to figure something out. I’m not sure if it’s me, or what he’s looking for, but I really wish that it’s something inside of me and that he sees it. I shouldn’t wish that, but I do, I can admit it to myself even if to nobody else, I want Landry Astor.
Chapter Fourteen
LANDRY
She’s looking at me, expectantly. Licking my bottom lip, I watch her. This feels huge, it feels gigantic and if I turn away from it now, I’ll never forgive myself. Even if I know that this is so fucking wrong, I’m taking the chance. I’m taking her.
“Come upstairs to the penthouse, I have to talk to you about something,” I gently demand.
Tennessee watches me for a moment, her eyes widening, then she turns to her tea. I watch as she plops the bag inside before grabbing ahold of the handle. I don’t tell her that her tea is going to be the least of her worries, but if she wants it, it’s hers—whatever it is.
“Do I need my iPad or computer?” she asks on an exhale.
I almost laugh, but I don’t. Instead, I shake my head once. “No, just you,” I murmur.
She nods her head once, then slowly she falls in beside me and without hesitation. I should feel really fucking badly about this. It should feel wrong, but it doesn’t. I didn’t need my kids’ permission to do anything but somehow having their confirmation that I wasn’t a shit father has made me regroup and refocus.
Granted, I don’t think that I ever lost focus of Tennessee, I just pushed thoughts, desires, images of her to the side and attempted to forget them. Attempted to pretend that they didn’t exist, that she didn’t exist in an effort to save us a helluva lot of headaches.
Reaching the back corner, I lift my hand and reach for the keypad of the private elevator. Nobody can get in here without the code and the only people who have it are Julie and Laurent.
Julie has been told that she may leave for the day and Laurent never works past two on a Friday. We’ll be alone, completely undisturbed. The door opens with a ding and I clear my throat as I press my palm against her back and push lightly.
Together we walk into the car. I push the only button in the car, watching the doors close, then impatiently wait as it rises to the top of the building. Then the doors slide open, Tennessee’s breath hitches next to me.
Glancing to her, I notice that she’s staring straight forward. The view is the same floor-to-ceiling window view as it is in my office, except in a completely open living room concept.
“Landry,” she exhales.
Stepping out of the elevator, I offer my palm to her. She slips hers inside and I begin to walk toward those windows. Her high heels click behind me on the marble flooring. When we arrive at the window, I try to see what she does.
It’s bright outside, the sun winking against the windows of the buildings all around us. “Why did you bring me here?” she asks.
Turning around, I take the warm teacup from her hand, turning and setting it on the side table next to the loveseat.
“I wanted to talk to you,” I say, repeating my words.
“About?”
I don’t speak right away. Closing my mouth, I press my lips together and watch her for a moment. Her big green eyes search mine and if I’m not mistaken, I see hope in them. So much hope. Maybe that’s what I want to see, though? Maybe it’s all just a mirage?
“What do you think of me?” I ask.
She blinks, her lips parting, then her cheeks tint pink and she turns back toward the window. She doesn’t speak right away and I think that she’s not going to. I feel like an old fool asking a question like that. I don’t know how to speak to women anymore. The only ones that I’ve been with after Susan were one-night stands, nothing more.
“I’m not sure how to answer that. As a boss? I think you’re amazing. Too good to be true, really, and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Clearing my throat, I turn toward the window to look out as well. Lacing my fingers together behind me, I rock back on my heels as I stare forward. “Not as a boss, Tennessee.”
“As…?”
“As more than a friend, as something more.”
There’s a long moment of silence. Too long. I’ve fucked this all