and turned to look at his sister. “Yes?”
“I know it still hurts. I lost her, too.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“I could have been in that car with them that night, you know.”
Yes, he knew that, too. Simone was to bring Zoe home from the bachelorette party that night. However, at the last minute, his mother had thought of something she’d needed Zoe to do, and his sister had ridden home with their mother instead.
Landon crossed the room to give his sister a huge hug like she needed...like he needed. He knew she and his parents were just trying to look out for him. Simone would have wanted him to go on with his life—a life without her. But just the thought of that made him feel ill. Still, he couldn’t go on living the way he was.
And that was the crux of his problem. He wasn’t living. He was existing. He dated women, but that was physical, not emotional. He was upfront with the women he went out with, right from the beginning. He was not looking for anyone to share his heart, just his bed.
“I will be alright, Zoe. We both will.”
“But I worry about you so much, Land. You rarely smile. I just want you to be happy.”
Funny she should say that—the guys at Peachtree often said the same thing. They called him a class A workaholic.”
Releasing Zoe, he turned back to the luggage on his bed to finish packing. “So, tell me about this twenty-one-day cruise. That’s a long damn time to be out on the water.”
Zoe chuckled and he was glad their moments of melancholy had passed. “You won’t be at sea the entire time. The ship docks at a lot of ports, where you can get off and take in the sights. And just think. When you return, it will be less than a week before Christmas.”
“Why didn’t I get a brochure outlining the places I’ll be visiting?”
“I didn’t give you one? Oops. I meant to.”
He glanced over at Zoe. For some reason that “oops” didn’t sound sincere. He forced the thought from his mind. For once, he would stop being such a suspicious bastard about everything.
“Maybe you’ll meet someone you like on this cruise, Land.”
He shook his head. “I’ve met a lot of women I like, Zoe.” But he knew what she was saying.
“Yeah, right. I bet there hasn’t been one woman you’ve thought about longer than it took for her to leave your bedroom.”
Now that’s where his sister was wrong. There was one woman. Sure, he’d dreamed about having Monica Bennett in his bed, but he’d also thought about her while he did other things—like during his morning workout, or when he went for a run, or when he sat down to eat. He would even admit to daydreaming about her in the office when he should have been focusing on an assignment. Her business card was worn and tattered from him pulling it out of his wallet and looking at it so much. More than once, he’d thought of giving her a call, just to hear her voice. According to her business card, she was a reporter for the newspaper in St. Paul.
“Land?”
He glanced over at Zoe. “Sorry. My mind went to something else for a moment.”
“Probably something work-related. Don’t worry—the guys can handle things while you’re gone.”
That’s what they’d told him. Duan, Chevis, Antron and Brett had appeared all too eager to see him take off work for a month. He figured with him gone, they’d have a chance at all those extra hours of overtime.
“I’m sure they will. I admit I could use some R&R.”
“That sounds good to me,” Zoe said, her bubbly attitude back.
He chuckled. “Thanks, kiddo, for looking after your oldest brother.”
“Hey, you’re my only brother, and I just want you to enjoy your birthday and be happy.”
Happy... That was a word he hadn’t used to describe himself in a long time. And the way things were going, he doubted he ever would be again.
CHAPTER THREE
MONICA GLANCED AROUND HER cabin. Impressive. She’d been told that it was one of the six largest suites on the ship, and this was where she would reside for twenty-one days, compliments of the owner of the cruise line. No doubt he wanted a good review.
Well, so far so good. Everyone had been welcoming and professional, and the service was great. Already her luggage was in her room, along with a bottle of champagne, a couple bottles of wine and a platter of chocolate