“This is my friend, Tessa Winters.” Landon smiled looking over at me. “Tessa, this is my mother, Deidre Brooks.”
“Nice to meet you.” I smiled politely, but I was terrified.
I hadn’t met anyone’s mother, but Dean’s, and even then I was a nervous wreck. Staring at her, I saw where Landon had gotten his eyes from. Extending a hand to her, I waited for her to shake it. Deidre had bypassed my hand, and gave me a full on hug. I shot a glare over at Landon, who was watching intently. I was going to kill him later.
“Is this the lucky girl, Landon?” she asked letting me go, and my eyes widened as I shot him an evil glare.
“Not yet, mom, but I’m hoping.” He answered, and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. Was he being serious??
“Well, she’s pretty. I hope you’ll make the big move soon.” She said, winking at Landon as if I weren’t standing here. I felt my cheeks heat up, and knew I was blushing. This was insane!
“Should we have dinner?” Landon asked, changing the subject, and I was glad for it.
“Yes.” Deidre insisted, wrapping her arm in mines, and making me sit beside her.
We ate a big selection of food, and I was stuffed. Dinner had actually been light and entertaining. I’d learned childhood secrets about Landon that I was sure he didn’t want to get out. His mother was a wonderful woman, and not a rude snob. It was obviously where the “real Landon” had gotten his manners. I saw such a different side of him today, and it was nice. If this was how Landon was when he let his guard down, I could definitely deal with it. I mean—deal with it enough to find him the right woman, that is.
“This was nice.” Deidre smiled, wearily.
“Yes mom, it was.” Landon smiled back, politely.
Looking over to me, Deidre’s expression changed to a confused one. I thought I had something on my face, so I grabbed a napkin and began to wipe off.
“Who are you?” she asked, and I immediately stopped.
“Mother—”
“Tessa, Miss. Brooks,” I assured, and she searched my face.
“Have we met?” she asked me, and I frowned confused because we had just sat for a couple of hours, chatting. “Landon, you should really take her out. She’s pretty.” She smiled.
“Yes, mother.” Landon nodded, taking her by the arm.
“You never bring any girls home. You work so hard, I just want to see you happy, sweetie.” She said, taking his face into her hands and he smiled at her, but the smile was full of grief.
“Riley, can you take my mother to her room? It’s time for her to rest.” Landon insisted.
“I’m not tired, Landon.” Deidre snapped.
“Ok, but you still need to lie down for a while. Riley will put a movie on for you.” He pushed, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll come check on you in a bit, okay?”
“Alright, sweetie.” She finally folded, as the younger woman helped her from the room.
I stared over at Landon, and his face was etched with pain. I sucked in a hard breath, before grabbing his hand. That was hard for me to watch, so I knew it must’ve been hell for Landon to go through.
“So,” he sighed. “Now you know.”
“Not all of it. Talk to me, Landon. What happened to your face?” I insisted, and he sighed before rolling his eyes, but he didn’t turn away.
“My mother’s sick, Tessa. She has dementia. Her memory is— it’s not what it used to be. Some days, like today—she’s ok. But others—she can get violent. I’m here for her as much as I can be.” Again, he sighed deeply, and my heart broke for him.
“She stays here with you?” I asked, and he nodded.
Watching his mother deteriorate right before his very eyes must’ve been more than hard. Hell, I wouldn’t know how to deal with it, if it had been my parent. The fact that he was her caregiver was sweet. Most people locked their parents away in a home, and barely visited. God, there was so much about Landon Brooks that I didn’t know.
“I thought maybe last night—”
“Last night was perfect, Landon.” I blurted out, not meaning to say it that way, but it was. Landon had held me close all night, and we fit perfectly together. I didn’t need him to stand here and worry about me, when he had bigger problems on his plate. I suddenly felt a whole lot worse.
“Really?” he asked, glaring into my eyes as if he was afraid that I was lying.
“Really,” I smiled, trying to lighten his somber mood.
