Trivial Pursuits (Chicago On Ice Book 2) (11 page)

Chapter 14

TriviaPlayOrPass!

The first coupon was introduced in 1887. For what product?

Butterflies dance excitedly in my stomach as I brush out my platinum-blond locks. I put my brush down on my countertop and draw an excited breath of air.

Landon is going to be here in a matter of minutes.

For our first real date.

Aaaaaaaaah! I’m so excited I can hardly wait for him to pick me up. Landon wouldn’t say what we’re going to do, but he said to dress casually. I picked out my black floral leggings, the ones that have the beautiful light pink roses on them, and paired them with a long-sleeved T-shirt and a cream cable-knit sweater thrown over the top. My accessory of choice is my
Alice in Wonderland-
inspired necklace from my Simple Pleasures line. It’s a long silver chain, and I attached a timepiece, a book, and teacup charms to it to represent elements of my favorite book.

I spritz on my Pink Sugar perfume, letting the mist hit the base of my throat. Then I pick up my can of Pink Sugar hair perfume—the best invention ever—and as I spray it on, I get a quick flash of Landon nuzzling the side of my neck and telling me how good my hair smells. Oh, I want that so badly, to be in his arms again.

And while I want that, I want this date equally as bad. For Landon to want to take me out, be seen with me, and have a good old-fashioned date when I know he doesn’t date once again reaffirms that I’m special.

Different,
I remember him saying as he held me.
I’m different.

I happily move out of the bathroom and reach for my black floppy hat that is hanging on a hook I have on the wall. This will be perfect for today. I put it on, checking myself in the mirror one more time, and bounce down the stairs, eagerly taking them two at a time.

I hit the ground floor and find my family in the den, watching TV. Well, Nana, who is living with us now, is reading a book. My mom has her reading glasses on, and has coupons spread out all over the floor. Mom is a serious couponer, and she buys extra copies of the paper so she can clip more savings.

“Hi, honey, are you ready for your date?” Mom asks. “Oooh! Hamburger Helper! That’s a good one. You like Stroganoff, right, Dave?”

Dad absently shifts his attention from the Chicago Bulls game to my mom. “Hmmm, we had that last time. Chili Macaroni?”

Mom nods and puts it in a pile. “Would Landy like to stay for dinner? I could make lasagna. But you need to find out if he likes tomato chunks or puree. You know Jamie won’t eat the chunky tomatoes but only the pureed ones, and he might be fussy like that.”

Wait.
What?
What does she mean, invite Landon over for dinner? Family dinner? Oh, no, no, no. That’s what you do when you’ve seen each other for a while. Not on the first date.

And definitely not on a first date with the man who
doesn’t
date.

“Um, Mom, I do—”

“We should do steaks,” Dad says thoughtfully. “He’s famous. We should offer steak.”

“Wa—” I try again.

“Whew!” Nana exclaims, cutting me off. “This book should have an X rating. Which I approve of.”

For a moment, I’m distracted from the Landon dinner crisis. I turn to Nana and glance at the cover.

“
The Curse of the Vampire Knight?
” I ask.

“Yes. A vampire knight. He’s
hot,
” Nana exclaims. “I might need to adjust my blood pressure meds while reading.” Then she lifts her eyes and studies me. “I’d have computer sex with a vampire knight any day of the week. But I don’t have hot hockey players calling on me like you do, love.”

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

“Please do me a favor. Do not bring up computer sex in front of Landon,” I beg Nana. Then I turn to my parents. “And do not ask him for dinner. This is our first real date, so he would totally freak out if you did. Dinner is saved for when you are getting exclusive.”

Mom pauses in her clipping and looks up at me. “Would he freak out because he’s still running around with girls all over Chicagoland? Honey, I don’t want this for you. Troy was bad enough. Landy takes this to a whole new level, with him being a pro athlete with all these groupie girls.”

The butterflies abruptly stop mid-flight as my mother’s words wash over me. I know there is truth to her words. Landon and I are having a date. He hasn’t promised me anything beyond what we are doing today.

