A Sweet Mess - Jayci Lee Page 0,108
unable to regret the kiss. “And just as a heads-up, she’s been climbing up the kitchen counter and every other slippery high surface in the house. She’s nesting and wants to clean everything.”
“Stop crazy pregnant woman from going splat on the floor. Got it.” Tara gave him a thumbs-up and took the seat next to Aubrey, who had finally come out of hiding to glare at the two of them.
“Ladies.” With a slight nod, Landon left Aubrey in Tara’s capable hands to cook for the most important people in his life.
* * *
Their guests had cleared out after erasing all traces of the backyard barbecue despite Aubrey’s and Landon’s protests. With no dishes and cleaning left for them, Aubrey let him pull her down onto the sofa for a foot massage. She had a ticklish spot he was tempted to press, but her swollen feet needed some serious ministrations.
“Mmm. That feels so good.” She sighed softly as her eyes fluttered closed. “Thank you.”
“It’s what I’m here for,” he said, wishing he could do more to ease her pregnancy aches and pains. It wasn’t fair she had to do all the work to bring their child into the world. He felt pretty useless.
“You have other uses.” She opened one eye, and a naughty grin spread across her face.
He laughed till his sides hurt even as he grew hard remembering his other uses. As his mirth receded, he was certain it was the right time.
“How tired are you?” he asked, scanning her face for signs of fatigue.
“Normal preggers tired. Why?”
“Do you want to take a drive?” His heart throbbed in his throat.
“Sure.” She arched an eyebrow. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing. Why should I be up to anything?” Oh, I’m up to something, all right.
After making sure she was bundled up and toasty, he eased his car out of their driveway with one hand on the wheel at ten o’clock and the other on two o’clock. His breath threatened to grow shallow, and blood pounded in his ears.
“Is everything okay? You’re acting strange.”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t everything be okay?” Perfect. I’ll just keep answering her questions with questions of my own. Because that isn’t suspicious at all. “We’ll be there in ten minutes. Just hang on, okay?”
“Hmm.”
Aubrey still looked puzzled when he parked outside the unlit building. Landon felt light-headed and slightly nauseous, so she was in better shape than he was.
“Where are we?” she whispered as they walked into the building, and he turned on every light switch he passed.
He dragged in a shuddering breath. “Well, I’m hoping we’re at my future restaurant.”
“Your restaurant?” She gasped beside him, placing a hand on her belly. “When? How?”
“When I decided to bring you home, or die trying, I knew I had to stop running away from what matters most to me. I’ve been looking for a restaurant space since then.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I thought you needed more time to take the leap, and I didn’t want to pressure you by asking about your plans.”
“I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t sure I could really do this. But when I saw this space, everything fell into place. I am doing this.” He grasped both her hands in his own. “What do you think? Do you like it?”
She spun in a slow circle, taking in the spacious open kitchen and the intimate but not-too-crowded seating area. “Is that a garden out back?”
“Yeah, and I’m going to section off a part of it for an outdoor dining area.” Eager to show her, he tugged her toward the garden, turning on the outdoor lights. “Remember the restaurant in Cambria? It won’t be elaborate as that, but I loved the feeling of being surrounded by nature while we ate.”
“Of course I remember. That sounds wonderful.” Aubrey paused, and he waited for the but, unable to breathe. “But are you sure you don’t want to start off somewhere hipper? Like Santa Monica or Venice? That crowd would line up around the block to try the Landon Kim’s cooking.”
“I don’t want to cater to that sort of crowd. They would treat the restaurant like a reality TV show. Can the food critic actually cook? Or will he eat his words?” He cringed with distaste. “I want to run a restaurant here for the locals. But most importantly, I want to be close to you and the baby. Close to home.”
“Oh, Landon.” Aubrey held his face between her hands and rose on her toes to kiss him. “This is