Page 115 of Landon & Shay: Part Two

What in the hell was that?

Did he accidentally text the wrong girl?

That made my stomach flip in the worst possible way.

I ignored it.

The next day, another message came through from Landon.

Landon:DTF?

Landon:I’ve been dreaming about swimming between your thighs.

A few more days passed.

Landon:Shay, if we can’t be in love, we might as well be fuck acquaintances again. No strings attached—unless you want me to tie you up.

Clearly, Landon had lost his freaking mind.

I did my best to ignore his messages, but every time one came through, I wanted to throw my phone across the room.

When Christmas morning came around, I tried my best to put my best foot forward. I knew I’d be crossing paths with Landon, and I definitely wasn’t looking forward to it after his crazy messages.

I pulled myself up that morning and headed over to Eleanor’s and Greyson’s for brunch.

It was so odd to say that—Eleanor’s and Greyson’s, as if they were one unit. Eleanor moved in with him and his two girls not that long ago.

Within the past few months, Greyson and Eleanor had finally made their love story official, and I was invited to their place Christmas morning to celebrate the holiday with them. I showed up early to help Eleanor cook and clean for the brunch she was preparing.

Everything was fine and dandy up until I heard the front door open, and Greyson’s youngest daughter, Lorelai, who was about seven years old, squealed in delight. “Uncle Landon!”

I glanced over my shoulder toward the living room where Landon had just entered the space with gifts galore in his hands. Every single part of me froze as I looked on to him standing only a room distance apart from me.

Part of me wanted to crash into him and fall back together.

I wanted to wrap him into my embrace, and pretend our breakup never even happened.

Instead, I stood still.

“Happy Holidays!” He juggled the gifts in one hand, and hugged Lorelai with the other. She was an adorable little girl, bubbly and full of life. If you ever wanted to hear the most epic stories ever, you had Lorelai tell them to you—she’d never skip a detail. I swore a story about a simple trip to the supermarket could last for over an hour, and the way Lorelai told it, there were probably aliens and unicorns dancing down aisle nine next to the peanut butter and jams. Greyson had a household of creative minds on his hands.

I scrubbed a dish as I studied Landon’s interaction with his niece-by-love-not-genetics.

Lorelai quickly began digging at the pockets of Landon’s slacks, looking for something quite intently.

Landon laughed, and the sound sent chills up and down my spine. He looked so good, and healthy, too. Almost as if he wasn’t as heartbroken as I’d been. Maybe he wasn’t. Perhaps I felt more for him than he’d felt for me. I wanted to be petty and hate on his happiness, but truthfully, all I ever wanted was for that man to find himself a happily ever after.

“Okay, okay, okay, let me put these down,” he insisted, moving toward the Christmas tree as he set down the stack of gifts in his hands. He stood back up straight, reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of candy to hand to his niece.

A banana Laffy Taffy.

I tried to ignore the storm of butterflies that attacked my stomach as I witnessed the exchange.

He was carrying candy around in his pockets. He carried Laffy Taffys in his pockets—banana Laffy Taffys. Still a complete and utter favorite of mine. Memories came rushing back at me as I thought about when we were in high school, and he filled my locker with all the banana flavored candy along with peonies. The memory sent a wave of warmth through me. It was one of my favorite memories of us. I considered that the beginning stage of the Landon and Shay story. Back then, I had no clue where it was going to take us. I never imagined we’d end up the way that we had.

“If you stare any harder, you might lose your eyesight,” a voice said from over my shoulder, making me almost drop the plate in my hands.

“What? I wasn’t staring,” I lied as I turned toward Eleanor. “I was seeing who was here, that’s all.”

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