Hot Summer Nights

41

Chapter Forty-One

Leah

A happy sigh leaves my lips as I watch from my perch on the bank as Landon dives off the dock. He and the others have been competing to see who could make the biggest splash. They've been at it for a while now, but I still haven't grown tired of watching him climb the ladder just to jump back in.

It has nothing to do with the fact that the water droplets keep rippling down his abs making him look absolutely edible. Not at all.

I lick my lips as my eyes trace one said droplet as it trails slowly down his chest and abs, and finally disappears down the waist of his swim trunks. My eyes slip a bit further south, zeroing in on the bulge just visible from this angle, making my mind race and my cheeks heat.

Before I can start panting after him like a wild animal, Tessa asks me how things are going on the Landon front.

Her question zaps me out of my sordid daydream and I tell her honestly, "Things are amazing."

She smiles widely. "I'm glad everything worked out. You two are great together."

Her gaze flits down the dock before meeting mine again. "Is the plan still a go for tonight?" she asks.

I nod. It's finally time. Everything is planned out for my big night with Landon. Tonight's the night I finally tell him how I feel about him. Tess, Char, and Colin have agreed to help set things up while I distract him.

I bought fairy lights, wine, whiskey, and our favorite snacks for the occasion. The plan is for them to set everything up under the largest oak tree that overlooks the lake while I keep Landon busy. Once everything is set up, they'll give me the all-clear and I'll lead him there and spill my heart out.

Just thinking of it makes me giddy. That tree has been one of my favorites since my parents bought the property. It's in the perfect spot to sit out and watch the water with plenty of privacy.

I know it may sound corny, but when I was little, I sometimes imagined one day getting engaged beneath that tree. It just seemed so romantic. My dream man would set up lights and candles and then get down on one knee before asking me to marry him. It always made my little heart so happy.

Now, it's the perfect place to take my relationship with Landon to a new level. It seems fitting that the place that held such esteem in my childhood dreams will be the place where I confess my love for the man I can see a long and happy future with.

Who knows, maybe one day that childhood dream will be fulfilled in the same place.

"It's going to be so beautiful," Charlotte says dreamily.

My lips quirk as I find myself staring back down the dock once again. I find Landon instantly and the second he looks my way, my heart skips. "Yeah," I say. "Yeah, it is."

His cheeks dimple as he smiles at me. I love those dimples. I love him. I sigh, letting my chin rest against my hand. I'm ridiculously, madly, irrevocably in love with Landon Marks. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

He winks at me before taking off down the dock and cannonballing into the water. I must have made some kind of keening sound because two seconds later I hear Colin.

"Jeeze, Leah, keep it in your pants. You're almost as bad as Tessa."

"Hey!" Tessa protests, gently slapping Colin's shoulder.

He brushes her off with a shrug. "What? You don't even try to hide it when you're ogling Levi over there. I can practically see the scenes playing out in your dirty little mind."

She gapes at him. "Like you don't check out Micah just as bad!"

Unabashedly, Colin smirks, looking at his man over the top of his sunglasses. "He does look yummy in his new shorts."

Tessa scoffs, tossing Colin a playful scowl. "And you call me a horndog."

He winks, blowing her a kiss. "Takes one to know one, babe."

She laughs, pushing his shoulder as her eyes wander back to her man in the lake. I notice the wistful look she gives him before a happy smile spreads over her face. They're so in love, living their happily ever after right before our eyes.

We all are.

Finally.

Another big splash pulls my attention back to the water and I'm once again focused on Landon.

I love you.

I send the words through the airwaves and watch as his eyes soften. His head tilts almost as if he heard me loud and clear. When he smiles, giving me a little nod, I start to wonder if the words weren't in my head at all.

Landon rubs an open palm over his left peck, right above his heart. It could be a coincidence. It may mean nothing, but I'm choosing to believe otherwise. It's the only sign I need that my heart is leading me in the right direction.

I know when I tell him tonight, I'll have nothing to worry about. A whisper in my soul tells me he loves me too.