“I do,” he replied with a slow nod. “But that wasn’t the shock you may’ve thought it was.”
“Really? Your son proposing a marriage of convenience for the sake of my medical insurance didn’t shock you?” I sputtered out a nervous laugh.
“Julie, sweetheart—” he reached across the table and took my hand in both of his “—when I asked Landon why he asked you to marry him, he told me that nothing matters to him more than you do.” He gave me a wistful smile as he held my gaze. “You mean everything to him. You always did.”
“He means everything to me too. Your son is amazing. He always has been.”
Mr. Clark’s smile deepened as his shoulders shook with a chuckle.
“You two,” he sighed, shaking his head. “What you have is as rare as it is wonderful, if you only opened your eyes.” He patted my hand and let it go when his gaze drifted over my shoulder.
“Sorry about that. I tried him earlier, but he was at an all-day conference and is out of pocket for most of tomorrow.” He looked me over with a furrowed brow. “Feeling okay, Jules? I’m only asking because there’s still chocolate cake on your plate.”
His mouth pulled into the crooked smile that haunted my dreams and now sliced me in half.
“I’m good, just full. Dinner was fantastic.”
I smiled at Mr. Clark. He nodded back, acknowledging more than just a “You’re welcome.”
After Darlene came back to the table, we finished our desserts and said our goodbyes. The drive home was quiet, and I made myself yawn a couple times so that Landon would think I was tired, not freaking out in the passenger seat.
“You never told me about how the apartment hunting went yesterday,” I said as I watched the lights from the skyline blur across my window.
“Oh, that’s a funny story. Remember Marco from Fordham? He works for a building management company. I can put apartment searching on hold for a few months while I sublet an apartment on the West Side.”
“You’re letting Marco find you an apartment?” I turned my head and gaped at Landon’s oblivious face.
He shrugged. “Marco wasn’t a bad guy.”
“Maybe not, but he’s kind of a flake. I’m friends with him on Facebook, and I feel like I see a post every month announcing his new job somewhere. What happens to your apartment if he job-hops while you’re staying there?”
“I’m sure I’ll have to sign something that I can’t be thrown out if he leaves.” He reached over the console and squeezed my knee. “Now who’s worrying? I’ll be fine.” He lifted his hand, the graze of his thumb still shooting a jolt right up my thigh.
Best friends didn’t have jolts between them.
The visceral reactions were becoming too potent to ignore, but I kept denying them all the same.
He pulled up in front of my house and shut off the engine.
“You don’t have to walk me in. I’m okay, and you have a long drive back to your dad’s.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He clicked the locks open and climbed out, shutting the door behind him as he came around to the passenger side. He beat me to opening my door as I was moving a little slowly. Going out at night was becoming easier, but I felt like a sad Cinderella, my joints telling me cut my night short when I didn’t want to.
Landon’s brow furrowed, but he stayed silent as he reached for my hand and helped me out of the car.
“Thank you for coming tonight. My dad loved seeing you.” Landon kept hold of my hand as we made our way to my front stoop.
“Don’t thank me. I was happy to be there. I like Darlene. I don’t know if I can afford Lake Tahoe, but I’d love to see them get married.”
“Jules, Lake Tahoe would be on me. He’d want you there, and so would I.” He held his hand out for my keys.
“I can manage a lock.” I pursed my lips as I dropped them into his hand.
“I know you can. I just like doing things for you.” He unlocked the door and held it open for me to walk through. I turned on the light as his father’s words rattled around in my head.
What you have is as rare as it is wonderful, if you only opened your eyes.
I was tired enough to go right to sleep but smart enough to know it wouldn’t be peaceful.
