Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
Hayden mentioned a housekeeper comes twice a week, so I guess she must have been here this morning.
There’s a nightstand by his bed, and a couple of chairs in the room. On impulse, I sit on the long black chaise lounge in the corner by the windows so I can see the view from there.
Yep, a prime pool-stalking location.
If Hannah does move into the pool house, I’ll have to warn her about Landon’s view. Not that he’s ever been remotely interested in Hannah or I think he would deliberately creep on her, but I know firsthand it can feel like you have privacy out there, and it turns out you really don’t.
I don’t think he’d have a very good view from the bed at any natural angle given the height of the headboard, so I figure he must have been on the chaise lounge when he was watching me.
Curiosity satisfied, I head for his closet and grab the weekend duffle Hayden mentioned. I put it down on the black chair close to his bed, then I try to orient myself a bit.
Where are his clothes?
I don’t see a dresser. There’s a bookshelf against the wall that he does not use for books, and a desk and chair where his laptop is plugged in.
I open the door at the far end of the room and flick on a light.
This is his bathroom.
It’s massive, with a walk-in shower on the left side that spans most of the room. At the end, behind the shower, there’s a linen closet. On the right side of the room, a long black marble countertop with a sink. Behind that, the toilet has its own separate room.
My bathroom is nice, but this bathroom is insane.
It feels like an invasion of his privacy to be in here, but I remind myself Hayden sent me up and get to collecting the items I expect him to need if he’s going away for a couple of days.
Back in the bedroom, I open the second door expecting to find a small walk-in closet much like mine, but as with the bathroom, this one is much larger. And as with his bedroom, it gives an air of sophistication I don’t associate with Landon.
Why do none of his spaces seem to fit him?
Resisting the urge to delve deeper into the world of Landon Atwater, I refocus on what I’m meant to be doing in here and grab him some clothes. I try not to pay too much attention to his underwear—my god, Hayden, why? Why send me to do this?—and manage to emerge from the closet without dying from the mortification of being in Landon’s room without his knowledge or permission and handling his underwear.
Once his bag is packed, I hoist it over my shoulder and hit the light on my way out of the room. I close the door so it’s just as he left it aside from the items I removed.
Hayden is off the phone and waiting for me on the couch with Mom. He stands when he sees me coming down the stairs.
“Thank you, Parker.”
“I couldn’t find a school bag,” I tell him.
“It may be in his car. I’ll grab it.” He reaches for the bag, but before he can take it, the sound of the front door opening steals everyone’s attention.
I feel the temperature in my body shoot way up when Landon comes striding down the hall.
“What are you doing here?” Hayden asks.
“Oh, I live here,” Landon shoots back like a smartass. Then he adds more bitingly, “At least for now, right?”
“Yeah, thanks to me,” Hayden replies, the annoyance thick in his tone. “Because I consistently clean up your messes. If your own behavior dictated where you’re sleeping, you’d be in a jail cell. Maybe I should have let them put you in one, because you don’t seem to be learning anything by me bailing you out. This is the last time, Landon. Next time you pull something like this, you can find your own way out of it.”
Landon nods with attitude. “All right, I see how it is. You’ll pick the scheming bellydancer over me, you’ll pick Aladdin over me—is there anyone I come before? Just curious.” Then he waves a dismissive hand in Hayden’s direction before starting up the stairs. “Nah, don’t bother answering. You’re a professional liar, doesn’t fucking matter what you say.”
“That’s a convenient way to frame it, Landon. You tried to get a man fired for no fucking reason, and I’m the villain. You can’t mess with people’s lives for your own amusement.”
“Like you haven’t,” Landon shoots back, shaking his head in apparent disgust.
“I don’t do things without reason,” Hayden states.
“Neither do I,” Landon answers. “And tried to get him fired?” he asks, the ridicule thick in his tone. “Please. I didn’t try very fucking hard, now did I? I was just messing with him tonight. If I want the asshole fired,” now his gaze shifts to me, “I’ll make sure to put in a little more effort and get the job done.”