she said, “They begged me to have you in it, Landon. Begged! I didn’t know what else to do.”
My stomach dropped slightly. “Have me in what?” I slowly asked, dread filling every ounce of my body.
Glancing down at the floor, she mumbled something.
I leaned in closer. “What was that?”
Her head dropped back and she groaned. “The annual charity date auction. They asked me if you would be in it, and I sorta said yes on your behalf.”
I felt my mouth fall open. “You mean, I have to go out on a date with whoever bids the highest amount?”
She forced a smile. “I mean, really, how hard could it be to go on one simple date?”
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,