Finding His Mrs. Right (Mending Hearts Series) (22 page)

“I met Jocelyn before you started dating h
er. We hooked up a few times, but the moment she saw you, that was all she wrote. She wanted you, so I stepped aside. Besides, I had Amanda, and you know how that ended. You also knew I wasn’t so faithful then, but the girl was Jocelyn. We’d messed around off and on, and I swear I didn’t want to hurt you or Amanda. I just wasn’t thinking. I was selfish back then, Landon.” Tyler said.

“Why couldn’t you just tell me?”
I asked with hurt in my voice.

“
The only answer I can give you is that I was selfish and dumb. I didn’t think you’d fall in love with her. That’s why Jocelyn and I were always fighting. I begged her to break it off with you, but she wouldn’t. When you caught us—I thought you’d hate me. But when you came to me and said it was Zach, I just went with it because I didn’t want to lose you as a best friend.” He sighed.

“I hate you now
, Tyler. You lied to me…you hurt me.” I said.

“I know, and I’m sorry. All these years I’ve been trying to make it up to you by being here for everything.” Tyler replied.

“You were.” I answered because he had been. “But I can’t just let this go.”

“I understand, but don’t shut me out. I’
m your family, Cassidy’s your family, and Tessa—she can be your family.” Tyler replied.

“Tessa?
Why’d you say that?” I asked cocking a brow at him.

“Come on, I’m not stupid. You love that girl. For the first time in a
long
time, I’ve seen you happy, and it was because of her. You need that right now.” Tyler replied.

“I’ll only ruin her.” I said shaking my head.

“Ruin her? You must not have been watching the same relationship that I’ve been watching.” He smiled. “You two are perfect for each other!”

“I let her go.” I responded.

“What, like to the store?” Tyler asked jokingly.

“No, I sent her to sign her deal with Zach, in LA where she can start over.” I answered.

“Don’t be stupid, Landon. You have nothing holding you back anymore, nothing else to hide behind. Go get your future wife.” Tyler pushed.

Twenty-Three

I signed my name on the dotted line and waited as the ink dried. This was it, I had inked my first real deal, and my company was on its way to the top.
I couldn’t believe this was happening, and I couldn’t believe I wasn’t more excited. Instead of being happy, my heart ached because the person I wanted to share this news with wasn’t beside me. I couldn’t even call him because we weren’t speaking again. Landon hadn’t called me, and I hadn’t called him, and this time it was going to stay that way.

“That’s it, we’re business partners.” Zach smiled as we shook hands.

“I don’t know what to do next.” I said looking up to him. Zachary Ryan was a handsome man. From his crystal blue eyes, to his sweet smile, but he wasn’t anything like Landon.

“Celebrate.” He insisted.

“I’m really not in a celebrating mood.” I sighed.

“How about I take you out on the town and show you around.” Zach replied as he looked at his watch.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” I responded.

“Oh, come on. You’re going to be spending a lot of time here. The least I can do is show my new partner around.” He smiled, and smiled back politely. I didn’t want to be
rude, especially since when we were going to be working together for the long haul.

“Ok.” I said, holding the smile.

Zach grabbed his coat and umbrella as I put on my trench coat. It happened to be raining the day I went to California. Yippee, my luck had officially sucked. I wished I was back at the hotel with Gwen, who had conveniently skipped out on me just to, “relax”. I didn’t blame her though. I had dragged her halfway across the U.S. without proper rest. But in my defense, she had gotten to explore Colorado Springs while I “worked”.

Shaking the thoughts off, I frowned as Landon popped into my mind again. I was going to have to get over him, and fast. This lovesick thing was something I’d hated. It just wasn’t for me. I’d had enough when I
’d lost Dean. My phone buzzed, but ignored it as Zach smiled at me.

“Ready?” he asked and I nodded.

“Good.” With that, he opened the door and I walked out first.

“Are you hungry?” he asked as we headed down the hall.

“A little.” I answered.

“Oh, pep up. What’s eating at you?” Zach asked curiously. “You just became a millionaire, you should be happy.” He chuckled.

“I know, I’m sorry.” I said sucking in a breath.

“
Smile beautiful, it’s going to be a great night.” He winked as we got in the elevator.

We took it down
to the ground floor, and headed out to his car. Zach drove the newest reversion of a Bentley. To my surprise, he too drove his own car, and didn’t have a driver. Like a gentleman, he opened the car door for me, and let me get in before closing the door. I watched him as he strolled around to get into the driver’s side. I strapped on my seatbelt as he started the car and fixed the radio. There was a CD in the disc player, and it was playing hip hop. I smiled as I thought of Gwen. She would’ve been in the back seat, bopping away with a huge grin on her face.

“What
kinds of food do you like to eat?” he asked.

“
Italian is fine.” I opted as I stared out of the window. The lights were beautiful as the sky darkened.

“
”You’ll love it here.” Zach replied, looking over at me briefly.

“I’m used to big cities.” I responded.

