Fool for You

by Elliott, Kelly

  “It’s all worth it on their wedding days. To see them so utterly happy and in love. All the pre-wedding hassle pays off.”

  “Are you going to Instagram this?”

  “Hell yes, I am. I’ve already asked the restaurant to send me pictures of the flooded dining room, and tomorrow I’ll take pictures of the tent when it’s set up. It will be good to show how well I can work under pressure.”

  “Show off your super powers as a wedding planner, huh?”

  She pinched my thigh. “It’s called smart marketing.”

  Laughing, I hit start on the movie and everything fell into place. This felt so damn normal. So right. I wouldn’t fucking snuggle up with any of my guy friends and watch a Disney movie. Hell, most of the women I’d dated wouldn’t have been interested in spending a night at home being lazy, looking at the sky, and then watching a kids’ movie. But with Emmerson, this all felt so right. We’d done this for as long as I could remember, and there was no better way to spend an evening in my book.

  I looked at her light brown hair and fought the urge to kiss the top of her head. As if she had read my thoughts, she let out a soft sigh and relaxed deeper against me.

  “Why does this feel so right?” she asked softly.

  “What?” I asked, wondering if I had spoken my thoughts out loud.

  “Just the two of us sitting here watching a movie. I feel so…content.”

  I swallowed hard and stared down at her. What would happen if I told her how I felt? Would she laugh and tell me I was crazy? Would she pull back and tell me it would never work out? Or would she feel the same?

  Could she really feel the same way? Emmerson hadn’t shown me any feelings other than friendship since we were in middle school. She had clearly put us in the friends-only box, and I was fucking sick of being trapped inside alone.

  With the only answer I knew to give her, I replied, “I don’t know why it feels so right, but it always has.”

  She moved to lay her head on my lap, and I quickly grabbed the blanket to put down and separate her head from my dick, which was already hard from her simply being snuggled up next to me.

  Yawning, she said, “You put on my favorite movie. How did you remember I liked this movie?”

  I used my fingers to brush her hair back behind her ear and stared at her beautiful side profile. “I remember everything, Emme.”

  She smiled, and I watched as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. I vowed to not move a muscle if it meant having her near me like this. And I didn’t. Not for the entire night.

  My eyes fluttered open, and I saw light filtering in from somewhere behind me. It took me a minute to even realize where I was. My body felt warm, as if the softest blanket in the world was covering me. Then I looked down at Emmerson in my arms. We had both somehow managed to lay down on the sofa, and I had my arms wrapped around a sleeping beauty. Her face was buried in my chest, and when I felt her stir, I snapped my eyes shut and pretended I was still asleep.

  A deep exhale heated my chest, and I felt her stretch. I didn’t dare move. If I did, I was positive I would say to hell with friendship and kiss her senseless.

  “Landon?” her soft voice whispered as she pulled away slightly. Then I felt the softest of touches as her finger traced along my jawline and over my lips. It was so soft; if I had truly been asleep, I would never have noticed it.

  “Landon.”

  This time she whispered my name with something I couldn’t read in her voice. She moved ever so slightly, and I swore I felt her breath inches from my mouth. My heart started to pound against the wall of my chest, and I had to force myself to breathe normally.

  Was she going to…kiss me?

  Then the heat was gone and I felt her slowly move off of the sofa as her phone rang with that fucking obnoxious ring again. I stirred as if just waking up. When I opened my eyes, she was rushing to answer her phone.

  “This is Emmerson. Micky! Yes, I took care of booking the DJ. Yes, I got the one you asked for. No, I promise you, it’s the right one. Don’t forget we have the cake tasting. Did Doug get off for it? Good! Perfect, we’ll talk soon then.”

  I sat up and ran my hands down my face, only to have Lady jump up in an attempt to greet me with her version of a good morning.

  “Morning, sweet girl. No kisses just yet,” I said as I managed to avoid her licks.

  “Want to take a shower?”

  I snapped my head up to look at Emmerson. “W-what?”

  “A shower? Want to take one?”

