Addicted to You(33)

His mouth tugged up in this effortlessly lazy grin he’d mastered. For a business owner, he had the most laissez-faire attitude of anyone I’d ever known. And if given the moment to chat—which he did frequently and enthusiastically—he’d talk all about his life “before.” The one where he lived in a big city and worked some boring corporate job. Then he’d tell you all about cashing in his retirement to start his own restaurant. And his story always finished with his famous last line: Who needs money in the bank for tomorrow, when there is so much life to be lived today? And that was Eddie, the man who existed in the moment and somehow made it all work. Grandma thought he was smart. Colby’s dad thought he was insane. Yet they both loved him. Everyone in town did.

“Haven’t had one all day. You’re doing a great job.” He hiked the tray over his shoulder. “Keep it up.” Then he headed off to deliver the drinks…to one of my tables?

Yeah. Such a great job he was covering for me. Dammit. I turned to the computer to print the check for table seven just as a customer entered. Since Eddie was off filling in for me, the least I could do was cover the hostess stand for him.

“Hi, welcome to—Oh, hey Landon.”

He smiled and lifted a white bakery box. “Got something for you.”

“Oh? What’s this?” I reached for the box. “Lucy’s?”

“Yep.”

I opened the lid just enough to peek inside. “Oh my god, chocolate croissants. These are my favorite.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Just wanted to say thanks for the soup and stopping by the other day.”

“Oh, no problem.” Which it really hadn’t been, considering it served completely selfish purposes. “Glad I could help a little.”

“Well, I really appreciated it and I hope you enjoy those half as much as I enjoyed the soup.” He grinned.

“Oh, I will. Trust me. I’ll be sure to tell Grandma and, oh my god, I can’t wait to eat one.” I practically salivated over the box.

“Yeah, I know how much you love them.”

I did love these croissants…and he knew that? Why did that come as a surprise? Landon was always there, almost like background noise to Colby. Had he been paying attention to me while I was preoccupied with his brother? First the flowers, which he’d totally nailed. Now my favorite treat?

I smiled, appreciating the unexpected treat on such a crappy day.

He returned my smile and his eyes sort of lit up. I’d always considered them a dull shade of blue, but I realized right then it was actually just that they had a lot more gray than Colby’s. They weren’t a muted blue, but instead almost a slate color, and kind of intense. Huh. Crazy—after all these years, I’d just then noticed.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work.” He scratched at the facial scruff he’d acquired over the last few days and added, “You should come by the bar sometime. I’m back at work tonight through the weekend. Stop by. You can keep me company.”

“Like you need it.” I shook my head and grinned. “You’re like the epitome of hot bartender.”

His eyes focused on me, his head cocked a bit then he looked down. “Well, yours is company I’d actually enjoy. If you want to hang out, that is.”

“Of course! I’ll see if maybe Taylor wants to stop by with me.”

“Cool.” He glanced up then looked away again. “I’ll see you around.”

I gestured to the box. “Thanks again.”

He nodded and ran his hand through his hair, looking as if he’d considered saying something more, but then changed his mind.

He mumbled a quick bye, then disappeared out the door.

Someone cleared their throat from inside the dining area. “Um, miss?”

Crap. I stashed the box under the hostess stand and hurried to grab the check I’d printed. My table was probably annoyed I’d taken so long.

I rushed over, sliding the paper into the black tray as I went. With a smile plastered on my face, I slid it onto the table. “Sorry for the wait. Is there anything else I can get you?”

One of the two elderly women smiled up at me. “Oh, don’t you worry. I just needed a refill, but we’re in no rush.” She smiled, her eyes slightly unfocused as if lost in thought. “I remember when I was your age and my boyfriend would visit me at work. Those were the days, weren’t they, Betty?” She sighed. “Of course, he never brought gifts, yet I still married him.” She laughed.

“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend.”

The other woman smiled. “Well, that explains the gifts.”