“I just hate when people ask that. It’s like we’re having a great time, so obviously it’s in a good way.” She replied, glaring at me.
“Well excuse me for asking.” I replied, still smiling goofily.
“Alright, let’s cut the crap. I want to know something—personal about you.” She said leaning across the table.
Personal always scared me, but I was in this with both feet. There was no backing out now. Besides, I wanted to know more about her too, and if this was a way to break the ice, then so be it.
“I already introduced you to my mom. I’d say that’s pretty personal.” I dangled in my favor.
“Fine, my parents are still together and living happily in New Jersey.” She answered. “What about your dad?”
“He left my mom when I was a kid, leaving me to be the man of the house, and I helped raise my little sister.” I replied shifting in my seat.
“I’m an only child.” She replied. “On to the next subject.”
“Which is?” I asked.
“Relationships are a good place to start.” She insisted, and I knew that was coming. I knew she wasn’t going to like the answers.
“Alright, why don’t you have someone waiting for you at home?” I asked blunt.
“Heavy” she said, with a smile. “But I already told you why.”
“If you dodge my questions, I’ll dodge yours.” I smiled back.
“So, through every guy you screen, you never met anyone you liked?” I pushed.
“Honestly, I never thought about it.” She shrugged, and I didn’t believe her. Maybe she was just being overly professional.
“So, tell me why you really haven’t dated.” Tessa responded.
“I never found a person who peaked my interest, beyond the bedroom.” I said curt, but she narrowed her eyes at me.
“Be straight with me. You bedded those girls because you could, not because you were looking for intimacy.” She pushed.
“True.” I shrugged.
“What has you so closed off?” Tessa probed.
“Okay, my last real relationship was in high school.” I answered.
“That was ten years ago; and I thought I was bad.” She smiled. “Do you get lonely?”
“Are you two ready to order yet?” the waitress asked walking back over to us. This had been her third attempt to take our order, and again we weren’t ready. Looking at each other, we both snickered and sent her away.
“To answer your question, yes, sometimes I do get lonely.” I mumbled.
I could feel her glare on me, but I ignored it, and looked at my menu again. This restaurant was overly fancy, and I felt a bit out of place. I preferred being in a family joint, where I knew the cook. Not that I didn’t know the cook here. Adrian Blanc was a great cook, but tonight I wasn’t in the mood for his overpriced lobster.
“Then you should find someone.” I heard Tessa mutter.
“I think I have.” I smiled, looking at her, and she blushed. I loved seeing her turn red for me.
“Tell me about this ex of yours.” She replied, changing the subject. Glancing up, I saw red fabric approaching us, looking past Tessa, I paled.
“She’s standing right behind you.” I said, breathless.
Ten
“That’s not funny.” Tessa shrugged.
With every bone in my body, I wished I had been only joking. But my ex, Jocelyn Ellis, was sauntering over to me, with a devious smile. Her dark eyes were cloaked in dark makeup, and her boobs were spilling out of her tight, red, short dress. Her hair was blonde, and it was apparent that she dyed it over the years. I wasn’t going to lie, she looked good, and she was heading straight for me.
“I’m not kidding.” I muttered as she walked past Tessa, and I stood.
“Landon Brooks,” Jocelyn smiled, wrapping her arms around my neck. I just stood stunned, with both arms at my sides.
“You look good.” she said, finally letting me go and glaring at me.
“Thanks.” I whispered, looking down at Tessa.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt. I just—I had to see if it was you.” Jocelyn said, before turning to look at Tessa.
“My name’s Jocelyn.” She said, smiling fakely at Tessa. “Me and Landon—”
“Used to date, I know.” Tessa snapped.
“So, you do talk about me.” Jocelyn replied, grabbing my collar.
“Actually, he’s never mentioned you until just now. Must not have been that memorable.” Tessa shrugged and I smiled.
It was nice to see she wasn’t intimidated. Grabbing Jocelyn’s hands, I removed them, and stepped back a bit.
“I didn’t know you were back in town.” I chimed in.
