”
“I’ll stop and pick you up something.”
“That’s probably not necessary. Your mom takes good care of me, and I would bet the kettle is on and ready.”
“I forgot you were a tea drinker. You’re better off with her. We should be there in about fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll meet you outside. I have to watch for the redhead from hell. That woman has it bad for Landon. I’ll tell you all about it on the drive up.”
“Great. See you in a few.”
Claire disconnects, and I grab a cute dress for dinner tonight and head into the kitchen to find Edna and Peter.
“Has Landon already left?” I ask.
“He’s on his bike.” Peter points to Landon’s exercise room. “I don’t know how he can do that where it is. His pool would kill me too. All the illusions of falling off a fifty-story building leave me shaking in my boots.”
I chuckle. “Honestly, it makes me nervous, too, but I think it increases my speed. I’m constantly working hard to make sure I’m swimming away from the water going over. And, I make sure not to look at the traffic and the Bay when I’m underwater. I just focus on the wall in front of me.”
“Oh, my God. The wall is see-through? I’m never going in that pool. Ever,” Edna proclaims.
“Where aren’t you going?” Landon questions from behind me.
I turn to look, and he’s shirtless and sweaty. My mouth goes dry, and my eyes bulge. Holy crap, he looks good.
Edna explains her phobia, and I quickly pour the tea she made into a travel cup and gather my belongings.
“Are you taking your computer?” Landon asks.
“I was planning on it.”
“You’re supposed to be taking the day off. Twenty-four hours with your computer here will be fine.”
I shrug. “Alright, I’ll leave it here. I have my phone if you need me for something, and I can be back in an hour.”
He takes my bag off my shoulder. “I’m walking you downstairs.”
“Only if you put a shirt on. Tiffany will be lurking. I have no doubt.”
He rolls his eyes and pulls on the shirt he has in his hands. “Happy?”
“I am,” his mother chides.
We get in the elevator, and once the doors close, Landon’s mouth is on mine. His lips are salty with sweat, and his tongue is aggressive. It takes all my willpower not to call Claire and cancel.
The elevator arrives at the lobby, and as we walk out to Claire’s waiting car, I spot Tiffany perched in the library on the second floor.
“Twenty-four hours is going to kill me, but at least I know you’ll come back if I have your computer,” Landon says.
“I promise to be good.” I wink at him and reach for his cock.
He nuzzles my neck. “I’m glad, because I have plans for you when you get back.”
He bends and gives me a toe-curling kiss.
“Are you trying to piss your sister off?”
“Nope.” He opens the door, and I can tell she’s not happy. “If you look in the lobby, you’ll see Tiffany waiting for me. I did that for her benefit. Don’t be upset.”
Claire’s eyes narrow, and her lips purse. “I know you better than you know yourself, Landon. You know how I feel.”
I climb in the car and wave goodbye to Landon. As Yolanda drives us north, I tell her and Claire all about what Tiffany is doing.
Claire is furious. “He shouldn’t have gotten involved with her.”
“Probably not, but I don’t understand why she keeps putting herself out there and not taking the hint,” I say.
“I agree. Both Yolanda and Greg have reported incidents with her. She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, that’s for sure.” Claire changes the subject. “We’re going to have so much fun with the girls. I have the vintner coming to talk to us over lunch, we’ll go to Meritage for spa treatments this afternoon, and tonight Caroline has gotten us a private room at French Laundry for dinner.”
I kick my shoes off and put my head back, closing my eyes. “I need this getaway. Thank you for including me.”
“Of course,” Claire says, squeezing my
