Page 81 of Stay With Me

“You should stay with me tonight,” I whisper, breaking the silence. “After everyone leaves.”

“I wish I could.” She pouts, sticking out her lower lip that I want to pull between my teeth and suck on. “But the gift opening brunch is tomorrow morning, and I’m in charge of bringing all the presents over and then making sure everything’s set up properly. While they’re opening, Noah wants me to keep track of who they’re all from so they can send out thank-you notes.”

“Damn. That’s a lot.”

“I know. And, well, if I come over, I have a feelin’ there wouldn’t be much sleeping involved, and I’d be a zombie in the mornin’.”

My cock twitches at the vision of her in my bed all night long.

“At least your schedule will open up once it’s all over.” Though mine never slows down.

“Thankfully. I need to put together a holiday menu soon. Care to be my drink taste tester?”

“Are you gonna charge me twenty dollars a cup?” I muse, sliding my palm down to discreetly pat her ass.

“What can I say? I’m a smart businesswoman.”

My face splits into a huge grin at how unapologetic Magnolia always is. Never tries to impress me by being anything other than herself.

“I’d love to try anything you make. Within reason.”

She wrinkles her nose. “What’s that mean?”

“I can only handle so much caffeine in a day.”

“What if I make it worth your while?” The corner of her lips curls up suggestively.

“I’m listening.”

She pulls my shoulders down until her mouth brushes my ear. “For every drink you sample, I remove a piece of clothing. Including the black lacy lingerie set I’ll be wearing underneath.”

I inhale sharply through my nose at the image of her in that sexy piece.

“That’s a fuckin’ deal.”

When the song ends, she tells me it’s time to make Landen eat his words.

“There’s the lovebirds,” he mocks when Magnolia approaches him at one of the tables. “Takin’ off?”

“Not yet. You haven’t asked Ellie to dance. The DJs gonna be packin’ up soon, so you better hurry.”

His eyes nearly cross when he gazes up at us. “I don’t even know where she is.” He scoffs with a drunken slur in his tone.

Fuck, this is gonna be interesting.

Some of the guests have already left, but there is still a good chunk of people here. I scan my eyes over each table and the dance floor until I spot Ellie sitting next to Mallory and Serena.

“Found her,” I blurt out, then point in her direction.

“Perfect.” Magnolia smirks. “We danced in front of everyone, so now it’s your turn to buck up, cowboy.”

Landen stumbles to his feet and flattens his palms down his dress shirt. His suit coat and tie are long gone, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. “Fine. But after this, I don’t wanna hear you shit-talkin’ about it again.”

“Yeah, we’ll see.” Magnolia snickers.

We follow him as he maze-walks through the tables and when we get close, Magnolia and I break off so we’re within listening distance but not invading. We find a table nearby and sit as if we’re just taking a little break.

“Landen!” Mallory exclaims.