SADIE
Thesunisalreadystarting to dip behind the mountains by the time we’re settled in the cabin.
Mia and Tori have been fighting over the limited electrical outlets and arguing over who has to sleep on the pullout couch, since all three of us won’t fit in the bed.
I vow to never ever take the endless hot water at the main house for granted again as I rush through a lukewarm shower.
My skin is still a little damp as I throw on a cropped T-shirt and jeans. We’re just going to Lucky’s, but I hope to tease Wesleya little by reminding him of what he can’t touch while we’re around everyone.
Landon and Wesley are waiting out front of the bar, leaning against the brick wall and looking like a Wrangler ad—beers in hand, both of them unfairly attractive beneath the glow of the string lights.
Wesley’s eyes find mine immediately and my stomach flips. His gaze says everything he can’t as he pushes off the wall and crosses the distance.
“Hey.” His voice is low, just for me.
“Hey,” I reply, leaning into him as close as I can without being obvious.
His fingers brush against mine for half a second before his lips ghost the shell of my ear.
“You think ignoring me will lessen my need for you? I meant every word and you know it.”
That’s all it takes. His words settle into me, deeper and deeper, until they sink their teeth into my bones. I’m drowning in knowing, without a hint of doubt, that he means them truly.
Mia stops in front of the painted mural on the side of the bar, the glow from the string lights catching on the shine of her hair. Landon’s eyes narrow, lingering as they slowly trace the length of her.
It’s not at all surprising—people are drawn to her like moths to a flame. Her beauty is ethereal. She doesn’t just take up space—she bends the air around her.
Usually she doesn’t notice—or, at least, she pretends not to. I assume Landon is just another moth until she glances over her shoulder, a sly little smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“Here,” she says, tossing her phone into his hands without warning. “Make yourself useful and take a few pics for me.”
She backs away from him, positioning herself in front of the brick wall.
“Useful?” Landon repeats, eyeing the phone in his hands, dumbfounded. He looks completely out of his depth, which almost makes me laugh.
“Yes,”Mia says, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Be a good little cowboy and make sure the lights are in frame.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“What?Cowboy?” She grins, deliberately baiting him. “Isn’t that, like…quite literally what you are?”
He mutters something under his breath I can’t make out, but still lifts the phone and starts taking pictures. His frown doesn’t ease, but he doesn’t stop, either.
She places one hand against the painted bricks, moving through poses with dramatic ease. First she looks over her shoulder and kicks one cowboy boot up behind her, then she drops into a crouch, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. There’s intention behind every move, but she masks it beneath ease, like breathing.
Once her performance is over, she straightens, sauntering back toward her grouchy photographer. She plucks her phone from his hands and immediately scrolls through the new additions to her camera roll.
Her expression flickers mid-swipe, and the playful smirk spread across her lips falters as her brows pinch together.
“Wait—these are actually really good.” Her voice has lost the teasing bite, softer now, edged with genuine surprise.
Landon snorts, low and quiet. “Guess I’m useful after all.”
Mia glances at him, a shadow of something unreadable crossing her face before she tucks it away behind another smirk. “Don’t get a big head about it, cowboy.”
The corner of his lip quirks, but he doesn’t argue, just pulls the handle and holds the door open for us.
We file in, one after the other. Wesley’s hand finds the small of my back as the familiar buzz of music and the sharp tang of beer-soaked floorboards envelop me.
