"Ah, are you going to do my request?" Lea asked.
"What request?" Landon inquired.
"You know, the cake?"
Lea and Landon were brushing their feet on the sand as they walked along the shore. It wasn't neither his nor her idea to stroll through the beach shore. Lea's friends suggested, which Landon's friends and Mavis agreed, that he should show the beach to her while there was some time yet before the performance of Eric Church and the other artists.
Since their arrival in Myrtle, Lea hasn't had the chance to stroll on the beach. On the morning of their second day, she wasn't able to join her friends when they went to the beach. She wasn't able to take an evening walk as well when they were in Villa Maria since Mavis was sleeping soundly on her lap.
He took his time before answering. "Sure. When will it be?"
"Really?" She unconsciously grabbed both Landon's hands in excitement. "Two months from now."
Landon felt his cheeks flush. He froze, his eyes going wide. It was suddenly hard to breath. He was shocked by what she did. He didn't expect it. He anticipated her to be happy but it never crossed his mind that she would hold his hands. Moreover, Landon felt something was different. The feeling was different from Abby or Deanna holding him. It was relatively closed to Theresa' caress.
Landon found himself staring at a sparkling face looking at him. He was so absorbed with his thoughts that Landon didn't even hear what Lea said after she held his hands.
"Are you sure you're going to do it?" Lea asked again. She then released his hands after she realized the shock on his face.
"Yeah. Just give me the details later on." He smiled at her. "May I know if who is that special someone."
Landon thought and hoped that it wouldn't be for herself. He didn't know why but he felt again something weird in him since their dinner last night with them. The more he stared at her, the more he realized the uniqueness that Lea had. It wasn't anymore about her being like his deceased wife. It was more of seeing what Lea's unique essence, which made her attractive to many.
When Lea noticed that Landon was blankly staring at her, she tried to divert his attention. "We visited Enrico's shop this morning," she said.
"How was it? Did he talk about his babies with you?"
"Babies? I thought he's single."
Landon giggled. "I'm sorry. He is. What I mean is his precious orchids."
"He didn't. But I would never forget what he told us before we left his shop." She smiled while staring at the still waters of the beach. "People are like flowers..."
"You have to see the sweetness and the bitterness before you can say that you know them." Landon added.
"How did you know it?" She placed her hands on her hip. "Does he always say it to others?"
"It's his favorite line. He actually got it from his father who started the flower shop. Now, he's enjoying managing it."
"He's doing a great job. That place is awesome. I had been to several flower shops in LA but his shop stands at the top."
"Well, he has a sense for beauty as he has degree in arts."
"Why is he managing a flower shop and not an interior design company?"
"It's a family business. Myrtle is a small city. Aside from the hotels owned by large companies, most of the shops here are family-owned shops."
"If you wouldn't mind me asking, why did you start your shop here?" She paused and glanced at him. "I mean, you have a name you could use when you're still in the City of Dreams."
Landon didn't immediately answer her question. Instead, he picked up a pebble and threw it on the water, which created a ripple. He has avoided such question for years. It's the past he had wanted to forget but couldn't. It was still his home for more than half of his life.
"City of Dreams, huh," Landon blurted out.
Landon also thought of New York as the City of Dreams. His view changed, however, when he saw how the major shareholders of The Regal Mansion treated the employees as mere commodity. He was disguised and tried to complain to his father. Despite being the owner and largest shareholder, his father saw nothing wrong in easily trimming employees due to recession. But for Landon, they should have given the employees ample time to search for a new job and not just throwing them out like garbage.
Such is also the reason why Landon suggested and got the consensus of Marco and Theresa to bring some of the former employees of The Regal Mansion and be the foundation of MTL. Fortunately for the MTL, those employees have proven their worth time and time again as their experiences, after all, became an advantage to the smooth sailing of the hotel in spite of their senior ages. Mr. Connolly was one of them. Thanks to him, Marco, Landon and Theresa were able to sleep calmly knowing that he could manage MTL easily like he did with The Regal Mansion.
"Was it because of Theresa?" Lea hesitantly asked.
Theresa? How on earth did she know about his wife's name? Landon asked himself. He had never mentioned Theresa's name to her or to her friends. "How did you know her name?" Landon quickly asked, feeling the blood drain from his face as he felt something collapse inside him.
Lea smiled at him. "I only found out that she was your wife this afternoon when Deanna accompanied Mavis to our room," Lea started. She didn't know if the timing of telling him about it was right. However, she felt compelled to tell it to him as soon as possible. Hiding it longer, she thought, would only betray not only Theresa but her own feeling as well.
After she and Shira talked last night, Lea was still thinking deeply about what Shira told her. She couldn't deny to herself that Landon was a likeable man. He has, after all, some qualities that she had dreamed to be with. It was pretty obvious that Lea and her friends like him. However, something was pulling her back. It became clearer to her when she found out that Theresa was his deceased wife. For the sake of her relationship with Theresa, she has to control her emotions. Yet, seeing him smile made her realize that her emotions have already sprouted their wings of love. It was too late for her to suppress. The more she tried to hide them, the more she ended up being consumed by them.
Lea told Landon everything about her and Theresa as they sat on the sand. She didn't miss out a single detail. It wasn't easy though. Lea was so conscious on how would Landon would take her revelations. She didn't want to aggregate his pain. However, she was more surprised of his reaction. Aside from his initial shock reaction, he was rather calm than she had expected. It was as if he had expected what she just said.
"She has always been like that." Landon smiled while his glance was fixated on the horizon of the sea.
She thought about it. "Aren't you surprised?"
Instead of answering her, he took a second to glance at her and back at the sea. He took a deep breath, trying to make a sense of he was about to say. "Do you think it was coincidence that Mavis and I met you?" He showed a little beam again. "Or do you think Theresa made it happen?" He smiled.
Lea couldn't answer him. How could she if she was in no position at all? Lea was speechless. His question was so unexpected, so uncomfortable, and his smile had definitely thrown her emotions into turmoil. Her mind and heart wanted to say that Theresa planned it all out but she couldn't find the strength and words to say. Silence was the only answer she could give him since there was a force at work, something she'd been ignoring. She was already attracted to him more than she wanted to admit, and as they talked longer she knew she had to be careful. After all, Landon just lost his wife not long ago, and the notion frightened her. It wasn't right. Not yet, anyway.
Before Lea could say anything, they heard a loud sound. It was the crackle and pop of the fireworks. Both Lea and Landon silently stared at the colorful shooting stars that elegantly illuminated the twilight sky and reflected on the body of waters below. Their spot gave them the advantage point of fascination both from the sky and the sea as the glittering gems crackle and disperse into thin air.
"I think we should go. That's the signal that the national artists would start their performance," Landon informed as he got up and offered his hand to Lea.
Lea simply nodded and received his hand as help for her to stand up.