What else has changed?
Does he still eat Lucky Charms at midnight when he can’t sleep?
Does he still play the drums on his steering wheel while he’s driving?
Does he still cry watching old romcoms?
His eyes hold mine as if he’s wondering the same things about me.
I clear my throat. “I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.”
He shakes his head with a smirk. “I see you still laugh when someone falls.”
“It’s never not funny.” My smile drops. “Except when you break all the pipes in your house and cost yourself a fortune.”
Landon carefully pushes off the ground and stands, holding out his hands for me. “Why were you touching the pipes in the first place?”
He steadies me as I get up, and I shake off the excess mud from my hands with a frustrated growl. “There was a leak under the sink, and I wanted to fix it. Mike made it look so simple.”
His eyebrows pinch together. “Who’s Mike?”
“The guy on the YouTube video.”
Landon rolls his lips together. “Rule Number One: Don’t listen to Mike.”
“Fucking Mike.”
“I can help you, you know.” He gestures to the house. “I can fix whatever needs fixing.”
“It’s fine.” I wave him off. “You’ve got your own life to worry about.”
“I want to help.”
“Why?” blurts out of me.
Intensity blusters through his expression as his eyes bore into mine like he’s waiting, like I’m supposed to know the answer.
I don’t.
I can’t fathom why he’s going out of his way to help me when we’ve hated each other all these years.
“Because this is your house. The house you grew up in when your parents were still alive.” An exhale blows through his lips. “It’s important to you.”
“But why do you care?”
“You don’t think I care about you?”
My chin jerks back. “Uh, no. You hate me, remember?”
His eyes tighten. “I don’t hate you, Ainsley. I’ve never hated you. Not even when I tried my hardest to.”
I step back, his words a physical blow to my chest. My mind whirls. Disbelief pinches my features, drawing my eyebrows down low.
“Yes, you do. Or at least you did.” I plant my hands on my hips. “You hated me and I hated you.”
He gives me a slow shake of his head. “That was never hate.”
“Then what was it?”