  I swallowed hard and stared at her with what I was sure was a shocked look on my face.

  She tilted her head as she regarded me. “I’ll make your favorite breakfast while you’re in there.”

  Riiight. Me in the shower. Alone.

  Of course. You stupid freaking idiot, did you honestly think she was inviting you to take one with her?

  “You don’t have to go to any trouble for me.” I stood up and stretched my aching joints while Lady jumped and twirled around me.

  Emmerson glanced at the sofa and then back to me, a slight blush hitting her cheeks. “I can’t believe I slept on you all night. You must be aching.”

  I shook my head. “Nah, I actually slept pretty damn good, even with you half on me and your dog laying across my feet.”

  She gave me the sweetest smile, and I swore my fucking heart skipped a beat, if that was at all possible.

  “I did too. Maybe we should sleep together again.”

  I lifted my brows, and she held up her hands as she said, “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, we’ve never even had sex. Not that I would mind—no, wait, I mean…we wouldn’t ever…um… Okay, I’m going to stop now. Go take a shower. I’ll take Lady out and then I’m going to make you my famous vanilla French toast.”

  I wanted to reach over and take her in my arms and ask what in the hell she meant by that slip of the tongue. Not that she would mind? Now I was more confused than ever. I quickly decided to let her slip go, if only so I could concentrate on her other words: that we would never sleep together. What did she mean by that?

  Shit. Shit. Shit. I’m going to overthink the hell out of this, I know it.

  I started for her guest bathroom after I decided to let her off the hook. To lighten the mood, I turned around and asked, “With whipped cream?”

  She looked at me as if I had just asked the stupidest question ever. “Of course. And no, I won’t use the canned shit.”

  Placing my hands over my heart, I let out a dramatic sigh. “I should really marry you simply for your French toast.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Because that marriage would work.”

  As I made my way down the hall, I called out, “You never know!”

  Emmerson

  ONCE THE SHOWER turned on, I grabbed my phone and called for Lady to follow me as I made my way out to the back porch. I hit Hailey’s number.

  “Good morning! You ready to start planning this wedding of mine?” Hailey sing-songed into the phone.

  “I’ve got a Code Red!”

  Hailey started to choke and then cussed. “What the fuck! You need to give a girl a warning before you blurt that out, Emme. I was taking a drink of my Starbucks mocha latte!”

  I glanced back at the door nervously. “I only have a minute, but it’s bad. Like oh-holy-shit bad.”

  “Okay, take a deep breath and tell me what happened. I didn’t realize you went out with anyone last night. I thought Landon was hanging with you.”

  Drawing in a breath through my nose, I slowly blew it out. “Yes. I mean, no, I didn’t go out with anyone, and yes, Landon was here. He stayed the night.”

  Hailey gasped as Lady barked.

  “Fucking finally!” Hailey nearly shouted.

  “What? No! What? Wait, what do you mean finally?”

  Hailey groaned into the phone. “For the love of all that is holy in this world, you are both in love with each other. It’s about time you had sex.”

  I nearly d
ropped my phone. “Wait, what?! I’m not in love with him! He’s like a brother to me. And why do you think he’s in love with me? Has he told you that?”

  If my heart started beating any harder, I was positive it would burst from my chest. Had Landon admitted to his sister that he had feelings for me?

  “Well, no, but it’s obvious to everyone. You should see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one’s watching.”

  My breath stilled, and I turned back to stare at the door. “What?” I whispered.

  “Listen, I’m so tired of pretending like I don’t notice the way he stares at you or how you stare at him. Both of you clearly want something more than friendship.”

  I let out a disbelieving laugh. “You are so far off the mark about us having sex last night.”

  Lady came running up to me with a toy that I absentmindedly picked up and threw.

  “I like how you didn’t disagree with me about your feelings, though. Tell me I’m wrong, Emme.”

  I spun my body around and stared out into the backyard. I had almost kissed Landon this morning. I touched him. Touched his lips and leaned in for a kiss. If my stupid phone hadn’t rung, I would have totally kissed him.