“My father’s sick, I had to come back. We should have dinner and really catch up.” Jocelyn insisted. “It’s been a long time, Landon.”
“I’ll see if I have time.” I replied as coolly as I could, but in reality, I was sweating. My heart was pounding and I was at a loss of words.
“That’s right, you’re a big time business guy here.” She smiled coyly, but I could see through her crap.
“That’s right, Landon is very successful, and always fighting skanks off. I doubt he’ll have time to pencil you in.” Tessa chimed in.
“Are you calling me a skank?!” Jocelyn snapped.
“That depends on how long you’re going to throw yourself at my boyfriend.” Tessa snapped, and I couldn’t help but smile. That was a stamp on the fact that she liked me. I mean I knew she did, but her standoffish exterior kind of threw me off a little.
“Boyfriend?” Jocelyn sneered.
“Sweetie, this place blows. There are too many bottom feeders here. Why don’t we get out of here and get a burger?” Tessa said, glaring at me seductively.
“I’d love that.” I smiled.
Jocelyn huffed as she took the hint. Turning back to me, she took my hand and scribbled her number on it.
“Call me sometime. We can talk about old times.” She winked, before kissing me on the cheek, and leaving her red lipstick behind. She’d caught me by surprise. Sauntering off, Tessa stood up, before grabbing my arm.
“There are definitely some unresolved feelings there.” She chuckled, cleaning the lipstick off my face, as we walked through the restaurant.
“What do you mean?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well obviously she wants to sleep with you, and you still love her.” Tessa insisted as we got outside to the cold air.
“Wait, what? You couldn’t be any more wrong.” I pointed out.
Had she known me and Jocelyn’s history, those words would’ve never left her mouth.
“Is that why you were blushing, Mr. Brooks?” Tessa smiled as we headed for the valet.
“I wasn’t blushing. I don’t blush, especially not for her.” I snapped as I saw my limo.
“Guess what lover boy, you were blushing.” She pointed out as the limo pulled up, and I tipped the valet as he opened our door.
Tessa climbed in, and I got a nice glance of her perfect round ass. It made me want to do things that I couldn’t say out loud. If Tessa gave me the chance, I would make her scream my name over and over, until she climaxed with ecstasy. And then I’d do it again. Climbing in behind her, I slid over to her, as close as I could. To my surprise, she didn’t pull away.
“So where’s a good place to eat?” Tessa asked, looking over to me.
“Depends on the food you want.” I chimed in.
“I could really go for a burger.” She replied, and my eyes went wide.
I wasn’t use to a girl eating greasy foods. The crowd I was usually around consisted of women who ate salad, and nothing more. They were always trying to watch their figures for their rich husbands. I could never understand it.
“What? I like to eat.” Tessa shrugged, as if she’d read my mind. “I’m not a big fancy restaurant kind of girl. The foreign menu threw me off.” She smiled.
She seemed to do that a lot, and it was w
elcomed. I liked that we had an unspoken connection, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it. Hell, I had no idea that I was ready, but Tessa was slowly changing that. I really liked her, and every moment we spent together only made me like her even more. I just hoped she’d felt the same.
“Good because I know the perfect place.” I smiled, reaching for her hand and tangling our fingers together. My heart rate quickened as our hands touched. I couldn’t believe the sensation this woman had me feeling. It made me want more.
We ended up at Sonic, and we ordered the tater tots and burgers. Tessa even got a large vanilla milkshake, and I got a mango slushy. The night had been perfect as far as I was concerned.
“I am stuffed.” Tessa replied.
We were still sitting in the back of the limo, and my driver Sam was standing outside having a cigarette.
“Me too, what else would you like to do tonight?” I asked optimistic.
“I dunno. What do you do for fun, Mr. Brooks?” she asked coyly.
“Whatever you want, Ms. Winters,” I replied, leaning over to her.
Tessa sucked in a nervous breath, as I cornered her in the limo. My lips brushed hers, as I placed my hand on her chin. Tilting her head to mines, our lips caressed each other’s. Without warning, her hands reached up into my hair, and she began stroking it as she nibbled my lower lip. The feeling sent a wave of pleasure through my body, and I pulled her closer to me. Oh, I wanted this girl bad. Tessa opened her mouth a bit, and I slipped my tongue inside. A moan vibrated through her, and it threw my hormones into gear.
