Page 23 of Unofficial

"You're certifiably nuts, you realize that, right?"

Hopping off the chair, Kade can't figure out how someone so tiny can be so spiteful and mean. She talks to him like she's as tall as Shaq and built like Dwayne Johnson. "You have no idea just how nuts I am. But you will if you don't shape up, Kade Finely."

Chapter Nine

Date number five rolled around, and Jess decided it was time to give Landry her address. He'd picked her up for their date in his SUV, and she only felt slightly unnerved by it. It's a big step for her to let someone she barely knows see where she lives. Again.

All through dinner, he said and did the right things. Mostly the right things. He still has an air about him that seems to keep him somewhat closed off and at a distance, and she doesn't particularly love how aloof he can be. With Kade, it was easy from the very start. Considering he had no real desire to be in a real relationship with her, he was very open and inviting.

Landry comes across friendly, but he seems guarded. Considering she walked in on the man she was head over heels for with another woman in a kitchen she only got to cook in, it seems strange he's the one with the wall up.

"Tell me about your ex," Jess says as dessert appears.

Landry pauses, his fork midair as he stares at her. "My ex?"

"You know about mine. And you know the disastrous way it ended," she says, her spoon slicing into the tiramisu like butter. She all but moans at the inevitable deliciousness of the dessert she's about to consume.

"She didn't want to get married," he says and takes a bite of his cheesecake.

That's it? "And?"

"What else is there?"

If there was ever a red flag for someone who doesn't like to communicate, here it is. "I guess nothing."

She focuses on her tiramisu, the coffee goodness coating her tongue. At least she got a good dinner out of it.

"It broke my heart having to let her go," he says, his teeth clenched. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Landry, that's not-"

"Then why ask?" he interrupts.

Raising her eyebrows, she sets her spoon down, suddenly disinterested in her sweet treat. "I think it's best if we just call it a night, don't you?"

He takes a deep breath and looks at his plate. "I don't like talking about it."

"Obviously," she says and sets her napkin on the table.

"How was everything?" the server asks as he walks up to the table.

Jess smiles at him while Landry avoids looking at him, a snarl on his face. "It was delicious, thank you."

"I'll just leave this here, and you can pay whenever you're ready. No rush."

After he walks away, she watches Landry stare at the leather book on the table. She can't handle it any longer, and she reaches for it. His large hand clasps hers, and she looks up at his face to find him staring at her now. It almost startles her to see such anger on his face.

"I got this."

"I can pay tonight," she says. "You've paid for the last four dates. It's the least I can do."

He shakes his head. "No, please. Let me."

Nodding, she pulls her hand back, and he slips his card into the book before signaling to the server. No conversation is shared as he signs the slip, and she slips on her jacket.

In his vehicle, she stares out the window, thankful her house is only a few blocks away and will end the awkwardness. She's never experienced something quite like this outside of car rides with her mother, and she has no desire to continue longer than necessary.

He pulls into her driveway and puts it in park. Jess turns to him, plasters on a fake smile, and says, "Thank you for dinner, Landry."

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