Fool for You by Kelly Elliott

Landon - Present day

A SINGLE HAND waved in front of my face, drawing me out of my thoughts.

“Where did you go?” my father asked with a slight chuckle.

I shook my head and smiled. “Sorry, I was thinking of something I need to take care of later.”

My father pulled on the wire as I put a tie around it, twisting it onto the fence post. “Everything okay?”

“It will be.”

We worked in silence for a little bit before he clearly couldn’t take it anymore. “Want to talk about it? Is it Grace?”

It was my turn to laugh. If there was one thing about my dad, it was his knack for knowing when something was wrong with one of his kids. Hailey and I could never really get away with anything because our father always seemed to know when we were hiding something. My dad was, once upon a time, one of the most eligible bachelors on the NASCAR circuit. He had everything. Good looks—which I’ve been told I have inherited—money, and women. His heart always belonged to his childhood sweetheart, though. My mother, Adaline Lewis. But everyone called her Addie.

My father’s brown hair had hints of gray mixed in, but his eyes were the same color as mine. Blue or gray depending on the day, my mother always said.

“Dad, Grace and I broke up a few months ago, and we weren’t that serious anyway.”

He paused what he was doing and frowned. “You did?”

I stood and wiped the sweat from my forehead. “I need a drink.”

Dad followed my lead as we made our way over to my truck. I grabbed two bottles of water and tossed him one.

“What happened between y’all?”

I shrugged. “It just wasn’t working. She wasn’t happy when I was racing. Then she wasn’t happy I was back home for good. She didn’t like the way I wore a baseball cap backwards. And the one issue that always seems to bother the women I date—she didn’t like Emmerson.”

My father laughed. “Well, can you blame them? You have a female for a best friend.”

I shrugged. “So? It’s not like there’s ever been anything between me and Emmerson.”

He leaned against my truck and took a long drink before he spoke. “You know, there was a time when we all thought for sure you and Emmerson would become more than just friends.”

Yeah. Me too.

“Then we grew up?” I asked with a smile.

Laughing, he said, “I guess so. You still do movie nights with her on Mondays?”

“Yeah, it’s been nice being home and being able to start that tradition up again.”

My father was a retired NASCAR driver. So was his best friend, Malcolm Wallace, who happened to be Emmerson’s father. They were partners now and ran a vineyard, as well as an olive orchard. They also raised cattle, but Emmerson’s brother Noah pretty much ran that side of the business.

My mother and Emmerson’s mom, Paislie, also owned and ran a bed and breakfast in Clifton, Texas, our hometown.

I knew my father never expected me to follow in his footsteps with NASCAR, but I had for a short time. I was damn good at it as well, but I hated being gone from Texas. From my family and, most of all, from Emmerson. So I walked away, even though I was on top. Voted most popular driver, even listed as one of People magazine’s sexiest bachelors last year.

It wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. Sure, it had been fun, but my true passion was restoring old cars and trucks. I also loved working the cattle, but hated the vineyard and the olive orchard. So did Noah. Hailey, my sister, ran most of the administrative stuff and marketing for the vineyard and the olive orchard, as well as handled the marketing for the bed and breakfast. It came as a shock to everyone when both Emmerson and I announced we wanted to pursue jobs outside of the family businesses.

Emmerson loved the ranch just as much as I did, but she also had her own dreams. She went to Baylor and got a business degree, and right out of college she started up a wedding planning company. Serendipity Wedding Planning. For as long as I could remember, Emmerson had been obsessed with all things weddings. She was damn good at what she did, and had already made a good name for herself, not only in nearby Waco, but in Austin and Dallas as well.

“And you wonder why Grace was jealous of Emmerson,” Dad observed as he pulled me from my thoughts.

Even though I didn’t want to admit it to my dad, he was right. Women I had dated over the years either loved Emmerson or hated her. Most of them hated her, or at least our friendship. Emmerson was and would always be one of my very best friends.

I’d been hiding my deeper feelings for her for as long as I could remember. Every time someone I dated started to get a bit too serious, I knew I had to end things. No matter how many times I tried to tell myself I could move on and fall in love with another woman, I was proven wrong. So when they started talking about futures and asking where I saw us ten years down the road, I was honest. That led to most of them breaking up with me. I hadn’t had many long-term relationships, though. Two, to be exact.

