He nodded, resting his elbows on the railing.
“Trust me, I know. As much as I enjoy my job, some days I feel like it’s killing me slowly.”
“And you’re not getting any younger,” I teased, smiling when he raised a brow at me.
“Oh, I know that too. I even have some gray dotting my beard these days.” He rubbed his jaw, a smirk curving his lips and teasing the dimple in his cheek under his cropped stubble.
I’d spotted the gray bristles when he’d lifted me for a hello hug, but they only made him that much more attractive. I had to laugh as my eyes roamed his face. We were both almost forty, but he seemed to be getting hotter with age, while I seemed to be falling apart.
“I’m really proud of you. You’re a partner. At least one of us is using their business degree to their advantage.”
The water was mostly still and quiet, unlike the constant, turbulent thoughts running through my head about my future.
“Don’t say that. You’ll be okay. You’re talented and will find something soon, I’m sure.”
“I know something will come up eventually, but the thought of job searching and interviewing again exhausts me.”
“Exhausted? You’re sure that you’re feeling okay? There isn’t a part three to the story you told me earlier?” He eased closer and draped his arm across my shoulders.
“No part three. One new reality was enough to deal with. I didn’t need a second so soon.”
“I know,” he whispered into my hair and planted a kiss on the top of my head. I breathed him in, smiling at the familiar spicy cologne he’d worn since college. He drifted his hand down my back, looping his arm around my waist to pull me closer.
“I’d take it all away if I could.”
His sad smile cut right through me when I lifted my head.
“I’d bet you’d try too.” He laughed when I nudged his side.
“For you, you’re damn right I’d try.”
The lights dimmed, and Andrea Bocelli’s “Con te Partirò” blasted through the speakers as the water danced to the tune of his voice. Even though I’d seen it before, the water show was still just as breathtaking. My eyes followed the tall crests around the fountain and the ebbs and flows that came together for a beautiful performance.
A lock of hair blew across my eyes when I turned my head. Landon tucked it behind my ear and cupped my cheek, running his thumb back and forth along my jaw.
The warm breeze kicked up as Landon and I stood together, frozen and barely blinking as our eyes stayed locked.
He framed my face, a smile twitching at his lips. The graze of his thumbs back and forth across my cheekbones sent a shiver rolling through me. This was Landon, my best friend for most of my life, yet I couldn’t look away. My mouth went dry as I tried to swallow, reaching up to grab his wrists.
“Eyeballing me again?” My voice came out like sandpaper as I tried to get my bearings. After Nate had discarded me like the damaged goods I felt like, it was hard not to see that every time I looked in the mirror. My self-esteem and self-worth had taken a hit. Not to mention, the loss of a job I loved and the question of whether I could continue to do it—even if I had been able to keep it—screwed with me on a constant basis now that I had nothing else to do but ponder and worry.
“Maybe,” he said, his raspy whisper traveling down to my toes. I’d never heard his voice dip so low, and I couldn’t decipher if it was anguish or need dripping off his words. “You’re beautiful. Don’t ever hide from me again.”
My gaze snagged on his lips, the perfect mouth I’d always teased him about. My mind went back to the night in college we’d almost kissed. He’d had more to drink than I had but sobered first before our lips touched.
We’d blown it off at the time and laughed whenever we’d reminisce about it, but nothing in this crazy moment was funny. The deep rasp of his voice, the heat in his eyes, I wasn’t sure if I could believe what I was seeing, but my vulnerability was leading me—leadingus—into dangerous territory. We inched toward each other, my eyes still on his mouth as a pull that came out of nowhere pushed us together like a couple of lost magnets.
I had enough complications to keep me up at night. Falling into a kiss with my best friend was one I didn’t need or think I could handle.
“You’re pretty smooth.” I cleared my throat and sputtered out a nervous laugh. “I can see why the women love you.”
I pressed my hand to his chest, putting enough distance between us to catch my breath as I shifted away and brought my attention back to the fountains. The water slowed and the music faded as I tried to get my racing pulse to ease. I dropped my hand to escape the thump of his heartbeat against my palm.
“You’re the only one. Most get fed up with me pretty quickly.” He looped his arm around my shoulders, yanking me to him for a moment before he let it drop.
“I doubt that,” I said, gulping in short spurts of air when I heard how breathless I sounded.
“The long hours I keep aren’t conducive to relationships. It’s why I’m not really the marrying kind, I guess.”
