Page 74 of Never Fall Again

Landry’s laughter echoed off the surrounding trees and settled into Cal. He’d been so nervous about seeing her. And then he’d botched the whole thing because he thought she hadn’t wanted to see him.

He was lucky shewasn’tthe type to let anything slide—and also lucky shewasthe type to give a man another chance.

Now they were laughing and pulling burritos and chips from the basket. Landry had brought all his favorite foods to this picnic. There was no way she hadn’t been planning to invite him.

Could he be more of an idiot?

The brownies—his favorite—were warm. She’d gotten up this morning to make them. And what had he done? All but accused her of not wanting him around because he couldn’t say what he wanted to say.

They were friends.

F-R-I-E-N-D-S.

She’d had so much on her mind last night she probably hadn’t noticed the way he’d behaved. All possessive and a little bit crazy and way more like a boyfriend than a buddy.

And friends were what they would stay. At least, as far as she was concerned. He’d had all night to consider the dilemma of Landry Hutton, and he’d concluded that as long as he kept himselfin line, there was no reason they couldn’t continue as they had been. It wasn’t necessary for him to clue her in to the fact that his feelings for her were shifting into something he apparently had no control over.

But he would find some control. Because if he lost it completely, he’d lose her.

And that wasn’t okay.

After a wonderful lunch, he took Landry and Eliza across the river and to his workshop. Eliza was fascinated by everything, and he let her help him sand a few of the small candy dishes he’d made last week. Despite Eliza’s pleading, he followed the unmistakable wishes in Landry’s eyes and didn’t allow the little girl to help him run the electric current through the wood to create the gorgeous patterns that made his work unique.

Eliza recovered from her disappointment when he showed her how to rub the blue polymer into the areas etched by the electric current. Landry didn’t seem terribly upset that Eliza’s fingertips were blue—and would probably remain so for a few days.

When they were done, he promised that when the stain was dry on the bowls they’d worked on, he would bring her one to keep on her dresser.

And all the while, he tried very hard not to let Eliza squirm into his heart.

They started the walk back to Landry’s property. Eliza got permission to run ahead, with Cal and Landry bringing up the rear.

Landry heaved a huge sigh, looked up at the puffy clouds, and then down at the ground. “It’s sunny, bright, and happy here, and I don’t want to ruin our day. But I did promise you some answers.”

Cal tried to keep his cool. “I haven’t made it a secret that I’mcurious about your life before The Haven and what led you to Gossamer Falls. But you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“You’re just being nice because I accused you of being a horrible person, and you had to out yourself in order to prove you weren’t.” Landry’s grin was sardonic. “But it won’t work. It isn’t fair for you not to have the whole story.”

He didn’t know if fairness had anything to do with it, but if that’s how she felt, he wouldn’t argue with her.

“I hate talking about it because there’s no way to tell the story without highlighting my own stupidity and bad decision-making and pretty much pointing out to you how much of a moron I am.”

“You aren’t a moron.”

“You haven’t heard the story.”

“I didn’t say you had never been a moron. You’ve heard my story. You know how dumb I was.”

“You weren’t dumb! She was a deceptive shrew!”

Well, that was interesting. “Regardless, maybe I should have noticed all those trips to her folks’ or the way she danced around it whenever I mentioned marriage or the way she refused to make vacation reservations.”

“She gave you good reasons for all of it.”

“She did. And I was a moron for believing her.”

“Cal!”

He couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “If I see myself as a moron for my behavior, and you don’t, why would you be surprised that I would see your situation quite differently than you do?”