Page 27 of Sweet Home Louisiana

Maddie nodded, her cheek rubbing over his chest again and making his body ache.

She’s sad.About her dead brother.Give it a rest, he told his dick.

It didn’t listen.

“You people and yourfeelingsalways spilling out all over,” she said.

“Yep, we’re real bastards that way.All loving and supportive and excited about shit all the time.”

She squeezed him and then took a deep breath and stepped back.

He let her go, tucking his hands back into his pockets.Because he didn’t want to let her go.At all.Ever.

Maddie brushed her fingertips over her cheeks and gave him a smile.“Makes it hard to stay aloof.”

He didn’t try to pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about.She was trying to hold back from them.He fucking hated that.“Good,” he said.“This isn’t really the place for aloof.”

She gave a little laugh, as if that was a huge understatement.

Which it was, of course.

He’d been watching her at the “partner meeting” earlier and then at the crawfish boil.She didn’t hold herself back.She let herself lean into the hugs, gave genuine smiles, laughed and talked like she was happy to be here.But she wouldpullherself back.It seemed that she’d suddenly remember she was supposed to be a near-stranger, here on business, annoyed to be here even, and she’d straighten up and take a deep breath and her smile would dim.

It had been driving him crazy all day.

He didn’t want it to drive him crazy.It was just as dangerous tohisemotional well-being to be driven crazy by her long legs in short shorts, and her long sleek hair being mussed by the sticky summer wind, and the lip print she left on the edge of the mason jar she was drinking from.

But add in feeling crazy about how she wouldn’t just let herself go…he’d been in a knot for hours.

He was a Landry.He didn’t back down from a confrontation.He didn’t shy away from emotions.He was respectful of other people’s feelings—at least, he tried to be—but he didn’t hesitate to push if he needed to.

For some reason, with Maddie, he wanted to push.

For some reason.Ha.That was funny.As if he didn’t know why.

He wanted to push her because he wanted her to push back.He wanted her to care enough to push back.

“Thank you for letting me hold you,” he said.

She lifted a brow.“Shouldn’tIthankyoufor that?”

He shrugged.“I’m glad you’re not totally scared of me.”

She frowned.“Why would I be scared of you?”

“Really?”He gave a short laugh.“The way I was when you…left.”

“You mean banged up in the hospital, looking sexy and pathetic at the same time?”

That made him pause.“Sexy?”

“In retrospect.”

“Oh?”He felt a smile teasing his lips.

“Not at the time, though,” she said.“You both looked pathetic and idiotic.”

“They had to put us in separate rooms because we wouldn’t stop fighting,” he said.“I threw a bedpan at him and they finally split us up.”

---