Rise - Part One (Rise #1)(6)

Chapter 4


"Is that your dinner?"

I feel a faint tap on my shoulder just as I hear the gruff tone of Landon's voice float into my ear. He's behind me. If I didn't recognize his voice, I'd know him by the scent of his cologne. It's the same fragrance that lingered in my office after he left three days ago.

I look down at the small salad I'm holding in my hand as I wait in line at the deli that's less than a block from my apartment. Ivy had called with an invite to her place for dinner but I'd asked for a rain check. A night spent in, with my feet up while I plotted out what I'd say in my meeting with Gabriel Foster, is all I really want.

"Tess?" His fingers race down my exposed arm until they reach my wrist. "It's you, isn't it?"

I take a deep breath, remembering the conversation I had with Ivy a few days ago. I turn quickly, wanting to get this over with so I can get home to the solace of my quiet apartment. I'm instantly taken back when my eyes race over his frame.

He's dressed as he was the first day we met, when I gripped tightly to his shirt to curb the urge I'd felt to panic during that unexpected jolt of turbulence. He looks as though he just stepped out of the cockpit of an airplane, complete with sunglasses. A small, black carry-on bag is in one of his hands. The other has dropped from my arm to my waist.

"Landon," I say his name quietly, instantly aware of how many people's eyes are trained on the two of us. "Are you on your way to work?"

"I just got back." He nods towards the carry-on." I was on my way home and stopped to pick up a few things. Do you live near here?"

He's one of Gabriel Foster's closest friends so it's highly unlikely that I need to cower behind a white lie about just being in the neighborhood. He doesn’t strike me as the type of man who would follow me to my place just so he could accost me, when I least expect it, on a dark and rainy night. "I live around the corner."

"Which corner?" By the sudden turn of his neck I can only assume that he's looking towards the street beyond the entrance to the deli. I can't see his eyes, behind the shaded lenses, which is both alluring and annoying.

I pull the small plastic container of salad more firmly into my grip. "My building is on 57th."

"That's close." He reaches up to remove the sunglasses, revealing his blue eyes. He squints briefly as he adjusts to the stark fluorescent lights that flood this space. "I live a few blocks away. My place is on …"

"Next." A man's voice carries over the dull hum of the crowd. "You're next."

That's directed at me. I take a step forward but I'm stopped by the pressure of Landon's hand on my shoulder. "Ditch that. I know a place we can grab some dinner."

"I have some work to do," I begin as I step forward to hand the salad to the man behind the cash register. "I was going to eat in so I could do that."

"Save that for lunch tomorrow." Landon pulls a few bills out of the front pocket of his trousers before I have time to fish my wallet from my purse. "We'll have a quick dinner and you'll still have time to work."

I watch as he takes the change from the burly man who is already calling the next person in line to step forward. I nod as I push the salad into my bag. It's only a quick dinner. What possible harm can come from that?

***

"You've never f*cked a man on an airplane?"

There's the harm. It's a direct blow to my ego.

It's my own fault for talking about sex to a stranger on a flight. I should have known that not all mothers are like mine. Mine didn't even explain the facts of life to me when she found a box of condoms in my dresser drawer. She simply put them on my bed so I'd see them when I got home from school that day. I was a senior in high school then. I suppose it was a tactic meant to embarrass me into abstinence. Considering the fact that I'd already been sleeping with my boyfriend for a full year at that time, the condoms-in-full-view trick failed miserably.

"Gabriel's mom?" I blurt out with an almost full mouth of food. I chew quickly watching the wide grin that spreads over Landon's full lips. "Did Gabriel's mom tell you that?"

"Gianna thought you were adorable." His smile dims. "We shared a cab after the flight. She also said she thought you were in a lot of pain."

That's the kind of thing I'd expect a mom to say. I hadn't opened up to her about anything in my past. I had talked about the people I met in Italy and the beauty of the architecture there. Only after I sensed her reading the letter over my shoulder did I feel a shift in the air. She had become more compassionate, asking me questions about love. I had dodged those expertly, but by then, she had enough of a stolen glimpse into my past to know that heartache had touched me.

"I'm not in pain," I say confidently. I may have felt a small pang of the kind of regret that comes when a relationship can't be salvaged, but it's not going to define my future. I won't let that happen.

He rakes his hand through his short brown hair. "Are you seeing anyone right now?"

I don't answer immediately. It's a question that may hold an immense amount of promised meaning or it could just simply be a step towards another mini lecture about how I need to keep my options, concerning the man who wrote the letter, open. "No. I'm very single."