for mowing the stupid lawn, so the way I saw it, I might as well finish the job and be done with it.
And yet I didn't really want to run him over, as delightful as that sounded. I mean, hey, my shoes were messy enough already.
I tried to think. Maybe I could simply mow around him?
No. I couldn’t.
And why? It was because just then, the mower's engine sputtered out on its own.
I glared down at the thing. Well, this was just terrific.
Brody said, "You're out of gas."
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
And now, I felt doubly foolish.
This was exactly how it always turned out whenever I went toe-to-toe with Brody Blastoviak. He always won.
Damn it. Even the lawn mower was on his side.
When I looked up, Brody's lips were twitching at the corners. He wanted to laugh. I could tell.
I coldly informed him, "That doesn't count, you know."
"Doesn't count for what?" he asked.
"A win for you."
"No kidding," he said.
I wasn't even sure what that meant. And I had no time to figure it out, because just then, someone new appeared at Brody's side.
It was a man I'd never seen before. He was short and stocky, with wavy brown hair, greying at the temples. He wore an expensive-looking business suit and a very bright smile.
Confused, I glanced around the front yard. Where on Earth had he come from?
When my gaze landed on the driveway, the answer became obvious. Sometime within the past few minutes, while I'd been arguing with Brody, yet another vehicle had arrived on the scene. It was a long black limo with dark tinted windows.
Funny, I hadn't seen one of those since prom.
When I looked back to the stranger, he held out his hand. "Hi. I'm Landon. And you are…?"
Sweaty.
Without thinking, I'd already moved my hand halfway toward his. Now I pulled it back with an embarrassed laugh. "Actually," I said, wiping my hand on my jeans. "I'm not sure you want to shake this. I'm a little messy."
From somewhere to my left, I heard a delicate snort. I turned to see the blonde standing within slapping distance – this time on the lawn, not on the walkway.
I looked down at her shoes and almost smiled. The shoes were still mostly cream-colored, but now, the front half of each shoe had a slight greenish tinge.
Suddenly, my day felt just a little bit brighter.
She muttered, "Oh, shut up."
With mock innocence, I asked, "Did I say anything?"
"No. But you were thinking it."
The stranger's voice cut between us. "Waverly, is there a problem?"
The blonde straightened. "No sir. No problem here."
"Good," he said. "Let's keep it that way, shall we?"
When I turned back to the stranger, he gave me another friendly smile as he said, "You never told me your name."
Now, I was really confused. Obviously, this was Landon Tarrington, the blonde's boss – or her boss's boss, if I wanted to get all technical. But why wasn't he angry with me?
I mean, shouldn't he be yelling about the lawn or something?
I replied, "I'm Arden – Arden Weathers, actually."
During this whole exchange, Brody had been giving Landon a look that I couldn't quite decipher. Still, one thing was glaringly obvious. Brody wasn't delighted to see him.
Then again, Brody hadn't seemed delighted by much of anything today – well, except for the mower running out of gas.
Landon looked to Brody and said in a friendly sort of way, "So, you and Miss Weathers know each other?"
Brody frowned. "You might say that."
Landon gave a slow nod. "I figured as much." He turned back to me, and his gaze grew speculative. "So, you two have a history, huh?"
I wasn't quite sure what he was getting at. "Well…" I stammered. "…we knew each other in high school, if that's what you mean."
"So what were you?" he asked. "High school sweethearts?"
Me and Brody? I gave a bark of nervous laughter. "No. Definitely not."
From the sidelines, Brody said, "Is there a point to this?"
The guy smiled at both of us in turn. "I'm just seeing some chemistry here, and I'm wondering what's up."
Chemistry? At the very word, I almost groaned out loud.
I looked to Brody, and we shared a long, sullen look. In high school, we'd been chemistry partners – and not by choice.
Brody told Landon, "You thought wrong. No chemistry here."
"Yeah," I chimed in. "That goes double for me."
Undaunted, Landon gave me another long look. Something in his gaze made me feel just a little bit naked – not physically, but definitely mentally.
He reached up to stroke his chin