She had rocked his world the night before. Kerry. The woman that looked like an angel sent to earth to knock him off-kilter. She was the perfect blend of innocent beauty and worldly knowledge. She knew what she wanted from him even though it took quite some cajoling to get her to express her desires every once in a while. And boy had she expressed them.
Landon had always considered himself a thoughtful lover, always making sure the woman he was with felt one hundred percent of his attention. Her release was always a priority before he even considered getting himself off. Landon liked to think it was because he was a gentleman of sorts, but he still wondered if maybe it was due to the fact that he was thankful the woman was giving him the time of day at all.
He had seen and done terrible things in his life and he felt like scum compared to many of the lovers he’d had. But Kerry had made him feel like the richest man on the planet.
She had that quality that made him want to be better, do better. And that was a foreign feeling in itself.
He had hated leaving her that morning. The image of her naked and wrapped around his body with her luscious hair that reminded him of silk spread across her pillow would be etched into his mind for eternity. It was rude to leave her without saying goodbye, especially after all of the ways they had fucked the night before, but she was too peaceful to wake. He had even stared at her for a few extra minutes, memorizing every curve of her body and face so that he’d remember that moment.
Landon knew he had been a coward to leave without waking her or even leaving a note, but just in case she felt any remorse at their night together he would rather have been spared from that reality.
He had no choice but to leave, though. He had a delivery that morning that had been rescheduled twice that he had no one else to sign for — another reason to hire help for his bar. There was already too much on his plate as it was.
Not surprisingly, he had spent the entire drive reliving every moment with Kerry. Every touch, every word, and sensation played in his mind until he pulled up in the small alleyway behind his bar and realized that he didn’t even remember driving home from Asheville. He had been too lost in thought, too lost in Kerry to pay close attention to what he should have been doing.
He really hoped that he could gain a grip on reality, and soon, because he had a lot riding on the opening of the bar. Not just his brother’s investment but Landon’s pride.
Landon was so lost in thought that he almost missed someone occupying the stools on either side of where he sat at the diner counter. He took a sip of his sweet tea and turned to his right to find Preston, the town’s sheriff, eyeing him expectantly. On the other, he didn’t even have to turn around to know that Austin Connelly had taken the seat on his other side. The man had sold him the property and had even helped him get the proper permits for the bar’s renovation. He also had a quality about him that, once you knew him, you always knew you were in his presence. Landon had always felt the same way about his brother.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Landon asked, addressing Preston.
“Just checking in with you.” His friend eyed him curiously just as Ethel, the server, placed the plate with Landon’s lunch in front of him.
“Checking in as in. . .wondering why I missed out on the date setup last night where you and Shelly were roped in instead, or checking in since my release. Which I should remind you was over two years ago.” Landon knew that he was being an ass to his friend, one of the few people that knew the full story of why he had landed in jail in the first place, but he was still irritated after everything that happened with Kerry the night before. She may not have had any regrets, but he sure as hell did. He should have never agreed to the one-night-stand. How foolish he had been not to get a phone number or plan to meet again. Landon took a hearty bite of his sandwich with a grunt as he waited expectantly for Preston to answer his question.
“Maybe both? We didn’
t mind the dinner, of course, and thankfully Alexis also invited Tate, so your date wasn’t a third wheel of sorts.”
“I never asked to be set up. All of your wives and sisters keep insisting that I need to be in a relationship to be happy. I’m perfectly fine with the way things are.” Landon knew his comment would fall on deaf ears since his friends could care less about his love life or his need for solitude, but for the first time, he actually didn’t believe it himself. Damn, Kerry for tossing his well-crafted world into upheaval.
“Yeah, we know. They just want you to have someone there for you. Women tend to think that you need to be in a relationship to be happy.”
“Like you all are?”
Landon didn’t need to glance beside him to see the wide grins on his friend’s faces. Everyone in the town was deliriously happy, which made him and the other singles in town their target.
“Anyway, how is the bar coming along?”
“Almost done. Hoping to have her open in two weeks or so.”
“Well, let us know if you need anything.”
Silence grew between them as Landon ate his lunch and the men ordered their own meals. He could tell by the way they both stared at him expectantly instead of making conversation that they each had something more on their minds. Luckily Landon was saved as the rest of the Connelly family, their spouses and kids, and Shelly walked into the diner.
Turning toward Austin, Landon cocked his eyebrow expectantly, knowing that his friend had something to say.
“Fine. I was the chosen one.”
Chuckling, Landon asked, “Chosen for what?”
His friend rubbed his hands across his face and wove them into his hair as he mumbled, “To tell you that my mom and dad are having a cookout tonight and want you there.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand you.”
“Don’t make me say it again, dude.”
“Are they asking or demanding?”