"Suits, you said. What brand?"
"Dolce."
"Yum."
"Right?"
"Continue," he said, likely with a flick of his arm.
Her smile returned as she pictured Landon the way he was last night. When describing him to Neil, she'd left out a few details. Details she wanted to keep for herself. Like the scratch of facial hair that had rimmed his lips, the way he looked rumpled and tired, but every hair had been in place on his head.
"His chest is broad," she continued. "And he has wide shoulders." Capable of handling a business, and the life he'd built with his own two beautiful hands. "But his butt"-she paused for dramatic effect-"Oh, Neil. His ass is a thing of glory."
He laughed, further encouraging her. She slid a knife in and out of the block, allowing herself to revel in the conversation. She hadn't had a grown-up conversation in days. She'd texted Gloria a few times, but it wasn't the same as their usual randy exchange.
She infused a little extra naughty into her voice. "And I got a great look at it this morning," she practically purred. "He'd bent over to retrieve a paper that had slipped from his briefcase and it was all I could do not to grab hold and-"
The clearing of a throat brought her out of her haze. She dropped the knife into the block with a clunk and straightened at the counter, but didn't turn around.
"And what?" Neil prodded after she trailed off.
"Um." She closed her eyes and tried to ratchet down her thundering pulse. Impossible. "I have to go," she whispered to Neil. Because I'm going to have a heart attack.
So long as it happened fast. She'd rather die on Landon's custom flooring than face him right now.
"Oh, my Turkish Delight!" Neil announced gleefully. "He's there, isn't he? He's behind you!"
She hung up on his laughter and turned, having planned a fake-startled expression. As it turned out she didn't have to fake it. "Oh!" She put a hand to her chest as her heart hammered against her palm. "Evan? What are you doing here?"
A sly, almost drunken-looking smile slid onto Landon's brother's face. His hair was a disheveled dark mess, his eyes a devastating aqua blue. Wow. He'd aged nicely.
"Hello, Kimber."
Oh, yeah, he'd heard her. Heard every last word.
"Just here to see my son," he said, holding his palms up as if to say, Sorry to interrupt. "I had a break midday and took the train back. Thought I'd take him for some ice cream."
She put her phone on the counter between them. Picked it up. Put it down again. "Yeah. He-he'd like that." Should she bring it up? Pretend it didn't happen? She mentally reviewed her conversation. She didn't think she'd mentioned Landon's name. Maybe Evan wouldn't know who she was talking about.
"I won't tell my brother you talk about his ass when he's not here."
Or he would. She wound her fingers around the hem of the long shirt she'd paired with black leggings. Evan's eyes flittered over her briefly while she grappled for an excuse … or an argument. Something. Anything.
No words came.
His face broke into an actual grin, more attractive than the smirk he'd worn a moment ago. "Angel was right," he said, a note of wonder mixed with teasing in his voice. "She told me you liked Landon that summer. I was so sure it was me."
Her face fell. Right onto the countertop. Angel told Evan she liked Landon? And for that matter had originally told Evan she liked him?
"Angel is officially the worst secret-keeper on the planet," she mumbled.
"Tell me about it," he said with a wry twist of his lips.
"Evan … if we could keep this to ourselves, I would-"
He held up a hand to stay her speech. "Relax. Your secret's safe with me." He winked and she simply stared, unsure if she believed him or not.
"Daddy!" Lyon scrambled into the room and leaped into his father's arms, talking ninety miles a minute about all the things they'd done over the last three days. Evan released his son and squatted in front of him, listening and responding with unadulterated pride and love. Her heart squeezed.
Again, she had the good fortune to be folded into the Downey family, albeit temporarily this time, too. At least she could hold on to these moments whenever she needed a reminder of what a rock-solid family looked like. Unlike hers and Mick's disjointed business ownership; unlike her parents' acrimony and cold shoulders. She watched, in awe and a smidge envious of the grand home life Lyon was blessed with. What would it have been like to have a receptive father? Evan had become an amazing parent. Probably not perfect, but then, who was?
"Kimber, would you like to join us for ice cream?" Evan asked.
No, thanks, I'll just be here. Reeling. She shook her head. "You go. Spend guy time together."
One of Evan's eyebrows jumped as he reached for the front door. She hoped he had been telling her the truth; that he wouldn't tell Landon what had happened. She pressed her hands to her overheated face. She hoped it a lot.
"She likes your ass."
Landon snapped the pencil lead on the legal pad where he'd been outlining his upcoming meeting for Windy City. He lifted his chin and met eyes with his brother. Evan had dropped by his office unannounced, after he and Lyon spent the afternoon together, and was now talking gibberish while sitting on the arm of the couch on the opposite side of the room.
Landon lifted his brows. No way had he just heard that correctly. "Excuse me?"
"Kimber. She likes your ass. She was having a very colorful conversation about it when I stopped by your house today," Evan said with a wave of his hand.
"What are you talking about?"
Evan ignored his question. Landon was getting a lot of that lately. No wonder he came to work. Here, people respected him when he spoke.
"Everyone knows I have the best ass out of all of us. I guess there's no accounting for taste." Evan rested his hands on his knees. "Gloria got in touch with a small, Chicago-based children's book publisher interested in my work. She also thinks there is some potential to get a few of my pieces into an art gallery in Columbus."
"Close to home," he muttered noncommittally. In reality he couldn't concentrate on anything but the notion that Kimber talked about him when he wasn't there. Not just him, but … his ass? He knew they'd laid on the flirting pretty heavy last night, but he had assumed she'd been responding in kind.
"If I can't get picked up by a publisher," Ev said, "I need a backup plan."
Landon nodded and sat back in his chair, flipping his pencil end over end. But even though he was looking in his brother's direction, his mind was on Kimber's tropical pants. Specifically, her backside. From what he'd seen so far, that part of her anatomy held as much promise as the rest of her. The long legs, smooth, silken skin, pillow-like bottom lip …
" … I should be able to get Lyon Sunday morning." Evan stood, snapping Landon out of his fantasy about Lyon's nanny. "That's two more nights. And for the record, I think Kimber's great with Lyon. Despite her questionable taste in the Downey brothers' butts." He rolled his eyes.
Landon rounded the desk, rubbing his hands together. "Sunday is fine. Take all the time you need." He reached for the door handle to show Evan out.
"Hey, do you remember the guys I used to hang out with when we went to the lake every summer?"
The "hoodlums" as Mom called them. Landon lifted a shoulder. "Barely. By the time you were a teen, I was in college. I didn't go much after that."
"Oh. Right." Evan narrowed his eyes. "Do you ever miss going there?"
Landon pulled open his office door. "I practically live on Lake Michigan. So, not really."
"I know that. I mean do you miss our lake? It was like our own slice of paradise when we were kids. Where we all got to hang out as a family."
For Landon, family vacations had been about taking him away from his friends and the comfortable familiarity of home, then plopping him in a too-small house with three younger siblings who fought with each other nonstop. Though he did recall a few fun family game nights and dinners. "I haven't been there in years."
"Me neither." Evan crossed his arms and regarded his shoes. "You know how Rae hated the water. She had no interest in visiting a cabin by a lake."
At the mention of Evan's late wife, Landon's chest constricted. He'd have done anything to ease his brother's pain over losing his spouse. Anything. Rae's devastating and sudden loss had left Evan a widower far too soon. If it was natural between them, he'd pull Evan into a hug, but Aiden was the hugger. Landon was the stoic one. He stayed silent until the moment passed, waiting for Ev to say more. Predictably, Evan changed the subject.