The Wright Boss(29)

I wasn't oblivious to it. But he was a nice guy. I liked him just fine. There was absolutely nothing wrong with where our relationship was headed. But, as Emery had eloquently said, I could live without him. Very easily. 

But that was also a problem with me as a person. I was resilient. After what had happened with my mom and then the shit that went down with my dad, I had to be. I didn't need people. I could do everything on my own.

Emery was my real family. I loved her to pieces. She was the only person I'd ever come to say that I really needed. Because, without her, I didn't know if I would have made it through those hard years.

But guys?

They could get in line. I was strong, and I could do without them. And that made me perfectly intimidating. A strong man should hold up a strong woman, not run from her.

I'd thought for a while that Landon Wright might be the kind of guy who did that. The kind of guy I couldn't live without.

But I was wrong. I was carrying on without him.

Or maybe … I'd been wrong all along.

Maybe this was called survival … not living.





Twelve



Landon


A date.

Heidi had a fucking date.

God, I'm an idiot.

Why hadn't I guessed before? Of course, she would move on. She was the full package. Any guy would be lucky to have her. I knew that for a fact. But I hadn't thought it would happen so soon.

While I'd been busy healing and getting my life together, she'd been running off and trying to find someone else. And I couldn't even blame her. I wanted to. I wanted to break shit and demand for her never to see this fucking douche bag again. I wanted to make things right. To see where this relationship could go. I wanted her to be mine.

Jealousy burned through me like a fire-breathing dragon. I couldn't even see straight as she walked right out of the building and out of my life.

I should have told her about the divorce papers. I should have told her about the injury. I should have told her about why I had moved back and why I needed this job.

But I hadn't wanted to blurt out everything that had happened to me. I didn't want her to think, just because I was leaving Miranda, that automatically meant she should fall into my arms. I didn't want to scare her off. Like I just had.

All I wanted to do was get home and relax. Let my mind do absolutely nothing for a little while. I had physical therapy nearly every day, but on Mondays and Fridays, I went in before work, which meant I could chill tonight.

And obsess over Heidi's date.

About an hour after I entered my new one-bedroom apartment and changed out of my stupid suit, I got a text from Austin.

Drinks?

I sighed and leaned my head back on the couch. A drink sounded nice. Maybe it would be better to go out rather than sit around at home and watch ESPN.

Yeah. Where? When?

Patrick and I are going to West Table in a half hour.

Why?

West Table was one of the fanciest restaurants in town. They had a nice bar and coffee shop attached to the building, but it wouldn't have been my first choice.

Patrick is talking to the bartender. She's hot.

Ah, well, that explained it.

Count me in.

I slipped into my standard khakis and a polo and exited the apartment. I'd left my car in Tampa, and I was borrowing Jensen's Mercedes for the time being. I sank into the dark interior and turned on a local radio station before I sped away.

After the day I'd had, I was glad that Austin was offering a distraction. Patrick was always a good time even if he egged on Austin's base qualities. But they had known each other their entire lives and were both still bachelors. I was pretty sure that Austin was because he pushed away any girl who seemed to care about him, and Patrick lost interest in the blink of an eye. A lot of girls flitted in and out of their lives, and no one took any of them seriously.

Though Jensen was certain that Patrick and Morgan had a thing. I couldn't imagine the least serious person I knew ending up with the most serious person I knew.



       
         
       
        

I ended up at West Table about ten minutes later. I saw Patrick's Lexus SUV already parked on the side of the building, which was good because then Austin wasn't driving. I parked behind them and entered through the side door. The lobby to the building was white marble flooring, a sky-high ceiling, and an enormous staircase. The coffee shop was off to the left, and the restaurant was on the right.

The hostess brightened at my approach. "How many?"

"I'm just meeting some people at the bar," I told her.

"Certainly, sir. Right over there," she said.

I flashed her a smile and then found Austin and Patrick at the bar, each with a glass of whiskey in front of them. A tall, sexy brunette was standing behind the bar, deeply engrossed in whatever Patrick was saying. She was in an all-black outfit with her cleavage gloriously on display. I could see why Patrick was into her. She was right up his alley. Though, with Patrick's track record, I doubted it would go anywhere.