“Nothing.”
I brushed past him and slid into the seat, running my hands over the soft leather. He studied me for a moment before he shut the door and walked around to the other side of the SUV.
After he climbed inside, started the vehicle, and maneuvered us into traffic, it dawned on me that he’d managed to get a parking space right in front of the apartment building.
“So why did you hesitate before you got in the car?” he asked casually.
I shrugged one shoulder. “It surprised me that you found a parking space in front of my building. I usually see the same ten cars parked out there while the rest of us losers have to use the parking garage.”
Though Landen was in profile, I saw the corner of his mouth tilt up. “Just lucky, I guess.”
I didn’t speak again as I looked out the window, taking in the pretty late spring day. Landen seemed at ease with the silence, he didn’t even turn the radio on.
As we pulled into the park, I stated, “You know, I’ve lived here for nearly all my life and I’ve never been to White Rock Lake.”
“Really?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I’ve heard about it, of course, but just never seemed to find the opportunity to go.” I turned my head toward him as he parked and shut off the car. “Then again, I’m not much on hiking, biking, or rowing, so that might be why.”
He grinned. “It’s a good thing I changed my mind about the hike then.”
He got out of the car and I followed suit, not waiting on him to open my door as he came around the hood. Landen frowned at me but didn’t say anything, though I could tell he wanted to. I bit back a snicker and followed him to the rear of the Durango.
When he lifted the back hatch, I stared in surprise to what the cargo area contained. There was, of course, a picnic basket, but next to it was something I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Is that a kite?” I asked, my tone shocked.
“Yes,” he answered simply, reaching inside and handing the kite to me.
It looked like a huge Monarch butterfly, complete with the coloration on the wings. Orange streamers were attached to the bottom. It was awesome but definitely not something I expected to see in Landen’s hands.
“It’s shaped like a butterfly,” I stated.
He laid a folded blanket on top of the picnic basket before he hefted it up. “I know.”
“Youhave a butterfly kite?”
He shook his head and closed the back hatch before using the remote to lock the SUV. “No,youhave a butterfly kite. I bought it for today but I thought I would leave it with you.”
The kite was whimsical and fun—exactly what I would have chosen for myself. The fact that Landen understood that made me study him closely. Though I saw him in the office regularly, we rarely discussed personal details. I honestly hadn’t believed that he knew me as well as I knew him.
As an executive assistant, it was my job to pay attention to what my boss and his clients liked, to cater to their preferences. Well, that wasn’t all my job required, but it was part of it. Since I started working for Chris, I found that meetings and events that would have been hostile or full of tension became much more relaxed when I took the time to make sure each person was comfortable.
I knew how Landen took his coffee and that he liked shortbread cookies. I also knew that he was methodical and had an excellent eye for details. He caught small things in spreadsheets and programming that even Chris would sometimes miss.
Then again, his attention to minute details was probably how he knew that I would appreciate a silly kite that looked like a butterfly. I never hid my personality from Landen. I assumed he never paid attention.
Apparently, I assumed incorrectly.
The epiphany disturbed my equilibrium. In the months since Chris hired me, I thought Landen Weber was arrogant and irritating. I assumed he considered me beneath him until the night of Chris and Lucy’s wedding. Now, I was wondering if he’d been paying close attention to me all along. And if he perched his ass on my desk, not to annoy me, but because he enjoyed our verbal sparring.
Absently, I watched as Landen spread out the blanket and set the basket on one corner, but my thoughts were turned inward. I knew that he was physically attracted to me, but I’d believed that was all it was, a trick of body chemistry.
But something as simple as a silly kite made me realize that Landen Weber understood me better than I thought, and he still wanted to get to know me.
His voice broke me from my trance. “Are you hungry?”
I nodded and knelt on the blanket, setting the kite aside. “Yes. I missed breakfast.”
