Page 17 of Fear of Love
“Uh…” It took me a second to gather my thoughts. “When is the event?”
“It’ll be on May 30th, which is a Saturday. We wanted to pick a day that would work for the most families. Tickets are fifty dollars a family and limited, so we suggest people get them before they sell out.”
I made a quick note on my phone to make sure we put this in the following issue so people had a heads-up, even though the event wasn’t scheduled for a few more months. If it was going to be anything like the last event Landon held, it would sell out insanely fast. Which usually happened when one of the best hockey teams in the league was going to be in attendance.
As I continued asking questions, I could feel Landon’s eyes on me. I was trying my best not to feel self-conscious under his gaze, but the weight of his stare made it difficult. I couldn’t tell if he was confused or upset that I was the one interviewing him. Maybe he was like me and just wanted to get it over with.
Thankfully, the rest of the questions went by fast, and Landon answered each one without some snide remark. Before I knew it, we were done. Hitting the stop button on the recording, I pressed save so I could go back later and write down his answers.
“I’ll make sure details about the event are on the front page of the magazine to help with ticket sales,” I said as I grabbed my purse and stood, Landon following my lead. “Josie already took pictures so we’re all done.”That went a lot smoother than anticipated.
I dared a glance at him as the two of us stood side by side. He had a strange expression on his face, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t. I found myself looking into his blue eyes, enraptured by them.
I forced my gaze to look away. I wasnotgoing to get distracted by them.
“I’ll let you get back to it.” Giving him a little dip of my head, I stepped around him and started toward the exit.
Now it was time to head back to the office and get some more work done even though it was after four o’clock. I only made it a few steps when Landon called out my name.
“Lydia, wait.” Turning on my heel, I found him walking toward me, a pained expression on his face. Almost like he ate a lemon and didn’t like the taste.
“Look, I…” Landon tugged at his bottom lip with his teeth as he rubbed his neck a second time, eyes looking anywhere but at me. When a good minute passed without a word, I crossed my arms, heel threatening to tap against the floor. Finally, he let out a sigh and looked at me. “I wanted to apologize for Sunday.”
Time seemed to stop around us as my eyes widened at his words. Did Landon Boone just say he was sorry?
“I shouldn’t have said what I did.” He shifted on his feet, shoulders up by his ears, looking uncomfortable, which I would have found funny if I wasn’t so floored.
“You’re sorry?” My eyebrows were almost at my hairline.
“Yes,” Landon said through clenched teeth. “Mateo told me I needed to say sorry.”
“Oh, so this is your brother’s doing, not yours.” I rolled my eyes, having thought this apology was too good to be true. “You shouldn’t be told to apologize, Landon.”
Shooting him a glare, I turned on my heel and stomped off. Did he even understand that what he did was hurtful? That words festered and grew minds of their own?
“Lydia.” A hand on my elbow pulled me to a stop after I made it a few feet.
I whirled around, suddenly livid. With narrowed eyes I took one step closer to him so the tips of my heels met his shoes.
“If you’re going to apologize, Landon, at least make sure you mean it,” I spat, poking a finger into his chest.
“That came out wrong. I’m not good at this apology thing, okay?” Landon blew out an exasperated breath. “I was going to say sorry that night but you already left.”
I stood there, searching his face to see if he was being honest.
“What I said was hurtful and untrue. I know you aren’t money hungry.” Landon stared me right in the eyes as he spoke. “I really am sorry, Lydia.”
Part of me didn’t want to accept his apology, not with how I felt the last few days, but I could see the sincerity in his eyes. His apology didn’t make things better, but at least he knew he was in the wrong.
“Thank you.” I learned a long time ago to never say something was fine when it wasn’t, especially after someone was rude to me or yelled. That only told them it was okay to keep doing it. I could accept his apology while still setting boundaries.
“Let me make it up to you.” The word seemed to slip from his mouth but he didn’t retract them.
“Make it up to me?” I questioned, unsure of where he was going with this.
“Have you eaten yet?” Once again, my eyebrows raised in surprise. Was Landon seriously asking to grab food with me?
“Are you feeling okay? Did you fall and hit your head?” I genuinely asked. Who was this Landon, and what did he do with the other one?