“So, I didn’t freak out in my sleep or anything?” he asked, and I frowned. This was the second time he’d asked that question, and it was sort of weird-ing me out. I shook my head, and he sighed relieved.
“Good, because I was afraid that last night I might’ve said too much about my mom, and you probably didn’t understand. Which is why I brought you here—I’ve never done anything like this, Tessa, and I just—”
I cut him off by standing on my tippy toes, and placing my lips to his. I couldn’t believe that I went on impulse, but it just seemed right. Landon must have thought so too, because he had grabbed me by my waist, and pulled me closer. God, help me, because I loved his hard body against mines. He slipped his tongue into my mouth as his cell phone buzzed. That was just about the most annoying thing about Landon Brooks. He groaned before cursing under his breath.
“I need to answer that.” He whispered against my lips, and I nodded before pulling away from him.
A part of me was relieved that we had been distracted, while the other part wanted to scream. Who was I kidding? Landon Brooks was all kinds of hot. From his dark hair, to his crystal blue eyes, Landon Brooks was made like a demigod. I wanted to rub my hands across his very broad shoulders, and climb up his tall, chiseled body to straddle him. Last night’s session had undoubtedly left me hot, but my heart was cold.
No part of me was ready for what was blossoming between Landon, and I. I had been a broken shell of a woman, and I hated love. So how ironic was it that I chose love as a field to work in? I guess it was a form of screwed up therapy for me. Sure, I had everything in my life on track, but when it came to love, I ran. I couldn’t believe that I’d let my lower desires rise to the occasion last night, and cloud my judgment. Well, I had a lot of thinking to do now, because Landon Brooks was like a tattoo, and he was slowly sketching himself onto my heart.
Landon had seemed to do a complete 180, and I wanted to applaud him. I definitely wanted to spend more time with him. But the question was, was my heart ready to beat again?
Nine
I had a secret burdening me, and I hated it. I hated even referring to it as a secret, but since it was a thing I refused to talk about, I guess it was just that. Looking at myself in the mirror, I frowned as I glared at the makeup plastered on my face. Gwen had taken it upon herself to doll me up, since I had a real date with Landon. After taking his call, he’d dropped me back at the hotel, and asked me out on a proper date.
I wasn’t going to lie, I was scared as hell.
But, I figured I owed this to Landon, since he had the balls enough to introduce me to his sick mother. That damn sure couldn’t have been easy, so I swallowed my fear and pride, for him. After all, it was just a harmless date.
“You look hot!” Gwen giggled, as if we were in high school again.
“Thanks, I guess.” I shrugged, as I tried to touch my hair, but she slapped my hand.
“No guessing, you are smoking hot. So don’t be surprised when Mr. CEO can’t keep his hands off of you.” She smiled at me through the mirror.
“Gwen, that’s not my goal here.” I protested.
I had kept the little tad bit about me and Landon’s sexcapade to myself. Gwen was going to kill me whenever I got the nerve to tell her. She had been dying to see me out on a date, but my heart belonged to another guy. I felt like it wouldn’t be fair to dive into another relationship after Dean. He held the key to my heart, and I wasn’t ready to let anyone else steal that away.
“Tessa, it’s time!” she shouted.
“How
can you determine a time?” I protested, turning to her.
“Look, you being alone isn’t healthy. You have to move on.” She scolded, but there was a hint of sympathy in her words.
“I can’t just move on.” I groaned, angrily.
Dean Everett had been the love of my life. Since the day we began dating, we had been inseparable. Nothing and no one else mattered, and we liked it like that. Ok, I was making it sound like an unhealthy relationship, but it wasn’t. We weren’t underneath each other every day and every night, we still had our own lives. Dean played varsity football, and hung out with his friends, while I had school, Gwen, and my other girlfriends. We had time for ourselves, but when we got together, it was magic.
He was my first love, and in my heart and soul, I felt like he’d be my last. We dated all through the junior and senior year in high school, and all three years in college. When he got down on one knee to ask me to marry him, of course I had screamed, yes! I was head over heels in love, and nothing was going to deter that.
