Page 24 of Fear of Love
My chest ached at the thought. I hoped the guys knew just how lucky they were to have a mom like her.
Josie’s phone dinged a moment later as I grabbed my bag and threw my coat on. She quickly typed out a message to whoever it was, most likely Wyatt saying he was here. I didone last look around my office to make sure I had everything I needed before we left.
The two of us made our way through the office to the front doors, which I quickly locked behind us before turning to a somewhat familiar truck idling at the curb. That wasn’t Wyatt’s car. It was like fate kept throwing a tall, grumpy man in my path. The door flew open and Wyatt practically bounced out, that signature grin on his face as headed for his fiancée.
I stepped around the couple as Wyatt pulled Josie against him and kissed her. The two acted like they hadn't seen each other in days when it had only been a few hours. Holding back an eye roll, I slid past them so I could get into the backseat.
Using the side handle, I hauled myself into the back of the truck, shuffling over to the far side. As soon as I was settled, I lifted my head and met Landon’s eyes in the review mirror. Our gazes lingered on one another for a moment, the corner of his mouth quirked in greeting. Ignoring the slight tingle that raced through my body, I turned to the woman next to him in the passenger seat.
“Evelyn.” I greeted, the smile already forming as our eyes met. You could tell where the Boone brothers got their looks from. Even in her early fifties, she didn’t look a day over forty. Her dirty blonde hair was cut a bit shorter than the last time I saw her, making her appear even younger.
“Lydia.” Evelyn sent me a smile of her own, the sides of her eyes crinkling.
“How have you been?” I asked as Josie climbed into the backseat with me, followed by Wyatt. Thankfully, Landon’s truck was on the bigger side so the three of us weren’t too squished in the back. Although, Wyatt’s wide shoulders ate up most of the space.
“I’ve been good,” Evelyn answered, her body twisted to see us in the backseat as Landon pulled away from the curb. “I started taking a painting class.” She looked at both Josie and me.
“Oh, now that sounds fun,” I said.
“You girls should come one night. Tuesdays are wine nights.” The smirk on her face had me laughing under my breath. The first image that came to mind was a bunch of older ladies sitting around getting tipsy while gossiping.
“Maybe we should,” Josie answered.
“How’s work going, Lydia?” Evelyn asked a few minutes later as Landon drove us toward the football stadium.
“It’s been good. Actually landed a deal to put the magazine in more stores,” I said casually as if it wasn’t a huge deal.
“Wait? The deal went through?” Josie squeezed my knee with an excited grin.
“Right before we left.”
“That’s fantastic news.” Evelyn beamed, reaching over the console to pat my leg.
Itwasa big deal. I’d been working on it for the last few months, all the late nights paying off. Soon, I wanted to have two issues a month instead of just one, and hopefully, this was a step in that direction.
Wyatt gave me a nod of approval over Josie’s head. “Congrats.”
“Thanks.” I felt my cheeks flame at the praise. My eyes lifted to meet Landon’s through the rearview mirror. He didn’t say anything, but I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of pride in his eyes before he looked away.
“Ready to see Mateo win?” Landon asked his mom, changing the subject. The slight tension in my shoulders from all the attention eased as the others jumped into the conversation about Mateo.
I met Landon’s gaze once more, giving him a look that I hoped showed I was grateful for the switch up. Butterflies erupted in my stomach over him noticing my discomfort. The fact he noticed at all lit something inside of me, something I didn’t want to think about right then.
With a quick shake of my head, I tuned back into the conversation, pushing Landon’s sweet action to the back of my mind.
Thirty minutes later, Landon pulled into the stadium parking lot, a sea of red and white as people arrived and headed for the entrance. It should have only taken us fifteen minutes but the traffic was insane. The amount of people spilling out of their cars around us made me glad we left when we did. Who knew a university football playoff game would be so popular?
When Evelyn came around the side of the truck, her arms held a small pile of blankets that she handed to Josie and me. I was glad one of us thought of them with how cold it was.
As a group, we made our way through the crowd to the front entrance. We gained a few looks as we walked by but everyone seemed unfazed.
“Does it ever get annoying having people stare at you all the time?” I asked Wyatt as we waited in line to get through security.
“You get used to it. There’s only been a few cases where we’ve had to tell people to leave us alone,” Wyatt said. “As long as they don’t get too far into our personal space, we don’t mind.”
“All the guys secretly love it,” Evelyn leaned in to say. “Strokes their egos.”
I snorted at her words.
