Page 144 of Stay With Me

“Shit, Mags. I’m so sorry this happened.” Noah puts her arm around me. “But fear not, we’re gonna get this place back into tip-top shape.”

I blow out a deep breath as we walk farther in. “Dad called to get a security system put in, but they can’t get here until Monday.”

Noah lowers her gaze as if she’s hiding something. “I should probably tell you...”

Before either of us can get another word in, there’s a faint rapping on the open door.

I jump, quickly spinning around. My eyes land on Tripp and they narrow in confusion.

“What’re you doin’ here?” I ask softly. He looks good as usual, but the dark circles under his eyes match mine as if he’s not been sleeping either.

“Hey, Sunny. Nice to see you, too.” He smirks, stepping inside.

“You must be Mr. Sutherland?” Tripp stretches out his arm and my heart pounds, anticipating my dad’s reaction.

“I am.” Dad shakes his hand. “You’re Tripp Hollis.”

Of course my dad would recognize him.

“Yes, sir. The boyfriend.”

What the fuck?I know he wasn’t taking the breakup well, but I didn’t think he’d still be in a delulu state of mind.

“Nice to meet you officially, sir. I’m here to help move Magnolia to my place.”

“Excuse me?” I blurt, stepping between them. “What’re you talkin’ about?”

Tripp looks above my head, and when I glance over my shoulder toward Noah, they’re having a secret conversation.

“When you didn’t show up for lunch yesterday, I told Tripp about the break-in and he told me what happened between you two...” Noah pops a scolding brow at me for not telling her, but I’d planned on it today. “He thinks you’ll be safer stayin’ in his guest room.”

“Absolutely not,” I immediately argue. “The chances of them comin’ back are slim. I don’t think they even took anything. I’ll have ADT and a doorbell camera. It’ll be more secure than ever before.”

“Are you really gonnafeelsafe here, though?” Noah challenges, and I scowl.

Whose side is she on?

“Sunny, just hear me out.” Tripp gets closer. “I wanna protect you and can’t do that if you’re fifteen minutes away. This way, you don’t have to worry. Even houses with big-ass dogs were broken into. It’s not gonna stop someone if they have their mind set.”

“Plus, most of your furniture got ruined. This way you don’t have to worry about replacin’ everything at once and can save up for a new place,” Noah adds.

“So you think I should completely move into Tripp’s guest room? And what about when I give birth? Just tuck the baby into the closet?”

Tripp snorts as if this is hilarious to him.

“I’m being serious. I’ve lived here for four years and am just supposed to let some creepy asshole push me out of it? It might not be much, but there’d at least be room for a crib.”

“I will make room for you and the baby, Sunny. Hell, take my bedroom too and turn it into a nursery for all I care. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters to me.”

I cross my arms because he’s being ridiculous. “And where will you sleep?”

He shrugs. “The couch. On an air mattress. In my truck. Who cares. As long as you’re safe, it doesn’t matter.”

His heated stare glues me in place. How can I refuse when what he’s offering would protect me and give me the opportunity to save money? But if this is some ploy to get us back together, it’s not going to work.

“If we’re gonna do this, I have rules.”

His face splits into a wide grin. “Whatever you want, Sunny.”