He slid his phone into his pocket and gestured toward the family room, an invitation to go there.
She followed beside him, fiddling with the hem of the shirt. “At least Angelina will have the comfort of knowing I was babysitting on a Friday night and got thrown up on. She hates me because she thinks I’m ruining your life.”
Landon took off his suit coat, draped it over the back of an armchair, and sunk onto the couch. Kate sat next to him, suddenly feeling awkward about wearing his boxers. It seemed such an intimate thing to do. He’d probably never be able to look at them again without remembering this night.
Landon loosened his tie. He had a way of making even small motions seem sultry. “Angelina doesn’t hate you because you’re ruining my life. She hates you because she thinks I like you. And she thought that even before tonight.”
“Oh.” Kate tried to make her voice sound normal and not hopeful. “What made her think that?”
He loosened his tie further. The man ought to be in tie ads. Watching him was mesmerizing. “Something about the way I looked at you during church services.”
Kate hadn’t noticed Angelina in the congregation. “Miss Vet thought you were checking me out at church?”
“I wasn’t. I was just naturally concerned about how you were coping, so my eyes may have drifted your way a time or two.”
“Oh.”
“I’m the unneighborly sort. You know that.”
Kate considered him for a moment. “What did I wear last Sunday?”
He shrugged. “A black dress. The same one you wore to the funeral.”
Correct. “What did Angelina wear?”
He frowned. “Umm…probably a dress…”
“Angelina may have a point.” And that thought sent a warm surge of pleasure through Kate.
“I wasn’t checking you out at church.” Landon paused for a moment. “I may have checked you out a little when I came over to see if you needed help, but you can’t blame me for that. You look good in a pair of faded jeans. I have a thing for those.”
“Do you?” She bit her lip and pondered buying a few more pairs of jeans. “Too bad there weren’t any of those in the laundry room.”
His gaze went over her appraisingly. “You look pretty good right now. I could easily have a thing for women who wear my shirts.”
Earlier she’d told herself there were a dozen reasons why things wouldn’t work out between her and Landon. Right now she couldn’t think of any of them. His eyes seemed to have that effect on her. Or maybe it was his broad shoulders. Or the curve of his jaw. Reason just fizzled away. “So why exactly are you friend-zoning Angelina?” Maybe he was the type who liked a challenge and was done with his last conquest and ready to move on to another.
He didn’t answer for a moment. “It’s more than one thing. She’s a mite too high strung. At best, we’d last three months before we drove each other crazy.” He took off his tie completely and laid it on the coffee table. He started in on the top button of his shirt.
Kate found herself entranced by the task. Even in a dress shirt, she could see the outlines of his biceps. Was she staring? Could he tell she was gaping at him?
“And,” he said, “there’s also the problem with you.”
“What would that problem be?”
His eyes held hers. They were such a pretty color, as bright and blue as the Arizona sky. “I find myself thinking about you a lot.”
Kate’s heart rate picked up, beating out an eager rhythm. “I don’t see that as a problem. Unless you’re not thinking nice things.”
“I’m thinking very nice things.” His gaze slid to her lips. “Like how nice it would be to kiss you.” He said the words with a low timbre, a confession he didn’t seem upset about confessing.
Zero reasons. There were zero reasons why she and Landon couldn’t be together. At least not good reasons. Almost unconsciously, her hand moved across the couch toward his. “Ah yes, I remember your offer to help me work through my kissing trauma.”
“Seems like the type of charitable work I can get behind, or in front of, so to speak.”
He leaned toward her and lowered his head, his eyes still on hers, questioning. He was waiting for some indication from her, permission to kiss her. She was not going to let herself think about whether this was a good idea or not. She wanted to kiss him. She moved closer and shut her eyes.
One of his hands wound into the tangle of her wet hair, tugging her neck to tilt her face up to his. The other slid around her waist and pulled her to him. His mouth came down on hers, soft and gentle. His lips teased hers, tasted them. She’d only been in Arizona for two-and-a-half weeks, but she felt like she’d waited so long for this kiss.