I stared at her with what I was sure was a disbelieving look. “How hard could it be? Emme, I’d be going out with a total stranger who paid for me! Like a gigolo! That’s fucking creepy.”
She frantically shook her head. “It’s only for dinner. That’s it. Nothing else, I swear.”
My eyes felt huge, and I stared at her without blinking. “As if I even thought there would be something else.”
She waved me off and reached down to pick up Lady. “Please, Landon? Please do this for me, and I’ll do anything you want. Cook your favorite dinners and desserts for a month. I’ll do your laundry for the rest of the year. I’ll even make you macaroons! You know how much you love macaroons!”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, Emme. Why can’t Noah do it?”
She pouted, and I nearly groaned at the sight of those soft pink lips puckering, instantly imagining them around my dick.
I shook the image away and cleared my throat as she spoke.
“Noah isn’t famous, and wasn’t voted one of NASCAR’s most popular drivers, or listed as one of People’s sexiest men. Plus, he’s dating Amy! Please, Landon. I’d be the queen of the committee for at least two years.”
“That’s what this is about?” I asked with a frown. “To gain popularity?”
“No! You know I have never taken advantage of you like that, and I never would,” she stated. “Okay, fine, maybe I’m hoping it will gain me a little something, so I can quietly slip away from this committee. It’s so much work, and I just don’t have time for it. And just think about the money you’ll bring in. Please? Do it for me?”
Those ice-blue eyes of hers would get me to do just about anything, especially when she looked at me with such desperation.
With a long exhale, I replied, “Fine. I’ll do it, but the only reason I’m doing it is because I cannot seem to say no to you. You are a truly evil woman, and you better be glad you’re my best friend.”
She jumped and let out a squeal of delight, which caused Lady to bark. She put the dog down and ran over to me, nearly knocking me off the stool when she threw her arms around me. Suddenly this grown, twenty-five-year-old woman turned into a sixteen-year-old. “I owe you big time, Landon! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
I swallowed hard and tried not to let my body react to her being so close. The fact that she was standing between my legs, her body pressed to mine, should have made me happy simply because she was happy. Instead, it stoked the fire that burned deep down inside of me when it came to Emmerson. She was my best friend. The one person I could always count on, and vice versa.
If she ever found out I harbored stronger feelings for her, it might ruin our friendship.
She drew back and smiled as she looked into my eyes. “I owe you.”
I tried not to look at those perfect lips on that pouty mouth of hers. Tried not to think of what it would be like to kiss them again. Oh, I’d kissed them once before, when we were younger, and I had vowed to love her until the day I died. With every woman I’ve kissed since, I’ve compared their lips to Emmerson’s.
Her lips parted slightly as she let her gaze fall to my mouth. For a moment, I swore there was a crackling in the air before Emmerson jerked her eyes back up to mine.
Fuck. I needed to stop the way my mind was going, or I’d soon have a hard-on.
I moved my hands from her back, down to her hips, and gently pushed her away. “Don’t worry, I’ll come up with a good payback.”
She laughed, but it came out more like a nervous chuckle before she replied, “I have no doubt about that.”
“The auction is what, in two weeks?” I asked.
“Yes! I’ve been keeping an eye on your schedule to make sure it stayed open.”
“I’m not racing anymore, so it won’t be a problem. We only have three active cars in the shop, and we’re ahead of schedule. Will we be spending the night in Austin like we usually do when the event is over?
She nodded as she stared at me with an intense look I hadn’t ever seen before. When she reached up and brushed her fingers through my hair, I tensed.
“You should…um…get a haircut before the auction,” she said. “Your hair has gotten a bit longer from how you normally wear it.”
I reached up and grabbed her wrist to get her to stop running her fingers through my goddamn hair. She sucked in a breath and our eyes met, and there went that crackle in the air again.
God, how I wanted to pull her in for a kiss. Knowing that I couldn’t drove me mad.
“I’ll get it cut,” I said as I dropped her wrist and she took a few steps back. She looked as confused as I felt.
I cleared my throat and got off the stool. “I need to go and pick up the wine for dinner tonight. Did you want to ride with me, or are you driving separately?”
Emmerson stared at me for a beat too long before she shook her head. “I’ll ride with you as long as you don’t mind dropping me back off at home.”
What was going on with her odd behavior?
“I don’t mind at all,” I replied. “You ready to go?”
She nodded. “Let me just take Lady out once more before we leave. Is it okay if she comes with us?”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
After taking Lady out, Emmerson grabbed her purse and a lead for Lady, while I picked up the dog and carried her out to my truck.
“If you even think of pissing in my truck…” I whispered to the dog, who took advantage of how close my face was to lick it.
“Stop that, Landon Lewis! She is a good girl and doesn’t go potty in the house or in cars.” When she caught up to us, Emmerson scratched under the puppy’s chin once again. “Isn’t that right, Lady?”
Lady answered back with a bark as Emmerson and I both laughed.
Emmerson
THE MOMENT LANDON pulled up to the large house we had both grown up in, a rush of warmth and happiness came over me. I knew it was because I was going to be with my family.
I was still a bit shaken by what had happened back at my place. When I had hugged Landon and then saw him staring at my mouth, my eyes drifted down to his soft lips…and I had desperately wanted him to kiss me.
Kiss. Me. I wanted Landon to kiss me. What in the hell was up with that?
I mean, it wasn’t like it was the first time. I’d had plenty of naughty thoughts when it came to the man sitting next to me. But those were in my dreams, and when I woke up I quickly pushed them away. I had never actually fantasized about physical contact when I was with him. In his arms. Inches from those soft, plump lips of his that made my insides want to melt just thinking about them.
Oh my God. Emmerson. Stop this. He doesn’t feel the same way.
I shook my thoughts away and focused back on family dinner night.
“I love dinner at the ranch,” I said as I opened the door to Landon’s truck and jumped out.
Landon came around the front and chuckled. “It’s a fun tradition. I’m glad our folks still do it.”
I looked up at him and smiled. “Me too. Now, the big question is, how will your wine be?”
He held it up and winked. “I have a feeling I’m going to take the title with this one.”