Page 58 of Isolated
And he didn’t.
I had a feeling that Landen was one of those guys who could wear just about anything—or, perhaps, nothing at all—and he’d still be handsome. But it’d been a unique experience to finally see him outside of the gym last week and in regular street clothes. It was something I’d appreciatedjust as much as he seemed to welcome the sight of me in my dress.
His eyes were still roaming over my body as he shared, “I’m serious, Iris. I don’t think I mentioned it that night, but I haven’t been able to get the sight of you in a dress out of my mind since we danced at the pub. You looked so beautiful that night. And you look just as stunning tonight.”
Heat bloomed inside me. “You’re being sweet. I think this is a bit strange for us, because we’ve really only ever spent time together in the gym.”
He nodded. “Yeah. And I’m realizing now just how foolish it was for me to waste so much time by not asking you out on a date sooner.”
“Well, maybe we shouldn’t delay ourselves any longer,” I suggested. “I’ll just grab my purse, and we can go.”
Landen waited by the door for me, and after I locked up, he didn’t hesitate to place his hand gently on the small of my back as he guided me to his car.
Unsurprisingly, we didn’t make it there before a familiar voice floated in our direction. “Who is this guy?”
I glanced up at Landen and grinned. “Care to meet my neighbor?”
“Sure.”
We took a detour and came to a stop in front of Walter. “Hi, Walter. How are you doing tonight?”
His eyes were fixed on Landen, and it seemed a real effort for him to tear his attention away. “I’m perfectly fine. In great physical health. Who’s this guy?”
I bit the corner of my lip to stifle my laughter. Even Walter’s voice sounded different. It was as though he hadgiven himself the role of being my protector, who needed to assess whether Landen was worthy of me.
“Walter, I’d like you to meet Landen. Landen, this is Walter.”
Landen extended his hand to the crotchety old man. “It’s nice to meet you, sir. I’ve heard a bit about you.”
Begrudgingly, Walter shook Landen’s hand, but he found a way to get a dig in. “Funny. This is the first I’m learning about you.” Walter shifted his attention to me. “What’s the special occasion?”
“I’m going on a date.” Not even Walter could miss the way I stood a little taller as I answered him.
“A date? With him?”
If it had been anyone but Walter, I might have been offended by his tone. Like he couldn’t imagine why I’d ever dream of doing something as blasphemous as going on a date with a nice guy.
Ignoring his unnecessary distress, I nodded and smiled brightly, hoping it offered him some level of reassurance. “Yes.”
“Where did you meet him? How long have you known him?”
Reaching out for his hand, I curled my fingers around his. “Relax, Walter. Landen’s a good guy.”
Walter gave Landen another once-over. I didn’t know if he found whatever it was that he’d been looking for, but he finally said, “There’s nobody like Iris, so you better take good care of her.”
Landen didn’t miss a beat. “I’m aware, and I fully intend to.”
When his eyes shifted to mine again, there wassomething that looked a lot like dread lingering there. And when he spoke, his voice was strained. “Have a good time.”
Something warm washed over me at the same time I felt such concern at the change in his demeanor. “I will. See you tomorrow, Walter.”
Landen and I said goodbye to my neighbor before resuming our journey to his vehicle, with Landen opening my door for me once we were there. As soon as we were both inside, he asked, “Is he normally like that?”
Slowly, I shook my head. “That’s difficult to answer. Because yes, he’s often very much like that. Being nosy and asking a lot of questions. But I honestly don’t know if he’s alright. He’s never looked at me like that before. I think he’s just lonely.”
Landen directed his attention out the front windshield, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched Walter make his way back to his front door. “That felt like something more than just loneliness.”
I knew what Landen meant, because I’d felt it, too. I just wasn’t quite sure what had come over the old man. “Maybe. Though I’ve never experienced anything quite like that before, he does have these moments from time to time. When my sisters were here last weekend, he saw us when we came back from an afternoon of shopping. And it quickly went from a nosy inquiry to him running off into his house again, clearly upset.”
