“So, what do we do now?” he asked as he began to move around the bar to the side where Kerry sat.
“We?”
“Yeah, we. I can keep your secret, just like everyone else in this town, but you probably need to come up with some sort of plan.”
“You’re right.” She licked her lips as she admitted the truth. Landon used the opportunity to wrap his arms around her again, he hated what he was about to say, but it was something she needed to be aware of, especially if she was found with him.
“I think it’s probably best if we keep this on a friendly level.”
Kerry practically jumped out of his arms as she looked up at him in shock.
“What? Why?”
“Because there are things about me you’d never understand. I’ve seen things no one should have to see and you’re everything good in the world, a lite
ral princess.”
“So, you’re saying you’re the coal and I’m the diamond,” she explained with a bit of fire in her voice.
“Something like that.”
“The ugliness that covers you doesn’t take away from the beauty that you harbor inside, Landon.”
“The difference is people use the coal to watch it burn under a flame. The diamond is preserved and taken care of because of its delicate beauty.”
***
Kerry understood what Landon was saying, but even after barely knowing the man for a day she could see the good in him. She could also see the secrets. He was harboring something that he was ashamed of. It was hard not to press him for that information, but she had time, especially if she was going to stay in Carson. Though she was uncertain if she would still be welcome if anyone saw the news report from her parents.
God, she had never been more embarrassed than seeing a picture of her wearing the same tiara stuffed in the bottom of her bag on the television screen.
There was zero desire to go back to the palace, though she missed the people she served. Kerry had always been proud of her country.
A phone pinged from behind the bar and Landon groaned as he let her side and moved quickly to grab it.
“I need to get ready for dinner. Did you need me to take you home?”
Disappointment soared through Kerry as she anticipated Landon meeting up with someone so soon after their night together. But she knew she had no claim to him, even though that ached her to her core.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to keep you from your date. I would still like to help you with the bar if you’re interested, though you know I have zero experience.” She was babbling and she hated when she babbled because she was nervous or embarrassed.
Spinning around before Landon could come back around the counter, she reached for her bag and started to make her exit. But she didn’t get far. Kerry sensed him before she felt him reach for her arm, but she was already turning around to face him.
“Kerry, there is no date. And even if there were, the moment I saw you today, I would have canceled.”
“Even after everything you just said? That you can’t see me with someone like you?”
“Especially because of that. Just because we can’t be more than this doesn’t mean I’d see someone else.”
“There is that good man in you again, Landon. Keep him hidden away, or someone is bound to get the wrong idea.”
He looked at her doubtfully, his eyes searching hers for some underlying meaning, and she wished that she could erase that sense of suspicion he carried with him.
Then he reached up and stroked his fingers through her hair, something that she was quickly growing to love. Not just for the fact that no man had ever touched her so tenderly, but because it was that soft side of him she kept insisted existed.
“Do you want to come with me?”
“To your dinner?”