She couldn’t pull back—if she did, he would know she was lying when she looked him straight in the eye. Kaitlyn couldn’t figure out if he was asking or telling her. Either way, there was only one answer. She shook her head slowly.
“So another one,” he said, his breath on her lips. “That wouldn’t mean anything either, right?” His hand came up around the back of her neck, strong but not forceful. Heat shot out from every contact point between his fingers and her skin. For a moment, Kait couldn’t think of a single reason not to lean in, to close that minuscule gap between their lips.
Then reason returned in the form of a pair of bright green eyes in a heart-shaped face. He was just another guy who had everything and thought everything else was his, too. He was just like—
Kait jerked back so hard her back hit the door with a painful thud. Before Landon could recover—while his eyes were still heavy-lidded and his hand still reaching for her—she snapped, “It might mean something to your girlfriend.”
Before Landon could move, she was out of the car and at her door with the key in the lock. Fighting the impulse to go after her, he settled back in his seat. He’d lost his chance for the night. If he got out now and banged on her door, Marjorie would tell him to get lost. For a minute though, Kaitlyn had wanted him to kiss her. Wanted it as badly as he had. But something was holding her back, and it wasn’t just their past or Simone. The look that had flashed in her eyes, that pure loathing, it hadn’t been for him.
She was hiding something.
And he was going to find out what.
Chapter Nine
It was Kaitlyn’s turn to flee, though she swore to herself that wasn’t what it was. Marjorie had to go back to the city for a spec meeting with an upcoming client, and there was plenty Kaitlyn could do there, too. She hadn’t been by the publishing office in over a month, and she hadn’t reviewed any of the new restaurants that mushroomed up in New York practically overnight.
“Okay,” Gray said cautiously when she told him. “But that means you won’t get much input on the FOH staff.”
“I trust you,” Kaitlyn said. She didn’t add that it was a small price to pay for the reprieve from seeing Landon again. She felt positively buoyant as she packed her duffle and drove to the bus station with Marjorie.
“You’re in a good mood,” her friend observed when they were on the bus, their duffles stored above them, laptops in front of them.
“I forgot how good it feels to get out of New Canton,” Kaitlyn said, turning on her Mac. “You don’t know how lousy it is because we’ve spent all our time at the restaurant, but it’s just full of these entitled, obnoxious families and the people who depend on those entitled, obnoxious families to make a living.” She shuddered. “Like royalty and serfs, with nothing in between. It’s more like a kingdom than a town.”
“And Landon is king, I presume.”
Marjorie had been joking, but Kaitlyn’s mouth twisted down bitterly. “Of course he is. Who else do you know that goes around acting like that?”
Marjorie privately thought that she hadn’t seen Landon going around acting like anything. Sure, it was obvious he had more money than a king, but he’d worked hard at the restaurant, too. If he’d just shown up to parade Simone around, toss off a few aggressively ill-informed suggestions, and signed the checks, she could understand Kaitlyn’s animosity. They’d both known plenty of men like that in the city. So why couldn’t Kaitlyn see that he was different?
Because she doesn’t want to, her brain answered. Kaitlyn was still angry at Landon for the events that had driven them from New Canton fifteen years ago, and Marjorie suspected she was conflating him with the asshole who had driven her from Le Fontaine two years ago. What she didn’t know was which grudge was burning stronger.
It felt good to be back in New York. Kait felt it from the moment she stepped off the bus onto 2nd Avenue. Though she’d just spent three hours on the bus, her shoulders felt less tense already.
“This was a good idea,” she said enthusiastically. “Let’s go out tonight. I feel like all I’ve been doing the last few weeks has been working.”
“You never have to convince me,” Marjorie said, linking arms with her as they walked toward Marjorie’s building. It was usually the other way around, with Marjorie pulling Kait out of her uniform of jeans and a t-shirt and into the plentiful nightlife. “I think Dom’s book release party might be tonight!”
Book release parties ran the gamut from staid, boring affairs to all-out extravaganzas. Dom, whose book was already on the bestsellers list based on the pre-orders, demanded the latter. She’d worked with him on his cookbook a few years ago, and they stayed in touch. He was an extravagant person, a masterful cook, an unrepentant alcoholic. It was certain to be fun.
“Great,” Kaitlyn agreed promptly, and then snapped her fingers. “It’s at the Wiltshire, isn’t it? I didn’t bring anything nice enough to wear.”
“Luckily for you, I happen to have a closet full of clothes in just your size.” Marjorie’s tastes ran to the more eclectic, fashion-forward than Kait’s, but Kait couldn’t deny that her friend always looked amazing when she dressed up. And she felt like being someone besides Kait-in-the-classic-LBD tonight.
“Unbelievable,” Gray muttered, glancing quickly through the text message. “She’s going to a party.”
Landon looked up, his senses sharpening like a wolfhound smelling blood. “Who is going to a party?”
“Kait. A fancy book release thing for someone named Dom.”
“Dom Von Lucas?”
Gray shrugged and held the screen up. “It just says Dom.”
Landon skimmed the text message. “Must be.”
“I don’t care if she’s going to a party, but she can’t go
