He stepped toward me and raked one of his hands through his messy hair. His hair, along with his appearance, wasn’t as perfect as it had been at the whiskey party. He looked like your everyday person—a really attractive everyday person—but still. He looked more like Landon Harrison and less like his actor persona.
I liked it more when he looked a little more human. Not that I was in the arena of liking much about that man.
“I was hoping to talk to you again at the whiskey party, but everything kind of went crazy toward the end,” Landon mentioned.
“I know.” I nodded.
“Listen, I’m in town for longer than I thought. I’m taking a mental health break from work. Maybe we can meet up for coffee.”
“I don’t like coffee.”
“You used to like coffee.”
“People change.”
“OK. Maybe tea.”
“It gives me gas.”
He shook his head. “Tea doesn’t give people gas.”
“What are you? The tea police? Mainly what I’m saying is, Idon’t want to see you, Landon. The other night was a one-time thing. A mistake of the highest proportions. We were drunk and made a mistake.”
“It wasn’t a mistake to me, and I wasn’t drunk.”
Sigh.
Neither was I. I knew what I was doing. In the moment I craved what I was doing. I leaned into the terrible decision that felt so right. The act wasn’t the issue; it was the aftermath that did me in.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. We’re both adults, and it happened,” I said. “And now we’re allowed to just leave it in the past.”
“I don’t want to leave it in the past.”
“Yes, well, it isn’t like we are ever going to have a future. So again. Let’s keep it easy, OK? I know I said some things at that party that were heavy, but I was honestly not myself,” I lied. “I didn’t mean any of it.”
“Really?” he asked, his brows lowered. “You meant none of it?”
“Not a word.”
“Even the part where you said you hated me?”
I snickered a little and rubbed my hand against my neck. “Of course I don’t hate you, Landon. I reserve my hatred for people I actually know.”
A flash of despair passed through his eyes as he nodded slowly. “That makes sense. OK, well. Maybe we’ll cross paths and can exchange a few easy words.”
“Yes, of course. If we just so happen to cross paths, we’ll do exactly that.”
He blinked a few times as if trying to push away the moment of sadness in his stare. “Sounds good. And Shay? Thank you for what you’re doing for Karla. She needs someone in her life who believes in her. You’re good for her.”
“She’s a good kid. She’s just a little broken, but she’ll find her way.”
He gently laughed and brushed his hand against the back of his neck. “We’re all a little broken and trying to find our way, I suppose.”
I wanted to smile at him, but he still looked a little sad. Nothing like how he appeared in the magazines.
“She adores you,” I commented, wanting to give him an olive branch. “She really looks up to you. When you called, she lit up, and it was the first time I heard her laugh.”
“Like you said, she’s a great kid who was dealt a shitty hand in life. I’m just trying my best to remind her that this world has a place for her and that she belongs here. I know her, though. I know how her thoughts can get very heavy and dark. I worry about her every single day.”