Page 56 of Matched with Her Runaway Groom

Landon shakes his head. “No, well, I’ve only been back in Boston for about two months. The first time I met Roman was a couple of days ago when he asked me to come on this cruise.”

I chew on that for a minute. Landon has always been good at working with people, but to catch the eye of the CEO after just a few months is incredible. “Do you love it? Selling homes?”

He smiles and nods. “I didn’t think I liked sales after all the fundraisers to pay for sports back in the day, but once I was trained and had a better understanding of what to do, it’s a lot easier. And watching people move in and get settled is a highlight. Like I’m able to help them find space they can call home.”

My heart flutters and I glance away, staring at my feet as we walk through the sand.

“So what do you think is next for you?”

Thoughts race through my head. I’m not sure where to start.

“Well, I haven’t found anything I really love. I started refinishing old furniture a few months ago, but trying to find the pieces at an affordable price and then adding in the materials for the transformation got to be too much for my budget. I’ve been trying to do some woodworking. But it’s been a total trial-and-error process.”

“That’s really cool. What are you hoping to build? And where do you build it? Is there a shop nearby your house?”

I give a small laugh, surprised at all his questions. “No, there was a shed already out back when I bought the place. Everything is tucked away in there.”

“Did you end up knocking out that one short wall we talked about when we walked through it?” he asks.

“Yeah, and then I put in new flooring because I couldn’t find any that matched. I’ve redone most of the first floor over the past few months.”

“That’s amazing. I guess you could always be a designer. Styling is what Isabella does. Or is it staging?” He pauses to think about it. “I think it’s both. I haven’t really dealt with that department yet.”

“She stages homes?” I ask, curious. I’ve heard of that before but I always wondered if it’s worth the trouble.

He nods. “Yeah, I think she started with a company in London and then helped Roman do a staging project right around the time they started dating. With the amount of real estate his company does in Europe, I’m sure she has plenty of work.”

“But how does that work? She just puts everything in the house and then takes it out when it sells?”

“Yeah, they help give a vision of what the space can look like. The market right now is crazy enough that we don’t have time to even clear the place out before the apartment is rented or the house is sold.” He takes a step closer to me and bumps me with his elbow. “I think you’d be great at the design part. Helping a builder pick out the features. You’ve always had an eye for color schemes and what flows together.”

I raise my eyebrows, trying to keep my smirk under wraps. “Did you just say ‘flow’?” Coming from Landon, it sounds like he’s trying to be trendy.

He blushes and nods. “Isabella said it at a meeting the other night. She gives us tips about how to get people to make an offer faster.”

“Like the cookies in the oven thing?” We’re walking along a small boardwalk toward several restaurants and I love the weathered look of it.

“Yeah, kinda. That’s one idea, but she’s—”

“On your left!” comes a yell behind us.

A bike cruises past. Landon moves close to me to allow the biker to pass, but I don’t realize I’m close to the edge of the boardwalk, and my arms do that slow motion flail through the air, since there’s nothing to grab onto.

Before I get too far, my body stops in mid-air and I see Landon’s hands, one on my arm and the other, reaching out to grab my waist.

He pulls me close, allowing my feet to touch the ground again. I’m out of danger and should move away from him, but I can’t seem to do that. The smell of him, the bobbing of his Adam’s apple and his lips this close are all clouding my senses.

“That was a close one,” he says, his chest heaving and his words breathless.

“Thanks,” I say, equally soft. I’m pretty sure my insides are hot enough to burn a marshmallow over a campfire. Then again, my stomach is hopping like popcorn kernels introduced to heat. So basically a lot of warmness happening all up in here.

A few more seconds and my brain finally sends out the alarm to step away. But instead of listening, I stay there, allowing my mind to feel every point where our bodies meet. His hand on my hip, my arm around his back.

I breathe in, holding onto the smell of the cologne I’d sprayed on my pillowcase so many times over the course of our relationship.

His eyes search mine and I’m not sure what he finds, but he leans forward. I go up on tiptoe and our lips touch, soft at first. I swear there is a daytime fireworks show going on around us because everything is buzzing.

Our kisses are soft, tentative at first, before I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. His lips break away from mine, trailing down to my chin. He kisses all along my jaw but it’s the kiss on my neck right below my ear that makes me giggle.

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