“Oh yeah? Good, then you’ll definitely fit right in.” Zach smiled.

I sat silent for the rest of the ride as we drove through town. I wasn’t sure where this night was going to lead me. Maybe Zach wanted to
be more than business partners. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to open me up to flirt or not, but it wouldn’t be the first time. Hell, I was supposed to be finding him love, and I hadn’t started on that yet.

“Zach?” I ca
lled and he answered me with a…

“Hmm?”

“What kind of girls do you go for?” I asked, curiously.

“
So, you haven’t forgotten the other end of our deal, huh?” he half smiled.

“This
is
what you just paid me for.” I smiled back.

“Good, I like to see that you’re all about business, when need be.” He replied.

“That’s me.” I shrugged.

“To answer your question, I like girls who can make me laugh.” Zach answered.

“I’ll make a note of that.” I replied.

“We need to make a stop if that’s alright with you.” Zach insisted, and I nodded.

“Do what you have to do. I’m not going anywhere.” I smiled.

“Good to know.” He said taking a detour, before stopping at a vacant lot.

He suddenly had me wondering if he was going to dispose of my body. That notion also had me thinking that Gwen filled my head with too many stories. My phone buzzed again and Zach looked over to me.

“I think you should get that.” He insisted as we rode down the
hill.

I saw glowing lights at the bottom as I answered my phone.
Oh god, he had set up some romantic dinner and I didn’t know how to shoot him down. The guy was rich, and now working with me. If this night ended badly, I was going to be in hell even more than I was now.

“Hello?” I asked confused.

“Hey, beautiful.” I heard Landon’s voice say on the other end.

“What do you want?” I asked a bit annoyed as
Zach parked the car.

“In short, you.”
Landon answered.

“I can’t play these games with you. I’m busy.” I snapped.

“Don’t hang up, please.” He replied.

“Goodbye, Landon.” I said, hanging up the phone.

“Not too happy with the ex, huh?” Zach asked and I shrugged.

“That obvious?”
I asked and Zach smiled.

“
I want to show you something.” He insisted, getting out of the car, before walking around and opening my door for me.

Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath. Landon was the last guy I needed to talk to at the moment. I was already trying to get him out of my mind.
I was definitely going to have to learn to ignore his calls.

“I’
m sorry about that.” I said as he helped me out of the car.

“No need to apologize.” He said holding my hand as he helped me down the hill.

I stopped as I saw the sight in front of me. There were lit candles on the ground, which made a pathway. I looked at Zach confused as he winked at me.

“Follow it.” He insisted with a bright smile.

I didn’t know what to say, so I did. Zach followed close behind me, and I was genuinely scared. I didn’t want to hurt the guy’s feelings because he had gone out of his way to make me feel “welcome”. I hope this wasn’t a date where he expected sex afterwards. I knew dating Landon was going to tarnish my career.

I followed the beautifully lit candles all the way to the bottom, and stopped as my heart got caught in my throat. The candles led to
rose pedals, which were in shape of a huge heart, and in the center of that heart stood, Landon. He was dressed in a perfect tuxedo and obviously waiting for me. I looked back at Zach, stunned.

“Go easy on the guy.” He
whispered to me.

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed silent as I continued to follow the trail that lead to Landon. I shook my head as I
got to him.

“How did you know where I was?” I asked.

“I’m Landon Brooks.” He shrugged cockily. It had been a long time since I’d seen that side of him.

“Ok,” I said dragging the word. “
What
are you doing here? You ended things with me, remember?”

“I know, but I was stupid.” Landon answered.

“Am I’m supposed to just fall all over you now?” I asked being bull headed. I couldn’t believe he had done this for me.

“Tessa,” he said grabbing my hands. “I love you.”

“Landon…”

“
Remember I told you I was broken? Well, I want you to help fix me. I want to be with you, Tessa; I want you and all of you. And if you let me, I want to let you in. You’re the one who can make me forget all the crap that was dealt to me, Tessa.” he insisted.

“I’ve heard this before
, Landon.” I said, shaking my head.

I
knew
I
had screwed up big time with Tessa. Tyler had been right when we spoke. I loved Tessa, and that was all that mattered. Letting her go would’ve just be stupid. So, here I was putting it all on the line, and scared as hell. She was staring at me, waiting for a response.

“I know…and I meant it then too. I just—I didn’t want to be the one holding you back from your dream.” I answered
, truthfully.

“
I’m not ok with you toying with my heart.” Tessa said looking down.

“Tessa, I want you to be my wife.” I blurted out.

Damn it, that wasn’t how I wanted to lay it out on the table, but, it sure got her attention. Maybe now she’d stop protesting and just accept what I was saying.

“What?” she asked
, looking up to me as her eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

“
I want to spend my life with you. I want us to make beautiful babies together—
after
you get your business to where you want it to be, and
after
I get help. I want to go to therapy, and hash out all of this crap in my head that I refused to deal with. I want us to be happy
together
. I want you.” I said seriously.