Page 24 of Isolated (Harper Security Ops #21)

Of course, it may have just been that it seemed every time I was alone, my thoughts drifted to Landen.

As soon as my brain realized there were no other distractions, my fingers were itching with a need to get more of Landen in my life as quickly as possible.

I’d see him tomorrow at the gym. I should be able to wait until then .

But how could I do that when I was convinced that I could still smell him like he was standing right beside me?

Not reaching out to him now was akin to squeezing blood from a stone—impossible.

I grimaced at the thought of not speaking to him until tomorrow and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach.

A text.

That’s what I’d do.

I’d send him a simple text, thanking him for a wonderful time, and I’d leave it at that.

No matter how badly I wanted to hear his voice again, I didn’t want to interrupt his Sunday. It’s not as though I expected he’d be sitting around waiting for me to call.

But he had given me his number. Sure, he’d suggested it was all a means to prove my point to my sisters, but he wouldn’t have given it if he didn’t want me to reach out at all, right? It was the closest I could get to an invitation without him specifically asking me to do it.

Plus, he was the one who’d shown up last night because he claimed he hadn’t wanted to take any chances of my night out with my sisters resulting in a guy who wasn’t him showing interest in me.

I gnawed on my bottom lip as I considered my options.

A text would be fine. Of course, it would.

With my mind made up—before I could go back on my decision—my fingertips flew across the screen and typed out a text.

Iris

Hey, Landen. I just wanted to reach out to thank you for showing up at the pub last night. I had a lovely time .

There.

Simple and to the point. Now, it was a waiting game.

I set my phone down, picked up a book, and curled up on the couch with the intention of using a good story to distract me from how badly I wanted him to respond. It wasn’t as though Landen would be sitting on the couch at his place, clutching his own phone and debating whether to call me.

After giving the phone one last look of longing, willing the display to light up with a response, I looked away and cracked open the book I’d been meaning to start for a few weeks now. But I didn’t even get through the first paragraph before my phone buzzed beside me.

My body tensed, belly flipping with excitement as my eyes shot toward the display.

Maybe I’d been wrong.

Perhaps Landen had been wanting to talk to me, too.

Landen

I should be thanking you for not thinking I was a creep for crashing your night out with your sisters.

My lips instantly curved into a smile.

Iris

You’re a lot of things, Landen, but a creep is not one of them. I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did.

Landen

I’m only disappointed it had to end.

It was like my insides were vibrating with the excitement I felt.

Where had this version of Landen been all this time?

I knew he’d said he hadn’t wanted to make me feel like I couldn’t simply go to the gym to get a workout in without being hit on, and I couldn’t hold him being a gentleman against him, but I would have loved nothing more than to experience what I was now months ago.

Iris

Me, too. I feel like I could have spent the rest of the night dancing and talking to you.

Landen

I’m thrilled to know I’m not alone.

He hadn’t wanted to leave, either. It seemed Landen and I had been skirting around our attraction for far too long.

Iris

If you only knew…

There was a small part of me that wished I had the courage to tell him how long I’d been thinking about him. Or, maybe more specifically, what kinds of things I thought about.

My eyes remained focused on the text conversation, but as the seconds ticked by, a response never came from Landen.

Had I said too much?

Just as I was about to figure out a way to backtrack, my phone rang, and it was Landen’s name that came up on the display.

“Hello?”

“What don’t I know? ”

“What?”

His laughter came through the line. “You said, if I only knew… I’m wondering what it is that I don’t know.”

I thought it was a good thing Landen and I were talking to each other over the phone, because I blushed at the thoughts that ran through my mind. There was no question he’d take one look at me and know precisely what kinds of things I’d been hiding from him.

Landen hadn’t done anything to make me think he wouldn’t enjoy hearing about the fantasies that had been playing out in my mind for months, but a big part of me thought it was far too soon. He hadn’t even kissed me.

Maybe I could simply tease him for now.

“I’m not sure I should reveal all those details just yet. I mean, we haven’t even had our first date.”

“I would have made it happen already if you hadn’t had visitors this weekend.”

I groaned at the thought. What else would he have done?

Landen’s laughter came through the line. “You sound frustrated, Iris. Maybe you should tell me what’s going on inside that mind of yours.”

“Oh, Landen. I don’t think we have that kind of time on our hands today.”

I could hear the amusement in his tone when he said, “It seems like I might have to plan this first date as soon as humanly possible.”

“That would be appreciated. I’m really looking forward to it, if I’m honest.”

“Yeah?”

Why was he so surprised by that? “Well, you told me a few nights ago that you had been wanting to ask me out on a date for a long time. I’ve been wishing you would do exactly that for months.”

There was a brief bout of silence before he said, “Friday.”

“What?”

“If you’re free, I’d like to take you out on a date on Friday evening. Will that work for you?”

I licked my lips as my pulse picked up. “That’s perfect for me.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Really?”

“If what I saw last night was any indication of what’s to come, I suspect I’m in for a night of fun with you.”

I had to bite my lip to stifle the moan threatening to escape. The things I’d do to touch this man’s naked skin. “I’ll bring my A-game.”

“You mean, that wasn’t it last night?”

“Not at all. That was just a taste. A morsel.”

Landen, it seemed, couldn’t contain his reaction, because his groan came through the line. “Please know that I mean this in the very best way, but you are such a tease.”

I burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. I’ll take it easy on you until then.”

“Don’t stop on my account. I’m having a great time.”

“I might need to stop for myself.”

He snorted. “I see. So, you really are frustrated. No worries. We can wait to pick this up at the end of the week. But I’ll warn you. I’m not against throwing you a few unsavory looks throughout the week when we’re at the gym.”

I might melt on the spot if I saw Landen looking at me like I was some delicious dessert. “I dare you to make that happen.”

“Alright, Iris. You just wait until tomorrow morning.”

I couldn’t wait.

It seemed that where Landen was concerned, I had not an ounce of patience.