Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Landon sat at the end of the bar with Miguel and Finn, watching the Orioles game. They’d been here all damn day. It was growing late, which meant that for the past two hours, he’d had one eye on the television and the other on the door.
He had spent the entire day trying to figure out what he’d say to Sunnie that might set her mind at ease, that wouldn’t cause her to freak out again.
Sunnie had told him countless times she wasn’t looking for a relationship, that she wanted to focus on her career. He respected that, but as far as he was concerned, she could have her career and him at the same damn time.
And that ridiculous list she’d rattled off this morning was full of nothing. Finn had already given his blessing, and Landon suspected—hoped—Aaron and Riley would do the same.
Which left the love part.
She’d never been in love, and he could understand why that might scare her. He’d seen honest-to-God panic in her eyes this morning and it had bothered him all day.
“Landon?”
Landon turned at the sound of her voice, thinking he’d misheard. There was no way…
Audrey stood behind him, smiling.
“Audrey?”
He stood up, giving her a hug, catching Finn’s shocked expression as Miguel mouthed The Audrey? to Finn, who nodded just once. He and Miguel had been partnered up on the force a couple of months after Audrey left town, so the two of them had never met.
“I stopped by your place but you weren’t there. I hoped I might find you here.”
“Why didn’t you call and tell me you were in town?” he asked.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
She’d done that. And not in a great way. Two minutes ago, he’d been wishing Sunnie would hurry up and get home. Now he was hoping he could buy a few more minutes.
She smiled and said hello to Finn, and he introduced her to Miguel, the three of them exchanging pleasantries as Landon tried to figure out how he could politely tell her this wasn’t a good time.
“I was wondering,” Audrey said, turning back to him, “if I could speak to you alone for a moment or two?”
He wanted to say no, but he noticed her eyes were shiny and it looked like she might cry. Had something happened to someone in her family?
“Of course,” he said, gesturing to the only empty booth left in the pub, in the back corner. Audrey sat first, grabbing the side that faced the doorway, which left Landon at a disadvantage. He now had his back to not only the front door, but the stairs that led to the Collins Dorm. Short of constantly turning around, he had no way to know when Sunnie arrived home.
Sighing, he sat as well, but before he could ask what was wrong, Darcy—who’d just started waiting tables at the pub a few months earlier—was standing there. She said hello to Audrey, asked if she wanted anything to drink, then shot Landon a not-so-subtle what the hell look.
Finn had filled his kid sister in on Sunnie and Landon’s newfound relationship—skipping over the sex part, even though it was clear that was all Darcy was interested in hearing about—shortly after lunchtime.
Landon had carried his full pint over with him from the bar, so he waited…and just barely resisted muttering a curse when Audrey ordered a glass of wine and then asked to see a food menu. The last thing he wanted to do right now was have a drink and dinner with his ex-girlfriend. He and Audrey had parted on good terms, and while he wouldn’t mind catching up with her someday—preferably with Sunnie there—tonight wasn’t the night for that.
“How have you been?” she asked.
“Fine. And you?”
“I’ve been…” She paused, and he caught just a glimpse of the sadness he’d spotted earlier before she pasted on a smile and said, “Good. Busy with auditions.”
“Any parts coming your way?”
She shook her head. “It’s a very competitive atmosphere. Between waiting tables, taking acting classes, and auditions, I’m lucky if I get six hours of sleep every night.”
“You knew it would take some time. I’m sure you’re right there on the cusp of something big.”
Audrey nodded, clearly not agreeing. “I’m thinking about moving back to Baltimore.”
Landon wasn’t sure how to respond to that. If she’d told him the same thing a year ago, he would have been thrilled, excited, ready to jump right back in where they’d left off. Mercifully, that hadn’t happened, because he couldn’t begin to imagine wanting that life over this one. Even with Sunnie still fighting her feelings for him.
“Audrey. It’s only been a year or so. Are you sure you’ve given it?—”
“I started dating someone right after I moved to New York.”