  “I almost kissed him this morning,” I blurted out.

  “Whaaaat?” she said with a mixture of disbelief and excitement. “Spill it all, now!”

  Closing my eyes, I drew in a breath and let it all tumble out. “Okay, something weird was going on with me yesterday. I felt things for Landon I hadn’t ever felt before. Well, I’ve felt them before, in dreams and fleeting moments when we were younger. Like that time he kissed me in middle school. Then last night we snuggled up on the sofa and it felt so good. So right. Do you know what I mean?”

  “Yes. I think so.”

  “Anyway, I fell asleep, and he fell asleep, and I woke up this morning in his arms on the sofa, and Lady was all snuggled up, and for a crazy moment I wanted…I wanted… I wanted something more. Hailey, when I opened my eyes and saw him, some weird jolt of something hit me and nearly knocked me off the sofa. Then I touched him!”

  “Okay, ewww, gross. That is my brother.”

  “Not like that, you pervert,” I whisper-shouted. “I traced my finger along his jawline. Lord, he is so handsome. Then I sort of, kind of, let my finger move over his lips, but he was still asleep, and for one crazy, insane moment…I almost kissed him. Lord, I almost kissed my best friend.”

  She laughed. “And what is wrong with that? Shouldn’t that make Landon the perfect guy? Don’t they say you should fall in love with your best friend?”

  A rush of pure panic hit me so hard it felt like I couldn’t breathe. “I have to go.”

  “Wait, no! You’re going to call me with this bombshell and then tell me you have to go? Are you going to tell him you wanted to kiss him?”

  I gasped. “God, no, and don’t you dare say a word to him! It was a crazy moment, and I’m lonely and horny and haven’t had sex in a year. That’s all it was.”

  Good Lord…I’m totally lying to her and myself right now.

  “Well, it just so happens that I’ve heard rumors my brother is pretty damn good in bed. Wait, I just grossed myself out again.”

  There was no way I was going to admit I had heard the same stupid rumors. And I wasn’t going to remind myself how I felt every time I’d heard those rumors. “I’m ending this call!”

  “Wait! But what if—”

  I hit End and rushed into the kitchen. The shower was still going, so I quickly got out all the ingredients and started to make the egg wash I needed for the French toast.

  “This is crazy. It’s stupid. Silly. You don’t have feelings for him, Emmerson. You didn’t want to kiss him. You simply wanted affection. Someone to…someone to…”

  I looked up and stared out the window. Someone to feel a connection with. Someone to desire in a way I had never experienced before. I’d felt all of that with Landon this morning. Lord, if I was being honest with myself, I’d wanted to crawl on top of his amazingly fit body.

  A bark came from the backyard, and I realized I had left poor Lady outside.

  “I’ll let her in,” Landon said as he walked by in nothing but a pair of sweatpants. My mouth fell open as I took in the aforementioned amazingly fit body. It wasn’t like I’d never seen him without a shirt on. Hell, I’d seen him wear less than that, but it never made me want to offer up my body in the middle of my kitchen before.

  I looked away quickly.

  “Man, I’m glad you talked me into leaving some extra clothes in the guest bedroom.”

  With a nod, I replied, “Yep. Me too. Did you have any, um, shirts?”

  He smiled and held one up. “Yep.”

  “Great. Maybe you should, you know, put it on. For Lady’s sake.”

  Landon’s eyes drifted down to the puppy sitting at his feet, who was staring up at him in the same way I imagined I had been staring only seconds ago.

  Yeah, I know what you mean, girl. He’s hot. He’s sexy. He has a body to die for, he’s… he’s Landon!

  “You want me to put a shirt on for the dog’s sake?” Landon asked.

  I nodded and put his French toast on a plate before motioning for him to get the syrup. “Syrup and butter.”

  Landon slipped his T-shirt over his head and walked over to the pantry. When I turned around, I got a better look at him.

  No, no, no! He was barefoot.

  Spinning away, I clutched the counter and drew in a few deep breaths. Why was a barefoot Landon the sexiest thing I had ever seen before?