Boy was I wrong.
I never thought Dean would leave me. The last day that I saw him, we were happy. I kissed him goodbye, and watched him disappear into the crowd. He had an away football game, and his team was flying to Florida. It was only supposed to be for a week, but they never made it. The plane had crashed, and no one survived.
That was the day my heart broke into a million pieces.
When I got home from the airport, I saw that I had a message waiting. It was from Dean, saying how much he loved me—but that would be the last time I ever heard his voice. After that, everything came crashing down. My mother had called me and broke the news…as did everyone else. I had been grief stricken for months on end, and nothing or no one could help me. All I wanted was Dean, but he would never come back to me in this life.
So, swallowing my feelings, I vowed to never open my heart and love another man as long as I lived. I had stayed true to that, by graduating college and throwing myself into my business. Finding others love, had taken the pressure off of me to move on. Like I said, it was like a form of screwed up therapy for me.
Until now.
“Tessa, it’s been two and a half years. You need to move on.” Gwen said, grabbing my hands.
Letting her hands go, I grabbed the engagement ring that I kept on a chain around my neck. It stayed hidden for the most part, and it just so happened I hadn’t worn it when I went to see Landon last night. I was glad that I’d forgotten to put it on because if I had been wearing it, I’d be even more emotionally messed up right now.
“Technically, I’m still engaged.” I said rubbing my fingers through the cool steel.
“No, you’re being a bit creepy.” She nudged with a chuckle, and I smiled.
“I’m scared, Gwen. I haven’t dated anyone since Dean. I feel like I’m cheating on him.” I replied.
“Tess, Dean would want you to move on.” She said, standing up, and giving me a hug.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to mellow out, and listen to my best friend. My cell phone rung, so I hustled over, and grabbed it.
“Hello?” I asked, answering it.
“You’re limo awaits, Ms. Winters.” I heard Landon’s voice reply on the other end.
“Limo?” I frowned confused.
“Holy shit, he got you a limo!” Gwen shouted as she peeked through our curtains.
“I’m outside, beautiful.” His low voice rumbled. “Don’t keep me waiting.”
I swallowed a shaky breath as I hung up the phone.
“There’s no way I can do this!” I shouted, freaking out.
“Tessa, breathe.” Gwen replied, grabbing me by both arms, and I let out the breath I had sucked in.
“What if I screw this up? I haven’t been on a date in years.” I stressed.
“So what, Mr. CEO is definitely into you, so what’s the problem??” she pushed. “You like him too Tessa, admit it.”
I nodded reluctantly because let’s face it; what she was saying was all truth. I was definitely into Landon, and from everything that had happened, I knew he was into me. You don’t just introduce a girl to your mother if you didn’t feel anything, and from what Ms. Brooks had said, Landon had never brought girls home.
“You’re right.” I said, giving her a hug. Pulling up my big girl panties, I grabbed my purse and headed out.
I had never been this nervous before, not even when I had sex for the first time. Something about Tessa Winters had driven me insane, and I couldn’t understand it. She was different from the many other girls who threw themselves at me. She was holding back, and that had left me wanting more. When we first met, she was so feisty, that I couldn’t stop thinking of her. I went home that night, pondering how fun working with her would be. Little did I know that Tessa would actually stick with me.
Seeing her the next night had caught me by surprise, and so did the fact that I tugged her along to my charity event. I wasn’t the type of guy to do that, let alone kiss her in public. It was like I had been invaded by the body snatchers, and was letting a side of me, that I long deemed dead, to show. I hadn’t done PDA since high school, and liked it that way. Besides, I refused to be the guy to display my random hookups when my baby sister would see it plastered everywhere.
No, I was the responsible, “Landon Brooks”, and that would be me to the end. Everyone, besides Tyler, knew the truth. No one needed to know the cracks beneath my surface.
