He was silent for a long moment, his eyes on the spectacular view, and then he sighed lightly and turned to me. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
I blinked, because I’d been on the verge of asking him that. But then I realized he meant about last night.
“Kai told me that you two asked Mr. Pierce to get my schedule changed to the later shift.
“We wanted to help.” Landon said automatically. Then he studied my face, then sat down next to me with a sigh. “Except we didn’t, right? That’s why you were mad.”
“My boss yelled at me for it,” I admitted, though the last thing I wanted to do was to make him feel bad.
“She yells at everyone, if it makes you feel better.” His tone was light, but his face was still trouble. “I’m sorry. Kai suggested it, but I admit, it sounded like a good idea to me. The idea was that if we kept you up, you could hopefully sleep in in the morning. And before you asked, I tried to get them to be quieter the last couple of nights, but it’s like trying to herd really loud cats.”
“I know you meant well,” I said honestly. Him, yes. Kai? I wasn’t sure about that.
Landon seemed to read my mind again. “I wasn’tthinking. I should’ve asked you if that was what you wanted. But it actually seemed like Kai was trying to do something nice for someone, so I didn’t want to rain on his parade. So to speak.” He gave me a faint grin. “Every time I come to this place, I start picking up the expressions that the baby boomer guests use.”
I smiled at that. It was kind of funny to hear a young, hot guy talking like a senior citizen sometimes. “I’m sorry I got mad. I should’ve known you were trying to help. You, especially.”
“Kai, too. He’s not a bad guy, Zoe. I think you and he just got off on the wrong foot. Though I’m not sure he’s figured that out yet. You may have noticed that he has a pretty high opinion of himself.”
I laughed. “I’d gotten that sense, yes.”
Landon returned his gaze to the horizon. “Ash is the one I can’t figure out. Why he’s acting like that. Did you two spend much time together back at your university?”
“I’d never even met him before we drove up here.”
That seemed to surprise him. “Really? Are you sure you didn’t have any classes together? Or accidentally insult his mother or run over his puppy or something?”
“Fairly sure.” I hesitated, not wanting to insult Landon’s friend—even though that friend was practically begging for it. “He’s really not like that all the time?”
“Not at all. In the kitchen he’s a tyrant, sure. Not like that British guy on TV who yells at everyone, but heruns a tight ship.” Landon winced, perhaps at the use of that expression. “But outside of the kitchen? He’s actually a lot like Kai.”
Great. Just what I needed—two Kais and a Landon for roommates. Too bad it couldn’t be three Landons.
“Anyway, I get the sense that things aren’t particularly easy for you right now, and I’m sorry that my brother and I added to your problems. And I’m also sorry that Ash is acting like a pompous ass for some reason.”
“A pompous Ash,” I said, laughing a little.
“Yeah, that too.” He leaned back, lifting his arm as if was going to put it behind me along the back of the seat, but at the last moment, he just stretched and put it back down. Which was a bit of a disappointment. “What are you going to do after you graduate?”
“IfI graduate,” I said glumly, and then I told him a little about it. How I needed a glowing report from this internship both to complete the semester and to line up interviews with other top-notch resorts. When he proved to be a good listener, I told him a little more. About how hard I’d worked to keep up my scholarship and my grades. About how awkward I’d felt around students who were so used to wealth and privilege that they didn’t even notice it. And even about the coffee shop I managed back on campus, even though it was small, often overlooked, and only had one employee, Mia.
He nodded, listening sympathetically. I didn’t even know if he and Kai had been to college—possibly not since it sounded like they’d spent most of their waking moments on skis. “You have a lot riding on this. No wonder you’re stressed. Not sure if this is your thing, but if you need to relax, the spa here is excellent. They do all kinds of massages and treatments.”
“Thanks.” The corner of my mouth twitched upward. “Your brother also had some suggestions for how to help me relax.”
“I bet he did,” Landon said wryly, sounding two thirds embarrassed and one third amused. “But I have another one, and it’s completely G-rated.”
“What’s that?”
“If you come back here in an hour, you’ll have a perfect view of the sunset. Best view in the whole place.”
“I’ll do that sometime,” I said, smiling at him.
And I sure as hell hoped he’d be here when I did.
12
LANDON
