Spying Under the Mistletoe (Love Undercover #2) - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,78
find Eric, the good-looking man who helped me the other day with the Christmas decorations in my storage locker.
He smiles at me. It’s a friendly smile, but it doesn’t have the same impact as Landon’s sexy smiles. They really should be registered as lethal weapons—no woman can survive them.
I feel my mouth stretch into what I hope resembles a genuine smile. That’s what I get for letting my thoughts drift to my ex-fake boyfriend. “I volunteer here. What about you? What are you doing here?”
“I heard great things about the place…and well, I thought I’d check it out for my grandmother. Ever since my grandfather died a few years ago, I’ve been worried about her living alone in her apartment.”
“I’m sure she’ll love it here. The residents and staff are friendly, and I haven’t heard any complaints about the apartments.”
“Do you volunteer here often?”
“Three days a week. Most of the residents are like grandparents to me.”
“I’m not sure if I could handle more than one set. My grandmother fusses over me like I’m still six years old.”
“I think that’s sweet. I don’t have any grandparents.” Close enough. “So I love having so many here. But I must admit they’re getting to the point where they want to marry me off, so I can give them all a great-grandchild.”
I’m not joking. A few hinted earlier that maybe Landon would be the one to knock me up—because God knows their own grandchildren aren’t in a rush to be in a family way.
Their words, not mine.
He laughs. “That sounds like my grandmother. I think that’s why she was devastated when I broke up with my last girlfriend.”
“She really liked her?”
“Not at all. She was that desperate to be a great-grandmother. I’m positive she’s got a competition going with her friends as to who’s going to be the first great-grandmother.”
“Well, I hate to tell you this, but things won’t be much better if she moves in here. The seniors here are just as competitive.”
“Do they know you have a boyfriend?” Eric asks, reminding me I’d told him the other day that I had one.
My face must have given something away because he cringes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you guys broke up.”
“You don’t have to apologize. It just happened the other day.”
“That would explain the ghost my grandmother was positive she’d heard in your apartment yesterday. It wasn’t a ghost, was it?”
“Nope. Just me. Or I’m assuming it was me and not a ghost.”
“Bad breakup?” He openly winces. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”
“It’s okay. It just wasn’t meant to be.” Between the lies and the fate of any man who loves me, Landon and I were destined to be only temporary.
“So how devastated are you?”
“Are we talking on a scale of one to ten?”
“Chloe,” Samuel says, shuffling toward us. “We need an extra player for our poker game. And everyone at the table nominated you to join us.”
My mouth tugs up at the corners to the point where my cheeks ache. “That’s because you know I’ll lose.” I’m just as bad a poker player as Landon.
He winks at me and offers his arm so he can escort me into the recreation room.
“It was nice seeing you again,” I tell Eric, relieved to get out of explaining that on a scale from one to ten, I’m a twelve when it comes to my fake relationship ending with Landon.
After I finish my volunteer shift, I return to my vehicle, saluting Adam as I walk past his SUV. He nods at me.
In my car, I adjust my playlist to an upbeat Christmas song. The asphalt sparkles in the streetlights, the ground wet due to the rain that fell while I was inside.
I turn over the engine and pull away from the parking lot. Traffic is lighter now than it was when I arrived. As I draw near the first set of traffic lights, it turns green, and I continue through the intersection, following the car ahead of me.
I glance at the rearview mirror. To my surprise, Adam isn’t behind me. Either he decided to stop the charade that my life is in danger, or he’s more stealth than he’s been.
That’s the last thought I have before the sound of metal-hitting-metal rips through the passenger side of my car, and my vehicle is sent rolling.
My temple hits the side window, and the world goes black.
27
Landon
My phone rings from the coffee table. Even without looking, I know it’s Liam.