Emmerson had the same problem. Most of the guys she dated would end up giving her an ultimatum. It was either her friendship with me, or it was them. She always picked me, and I always picked her. It wasn’t hard for me to pick Emmerson over other women, though. I had been in love with her for as long as I could remember. Of course I would never admit that, especially since Emmerson didn’t reciprocate my feelings, or at least she’d never admitted to them. But the damn cat and mouse game was getting old. A part of me knew there was a real chance Emmerson could feel the same way I did. I was just too much of a pussy to find out. No, I was terrified to find out. If she didn’t love me, I wasn’t about to risk our friendship and have things become awkward.

“Grace and I were never going to work out.”

My father sighed and pushed off my truck. “The sooner you admit the truth to yourself, son, the sooner you’ll make your mother happy. She wants you to settle down, start a family.”

I laughed. “Christ, I’m only twenty-seven; I’m not the least bit worried about settling down.”

He raised a brow as he walked by me.

“Wait, what do you mean, the sooner I admit the truth?”

He ignored me and headed back over to the fence. “Come on, I want to finish this up before the sun starts setting. You’re coming to dinner tonight, right?”

It was Sunday, and that meant family dinner night. It wasn’t just my family, though, it was Emmerson’s as well. Considering our two families lived on top of each other—literally, while growing up—it was no wonder we still had our weekly family dinners.

When my father and Malcolm both retired from racing, they bought a huge mansion of a house in Clifton. It was over seven-thousand square feet and a two-family home. The first and second floors were where Malcolm and Paislie lived, along with Emmerson and Noah. My family lived on the third and fourth floors. The four of us—Noah, Hailey, me, and Emmerson—had known each other our whole lives. We’d grown up like brothers and sisters.

“Yeah, I’ll be there. I need to run an errand first.”

“Don’t forget it’s your turn to bring the wine,” Dad said as he pointed at me.

I rolled my eyes. Once a month we took turns bringing a new wine that none of us had ever had before—or at least one we hoped no one had had before. Last month, Noah had actually flown to Washington State and bought a bottle of wine at a vineyard up there without so much as ever tasting it first. Hailey had bought a bottle once when she was in France, and admitted she almost broke into it in her hotel just to make sure she wasn’t bringing a shit wine to dinner that month. It was the best sangiovese I’d ever had. The types of grapes we grew here on the ranch, vitis vinifera, were mostly used for merlot and cabernet sauvignon, so we were all used to drinking mostly red wines. I liked white, too, but if I had to choose, red would always be my favorite.

“I haven’t forgotten,” I said. “Where do you think I’m going after this?”

He laughed. “Was that what you were daydreaming about? The wine?”

I laughed along with him, but it wasn’t what I had been thinking about. No, what I was thinking was far more complicated than whether everyone would like the wine I picked out.

He let it go, assuming that was where my thoughts had gone. But my mind was actually on the text message I had received earlier that day from Emmerson, asking to meet me before the family dinner tonight. She said she was in a bit of trouble and needed my help.

I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that fucking text all day. She wasn’t dating anyone right now, so I knew I wasn’t going to have to kick anyone’s ass. So, what kind of trouble was she in? Money trouble? The kind of trouble that would show up in nine months?

My fists clenched at that last thought. No, I knew that wasn’t it. Emmerson hadn’t dated anyone since breaking up with that dickhead Jason Emmes a year ago.

After another ten minutes of repairing the fence, I let out a long breath. I loved working on the ranch, but on days like this when it was so fucking hot out, I longed to be in my shop, tooling around with a car’s engine or watching a badass paint job on a ’55 Chevy. The ranch was in my blood, and anytime my dad or Malcolm needed extra help, I was there. But my heart was back in the middle of Waco in my restoration shop.

After finishing the last of the ties, I turned to my father. “If you don’t have anything else for me to do today, I’m going to head on home and shower.”

He nodded. “That’s it, son. Thank you for helping me with this. I know you’re tired from your trip.”