Her abrupt right turn caught him off guard. “Okay.”
“He was an actor too. We’d go to auditions together and around Thanksgiving, we moved in together.”
Landon thought back to Thanksgiving. He’d eaten lunch with his mom and stepdad, then headed to the Collins Dorm later that night for a Tom-Hanks-giving marathon. He had still been nursing a broken heart, down in the dumps and missing Audrey. Sunnie and Finn knew, of course, and had come up with the movie marathon as a way of keeping him distracted.
Obviously, Audrey had rebounded a hell of a lot faster than he had.
“Why are you telling me this, Audrey?” he asked, wondering where this conversation was going and hoping she’d get to the point soon. He really wanted to return to the bar to keep an eye out for Sunnie.
“The first time he hit me was Christmas day.”
Landon’s stomach dropped. “What?”
Audrey forced a smile that didn’t fool him, lifted one shoulder—feigning a casualness that didn’t work, then said, “Not all guys are nice.”
“Audrey.” He reached across the table and grasped her hand as she swiped away a tear with the other. “I’m sorry.”
Sunnie wasn’t two steps in the pub when she was surrounded by Finn, Darcy and Miguel.
“What’s up, guys?” she asked, trying to look around them for Landon, the task impossible, thanks to the wall they’d built.
“Not much. How are things with you?” Darcy asked, her voice way too cheery.
Sunnie instantly went on the alert.
Kelli had already moved around her, heading to the bar to talk to Padraig. Yvonne, also unimpeded, followed her.
Sunnie noticed when they both saw something and stopped mid-step.
That was when they came back and added two more bricks to the wall.
“What the fuck?” Sunnie insisted, trying to dodge them.
“Why don’t we all move the party upstairs?” Yvonne suggested. “You can change out of your scrubs and we’ll turn the intervention into a slumber party.”
“Great idea,” Kelli said.
Sunnie wasn’t fooled for a minute, but she pretended to be. “Sure. Sounds like fun.” She took a few steps toward the stairs, then deftly dodged to the right, around their circle—immediately spotting Landon sitting in the corner booth, holding Audrey’s hand.
“It’s not what it looks like, Sun,” Finn murmured, placing one hand around her waist, still trying to guide her to the apartment. “She showed up here unexpected, just wanted to visit for a little while, catch up.”
Sunnie stared at the table. She couldn’t see Landon’s face. Hell, she couldn’t see more than the back of his head. But she could see his hand, holding Audrey’s. And Audrey’s tears. “It looks like more than that.”
“Sunnie—” Yvonne started.
“You guys stay down here,” Sunnie said, forcing her gaze away from the table. “I do need to change my clothes, freshen up.”
Watch something.
“I’ll be right back down, okay?” Sunnie didn’t wait for a response. Instead, she headed for the stairs to the apartment, allowing herself one last peek at Landon’s table.
He was still holding Audrey’s hand.
“I don’t know why I stayed with him,” Audrey continued. “Why I kept forgiving him. He swore on Christmas it was just a mistake, too much stress over not landing a big part he’d been hoping for. I believed him. Then he gave me a black eye in January…kept me in bruises through February and March.”
Landon’s temper rose at the idea of any man hurting her, hurting any woman. He recalled the bruise on Sunnie’s cheek after the mugging, then pictured Audrey with the same. “What’s the man’s name?” he asked darkly.
Audrey released a loud breath, part laugh, part cry. “I knew you’d ask me that. It doesn’t matter. I broke things off a month or so ago, got out.”
“I’m glad.” He gave her hand a friendly squeeze, then released it, resisting the urge to turn around and look for Sunnie.
“I saw the video,” Audrey admitted.
Landon rolled his eyes, groaning in a way he hoped would make her laugh. She was clearly still fighting some strong emotions.
It worked. This time her laugh was genuine. “It reminded me of what I’d had. What I lost.”
Landon didn’t like where this was headed. “Audrey—” he started, trying to head her next words off at the pass.
