Page 66 of Deal Breaker
I wanted more. I always do when it comes to her.
But it was enough.
We passed the two-hour drive home the next morning learning each other all over again. All-time favorite songs. All-time worst haircuts. Bad dates. Great concerts. Pet peeves. The little, seemingly unimportant things that you come to realize are actually pretty important after all. But when I pulled up in front of her place, Landyn thanked me for the weekend like it was a meeting I’d scheduled and then she got out and walked inside without looking back.
Inside Cove, the building is quiet. It’s still too early for most of the team. With the exception of Noah, that is, who tends to beat even me to the office. I drop my things off in my office and then head toward the upper floor to find him camped out in the finance area in front of a stack of papers, red pen in hand. His calm, cool perspective is exactly what I need right now.
“You know there’s software that does that for you now,” I say as I lean against the doorframe.
Noah glances up. “Yeah. I don’t trust it.”
I step inside. “You don’t trust most things.”
“And yet I still pick up your calls,” he says, still focused on his work.
I drop into the chair across from his desk. He watches me for a second, then caps the pen and sets the report aside. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks. You’re the second person to tell me that this week.”
He leans back, folding his arms over his chest. “You want to talk about it?”
I rub a hand over my face, not sure where to begin. “The weekend with Landyn was… a lot.”
He nods like he figured as much.
“It felt easy,” I add. “Being with her again, it felt like nothing had changed.”
“But something did,” he says.
I stare past him, jaw tightening. “Yeah, it did. She did. Or maybe I did. Or maybe there’s something she’s not saying and I’m just finally noticing.”
Noah studies me quietly, then says, “You trust her?”
I pause. “I want to.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
I meet his eyes, realizing that what he said is right.
I leave Noah’s office carrying more weight than I came in with. His words echo in the back of my mind as I head down the hallway, past the glass-walled conference room and the open workstations. The hum of Cove waking up for the day surrounds me: coffee brewing, keyboards tapping, someone laughing down the hall.
When I see her, my pace doesn’t slow. I make a path directly to her. She’s sitting there like it’s just another Monday morning, like she didn’t spend the weekend in my bed, in my arms, under my hands. When I reach her, she looks up like she’s surprised to see me.
“Can I see you in my office?” I ask, but it comes out sounding more like a demand.
Becca and Marco, who until a second ago were in their own world chatting at the table across from us, suddenly go silent.
Landyn nods. “Sure. Just give me a minute.”
I don’t wait. I don’t need to. She’ll come. I turn and walk back down the hall, chest tight, pulse loud in my ears. She knocks once and steps into my office without waiting for a reply, then she closes the door and leans against it with arms crossed and her guard up.
“You need to stop looking at me like that,” she says. “People are going to start talking.”
I let my eyes settle on her, taking in her crisp white blouse and fitted, knee-length black skirt, the ankle boots that show off her toned legs, and the way her hair is neatly pulled back from her face. “Let them.” I say with a smirk.
Her eyes narrow. “Ford?—”
“I miss you,” I say, because it’s the truth, and I’m tired of trying to hide it.
