Page 62 of Worth the Trip

“I do.”

“Bring her back with everything she left here with.”

Landon glanced at me. “I can promise the same number of limbs. Opinions might multiply.”

“They usually do.”

Laughter moved through the foyer.

I grabbed my purse. “Are we done interrogating him?”

“We ain’t interrogating nobody,” Miss Corrine said around a praline. “This hospitality.”

“This is hospitality?”

Landon moved closer and lowered his voice. “Told you Self Ridge people had a hostile understanding of directness.”

“You’re in Willow Run.”

“Regional influence.”

I shook my head.

His eyes traveled over the coral dress once before returning to my face.

“You look beautiful, Nolani.”

“Thank you.”

“Nah.” I looked at him. His expression stayed easy, but the teasing left his voice. “You look beautiful.”

My fingers found the pendant.

Landon noticed.

I knew he noticed because I knew his patterns now too.

He didn’t say a word about it.

That made it worse.

Nana followed us onto the porch, carrying the cedar box and claiming she needed better light to read the planting instructions. The card-game aunties crowded the front window with no excuse whatsoever.

Landon opened the passenger door of a black SUV and waited.

I stopped beside it. “You know I’m capable of getting in by myself.”

“I know.”

“Just establishing the record.”

“Record established.”

I got in.

He closed the door.

Through the windshield, I caught Nana watching from the porch with a smile she tried to hide when she realized I’d seen her.