Page 34 of Stay With Me
My mind’s distracted as I catch up to him and end up too close to Sydney. Franklin’s high-pitched whine scares her, and she bucks.
“Oh, shit. None of that, Syd.” Landen tightens his hold on the reins and his phone goes flying from his grip. I manage to catch it before it drops to the ground and the screen with his text messages appears.
The conversation with Magnolia.
I shouldn’t look, but when I glance down briefly, my eyes catch a name I don’t recognize. Thor.Thor?Who the fuck is that?
Scrolling up to see if there’s an explanation for this “thunder-god,” my jaw drops when I see several photos of a half-naked Magnolia in barely there lingerie.
And fuck me, she’s drop-dead gorgeous.
I blink the images away, feeling like a creep for sneaking a peek. Then I quickly read the rest of their messages. The way Landen talks makes me wonder if he’s still crushing on her.
“Dude, good catch,” Landen says once Sydney’s settled.
“Yeah, here.” I extend my arm until he reaches it. “Who the fuck is Thor?”
He snorts so goddamn loud, I almost wonder if it came from Sydney.
“Saw that, did ya?” He shoves the phone into his pocket.
“You gonna tell me or what?”
We continue riding toward the family barn as he shrugs. “It’s…nobody.”
I roll my eyes at his lack of an answer.
“You still like her, don’t you?”
“Only as a friend.”
“Sure about that? I read the messages.”
He barks out a laugh as we ride side by side, with more room between us this time. “You fuckin’ snoop.”
“Why’s she sendin’ you nudes then?”
“Jesus Christ, Tripp. You her boyfriend or somethin’? What’s with the third degree?”
“Because I know you.”
He whips his head at me in offense. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re not lookin’ for anything serious. You just said you don’t do exclusivity,” I remind him. Landen hasn’t been in a serious relationship since high school.
“And Magnolia is?”
That I’m not sure, but I do know he’d hurt her. And then I’d have to kick my brother’s ass.
“When’re you gonna finally ask her out, man?”
“What’re you talkin’ about?” My stomach coils at him knowing the truth. I haven’t told a single soul about my feelings for Magnolia. How could he possibly know?
“I’m talkin’ about you mannin’ the fuck up, admittin’ you likeher, and askin’ her out instead of”—he waves his hand out in a circular motion toward me—“pretendin’ like she doesn’t exist.”
“I don’t do that.”
His amused chuckle pisses me off, but I don’t exactly have an excuse to defend myself. So I shut my mouth before he can give me more shit.