My free hand tangled in her hair, as she ran hers up the front of my shirt. Our tongues battled for control as my cell phone buzzed. The damn thing never failed! I had it on vibrate, but Tessa obviously heard it because she stopped what we were doing. The look on her face was pure passion, and her lips were ruby red from my kiss.
“Sorry.” I insisted, searching my pockets for my phone. Finding it, I flipped it open.
“Hello?” I asked annoyed, yet intent.
“Sir, I hate calling you, but Miss. Brooks insists on speaking to you.” I hear Riley say on the other end. Her voice is flustered, and I knew what that meant.
“Put her on.” I reply.
I heard shuffling on the other end, until my mother grabbed the phone.
“Hi Landon, sweetie.” She said.
“Hey mom, why aren’t you in bed?” I ask as Tessa watched me. I hated doing this in front of her, but this was my life.
“I couldn’t sleep, knowing you aren’t home.” She said, and I could hear the worry in her voice.
“I’ll be home soon mom, I promise. Let Riley tuck you in and—”
“No, I want to be able to say good night to you, sweetie.” She said, cutting me off.
“Ok, I’ll be there soon.” I replied as she hung up.
“Date cut short?” Tessa asked, as I finally locked eyes with her.
“No, just a little detoured. Would you mind coming back to my place? My mother refuses to go to bed without seeing me first. I couldn’t live with myself if I made her wait.” I said truthfully.
Staring at Tessa, I saw the worry in her eyes. It was getting late, and I knew she probably dreaded going home with me. There’s so much explosive chemistry in the air that I didn’t blame her. Thing was, I wanted her to be comfortable. I didn’t want her to think that I expected sex after this half date. It seemed like anytime we got close, something stopped us. I was getting sick of it, and wasn’t going to let the universe win.
“Okay.” She whispered, and I was glad.
Calling for Sam, he hopped in the front, and took us back to my place. I sat Tessa in my room, and went to see my mother. After talking to her for a minute, I tucked her in and sent Riley home. She wasn’t used to dealing with my mother, and in her state, she could be difficult and stubborn. I headed back to my room and saw Tessa sitting on my bed, with her shoes off.
“Everything ok?” she asked, as I closed the door behind me.
“Fine, thanks for asking.” I replied, and she smiled.
The smile warmed my insides, as I walked over to her. I was thankful that she hadn’t judged me thus far, and I hoped it stayed like this.
“So, I was looking at your lakefront, and wanted to know if we could go out there.” Tessa suggested. I stiffened at the thought, and immediately shook my head.
“How ‘bout we watch a movie.” I insisted, sitting beside her on the bed.
“How come? I’d really love to just sit out there and talk some more.” She said uncomfortable as she turned her back to me.
“We can talk in here.” I insisted.
Brushing her long hair out of the way, I kissed her shoulder gently. Her body arched towards me, and I ran a hand up her arm. Tessa immediately shot to her feet, and walked to my long window. Sighing defeated, I wished she would just drop the subject.
“It’s really beautiful in the moonlight.” Tessa said. It was obvious she wasn’t gonna just forget about it.
“I brought a place up here for my mom. She likes to look out at the river. I’m not a big water guy.” I answered, getting up and walking to her.
“Is this your everyday life? With your mom I mean.” She asked, looking up to me. This answer was probably going to shatter any possible relationship that was blooming between us, but Tessa had the right to know.
“This is the most I’ve been out all year.” I said truthfully.
“All year?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at me. All I could do was nod.
“How is that? You have everything going on.” She replied.
“In a nutshell, I’m like a full time nanny for my mom. I have my business, yeah. But this last year, I’ve taken full responsibility for her. When she got really bad, I dropped everything for her. I work at home most of the time. The nights you’ve seen me out—that, was only because I hired Riley.” I answered.
“Wow.” I heard her mutter, and I was expecting the worst to come next. This date was over, I had no doubt.
