The Wrong Gentleman(34)

“What happened to you this afternoon?” I asked. I wanted to know why he was booking a hotel room in Monaco. Was it really so he didn’t have to share a room for the night? Or had he had a call from an ex-girlfriend last night after his shift who was in town, or maybe he’d found someone on Tinder.

“What happened?” he asked, grinning at me.

“You went ashore this afternoon for no apparent reason.” Maybe he’d met someone earlier today and that was why he’d been so keen to be off the yacht.

Landon chuckled. “There was a reason.”

“So what was it?” I should have dropped it. It was none of my business, but I didn’t like the idea that he was keeping something from me. I wanted to be the person he confided in. I wanted to be his friend.

“I went to get migraine meds,” he replied. “And I picked up some tampons for August at the same time, if you must know.”

August turned toward us at the sound of her name. “He saved my ass. Or my vagina, depending on how you look at it,” she said.

“You went tampon shopping for August?”

Landon chuckled. “Yeah. There were so many choices.” He shook his head. “Who knew?”

Conversation descended into discussing periods and whether it was an assault on masculinity to shop for tampons.

“If you’re scared to buy tampons, you’ve probably never been to war,” Landon said and took a swig from his beer bottle. “Stuff like that really doesn’t matter.”

That silenced the table, and my desire to question him. I’d never met a man like Landon—a man who’d fought for his country, who had done important things. He was right, most people concerned themselves with stuff that really didn’t matter. I’d learned that yachting. I’d gone from living in a group foster home to a multimillion-pound yacht. The difference was stark.

That was the thing about Landon, he was just different. His time in the army, his quiet dominance, and the way he made me feel when he was near me.

“I’m ready to eat,” Landon announced. “Anyone want to join me?”

A rumble of voices agreed, and we all drained our drinks and set off to find a place. He might be the junior deckhand on the Sapphire, but off the boat, Landon was completely in charge. It didn’t seem conscious. He was just confident, knew what he wanted, and went for it without worrying about anyone else. Not that he was rude about it, just single-minded.

It was sexy as hell.

While rich men enjoyed flexing their power because it made them feel good, Landon seemed to have power despite his lack of money. He commanded attention from the rest of the crew, including me.

We all piled out onto the street, and Landon and I ended up at the back of our party.

As he was almost a foot taller than me, he had to lean over to whisper in my ear. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”

For some reason, Landon’s compliment didn’t make me wince the way some men’s comments did. Everything about him was different and it had thrown me off kilter. His warm breath on my neck shouldn’t have made me shiver. He shouldn’t ease the ever-present knot in my stomach or have me wanting to slide my hand into his as we walked. He shouldn’t make me feel safe. “You didn’t.”

“Well, you do. Not that it’s any surprise.”

“Because you’re a gentleman who prefers blondes,” I said, nudging him gently with my elbow, trying to lighten the mood.

He pulled in a breath and scraped his hand through his hair. “I’m beginning to think I’m a man who just prefers you.”

I focused on the cobbled street in front of us. “Me?” Had I been mistaken about the ex-girlfriend in town or the girl on Tinder? I tried to hold my breath to ensure I heard his reply.

“Yeah, you. I like you. More and more.”

My stomach swooped, and I tried to think of a response. My head was telling me to run. Far away. I didn’t want to fall for anyone. I’d worked hard to stay single all these years—to keep away from temptation. But now, temptation right in front of me, I found myself rooted to the spot, wanting to know what was next. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he asked.

I nodded, unsure of what to say. Unsure of how I felt.

I knew I found Landon attractive. I knew I liked him too. But I also knew that I’d been single all these years for a reason.

He wrapped his large hand around my upper arm to steady me when I stumbled over a loose cobblestone. We stopped, and I looked up at him as he swept his thumb across my cheekbone. “I’m only going to ask you this once, and you don’t have to decide now, but stay with me tonight?”

“Landon . . .” Somehow, I couldn’t say no to him, even though I knew I shouldn’t say yes.

“Think about it.”

He placed his hand in the small of my back, urging me forward to catch up with the rest of the party.





Twenty-Two





Landon


I could hardly tear my attention away from Skylar for more than a second, and if I wasn’t careful, I was going to make a fool of myself. Despite the fact that I knew if things developed between Skylar and me, I could make the job I was doing for Reynolds more difficult, I’d decided Skylar was worth the risk.

“I gotta go dancing, burn off some of this sexual frustration,” August said from the other end of the table. “Who’s in?” Everybody began to gather their things, down their drinks, and get ready to follow August. I’d never been into nightclubs, and I wasn’t about to change the habits of a lifetime.