“I did.” He ran a hand down the shirt he wore. “She suggested this shirt. Found it at H&M and had ’em hold it for me. What do you think? She a good personal shopper?”
The phone lowered as Robert’s eyes held his. “I think you look handsome.” His smile brightened and something inviting flashed in those light eyes, but it was gone just as quick as Landon had noticed it.
He quickly fought off the effect the look had on his body and kept his eyes on Robert’s. “Thank you.”
Robert smiled before glancing at the phone in his hands, his thumbs moving in quick synchronization until he pressed the side of the phone and put it in his back pocket. “Autumn and I talked about you a few days ago. I told her I hadn’t heard from you, and she never said she’d been in contact with you. That’s a sister for you.”
“I feel like I’m navigating a mine field here.”
Robert laughed and extended his bottle for a tap with Landon’s. He offered his up, but didn’t really participate in the tap, unsure what was even going on.
“She messaged me. I didn’t initiate the conversation with her…”
Robert took a drink, a much smaller sip than Landon’s, and lifted a hand. “I want you two to become friends. She’s important to me, but I’m pretty sure she set me up. We were talking about you, and I hadn’t heard back from you. She encouraged me to reach out anyway. She was certain I should. I didn’t know if you wanted to see me or at least explore the friendship I thought we shared.”
“No, I thought… I, yes, we were friends at Landstuhl—are friends.” Shit, he wasn’t even making sense to himself. Being called out about his radio silence took him by surprise. Guilt washed over him, and he wasn’t sure why. To distract himself, he lifted his near empty beer bottle toward the waitress who nodded her understanding. “I don’t know. I just didn’t want to bother you. You’ve done so much for me. I’ll never be able to repay you. I can’t help feeling like it’s all one-sided.”
“Explain to me why you believe this is one-sided,” Robert said, his eyes turning icy with intensity as he waited for a reply. An older man stepped up to the table. Big, burly, and luckily for Landon the man held two plates of hot food, saving him from answering Robert’s question. Going down that path would end in an argument, again.
“Boy, where you been? I’ve been worried about you!” The man was apparently the chef if his uniform told the story. Boisterous and possibly Cajun from the sound of the thick accent.
The chef got a good look at Landon, placing his plate on the table in front of him while Robert took his plate from the outstretched hand.
“Why doesn’t anyone ever try to contact me?” Robert’s good mood and teasing words seemed to take some of the huff out of the chef’s attitude. “I’ve been to Germany then Minnesota. I met Landon…in Germany.” Robert’s hand extended across the table toward him. “Landon, this is Lee, general manager, head chef, good friend, father of a godchild of mine. He lets me in here in the middle of the night to cook when I need an escape.”
“And I’ve missed you showing up like you do. I’ll let you eat, but we’re talking before you leave,” Lee said, pointing at Robert then giving Landon a nod.
“Sounds great. This looks delicious.” Robert dug in.
He didn’t know what he had been expecting this evening, but it certainly hadn’t been this friendly, down-to-earth gentleman who everyone in Landstuhl had deemed unapproachable. Robert was brilliant, an amazing listener, and easy to talk to. Not deserving of the reputation he’d been given at that German hospital. Landon just decided to go with it. He was happy the doctor seemed back to his normal self. Landon lifted the burger and took a big bite. The savory flavors exploded across his tongue. It was delicious. He took another bite, Robert chuckling at his groan of satisfaction.
“I told you the food was good.”
Chapter 14
The smile on Landon’s face made Robert’s body grow warm all over. He almost felt drunk. The happy kind. He was on cloud nine. They’d both been drinking, but not a lot, just enough to relax. He had set out for them to have fun and had accomplished it—with the help of the restaurant. He and Landon ended up moving to the bar, where they tested drinks created by the lead bartender, sampled desserts Lee brought out especially for them, and just had a really good time. At least Robert had, and judging from the smile directed at him, Landon had enjoyed the evening too.
“Wanna walk along the harbor?” He took the chance and asked Landon, hoping to keep the man with him a little longer. Time had flown by, and he wasn’t ready to call it a night just yet. Reaching out, Robert pushed the door open for Landon, encouraging him through.