Standing outside the limo, I clenched my fists for the third time in less than two minutes. My palms were sweaty, and I didn’t want to wipe them on my black slacks. I was in a full on suit this time, and wasn’t going to lie, I thought I went too over the top. Having a limo, and fancy restaurant lined up wasn’t my style, but then again, this had been my first date in years. I didn’t want Tessa to feel like she was just some easy lay for me.
As I stood there, all I could think of was me and Tyler’s conversation before I left…
“You’re really ready for all this?” Tyler asked as I fidgeted with my tie, trying to get it perfect, as I stared in the mirror.
“What, a date?” I asked raising an eyebrow, as I turned to him.
“Yes. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’ve finally decided to “date” again, but you two being together has already stirred up news around town.” Tyler responded, and I shrugged.
“I really like her.” I muttered.
“You like her? Or do you want to just get her into bed, again? He asked, curious.
“What’s with the third degree?” I asked skeptical.
“Just wondering is all.” He shrugged.
“I took her to meet my mom.” I whispered, going over to grab my jacket.
I didn’t want to see his face when my words hit his ears, and set in.
“You did what?!” he shouted at me, and I cringed a little before turning around.
“We had lunch, that’s all.” I shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal, but it was a big deal.
“I know you hate to hear it Landon, but—” he started but I cut him off.
“We just finished arguing over this. I don’t want to revisit the subject.”
Over the years, Tyler had been the one who always pushed me to settle down. He wanted to see me happy, and I had been the one who wasn’t ready to open my heart. He knew about my “hookups”, but knew deep down somewhere I longed to be with one woman, but I had shoved that so far deep inside, I ‘d forgotten it.
Until now.
Tyler had dropped by and apologized to me for earlier, and I was glad because we never fought. It wasn’t in us to be mad at each other. He would always be my best friend, and he knew that. The front door to the Inn opened, and Tessa sauntered out. My world had stopped as I drank her in. She was mind blowing in her skintight, black, one shouldered dress. I envied the material clinging to her, as she slowly walked over to me. It was cold out, and she lacked a jacket, so I immediately removed mines, and held it out for her.
She smiled po
litely as I placed my jacket around her shoulders.
“You really need to get accustomed to our weather here.” I whispered in her ear.
“I don’t plan on staying longer than I have to.” Tessa shrugged as I opened the door for her, and her words hit me in the gut hard.
I hadn’t even thought about her leaving. Tessa wasn’t from Colorado Springs, and would be going home sooner than I knew it. I wouldn’t have infinite time to “woo” her. I wasn’t fond of letting her go, so I knew I had to make her mines.
We laughed the whole ride over to the restaurant, and the conversation didn’t stop there. Now, sitting across from her, I couldn’t seem to stop staring.
“You’re very interesting, Landon.” She smiled.
I loved the way she said my name, it rolled off her tongue perfectly. Besides, other than my mom and Tyler, everyone else called me, Mr. Brooks. It made me sound old in my head, but it was a business thing. Tessa could call me anything she wanted to, and I wouldn’t care.
“In a good way I hope.” I replied, as I looked at my menu.
“Yeah, in a good way.” She chuckled, rolling her eyes.
“What was that about?” I asked, setting my menu down again.
We had been at this for about fifteen minutes, not being able to look at our menus. I’d never met a girl like, Tessa. She was smart, ambitious, funny, beautiful, and new. I mean—new to me. Every girl I’d encountered since being “loaded”, only wanted to be my trophy wife. I wasn’t into that sort of thing. I knew that if I was ever going to settle down, I wanted what Tyler and his wife, Amanda had. Sure they’d had bumps, and had to overcome a lot, but they did.
Tyler had been immature in high school, and cheated on Amanda, but she eventually forgave him. Since then, they had been perfect. There was no doubt in my mind that Tessa could give me that, and I was sure that I would never hurt her. The thought of not being with another woman was of course chilling, but not for the obvious reasons. It was the fact that I had to actually feel again. It had been easy to just hop in bed and have meaningless sex, but with Tessa, it was different.
I was scared. But being with her so far was easy.
Finding His Mrs. Right (Mending Hearts Series) Page 6