“Cheers to that,” Cassie screeched and waved her drink around.
I sat back down and turned towards Landon, trying to make conversation. Cassie’s face was currently being sucked off and I had no interest in watching. “So what do you do?”
“I’m a mechanic. What about you?”
“Personal assistant. I work for Cassie.”
Cassie must have followed our conversation because she leaned over and said, “She wouldn’t get a job anywhere else as a personal assistant. She is terrible at it. I consider scheduling my own meetings on a daily basis.”
Guess that little barb was worth taking a break from her mouth-to-mouth.
“Don’t try and spare my feelings or anything. Just tell me what you really think,” I said and stuck my tongue out at her.
Cassie blew me a kiss and lifted her glass. “Don’t worry, I will. And you know it’s true.”
I lifted my own drink. “She’s right. I’m terrible at my job. But too stubborn to find something else. And working with Cassie is awesome.”
Landon laughed, a deep throaty sound that made me take a big drink of my beer or risk embarrassing myself by trying to climb on his lap. God, he was perfect. And the total opposite of Rhett.
The night was a definite success. We talked and it turned out we had more in common than I thought. He was funny, didn’t push me for information I wasn’t willing to part with and kept me in a steady supply of beer. Since I still had to drive, I switched to soda after a few, but again he didn’t make a comment.
Despite the fun I had, it was getting late, and I was ready to go home and collapse into my bed.
“I’ll walk you out,” Landon offered after I said goodbye to everyone.
I turned toward him when we made it to my car, and he lifted his hand and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. Of course he did because he had all the lines and definitely all the moves.
He leaned in and before I had a chance to react or realize what a bad idea this was, his lips were pressed to mine. I stood unmoving, my hands hanging limp at my sides, too stunned to do anything but stare at him wide-eyed. His eyes were closed, and he moved his lips. Lips that were so soft, I wondered if he used Chapstick.
His other arm came around my back and he pulled me closer, making me gasp at the movement. That’s all the invitation he needed and his tongue sneaked inside my mouth, meeting mine. He was a great kisser. There was no question about it. And he tasted like the beer he had earlier, something I didn’t mind at all. But if I was honest with myself, he wasn’t Rhett. That’s what everything seemed to come down to. How I hated myself for ruining the moment. Why couldn’t I get over Rhett? I had a perfectly nice guy wanting to get it on with me and all I could do was think that he wasn’t Rhett.
Landon broke the kiss and looked at me, a smirk on his face. “Well, that was awful.”
“Excuse me,” I gasped. I knew it wasn’t the best kiss in the history of kisses, but it wasn’t that bad. Was it?
“You are really not into me, are you?” Landon asked, not looking at all offended.
“I’m so sorry Landon, it’s not you. You are gorgeous and funny and totally my type.”
“But I’m just not him. Because there is someone else, right?” And that’s what it all came down to, wasn’t it. He wasn’t Rhett who was really the only one I wanted.
“There is. I’m sorry.”
He hugged me to him and kissed my hair. “Don’t worry about it, sugarball. I still had fun today. Not as much as we could have had, but it was still a good night.”
I chuckled into his shirt and hugged him before stepping back. “Friends?”
He nodded. “Friends.”
We said goodbye and walked to our cars. Before I got in I turned and shouted, “And don’t call me sugarball.”
“Okay, sweetness.”
Before I had a chance to respond he was in his car and out of earshot.
