Page 82 of Sin With Me

"Nah, just my IBS actin' up." He pats his stomach, and I choke on my water, spewing some down my chin.

"You okay?" Wilder asks, handing me a napkin.

"Mm-hmm, thanks." I take it from him and clean my face.

"If everyone's done, let's go!" Magnolia claps, overly eager for the festival.

It's only a mile away, so we decide to walk, and the closer we get, the larger the crowd gets. Wilder stays next to me, our fingers brushing while we make our way there—a constant reminder of where he was less than twenty minutes ago.

The convention center is massive with people coming and going in every direction. It's quite overwhelming, even for someone like me who travels to rodeos all summer long, but I've never been to something like this.

Which means the events tonight will be even more overstimulating.

"Wanna go find Ellie first?" Magnolia asks everyone. "She should be signin' autographs and takin' pictures."

Since she won the championship last year, she's at the barrel racing booth with other rodeo stars.

"Yes! I wanna get a picture with Tommy Graham," Harlow says, and the stars in her eyes make me laugh.

"Since when do you know about famous bull riders?" Waylon crosses his arms.

"Since it's all Antonio talks about. I told him I'd get an autograph for him," she explains, but by Waylon's expression, he's not convinced.

It takes over an hour to get to Ellie's booth since we stop at random vendors, lots of western clothing, cowboy boots, hats, buckles, and more. By the time we get through her line, it's another thirty minutes.

"Oh my God, hi!" Ellie squeals when she sees all of us.

She makes the rounds of giving everyone hugs and then has Landen take pictures.

"Y'all havin' fun so far?" he asks, nudging Wilder. "Surprised you're here."

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asks, sounding offended.

"No reason. Just doesn't seem like your thing."

"Hot fresh meat is definitely Wilder's thing," Waylon chimes in, apparently clueless to Wilder not leaving my side since we've arrived.

"Not really," Wilder snaps with no amusement on his face. I feel bad that his brothers will always see him as that person instead of the man he's become this past year. He's been working hard in therapy and getting his head on straight, despite the trouble he got in with Wesley.

"Well, not anymore..." Tripp adds, smacking his shoulder.

Landen shrugs. "Oh, alright."

"Where's Tommy?" Harlow asks, breaking the tension.

"You wanna meet him?" Ellie asks, her eyes widening with mischief. "He's even cuter in person."

"Excuse me?" Landen quickly asks.

"What? He is." Ellie gives no fucks, which is why I find her so hilarious. She spent four years hating Landen before they started dating, and even after getting married, still doesn't take his shit.

Landen pouts when Ellie grabs Harlow's hand and leads her over to another booth.

"Looks like you two lost your women," Wilder muses. "To a bull rider."

"Well...can you blame them?" Noah snickers, patting Fisher's chest who stands like a statue next to her. "Bull ridersarepretty sexy."

Her husband’s a retired bull rider, so of course she'd think that.