  “Hey, are you okay, Emme?”

  “Yep. Fine. I’m good. So good. Like, better than good.”

  He placed his hands on my arms and gently turned me around. With his finger under my chin, he lifted my head so that our eyes met. “What’s going on?”

  My mouth suddenly felt dry, and I forgot how to form words. Why was Landon’s touch sending little jolts of electricity through my entire body? Why did I want to reach up and kiss him, and why did he have to look so damn good with his stupid, wet, messy hair and soft, plump lips?

  It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about it. Once upon a time I imagined that Landon and I might end up together. But that was years ago, back in middle school and the beginning of high school. Hell, every day I used to pretend what it would be like to be kissed by him. Then we got older, Landon and I started dating other people, and I pushed those feelings for him so far down inside that I had forgotten what it felt like to captivated by Landon. To…to want him.

  Was it the auction? The idea that I, of all people, pushed him into a place where women would bid on a date with him? When I blurted out his name, I never thought about the end result. But now, good Lord. Now it was all I could think about. Did my stupid lapse of judgment and all this sudden jealousy pull those feelings back up from the abyss?

  I closed my eyes and shook the wandering thoughts away before I focused on that caring gaze of his. “A client of mine has a problem that I’m not sure how to fix.”

  He frowned. “Is it anything I can help you figure out?”

  I chewed on my lip. “No, I think it’s something she’s going to have to figure out on her own.”

  “I’m sorry, Emme. I wish there was something I could do to help.”

  Staring up into his blue-gray eyes, I slowly let out a breath. “Me too, Landon.”

  The last two weeks had dragged by as I waited for the day of the charity ball to finally arrive. I had avoided Landon like the plague. It hadn’t been hard, really. He’d been so busy with the shop that we’d missed Monday movie night last week, and he wasn’t in town last Sunday for family dinner night because he’d flown to Vegas to do a guest commentary for a NASCAR race. I knew he hated being thrown back into the limelight, but the pay was good and he was a huge part of our fathers’ NASCAR team, as well as being part owner of his own car.

  The time away from him was good. At least, that’s what I told myself when I wasn’t searching the
Internet for any bit of news on him. Or texting him to see how his day was. Or nearly killing myself listening to his special ringtone every time he returned a text.

  To put it plainly, I had been a mess the last two weeks. The longer I stayed away from Landon, the more desperate I was to see him.

  As I stared at my gown I had just put on for the charity ball, my phone buzzed, and I looked to see that it was Hailey calling. “Hello?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you planned Francesca Hamilton’s wedding?” she asked.

  “Hello to you, too, Hail. Is Mike back in town for the event tonight?”

  “Yes and don’t avoid my question! You planned the wedding of one of Hollywood’s most sought-out actresses!”

  I grinned as I walked into the living room. “I know. She actually got my name from Landon’s manager after she read the interview in People where he mentioned me. She’s originally from Waco, you know. She wanted her wedding here in Texas, and wanted a local planner.”

  “Um, yes, I know! Did you know her wedding is featured in People magazine this week, and she named you as the wedding planner?! They have your Instagram listed!”

  I felt my mouth fall open. “Shut up!”

  “I’m dead serious. Girl, have you not opened your Insta? Your followers are climbing!”

  I quickly put her on speaker and opened my Instagram—and nearly fell over at the number of followers I had picked up. “Holy shit.”

  “I know! I mean, you had an impressive following before, but I think that was because you were Landon Lewis’s best friend and all. Now you’re Francesca’s famed wedding planner. By the way, that rehearsal dinner was stunning. I can’t believe you did that last minute after the restaurant flooded.”

  I stared at my followers. Eight-hundred thousand and some change. Feeling dizzy, I backed up and dropped down onto the sofa, not even caring about my gown.

  “Oh my gosh. Sandra Bullock followed me! Sandra! Bullock!” I shouted.

  “Bitch, please, you should see some of the people following you now and all the blue checkmarks next to their names. My girl is getting famous! I wonder who else will want you to do their wedding? Just remember, I come first above all those bitches.”