“I made a mistake. I never should have left you.”
Landon sucked in a deep breath, preparing to tell her about Sunnie, but she kept talking.
“I love you, Landon. I want you back.”
Sunnie stepped into her bedroom and closed the door, leaning against it and shutting her eyes.
“Dammit,” she whispered, recalling the image of Landon holding hands with Audrey.
She’d been present for every single second of his relationship with the other woman. Heard every fucking detail, from the first date to that magical fourth kiss, from the hot sex to moving in together, his dreams of the future, the plan to buy an engagement ring, the move to New York, the year of heartbreak.
She’d walked every step of that with him.
Sunnie pushed away from the door, tugging off her scrubs, her temper flaring.
No. No way.
Audrey was not about to saunter back into Landon’s life and take another punch at his heart. Sunnie wouldn’t let her.
She pulled on some jeans, searched in the closet for a hootchie-mama shirt. She wasn’t above using cleavage to help her win this war.
Sunnie peered at herself in the mirror, then decided to go for broke. She pulled down her hair, brushing it out, grateful that it held some wave. She put on the shiny pink lip gloss Landon liked, swiped on some mascara, then grabbed her phone and walked to the bed.
Moment of truth.
She clicked on YouTube and searched for the video. She considered turning off the music, as Yvonne suggested, but decided to keep it on. She loved that Faith Hill song, and music always fired her up—either to get her in the party mood or ready for battle.
This time, she kept her eyes on Landon throughout the entire thing, at his face as he knelt down to her, the way he pulled her into his arms to hug her. The fierceness when she stood up and he’d realized she’d hurt her ankle. The way he kissed her.
Even now, she could feel the passion in it.
Then they parted…
And she saw it. Saw what everyone kept talking about.
He looked at her as if she were the most beautiful woman on earth. As if she were the only person on the planet who existed. She was the center of his universe—and then she sneaked a peek at her own face, and realized the one thing no one else seemed to have noticed.
He was the center of hers too.
Then he bent over, picked her up and carried her to the police car.
Landon loved her.
He’d loved her all along.
And now it was time to tell him she felt exactly the same way.
Landon shook his head. “Audrey. You saw the video. You saw…”
“Sunnie?” Audrey asked.
There was a tinge of disbelief in her tone that tweaked his nerves. Why the hell was it so unbelievable that he and Sunnie could be together? Hell, even Sunnie had mentioned something about them being too different or a mismatch or some such shit this morning.
“Yeah,” he said. “Sunnie.”
Audrey leaned back, and he could see her seriously considering his face, almost as if she expected him to say he was just kidding, or maybe she thought he’d supposedly wise up now that she was throwing her hat back in the ring.
“I’m in love with her,” he said, determined that she understand he was serious and what they’d had was over. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t let her leave here thinking there was any chance of a future for them either. That would merely add emotional cruelty to the physical pain she’d endured since the holidays.
She nodded slowly, then smiled. “I’m happy for you.”
“Really?”
Audrey laughed easily, and he recalled why he’d loved her. She was kind and understanding, and being with her had been easy. Probably too easy. They’d gone from dating to almost insta-love. There’d been no challenge and precious little passion. Just companionable…boring love.
Sunnie offered him so much more. Life with her would never be predictable or simple, but it would be fun. And they’d set the sheets on fire every single night.
“Really,” Audrey said. “I’m sad to have missed my chance. I’ll regret that until the day I die.”
“No,” Landon said, patting her hand gently. “You’re too special. You’re going to find the perfect, nice ,” he stressed, “guy. You’ll settle down and forget all about me. You might even think back on this night and realize you’d dodged a bullet.”
He didn’t admit that was how he felt now, about her decision to move to New York rather than remain in Baltimore with him. If she had, he’d never have opened his eyes and seen Sunnie.
“From your lips,” she said.
Landon lifted his pint, clinking it against her wineglass, then did what he’d wanted to do ever since sitting down.
He looked over his shoulder for Sunnie.