I had flown back into Dallas last night after traveling up to North Carolina to check on the race team my father and Malcolm both partially owned. It’s the same team I had raced for when I was driving in NASCAR. Not to mention that I was still co-owner of a car as well. I was more of a silent partner, though, and I liked it that way. I hated being in the spotlight; another one of the reasons I left racing.

“It’s all good—I’m going to head on out. Let me know if I need to bring anything other than the wine tonight.”

“Will do! Make sure it’s not another pussy-ass wine this time!” he called out as I climbed into my truck.

I looked back at him and gaped. “Pussy-ass wine? Excuse me, that was Noah who brought the damn fifty shades of fucked-up wine.”

He looked up in thought and then laughed. “Oh yeah, that’s right. Leave it to Malcolm’s son to bring something so crappy.”

Laughing again, I shook my head. My father and Malcolm were the best of friends, but they still had a bit of competition between them. It was all in fun, but they loved sticking it to each other anytime they could. And sometimes it was at the expense of us kids.

“Later, Dad!” I called out before I drove off and headed to my place. I had bought a house a few months ago, not far from the ranch but closer to Waco. I knew I wanted to be close to both Emmerson and my folks, as well as the shop.

My phone rang, and Emmerson’s name popped up. I hit answer with a smile on my face. “Hey, Emme.”

“Hey, are you still able to meet me?”

“Yeah, I’m heading back to my place to shower and change. Do you want to tell me what’s going on? What kind of trouble are you in?”

“Um, let’s just wait and talk in person.”

I groaned. “Emme, are you…I mean…have you gotten yourself…you know?”

“Have I gotten myself what?” she asked.

“Pregnant?”

There was a silence so eerie on the other end of the line, I was positive she was about to confirm my worst fear. Then she broke out in a fit of laughter.

“Pregnant! I’d actually have to be having sex to get pregnant, Landon.”

Christ Almighty, the sense of relief I felt was almost terrifying.

“Well, what in the hell was I supposed to think, Emme?”

She laughed again and said, “Just meet at my place, then we can go and pick up that expensive-ass wine you’re getting from Rachel.”

I let out a sigh of relief that the woman I was secretly in love with wasn’t pregnant with another man’s baby. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Drive carefully, Landon.”

“I will.”

I pulled into the driveway of the small house Emmerson had bought six months ago. It was a historical home a block from the main square in Clifton. She had always loved the house, and when it came on the market, she’d somehow won out on the swift bidding war that had taken place. It helped that the original owners knew our families and adored Emmerson.

“Landon, how are you doing?” Mrs. O’Conner asked as she waved her free hand at me. She held onto her large black lab with the other as she stopped walking.

“Afternoon, Mrs. O’Conner. How’s business?” I called out to her.

She gave me a thumbs up. “Thank God people like beer!”

I laughed as I headed up the sidewalk that led to Emmerson’s front porch. Mr. and Mrs. O’Conner owned O’Conner’s Irish Bar, about a two-block walk from here. I had found myself drunk there plenty of times after partaking in my fair share of Guinness.

Using my key, I let myself in, then called out Emmerson’s name as I shut the door and tossed my keys into the small dish she had sitting on a table by the front door. I smiled when a small German shorthaired pointer came running and sliding across the floor as she tried to stop. I caught her right before she collided with me.

“Hey, Peaches, how are you doing today?”

“Stop calling her Peaches, you know her name is Lady.”

I glanced up to see Emmerson standing there desperately trying not to smile but losing. She was beautiful. Her light brown hair was piled on top of her head, and those blue eyes seemed to light up the entire room.

I smirked. “I’m going to get a mutt dog and name him Tramp then.”

Emmerson’s brows shot up. “Oh my gosh, you are? Oh, Lady would love a puppy friend, wouldn’t you, girl?” She reached down and scratched the dog under her chin.

With a shake of my head and a chuckle, I replied, “No, I don’t have time to watch a puppy.”

She huffed and folded her arms over her chest. “Bullshit. You could take him to the shop with you.”

I had to pull my eyes away from her amazing breasts, focusing back on the dog. “Listen to your momma, trying to shackle me down with a dog.”

“Well, better a dog than a woman.”

I glanced up at her and frowned. What did she mean by that?

