“I didn’t think you felt the same, and if I said something and things didn’t work out, where would that leave us?”
I could feel the anger building inside of me. “Friends still. I would hope that we would always stay friends no matter what, Landon.”
He looked away again. “I never want to hurt you, Emme. Never.”
My mouth fell open, and I stared at him. “And you think telling me how you truly feel would have hurt me?”
“I’m not sure. I’m not sure about anything other than the fact that tonight I went through a gamut of different emotions in a very short period of time.”
“Such as?”
“Lust, anger, jealousy, desire. And it all revolved around you, Emmerson.”
I felt my breathing pick up, and I opened my mouth to say something but then promptly shut it. I had felt the same swing of emotions in the same amount of time.
We sat there in silence for a few moments before I cleared my throat. It was time for me to be honest as well. With myself and with Landon. “Do you know why I’ve never been able to make any of my relationships work?”
He shook his head.
“I didn’t want to commit to any of them. I never saw a future with any of the guys I dated. I didn’t know why at the time, and a part of me thought something was wrong with me. I had too high of expectations or something. I had no idea why none of them seemed to be the right guy. All I knew was that when things turned serious, I pulled away. And I know you did the same thing, and a part of me deep down inside always wondered why we both did it. Why neither of us could commit to anyone.”
I shifted in my seat. “Then everything started to change when you came back to Waco and opened up your business. And it was us again. Movie nights and camping trips. I felt happier with you here, happier when I was with you. I kept telling myself it was because you were Landon, my best friend. One of the few people I truly felt comfortable with. Happy with. Then Hailey had to go and open her big mouth and tell me she thought you had feelings for me, and all I could think about was why I couldn’t commit to those other guys…and I kept coming back to the same conclusion.”
Landon leaned a bit closer to me. “And that was?”
I looked at him blankly. It felt like his question had such an obvious answer. “You! It was you, Landon. Every guy I’ve ever gone out with I’ve compared to you, whether I meant to or not. Hell, I’m positive half the time I didn’t even realize I’d done it. But these last two weeks, you’re all I can think about. I see you differently, feel things differently. I want to…I want us to…”
“You want to what, Emme?”
I lifted my eyes to meet his. “I want to kiss you.”
He smiled. “Is that all?”
I felt my cheeks burn, and I shook my head. “No, Landon, that’s not all.”
His smile grew wider.
“I think we need to do this slowly,” I said. “It’s so complicated right now because we’re fake engaged and everyone thinks we’re madly in love. And our parents…I don’t even want to know what they think. Although, I know they are about five minutes away from telling us what they think.”
“So are you saying you want to explore this thing we feel between us?”
I nodded. “Do you want to?”
He nearly laughed. “Did you not feel how my body reacted to you earlier in the limo, Emme? Yes, I want to see where this takes us, but I also don’t want to hurt you. Or lose my best friend.”
“Why do you think you will?”
Landon lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know. I think it’s my greatest fear.”
I reached out a hand and he took it, gently giving me a squeeze. “Then let’s make a promise right here. If things get weird, or if it’s not working, we vow to be honest with each other. Our friendship comes first, no matter what.”
With a nod, Landon replied, “Our friendship comes first.”
“And we agree to let our parents think this is all a ruse? At least until we explore this a bit more?”
“Agreed,” Landon said.
We both stood, and when he smiled at me, I could have melted into his body. Hailey’s words came back to me like a bolt of lightning.
Take what you want.
I drew in a slow, deep breath and stepped closer to him. I stretched up onto my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I think we should seal this promise with a kiss.”
Landon’s blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he gently pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was soft and oh so very sweet. I opened to him and our tongues danced in a lazy circle for a few moments before we drew slightly apart, and Landon rested his forehead to mine.
He smiled and whispered, “I think we should seal all future promises with a kiss.”
I giggled. “I agree.”
Landon
I PACED IN the hallway outside Emmerson’s hotel room while she quickly ran to the restroom. My arm was bruised from pinching it so many times. I thought I was dreaming when we were in the limo. I’d seen it in her eyes—the desire and need—before she’d demanded that I kiss her. And before I could think or second guess anything, I acted like a greedy bastard and hauled her onto my lap. Like a caveman.
“Don’t fuck this up, Lewis,” I whispered as I looked at the door to her room.
It opened and Emmerson walked out. “Ready?” she asked, holding her hand out for mine.
“Yep, let’s get this over with.”
Twenty minutes later, we all sat at a table in the very back of the bar that was off the lobby of the hotel. Both sets of parents sat patiently as Emmerson explained how the events of the night had unfolded. I had completely forgotten all about the auction—and the thirty-thousand dollars—and how it had been the catalyst that spurred on all the other shit.
“So you told her to bid on you so that no one else would win the date?” Malcolm asked.
I nodded. “Yes, but I didn’t tell her to go that high. By the way, when do we have to pay it?”
“You don’t, I took care of it,” my father stated. “I figured that kind of money wasn’t really floating around in Emmerson’s bank account.”
“That was so sweet of you.” Emmerson reached across the table and squeezed my father’s hand. “But I’m sure Landon will pay you back.”
Dad shot me a look. “Trust me, he’ll most definitely pay me back.”
And I would, but I had no doubt that my father would tease the hell out of me for years to come.
Malcolm glared at my dad. The two of them were the best of friends, but at times I wondered if that sense of competition between them was still there. “I should have known it was you who paid it,” Malcolm growled out.
My father gave Malcolm a one-shoulder shrug and smirked, knowing he had won this round. “I always was faster than you.”
Malcolm huffed. “Bullshit.”
Both of our moms sighed, and Paislie rolled her eyes and lifted her wine glass to her lips.
“Get back to the story!” Hailey said before she took a sip of her martini. I wasn’t sure why she was being so pushy—she already knew the whole story and then some.