Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I pressed myself into him and pushed up onto my tiptoes, wanting to give him whatever he was searching for—
But a moment later, he broke away. He stared at me, eyes wide, breathing heavily. Then, he cleared his throat.
“I’ll see you at dinner, sweetheart,” he said, and then he was gone.
I stood breathless and reeling. I’d felt that kiss fucking everywhere… and I had no fucking clue what it meant.
“Landry?” I called, turning. “Are you—?”
One of the maids stood halfway down the hall, biting her lip and blushing, clearly having witnessed the kiss—
The world snapped into place.
—having witnessed the kiss because Landry had meant her to witness it. It had all been for show.
Fuck.
“Dear sweet baby Jesus,” Cora breathed. “That was—”
“Landry’s room, Cora,” I snapped, making a show of hefting my clothes. “Before my arms drop off, please?”
“Yes. Of course. Sorry.” She jumped to attention and led me through the first doorway on the right. “Just here.”
Landry’s “room” turned out to be a suite of rooms, including a large bedroom with a sofa sitting area in front of a fireplace, a dressing room, and a sprawling en suite bathroom. Turkey was asleep in the center of the giant bed. She opened one eye and closed it again.
Cora was obviously familiar with Landry’s rooms because she went straight into the dressing room and began hanging the clothes she’d been carrying while pointing me to an empty stack of drawers. The small space smelled like Landry, and I took a moment to close my eyes and inhale.
Leather. Laundry soap. Masculine cologne. The slightest hint of berry from the sugarless candy he stashed in pockets and promptly forgot about as soon as he tossed his clothes in the hamper.
Stop this madness, Kenji.
“So that was, um…” Cora began, eyes darting toward the hall.
“A thing that will not be discussed,” I concluded crisply.
She sighed and worried her lip. “Do you ever… worry about him?” she asked, drawing my attention back to the moment. “I heard him up in the workout room late last night, and now he’s out running again. Between all the exercise and his calorie restriction…”
I shook my head. If anyone was an expert sleuth in Landry’s health, it was me. “He only calorie restricts when he’s prepping for a job. If he was in the gym, it was most likely for strength training. An outdoor run is for cardio but also his mental health. He’s running because he’s upset.”
When I felt the heat of her gaze on me, I squatted down to straighten my clothes in a drawer before continuing. Turkey wandered in and bumped my leg with her pink nose, rubbing her whiskers across my leg in clear demand for attention. I scratched her head and under her chin. “Landry’s healthy. You know about his participation in the Shape the Runway program. He’s fighting hard for better health standards in fashion modeling and recognizes one of the ways to do that is by modeling the right behavior. He takes his nutrition very seriously. Lamar—that’s his agent—was specifically selected because he’s also a certified nutritionist. I promise, he gets what he needs. He also has a fantastic physician who makes him come in quarterly for blood work.”
Yes, I was babbling, but this happened to be a subject I had a secret PhD in. It was hard not to want to reassure her when my research and observation had been borne out of the same concerns.
The fact that it distracted her from asking about our relationship was just a side benefit.
And one that didn’t last long.
She finished hanging up the clothes and leaned her hips against the island in the middle of the room. “Why aren’t the two of you together? He obviously likes you very much, and the two of you have…” She grinned. “Chemistry.”
“You’re nosy,” I pointed out, closing the drawer and standing up straight after a final pet of Turkey’s head.
“I’m protective. There’s a difference.” She poked a finger in the air. “As you’re well aware.”
I blew out a breath. “I thought he was a playboy who never took anything seriously.”
“Landry?” She let out a peal of shocked laughter. “No!”
“Yes. I admit he’s not nearly as bad as he used to be, but there was a time when he was trashing hotel rooms regularly, getting arrested for disturbing the peace and needing me to bail him out, and sowing enough wild oats to end world hunger. Plus, I’ve always had the sense he was keeping things from me—” I cocked my head. “—which, wouldn’t you know it, turned out to be true. So how was I supposed to trust him in a relationship?”
Cora winced. “I can see what you mean. But now that you know the truth…?” She pinned me with a somewhat familiar intense stare. “You care about him, I know you do. And that chemistry…”