“What’s this thing you need my help with?” I asked as I grabbed a ball and rolled it across the floor for Lady to chase after.

Emmerson’s teeth dug into her bottom lip and she batted her eyes like she did whenever she needed something from me. If she only knew I would give her the world. All she had to do was ask.

Her eyes lit up as if an idea suddenly hit her. “Let me pour you a drink before I tell you.”

“Oh shit,” I mumbled. I rolled the ball across the floor once again and then followed Emmerson through her living room and into her newly remodeled kitchen. Noah and I nearly died while trying to do the electrical in here, but it was worth it to see Emmerson’s face when it was all finished. We knocked down walls and made the entire first floor an open concept, giving Emmerson the kitchen she had always dreamed of—from a large, six-burner stove that had side-by-side ovens, to the massive island in the middle of the kitchen. It was decorated in a French farmhouse style, and the gray and white cabinets looked amazing with the rustic wood beams overhead and rustic wooden range hood.

It was a baker’s dream kitchen, and Emmerson loved to bake. Even though her dream had been to be a wedding planner for as long as I could remember, she had also fallen in love with cooking. Any chance she had to make something or bake some fancy dessert, she was doing it.

Emmerson was also active on social media, as was Hailey, mostly for the businesses. I truly believed Emmerson’s ability to connect with people, both on a professional and personal level, was what helped her grow her business.

“I’m in a bit of a pickle with the charity auction for the Children’s Hospital of Austin.”

I slid onto one of the barstools at the kitchen island. Our folks had always been huge supporters of the children’s hospitals in both Austin and Dallas. So it didn’t come as a surprise that when Paislie stepped down from the auction’s planning committee after years of serving on it, Emmerson had joined and filled in for her mom. Paislie had loved being on the committee, but it had begun to take up more and more of her time—and Emmerson quickly realized that the same thing was happening to her.

“What kind of trouble?” I asked as I pushed Lady off of my legs for the sixth time.

Emmerson drew in a deep breath and exhaled. “You know how I’m on the committee for the auction?”

I nodded.

She began to chew on her thumbnail while her eyes darted everywhere around the kitchen, avoiding me at all costs.

Laughing, I said, “Just spit it out. Emme. It can’t be that bad.”

A nervous giggle slipped free as she said, “I sort of volunteered your help with the auction this year.”

Was that it? Why was she so worried over that? It wasn’t like I hadn’t ever donated to the auction before.

“That’s not a problem. What do you need? A ride around the Formula One track?”

She frowned. “Shit, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Well, with me no longer racing, I doubt any autographs will really bring in much money. A ride around the track would, though. I’ve still got some contacts there.”

“It’s not anything like that. I volunteered you for something…different, but maybe that track ride would sweeten the deal even more.” She did a quick sweep over me with her eyes—and then blushed.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What did you sign me up for, Emme?”

She pressed her lips together tightly before she said, “They begged me to have you in it, Landon. Begged! I didn’t know what else to do.”

My stomach dropped slightly. “Have me in what?” I slowly asked, dread filling every ounce of my body.

Glancing down at the floor, she mumbled something.

I leaned in closer. “What was that?”

Her head dropped back and she groaned. “The annual charity date auction. They asked me if you would be in it, and I sorta said yes on your behalf.”

I felt my mouth fall open. “You mean, I have to go out on a date with whoever bids the highest amount?”

She forced a smile. “I mean, really, how hard could it be to go on one simple date?”

I stared at her with what I was sure was a disbelieving look. “How hard could it be? Emme, I’d be going out with a total stranger who paid for me! Like a gigolo! That’s fucking creepy.”

She frantically shook her head. “It’s only for dinner. That’s it. Nothing else, I swear.”

My eyes felt huge, and I stared at her without blinking. “As if I even thought there would be something else.”

She waved me off and reached down to pick up Lady. “Please, Landon? Please do this for me, and I’ll do anything you want. Cook your favorite dinners and desserts for a month. I’ll do your laundry for the rest of the year. I’ll even make you macaroons! You know how much you love macaroons!”

I shook my head. “I don’t know, Emme. Why can’t Noah do it?”

She pouted, and I nearly groaned at the sight of those soft pink lips puckering, instantly imagining them around my dick.

