The past week she had thought about him a lot. And this morning, she’d finally accepted what she’d been denying all along—she loved him. What they’d shared meant more to her than she’d known at the time. And now, it was too late. Or was it? Granted, she knew her words had angered Landon, but if he loved her, wouldn’t he give her another chance?
And what about those goals she had? She now realized that none of them were as important to her as having Landon in her life. It was sad that her own words -those she’d told Bree last night- had knocked some sense into her. That last night on the cruise she had acted irrational, illogical and downright unreasonable, and had practically thrown his love back in his face. She now clearly saw that had been a mistake. A huge mistake. One she hoped she could rectify.
She reached for her purse to pull her phone out, but then she remembered she had deleted his number. She had no way of contacting him, or did she? She knew where he worked. He should be back in the office by now.
Moments later she was being connected to the Peachtree Private Investigative Firm. She held her breath, hoping he’d be there. But it was the day before Christmas Eve. And she remembered him telling her that he planned to join his family at his grandparents’ home in the North Carolina mountains for the holidays. What if he’d left already? What if—?
“Peachtree Private Investigations, this is Duan Jeffries. May I help you?”
Monica swallowed. She knew Duan even if he didn’t know her. Landon had told her all about his best friend. “Yes, I am trying to reach Landon Chestnut. Is he in?”
Duan paused what he was doing. Margie, their office assistant, had taken the day off to spend with her family who was flying in from England. His other three partners had already left the office too, getting a head start on the holidays.
“Landon isn’t in the office right now. May I help you?” he asked. For some reason, he had a strange feeling about this call. Women rarely called Landon at work.
“Yes, I am hoping you can. I really need to get in touch with him. Will he be back in the office today?”
“No, he’s out of the state on an assignment and probably won’t be back until after New Year’s.”
“He’s working through Christmas?” the woman asked, as if she had a right to know.
Now Duan felt like needed to know something himself. “May I ask who’s calling?”
There was a slight pause before the woman said, “Monica Bennett.” There was another moment of hesitation and then the woman added, “I’m going to play my hunch and assume you know who I am.”
Duan leaned back in his chair. “I do indeed, Miss Bennett.”
“Then I hope you understand how important it is that I get in touch with Landon. I made a mistake about some things and I need to let him know that.”
Duan rubbed his chin. “Is there a reason you can’t call his cell phone?”
Yet another hesitation. “Yes. I was so angry with him that I deleted his number.”
Duan didn’t say anything but he could hear the regret in the woman’s voice. What he should do was mind his own business, but Duan knew all too well how two people, even ones who truly cared for each other, could let misunderstandings interfere in what could be a promising future together. “Landon is in Vegas on an assignment, but he wrapped things up yesterday. He decided to hang out there for a few days to clear his head.”
There, Duan thought. She could read between the lines. Landon was in Vegas, trying to figure out a way to get over her.
“Duan, is there any way you could call and tell him that I would like to see him and—”
“No. But if you really want to see him, I’d be happy to tell you what hotel he’s staying at. There are times when words are better when delivered in person.”
“You’re right. Please tell me where he’s staying. I’ll handle it from there.” She paused. “And…thanks, Duan. I really appreciate it.”
Monica clicked off the phone, just in time. Her Uber driver had arrived. Once she got settled in the car, she needed to make a few calls—first, to her mom, to let her know she was changing her plans. She wouldn’t be arriving in Atlanta today after all.
Thanks to Duan, she knew what hotel Landon was staying at. In fact, he’d already booked her a room at that same hotel. She’d been surprised by Duan’s action and had a feeling Landon’s best friend was a true romantic.
When she was settled in the back seat, and on the way to the airport, she made another call—this one to the airline. She needed to change her ticket because she was no longer travelling to Atlanta. Her new destination was Las Vegas, to track down the man she loved. She only hoped it wasn’t too late.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
“PARKER, YOUR FATHER AND I have something to tell you.”
Parker glanced up from reading one of the medical journals he’d brought with him to see his parents standing in front of him. And they were smiling. He wondered what had them so happy when he was feeling sadder than hell? He’d suspected something was up when he had arrived yesterday, but he’d decided not to ask about it. But evidently, they were ready to tell him.
He tossed the magazine aside. “So, what’s up?”
“We’re getting a divorce.”
He blinked. Did they just say they were getting a divorce? But they were standing there, smiling about it? He must have heard them wrong. “A divorce?”
“Yes,” his father said, grinning. “I’m sure you’ve known for a while that your mother and I weren’t right for each other. And I told you years ago why we got married in the first place.”
He nodded. “It was an arranged marriage. But I also remember you saying you’d become friends.”
“And we have,” his mother added. “But it takes more than friendship to make a marriage work, and we’ve both decided that life is too short to wonder how things might have been if we’d married our soulmate.”
Soulmate? He couldn’t believe his parents even knew what the word meant. For them, a person’s social standing had been the important thing. Granted, their attitudes had changed when his mother got cancer some years back, but he figured they would stay together forever. But obviously, they’d both decided it was time to live the life they wanted, not the life they’d been forced into.
He eased up out of his chair and walked over to them. “If a divorce is what the two of you really want, then I am truly happy for you.” Then he pulled them in for a hug.
“We want you to know what’s important, too, Parker. We don’t want you to go through life not being with the person you love,” his mother said. “I hope that one day, you will meet a woman who—”
“I’ve met her already,” he quickly said.
His father lifted a brow. “You have? And you didn’t invite her to join us for Christmas?”
“She already had plans with her own family. Besides, I’m not sure if she would have accepted the invitation. I love her but I’m not sure how she feels about me.”
“Have you asked her?” his mother wanted to know. “And did you tell her how you feel? Knowing you, probably not. A woman needs to know when a man loves them. You have to make her believe that you want her to be a part of your life, not just in your bed. Life is too short not to be with the person you love.”