This was not good. Karen was right. Either this thing between us would explode or I would.
“Oh my God,” Karen mouthed as her gaze raked up and down his body.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Landon said, shooting Karen a wide grin after he slid his glasses on. “I’m Landon, Julie’s best friend and squatter for a few weeks.”
“Karen,” she said as she stood to take his extended hand. “Friend, neighbor, and bagel messenger.”
“Nice to meet all of you,” he said with a chuckle. “A bagel sounds amazing.”
“The bag is on the counter, and I just made a pot of coffee,” I said, darting my eyes everywhere but his mouth. I laughed at my attempt to shake off what had started brewing between us in Vegas. A sleepy-eyed Landon trudging around my kitchen was walking temptation.
“Julie said you just moved from North Carolina,” Karen said as Landon came to the table to scoop up the container of cream cheese.
“I did. My best friend was nice enough to put me up for a while when my sublet fell through.” He shot me a smile. “Plates are in that cabinet?” He pointed behind him.
“Yes, sorry.” I stood and joined him at the counter. “I’m not being a very good host.” He framed my waist when I reached up to open the cabinet.
“You’re fine,” he whispered into my hair as he reached over me, the heat from his front against my back almost liquefying my knees. I was breathless by the time he grabbed a plate and went back to the counter.
I could’ve moved to the side, and he could have reached across, not over me. His sexy rasp in my ear made my toes tingle, along with other places below my waist, and my feet rooted to my kitchen tiles until he backed away.
Karen looked between us, obviously loving the show we were putting on. Had it been that long ago that Landon was just my friend who happened to be a guy? I wanted to believe this crush was because I was affection-starved and vulnerable, but the only thing I was starved for was the man in my kitchen.
“So, you guys have been friends since college?” Karen asked, smirking at me when Landon poured creamer into his coffee.
“That’s right. Since freshman year.” He looped his arm around my shoulder as he took a sip. “I used to come visit more, but in the past few months, I’ve been too damn busy.” He yanked me closer. “But now that I’ve moved here, Jules gets me all the time.” He kissed my temple. “She’s thrilled, right?”
“Ecstatic.” I shook my head and tried for a scowl as he peeked at me over the rim of his coffee mug. This was normal banter between us and how we teased back and forth. The flirting and the rubbing and the lifting,thatwasn’t our usual, and I shouldn’t have wanted so much more of it.
I fell back into my chair at the kitchen table, taking a bite out of my bagel and ignoring Karen’s widened eyes in my periphery.
“Please don’t think I’m rude. I slept longer than I wanted to and have to log on to work for a little bit. It’s okay if I eat in the spare room?”
“Of course. And I forgot to tell you there’s weights and a treadmill in the basement if you want to work out.”
He turned to open the refrigerator, and my eyes roamed down his back. Black pants framed his ass perfectly, but those shorts hugging his backside made it almost sing. Again, I’d seen Landon in shorts and tank tops plenty of times, and I’d never had to check the side of my mouth for drool. The struggle not to pant over him now was as ridiculous as it was exhausting.
“I was going to jog around the neighborhood, but that’s better.” He flashed us both a wide grin. “Are you working all day?”
“No, I was up early and got everything done. Not much to do until I get assets for the next phase, which would be at the earliest tomorrow. But I’ll keep busy and won’t bother you.”
“Actually, I wanted to head into the city and check out the office space, if you wanted to come along. It’s not fully ready yet, but I thought we could make a day of it. Maybe get some lunch.” He shrugged. “It’s not a big place. We’re renting three offices on one floor.”
Technically, the Bronx was a borough of New York City, but if you were from anywhere in the tri-state area, you never said “head into Manhattan.” Manhattan was “the city,” and the other boroughs were referred to by name. I’d grown up thinking it was a given until I’d had to explain it to someone.
“We could do that,” I said, relieved that we’d be out in public for a day and I could stop thinking of my big, hot best friend in my tiny house and what other sounds he made when he came. Yes, out was a spectacular idea.
“Great, we can take the six right there and walk around a little. Maybe we can play tourist for a couple of hours.”
“I grew up here, soyou’dbe the tourist,” I teased, even though that wasn’t totally true. The last times I’d visited any New York landmarks were on school field trips.
“Right, because Wallingford, Connecticut, is up in the sticks.” His lip curled as he grabbed his plate.
“You’re in trouble,” Karen sang, her shoulders shaking with a chuckle after Landon headed upstairs.
“I am,” I sighed. “I really thought it was the emotion of the weekend and the fake wedding and not seeing him for so long, but—”
“But when he came up behind you to get a plate out of the cabinet, I thought he was about to spin you around and back you against the wall.”