I shook the image away and cleared my throat as she spoke.

“Noah isn’t famous, and wasn’t voted one of NASCAR’s most popular drivers, or listed as one of People’s sexiest men. Plus, he’s dating Amy! Please, Landon. I’d be the queen of the committee for atleast two years.”

“That’s what this is about?” I asked with a frown. “To gain popularity?”

“No! You know I have never taken advantage of you like that, and I never would,” she stated. “Okay, fine, maybe I’m hoping it will gain me a little something, so I can quietly slip away from this committee. It’s so much work, and I just don’t have time for it. And just think about the money you’ll bring in. Please? Do it for me?”

Those ice-blue eyes of hers would get me to do just about anything, especially when she looked at me with such desperation.

With a long exhale, I replied, “Fine. I’ll do it, but the only reason I’m doing it is because I cannot seem to say no to you. You are a truly evil woman, and you better be glad you’re my best friend.”

She jumped and let out a squeal of delight, which caused Lady to bark. She put the dog down and ran over to me, nearly knocking me off the stool when she threw her arms around me. Suddenly this grown, twenty-five-year-old woman turned into a sixteen-year-old. “I owe you big time, Landon! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

I swallowed hard and tried not to let my body react to her being so close. The fact that she was standing between my legs, her body pressed to mine, should have made me happy simply because she was happy. Instead, it stoked the fire that burned deep down inside of me when it came to Emmerson. She was my best friend. The one person I could always count on, and vice versa.

If she ever found out I harbored stronger feelings for her, it might ruin our friendship.

She drew back and smiled as she looked into my eyes. “I owe you.”

I tried not to look at those perfect lips on that pouty mouth of hers. Tried not to think of what it would be like to kiss them again. Oh, I’d kissed them once before, when we were younger, and I had vowed to love her until the day I died. With every woman I’ve kissed since, I’ve compared their lips to Emmerson’s.

Her lips parted slightly as she let her gaze fall to my mouth. For a moment, I swore there was a crackling in the air before Emmerson jerked her eyes back up to mine.

Fuck. I needed to stop the way my mind was going, or I’d soon have a hard-on.

I moved my hands from her back, down to her hips, and gently pushed her away. “Don’t worry, I’ll come up with a good payback.”

She laughed, but it came out more like a nervous chuckle before she replied, “I have no doubt about that.”

“The auction is what, in two weeks?” I asked.

“Yes! I’ve been keeping an eye on your schedule to make sure it stayed open.”

“I’m not racing anymore, so it won’t be a problem. We only have three active cars in the shop, and we’re ahead of schedule. Will we be spending the night in Austin like we usually do when the event is over?

She nodded as she stared at me with an intense look I hadn’t ever seen before. When she reached up and brushed her fingers through my hair, I tensed.

“You should…um…get a haircut before the auction,” she said. “Your hair has gotten a bit longer from how you normally wear it.”

I reached up and grabbed her wrist to get her to stop running her fingers through my goddamn hair. She sucked in a breath and our eyes met, and there went that crackle in the air again.

God, how I wanted to pull her in for a kiss. Knowing that I couldn’t drove me mad.

“I’ll get it cut,” I said as I dropped her wrist and she took a few steps back. She looked as confused as I felt.

I cleared my throat and got off the stool. “I need to go and pick up the wine for dinner tonight. Did you want to ride with me, or are you driving separately?”

Emmerson stared at me for a beat too long before she shook her head. “I’ll ride with you as long as you don’t mind dropping me back off at home.”

What was going on with her odd behavior?

“I don’t mind at all,” I replied. “You ready to go?”

She nodded. “Let me just take Lady out once more before we leave. Is it okay if she comes with us?”

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

After taking Lady out, Emmerson grabbed her purse and a lead for Lady, while I picked up the dog and carried her out to my truck.

“If you even think of pissing in my truck…” I whispered to the dog, who took advantage of how close my face was to lick it.

“Stop that, Landon Lewis! She is a good girl and doesn’t go potty in the house or in cars.” When she caught up to us, Emmerson scratched under the puppy’s chin once again. “Isn’t that right, Lady?”

Lady answered back with a bark as Emmerson and I both laughed.