She would admit to thinking about Landon a lot since then, and had hoped that whatever business had brought him to St. Paul that night might have brought him back again. So far it hadn’t. But then, maybe it had, and he hadn’t bothered looking her up.
“Don’t be surprised if we have a new roomie when you get back, Monica.”
For some reason, Monica sensed that her sister wasn’t all that thrilled with the idea, but didn’t want to be the one to object. Still, it was Kennedy’s house—she ultimately had the final say. “You’ll have plenty of time to break him in before I get back.”
Sebrina frowned. “Break him in?”
“You know, get him used to the way we do things. I won’t be back from the cruise until a week before Christmas. So put him to work. For example, I expect the tree to be decorated when I come back.” She grinned.
Sebrina didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm. “I can do that myself.”
“But why? Let him help you, Bree. That way he’ll learn what to expect, now that he’s living with the Bennetts. You know Christmas is a big deal to us. He’ll either fit in with the family, or we’ll send him running for the hills.”
“He won’t be here that long, in any case.”
Monica glanced up from folding her blouses. “What do you mean?”
“He’s only here for a year, working under the head of our neurology department. He was accepted into this once-in-a-lifetime mentorship program, where upon completion, his medical future will be pretty much set. In fact, I’ve heard that he’s being groomed to take over as chief of staff at a hospital in Florida in a few years.”
“Wow, must be nice.”
“I’m sure it is. I have to hand it to him, he’s already achieved a lot in his medical career. St. Paul General will be fortunate to have him for a year.”
Monica nodded. “You never did say what his name was.”
“His name is Parker. Parker Stanhope.”
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this, Zoe,” Landon said, glancing across the room at his sister who’d shown up at his house to see him off. If it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t be going anyplace and wondered if it was too late to change his mind.
“Don’t even think about it, Land,” she said as if reading his thoughts. “It’s my birthday gift to you. Besides, the cruise will do you good. Just think…twenty-one days away from all those investigations to sleep, read, relax and do whatever else you want to do. The most important thing is that you’ll have some time for yourself. You work too hard. And I worry about you.”
He knew why she felt that way. He hadn’t gone on what could be considered a real vacation trip in over six years. “It’s usually better for me that way, Zoe.”
“I know, but Simone would have wanted you to live your life.”
He glanced over at his sister, tempted to ask her how in the hell she would know what Simone would have wanted. But Zoe did know. She and Simone had been extremely close. After the first time he had brought Simone home from college one spring break, she had become a regular visitor to the Chestnut home. After all, she had been the only girl for him, and he never went far without her.
He’d been three years older than Simone, so he’d taken a job with the Atlanta Police Department while he waited for her to finish school. Then, after graduation, she had worked in her chosen profession as a social worker for a year while they’d planned their wedding.
A wedding that never happened.
“Land?”
He blinked and turned to look at his sister. “Yes?”
“I know it still hurts. I lost her, too.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“I could have been in that car with them that night, you know.”
Yes, he knew that, too. Simone was to bring Zoe home from the bachelorette party that night. However, at the last minute, his mother had thought of something she’d needed Zoe to do, and his sister had ridden home with their mother instead.
Landon crossed the room to give his sister a huge hug like she needed...like he needed. He knew she and his parents were just trying to look out for him. Simone would have wanted him to go on with his life—a life without her. But just the thought of that made him feel ill. Still, he couldn’t go on living the way he was.
And that was the crux of his problem. He wasn’t living. He was existing. He dated women, but that was physical, not emotional. He was upfront with the women he went out with, right from the beginning. He was not looking for anyone to share his heart, just his bed.
“I will be alright, Zoe. We both will.”
“But I worry about you so much, Land. You rarely smile. I just want you to be happy.”
Funny she should say that—the guys at Peachtree often said the same thing. They called him a class A workaholic.”
Releasing Zoe, he turned back to the luggage on his bed to finish packing. “So, tell me about this twenty-one-day cruise. That’s a long damn time to be out on the water.”
Zoe chuckled and he was glad their moments of melancholy had passed. “You won’t be at sea the entire time. The ship docks at a lot of ports, where you can get off and take in the sights. And just think. When you return, it will be less than a week before Christmas.”
“Why didn’t I get a brochure outlining the places I’ll be visiting?”
“I didn’t give you one? Oops. I meant to.”
He glanced over at Zoe. For some reason that “oops” didn’t sound sincere. He forced the thought from his mind. For once, he would stop being such a suspicious bastard about everything.
“Maybe you’ll meet someone you like on this cruise, Land.”
He shook his head. “I’ve met a lot of women I like, Zoe.” But he knew what she was saying.
“Yeah, right. I bet there hasn’t been one woman you’ve thought about longer than it took for her to leave your bedroom.”
Now that’s where his sister was wrong. There was one woman. Sure, he’d dreamed about having Monica Bennett in his bed, but he’d also thought about her while he did other things—like during his morning workout, or when he went for a run, or when he sat down to eat. He would even admit to daydreaming about her in the office when he should have been focusing on an assignment. Her business card was worn and tattered from him pulling it out of his wallet and looking at it so much. More than once, he’d thought of giving her a call, just to hear her voice. According to her business card, she was a reporter for the newspaper in St. Paul.
“Land?”
He glanced over at Zoe. “Sorry. My mind went to something else for a moment.”
“Probably something work-related. Don’t worry—the guys can handle things while you’re gone.”
That’s what they’d told him. Duan, Chevis, Antron and Brett had appeared all too eager to see him take off work for a month. He figured with him gone, they’d have a chance at all those extra hours of overtime.
“I’m sure they will. I admit I could use some R&R.”
“That sounds good to me,” Zoe said, her bubbly attitude back.
He chuckled. “Thanks, kiddo, for looking after your oldest brother.”