Page 28 of A Sweet Mess

“They’re staying at an inn near the schoolhouse. Unfortunately, they don’t offer a full kitchen. You still need a kitchen to work on your recipes, correct?”

“Fine,” she ground out. “I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Landon’s eyes narrowed, and he took two long steps toward her. It took all her willpower to stand her ground. “And what do you wear to bed?”

“Excuse me?” Her voice was a mousy squeak. She wore satiny shorts and cami sets. They were a splurge, but she wanted to enjoy what little sleep she got. From a man’s perspective, though, sexy bits of fabric could be more provocative than nudity. “Hmm. The thing is… Yeah.”

Excuse me. Where’s the nearest wall I can bang my head against?Instead of voicing her thoughts, she laughed—a lame, I’ve-dug-myself-into-a-hole laugh. Then Landon flared his nostrils like an angry bull and clenched his jaws tight enough to crack a molar.What? Did a bee sting his ass?

“You probably want to freshen up. I’ll make us a light dinner so we can have an early night.” He abruptly changed the subject in a stoic voice. Then he headed for his room without waiting for her response.

Aubrey walked into her suite and shut the door behind her, allowing her panic to rush through her. Landon’s cool, detached demeanor left her baffled and oddly disappointed. Maybe she’d imagined his burst of temper. More than anything, her yearning for the man scared the bejesus out of her. Blood rushed to her head, and her heart beat out an ominous march. She couldn’t stay here.

Would he notice if I sneaked out right now?She could steal his Alfa Romeo and make a run for it.Brilliant.Then, she could spend the night in the slammer with some interesting cellmates. They would probably turn out to be nice, ordinary people.Grr.

She was stuck. Stuck in a beautiful villa in a ridiculously romantic vineyard with a steaming hunk of man-beef. Her stomach growled loudly, and Aubrey rolled her eyes.I didn’t mean literal beef, you brainless organ.But another, much more insistent brainless organ told her there was no way in hell she was going to keep her hands to herself. The most disturbing part was she wasn’t entirely certain she wanted to.

Aubrey pushed herself off the door and walked farther into the room. She ran her fingertips over the Egyptian cotton bedding and thought of the four-post canopy bed she’d had as a little girl. She grew up surrounded by gratuitous opulence. Living in her cramped two-bedroom rental showed her how much she’d taken for granted. She sometimes missed the luxuries she’d leftbehind, but freedom was too high a price to pay for marble floors and crystal chandeliers.

When her paternal grandmother was alive, her father ran the family’s upscale Korean markets from the corporate office. She had lovely memories of her early childhood. Herhal-muh-neelived with them, and they were a close-knit family. Her parents were affectionate and always full of laughter. Aubrey was their only child, and she was adored by her parents and grandma.

It was when her grandmother passed away that things began to change. Her father worked longer and longer hours, and she sometimes wouldn’t see him for days. But whatever he was doing, he was successful at it because they soon moved into what felt like a fairy-tale mansion. Aubrey loved the princess dresses and the elaborate parties she attended with her parents.

But gradually, her parents’ angry, raised voices invaded her room night after night, and the laughter faded from their home. As she grew older, she stopped going to the parties. The dresses felt more like uniforms, and the parties were performances she didn’t feel prepared for. Her father didn’t seem to care whether she went or not. He grew aloof and distant, and her mom faded away. In the fog of their unhappiness, Aubrey grew invisible and was forgotten.

But that was all in her past. Aubrey left home to pursue her own life and never looked back. And she planned to do everything in her power to keep her dream alive.

She washed her hands and face in the bathroom, which was bigger than her bedroom in Weldon, and used a soft, thick towel to dry off. After hesitating for a second, she grabbed her lip gloss from her purse and quickly dabbed some on before going downstairs. When she walked into the spacious gourmetkitchen, she was surprised to find Lucien gone and Landon busy at the stove. Her heart fluttered.

It was just the two of them.

“Lucien’s cellar has better wine than most restaurants, but the man thinks eggs and cheese are the only relevant food components.” Landon beckoned Aubrey to take a seat when she hesitated at the entrance. “We could go to the market tomorrow, if you’d like. But for tonight, I hope you’re okay with a cheese omelet.”

“As long as you’re cooking. Eggs are so obedient when I’m baking, but they turn on me when I try to cook them any other way.” She hopped onto a stool by the island. “Besides, we wouldn’t want your CIA degree to go to waste.”

“God forbid.” He chuckled under his breath.

“So are you and Lucien close?”

“Wewere.” Landon huffed through his nose.

He chopped the shallots with more force than necessary. He and Aubrey weren’t roommates by accident. It stank of Aria’s signature meddling. Her pretty excuse about kitchen-sharing was bullshit. He could’ve made them a simple time chart, for fuck’s sake.

Landon regretted telling Aria about his night in Weldon. He wanted to explain why he couldn’t have any further personal interaction with Aubrey. Perhaps Aria decided to ignore his logic because his voice betrayed his longing whenever he spoke about Aubrey. Whatever the case, she hadn’t wasted any time initiating her matchmaking scheme.

The whole point was to fix his mistake, not add to it, andthis setup was not helping.Hisplan had been to stay at Lucien’s place on the other side of the hill, but Aria had apparently highjacked his room. Lucien, of course, couldn’t refuse Aria anything, even if it meant throwing Landon to the wolves.

When Aubrey cocked her head at him, he forced a smile. “We’ve been friends for years. Lucien owns Le Ciel vineyard and a winery in San Miguel. He recently had this villa built to use as a luxury bed-and-breakfast and an additional tasting room in Bosque Verde. When I mentioned you needed a place to stay with a full kitchen, he insisted you stay here.”

“I wish I had friends who could lend me their fancy villas at the drop of a hat. I only get free beer.” She snorted at her own joke.

“Free craft beer of the highest caliber. You have nothing to complain about.”

“You’re right. Tara spoils me.” She sighed happily.

He chopped chives, whisked up eggs, and flipped omelets like he’d been unchained. The joy. The freedom. It all flowed back to him. After a few minutes, he noticed the quiet stillness in the kitchen. Aubrey hadn’t stirred or spoken while he cooked.

“Is that why you haven’t followed your dream and opened your own restaurant?” she murmured as though she was thinking out loud, her gaze far away.

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