The silence between us was killing me. I didn’t know what else to say without sounding even more pathetic. Tyler was always trying to push me to throw my mom in a home, but I couldn’t. She was the sole reason that I was where I was in life. I loved her beyond words, and couldn’t—scratch that, wouldn’t let her rot away in a nursing home. Sure, my life lacked in a lot of areas, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
“I’ll understand if you want me to take you home.” I said, breaking the silence.
“Is she the reason you’re determined to get married?” Tessa asked, turning to look at me.
Nodding, I finally admitted another truth of mines. Boy, this girl was my undoing. I had never been this honest with a female since Jocelyn.
“I want her to see me happy, and settled, before—.” Boy was I being a pussy, getting all choked up.
It was just the notion of my mother forgetting everything that scared the crap out of me. She had been my rock when me and my sister needed her—and I had needed her most. So, now that she needed me, I wasn’t going to run and hide. I was sacrificing a lot yes, but taking care of my mother was all I knew.
Without warning, Tessa reached up and kissed me—hard. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pulled her close, and enjoyed having my body pressed up against hers. She didn’t bolt, and that had me relieved. Maybe there was a future for us.
Eleven
Waking up, I reached for Landon, only to feel an empty bed. Sitting up, I blunk a few times to get my eye sight straight, and I realized that I’d fallen asleep. It was still dark, which meant I hadn’t been out for long. Landon and I talked and kissed, until I obviously conked out. Tonight had been more than insightful, and I had a soft spot for the guy. Okay, I was falling for him! There was no denying it. With every kiss, and every hug, he was growing on my heart. The feeling was scaring me half to death, and I couldn’t just push them into a box like I was trying to.
Listening for a moment, I heard distant yelling, I was
sure of it. It was what had woken me up. Swinging my bare feet off the bed, I crept to the door before opening it. The voices were louder, and I definitely heard shouting. Where the heck was Landon?? I didn’t want to be nosey, but I needed to see if he was ok. Tipping from the room, I slowly went down the long hallway.
“You stay away from me, Harrison!” Deidre shouted, and it echoed down the hall.
Harrison? Who the hell was Harrison, and why was Deidre shouting at him? She didn’t seem like the type to raise her voice, but I had only known her for a few hours. What did I know? Stopping at the door, I was glad to see it open a pinch, so I peered in.
“Mom, please. It’s me—Landon.” Landon replied, holding both arms up, in front of him.
I gasped silently, as I stared at the scene unfolding in front of me.
“You’re a liar! Stay away from me. You’re crazy, and I swear if you come near Landon again—”
“Mom, look at me.” Landon said cutting her off, as he slowly approached her. Deidre went into a rage and shoved Landon back. She shoved him hard enough for him to stumble back. That was saying a lot because Landon was a big guy. He towered over his mother.
“I am looking at you. Get out!” she screamed, grabbing something off of her dresser and throwing it at Landon.
He knocked it to the floor, as my eyes stayed glued on them. Deidre kept throwing anything she could get her hands on, and I feared for Landon. I watched shocked as Landon tried his best to calm his mother down. She was obviously having an episode, and as much as I wanted to help, I couldn't. I knew nothing about Deidre's condition, and I didn't want to make anything worse. Deidre picked up the tall glass of water that was obviously set out for her. I knew exactly where this was headed, and it wasn't good. An instant later, the glass went flying, and it shattered as it hit Landon's face.
"Landon!" I shouted, as the shards sliced into his skin from the impact.
Covering his face, Landon smeared the fresh blood, as he shouted for his mother to stop. Without hesitating, Deidre rushed at Landon, thrashing and shoving him, until he fell into the dresser, before he hit the floor.
That was it; I couldn’t stand by any longer, and do nothing. Rushing into the room, I ran over and grabbed Deidre by the waist. To be an older woman, she was strong. She flung herself backwards and I let go of her, before she turned to look at me. The glare in her eyes was vacant, and full of rage. I’d never dealt with anyone in this state, but I knew I had to calm the situation.
Finding His Mrs. Right (Mending Hearts Series) Page 7