"Yeah, bad idea," he agreed slowly. "I'm not trying to make you that kind of girl, Heidi."
"Good, because that would never happen."
"I'm just lost, and I want you to find me."
I knew he was drunk, but damn it, that was cheesy. And, fuck me, I hated that I still thought it was sweet of him to say it to me. Even if he wasn't allowed to.
"Stop that! No sweet talk."
"I wasn't-"
"How about no, Landon?"
Then, with all the strength I could muster, I strode back toward the emergency exit. I could do this. I was a strong, fierce, independent woman who worked in a male-dominated field and shattered glass ceilings. I could walk away from one boy. Even if he was a Wright.
Then, he touched me. His hand gently landed on my elbow. He wasn't demanding my attention, just drawing me away from the door.
"Heidi."
"What?" I asked in frustration. How was I supposed to leave him behind when he was being so irresistible?
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Stop," I said. "Please."
"I'm leaving her."
My heart stopped beating. My lungs stopped working. My brain stopped functioning. What he was saying was impossible. I honestly couldn't even believe that those words had come out of his mouth. There was no way in hell that he was leaving Miranda.
"Come again?" I whispered.
"I left Miranda at home to come here because I'm leaving her."
My mouth fell open. He had said those words. He'd repeated them. He was actually leaving Miranda.
This isn't a drill, team. This is the real deal!
My brain tried to catch up with the rest of my body, but instead, I stood there, like an idiot. There had to be a catch. There had to be some big joke that was being played on me. Because Landon leaving his wife was way too good to be true.
"Wow," I said. Then, I blinked rapidly a few times and tried to recover. "I mean … how awful. That has to be so hard, Landon."
He laughed humorlessly at me. "Heidi, you're cute."
I arched an eyebrow at him in question. "I tell you I'm sorry about your wife, and you tell me I'm cute?"
"You can't hide how much you hate Miranda any more than my family can."
"Hey," I said, holding up my hands. "I don't hate Miranda. I don't even know her."
"Well, if you knew her, you'd hate her, too."
"Maybe so," I conceded. "But that doesn't make things any easier for you. Clearly, you must have loved her."
"It's just … yeah," he said. "I don't know. It all happened today."
"No wonder you're drunk and acting like a fool. Maybe we should have addressed you leaving Miranda first and made out second."
He grinned devilishly. "So, we're going to make out again?"
"No," I said, smacking his arm. God, I could hardly keep my mind out of the gutter. I was never going to succeed in keeping his out of there, too. "We shouldn't have kissed in the first place."
He might have left Miranda today, but who knew what tomorrow would bring? I doubted he had even filed paperwork for a divorce. I had so many unanswered questions that, even though I wanted to kiss Landon … to give in to this thing between us, I couldn't do it. I knew it was wrong.
Not just because of Miranda, but also because of all the women I'd seen my dad with.
My mom had died in a carjacking when I was in middle school. She'd been brutally murdered, and I'd been a zombie through much of middle school. Without Emery, I never would have made it.
But my dad had coped with women. He'd go from girlfriend to girlfriend-regulars who came to Hanks, the bar he owned. I knew the signs for when he settled for married women-when a woman flipped the diamond over or took it off, leaving a pale stripe on her ring finger, or when I'd find a wedding ring on the sink at night. I'd decided at a young age that I'd do anything to be a different person than my dad. I wasn't about to let Landon Wright fuck that up.
"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have kissed you," Landon said. He scratched the back of his neck and winced. "But I'd been thinking about it since New Year's."
"Landon, you can't come here and talk to me like this. If you want to talk about Miranda, I'm here." I held my hands up in supplication. I wouldn't deny him a friend or a shoulder to cry on, but that was it. "We can talk after the reunion , but now, maybe try to forget about it."
"About Miranda or you?"
"Both."
"Not going to happen." He stepped toward me and cupped my cheek. "There's no way I could forget about you, Heidi."
"You've done fine so far. Do what you've been doing, Landon, and you'll have no trouble," I said with a bit more heat than I'd intended. Then, I turned and walked back into Flips.