Page 9 of Stay With Me
“Open. The. Door.”
“You sound mad, cowboy. You need a littlerelief? That’d make ya smile, wouldn’t it?”
“Oh my God! Stop using your porn voice on my brother!” Noah scolds in the background.
Pinching the bridge of my nose before I lose my patience, I blow out a slow breath. “Unlock the deadbolt and let us in.”
“And what’re you gonna do for it?”
I look over at her car parked next to my truck.
“I’ll tell ya what Iwilldo if you don’t…” I threaten.
“Mm…tell me more.”
“That little red Beetle of yours is gonna find itself floating in the pond if you don’t let us in.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Her voice is harsh now as if that slapped her back to reality.
The pond’s located on the retreat side of the ranch and would take us less than three minutes to get it there.
“Don’t think I can hotwire a car? Think again,Marigold. I’ll push it in myself and watch it drown.”
“You’re evil,” she hisses.
“Way to fold, Mags!” Noah snickers.
“He threatened Big Red! What am I supposed to do?”
“You know he’s lyin’. But go ahead and let him win. Just don’t stumble on your way down,” Noah warns.
“You really thought this was the best way not to wake my parents?”
“I was hopin’ we’d make a deal of sorts, but since you’re no fun…”
Seconds later, the door whips open and Magnolia stands in front of me in nothing more than a baggy T-shirt.
My T-shirt.
I mimic her amused expression. “What kind of deal?”
Landen sidesteps me with a mutteredfinallyand walks around Magnolia. Considering we work in a few hours, I don’t blame him, but I stay planted in the entryway because I’m too intrigued.
“One where I tell you a secret, then you tell me one.”
I move closer, shutting the door behind me and never taking my eyes off hers. Magnolia’s chest rises and falls rapidly as I hover above her.
“Where’d you get that?” I jut my chin toward her body.
“Your closet.” Her voice is barely above a whisper.
I reach for the hem, then roll the fabric between my thumb and finger. My other fingers graze against her soft, tan skin, and her breath hitches.
“Why’re you wearin’ it?”
The corner of her mouth tilts up. “It smells like you.”
Licking my lips, my throat tightens as I battle with the words I want to desperately say but can’t.
