Read Online Contingent by Livia Jamerlan - Free Book Online

station he liked. “Sorry, this isn’t my car. It’s a rental,” he said as though he thought I would judge him by what kind of car he drove.
    “It’s fine, trust me.” I smirked. “It’s better than my mode of transportation.” Thomas drove me around, but I didn’t want Landon to know I still held on to a part of Peyton, so I continued, “I get around Manhattan with public transportation and my legs.” My brain scattered as I tried to change the topic. “Is your car getting fixed?” I asked when he pulled off the curb.
    “Nah, nothing like that. I don’t have a car. I live in the city and I’m out of town so much it makes no sense to have it parked all the time.”
    “That’s smart.” I slid my hands over my thighs to calm my nerves. “Do you like what you do? I mean, playing baseball and all.”
    “I guess.” Landon lifted his shoulders. Pulling up at a red light, he looked over at me. “I’ve been playing since I was a kid. It comes second nature to me. The always being on the road though. I’m not a huge fan of that. It’s hard to build relationships when most of the year I’m in a different city.”
    I nodded at his statement, my fingers tangling together as I sat. I took my hands and braided them together over my legs unsure of what to do with them. I was a ball of nerves
    “Can I ask you a question?” he asked.
    “That was a question.” I smiled. “But sure.”
    “Are you nervous?”
    My hands darted to my face, covering it from his view. “Is it obvious?” My fingers parted so I could peek at him.
    He chuckled. “A little. If you’re uncomfortable, I can take you home.”
    “No! No, sorry, I’m fine.” I reached for his lean, muscular arm. “A little anxious, that’s all. It’s been a while since I was on a date.”
    “So, this is a date?” He looked over at me with his big chestnut eyes, and though it was dark in the car I could still make out the caramel swirl that ran across them.
    I chewed on the side of my bottom lip before I spoke. “No, what I meant to say was it’s been a while since I’ve been out.”
    “Your secret is safe with me if you want this to be a date.” I looked over at him again and he winked, removing the awkwardness from the conversation. “It’s two people going out for beer and stale popcorn with a bunch of screaming fans.”
    The ache at the base of my stomach had beads of sweat wanting to form at the back of my neck. Beer. Fuck, I needed to tell Landon I didn’t drink. But to expose my weakness to him wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. Embarrassment crawled up my back. Telling him I was a recovering addict didn’t seem like an appropriate topic to bring up on a first date. Non-date. Whatever this was. Maybe he already knew? My rehab stay wasn’t public knowledge, but Drew’s hearing was. Had he heard about that too? My stomach began to coil as I contemplated the stories he could have read about me.
    My hand threaded through my hair. “I don’t drink.” The words were barely a whisper.
    “Oh.” He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. I shrugged my shoulders. “But when I first met you at the after party you had a champagne glass in your hand.”
    “You remember that?” I couldn’t mask my shock. When I first met Landon at the after party for Spencer’s fashion show, I thought I was just some girl he was hitting on. At the time, I was flattered. Peyton had walked over to talk to Devon so I’d grasped the champagne flute, wanting something to mask the hurt.
    “I remember everything about you that night. It’s pretty pathetic to say this now, but it was a blow to my ego when your ex wrapped his arms around you and claimed his territory.”
    Peyton had been jealous and wanted to punish me for flirting with another man, so he had taken me in the playroom that night . . .
    I shook the thought from my memory. “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be.” He leaned over and laced his fingers through mine. “You’re here with me