While I know there is a real possibility of this blowing up in my face, I also know the way he kissed me and held me. I don’t believe he has spent nights like that with other women.

But most of all, I know what I feel in my heart.

“I don’t care about the girls in his past,” I say, letting my heart speak aloud.

“Sluts,” Nana interjects knowingly. “Those other girls are sluts. And they’re irrelevant, Livy. Remember that.”

“Puck Sluts?” Dad adds helpfully.

I shove the thoughts from my head. I don’t want forever from Landon today. I simply want to be with him. After what happened with Troy, I
have
to go slowly. I’ll never surrender my heart so quickly again. I know exactly what I’m getting into with Landon.

And it’s a chance I’m more than willing to take.

“Livy?” my mom asks.

I clear my throat. “Just say hello and let us go on our way, okay? Please?”

The doorbell rings.

And my heart leaps because I know it’s Landon.

The fear disappears. The butterflies return.

“Oh, do I get to let him in? So you can make an entrance?” Dad teases.

“No!” I say, headed toward the hallway. “And small-talk only!” I call out over my shoulder.

My boots echo down the hardwood floor of the foyer. I don’t rush, even though I want to. I take my time so I don’t appear as anxious as I really am to see him.

I reach the door, take one calming breath of air to try and settle my nerves, and then pull it open.

Okay. I need about twenty breaths of air to even begin to get my heart rate down. No, make that an oxygen mask.

Because while the sky is gray behind him, and the temperature is beyond frigid at 17°F without the wind, Landon is all kinds of scorching hot standing on my doorstep.

He’s dressed for the elements, wearing jeans and rugged dark brown boots. He has a navy pea coat on, leather gloves, and a navy beanie covering his jet-black locks. A gray scarf is wrapped around his neck, too.

Ohhhh, he’s so handsome. Gorgeous. Luscious.

I don’t have enough words to describe his hotness at the moment.

Landon stares at me, his eyes flickering over me.

“Livy,” he says softly, his breath escaping into the cold air, “you look beautiful.”

The butterflies shift happily in my stomach. “Thank you. Come on in.”

Landon steps past me, and I inhale his delicious leather and vanilla scent. Mmmm, I can’t wait to smell that scent up close on his skin later.

“I like the hat,” Landon says, staring at me.

“Thank you,” I say happily. “And I like yours. I like guys with beanies.”

Landon lifts an eyebrow at me. “Huh. I’ll make a note of that.”

Ooooooohhhh!

“Um, would you like to meet the crazy people from yesterday?” I ask as he tugs off his gloves and shoves them into his pockets.

“Hmmm,” Landon says slowly as he unknots his scarf. “I guess so.”

I panic for a moment. Shit. Shit. I shouldn’t have asked him to do that. He’s used to going out with women whom he picks up at apartments. Not going to a family home to meet the parents, which isn’t something a guy who doesn’t date would do. I’m about to retract it when he leans into me.

“I mean, I can’t be accused of having computer sex now, right?” he whispers sexily in my ear and causing a wicked shiver to rip down my spine as a result. “So yeah, I’d love to meet them.”

I can’t think for a moment, as I’m still relishing his closeness. But Landon stands upright and winks at me, which makes my heart flutter.

“Thank you,” I say, smiling at him. “Come on, they’re in the den.”

I lead Landon down the hallway, past the entry hall table filled with family pictures. He pauses for a moment, studying them.

“Look at all these pictures,” Landon says, a sense of wonder in his voice. “All the places you went together as a family.”

I glance at the pictures with him. There are pictures of us at Christmas. Thanksgiving. By the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. At the University of Washington during a football game. At Northwestern with Jamie. Hiking in Vermont. On the beach in Mexico. Some are even with aunts and uncles and cousins.

Then it hits me. Landon has never had these types of experiences growing up. His father checked out, and his mother was incapacitated by her depression.

And my heart squeezes inside my chest as I think about this.

“Yeah,” I say softly, aching to squeeze his hand in mine, but unsure if I should do so. “We still take a family vacation every summer.”

For a brief moment, I see a flicker of sadness across his face. But as soon as I see it, the expression vanishes.

“I like that,” Landon says, smiling at me.

“I do too,” I admit. “Now, come on. They’re excited to meet you.”

Landon grins. “I’m keeping my shirt on. I don’t trust your Nana.”

“Shut up,” I hiss, which makes Landon crack up.

I lead him further down the hallway and into the den, wondering what he must think of the traditional plaid sofas and floral pillows, the coffee table stacked with newspapers and copies of
Good Housekeeping
and
Taste of Home.

“Landon, I’d like for you to meet my family,” I say, bringing him to the center of the room.

Everyone rises, and my parents are staring at Landon with big eyes. I don’t think they can quite believe that superstar Landon Holder is standing in their living room.

I glance at Nana. Oh dear God, she’s staring at Landon with a smirk on her face.

“Landon, this is my mom, Jennifer,” I say, introducing him.

Landon steps forward and extends his hand. “Hello, Mrs. Adams.”

“Um, hello, so nice to meet you,” she says, smiling at him.

Okay. That’s good. She’s not giving him the Mom ‘you-better-not-playboy-on-my-daughter, mister’ kind of once-over.

“And this is my dad, Dave,” I say.

“Holy Moses, Landy Holder is in my living room,” my father says, gripping Landon’s hand excitedly. “I never thought this would happen in a million years.”

Landon smiles. “Neither did I, sir,” he says. Then he glances at me. “But circumstances change things.”

Ohhhhhhhhh! My heart jumps from his words. That is from the conversation we had the other day.

And am I truly changing things for him? For what Landon wants?

“Hello, Landy, I’m Nana,” my nana says, interrupting my thoughts. “I’m Jennifer’s mother.”

Landon flashes Nana a big grin. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, I think the pleasure is mine, dear,” Nana says. Then she winks at him.

I almost burst out laughing. Landon is smiling brightly at Nana, and I swear he’s met a kindred flirty spirit in her.

“So what are you two doing today?” my mom asks.

“That’s a surprise,” Landon says, reaching for my hand and entwining his fingers around mine. “But it’s going to be fun.”

“Oh, a mystery date,” Mom says excitedly.

“Are you a big coupon clipper?” Landon asks, nodding at the piles on the floor.

“Yes,” my mom says, seeming surprised the infamous Landon Holder was talking to her. “I love a bargain.”

“Did you know Coca-Cola was the first product to have a coupon?” Landon asks.

“That was one of our
TriviaPlayOrPass!
questions!” I say, remembering it.

Landon flashes me a grin. “We both got that one wrong. I remember that, too.”

The butterflies shift again, knowing that we had this connection before we knew each other.

Landon shifts his attention back to my mom. “Have you ever seen that show,
Extreme Couponing?
That is crazy how much they get for, like, twenty dollars.”

I stare up at him. “You watch
Extreme Couponing?
” I ask, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“I watch all kinds of stuff on YouTube on the road,” Landon explains. “But that show is insane.”

“I love that show!” Mom cries excitedly. “I’m not as good as they are, but I have my coupon pantry downstairs in the basement.”

“We have more 3-for-1 ketchup packages than you could shake a stick at,” Dad laughs.

“Do you want to see it?” Mom asks excitedly.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh no! Landon’s being nice, but he doesn’t need to see my mom’s five-gallon jars of mayo collection.

“Um, we should probably get going,” I say.

“Nah, it’s cool. I’d love to see it,” Landon says, squeezing my hand reassuringly.

“Well, come on,” Mom says excitedly.

Nana sits back down in a wing chair. “I can’t believe you people get so excited about bulk shopping,” she declares, picking up her book.

“A deal is a deal, Nana,” Landon says.

“I’ll be dead before you use all that ketchup,” Nana declares.

“Which isn’t going to happen, Nana, until you are at least 130,” I say, smiling at her.

“You’ll still have unopened boxes of ketchup when I die at 135,” Nana says, flipping open her book.