Fool for You (Southern Bride 7)

Kiss. Me. I wanted Landon to kiss me. What in the hell was up with that?

I mean, it wasn’t like it was the first time. I’d had plenty of naughty thoughts when it came to the man sitting next to me. But those were in my dreams, and when I woke up I quickly pushed them away. I had never actually fantasized about physical contact when I was with him. In his arms. Inches from those soft, plump lips of his that made my insides want to melt just thinking about them.

Oh my God. Emmerson. Stop this. He doesn’t feel the same way.

I shook my thoughts away and focused back on family dinner night.

“I love dinner at the ranch,” I said as I opened the door to Landon’s truck and jumped out.

Landon came around the front and chuckled. “It’s a fun tradition. I’m glad our folks still do it.”

I looked up at him and smiled. “Me too. Now, the big question is, how will your wine be?”

He held it up and winked. “I have a feeling I’m going to take the title with this one.”

I smirked and started up the steps to the front door of my folks’ house, a bubble of excitement causing an extra pep in my step. Lady clearly felt the same way as she bounded ahead of us.

Dinner at the ranch was something I looked forward to each Sunday. I wasn’t sure if it was the excitement of what new wine would be discovered that month, or simply the fact that I loved being surrounded by my family. It was really the only time me, Landon, Noah, and Hailey were under one roof. We rarely saw each other after we’d all graduated from high school and headed to college. Landon started racing in high school and moved up so fast, he never actually attended college. And now that he wasn’t racing any longer and was living back in Waco, there was a better chance we’d all be here on Sundays.

Of course, there were some family dinners at the ranch I had hated in the past. Mostly when Landon had brought a date, which wasn’t often. It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy for him when he was dating someone; it was that weird little tinge of jealousy I got seeing him with someone.

“Oh man, that smells good,” I said as we walked into my folks’ house and made our way to the kitchen. I could already hear everyone laughing and couldn’t wait to get in on whatever it was.

Landon chuckled. “Sounds like the party started without us.”

“Sure does!”

The second we walked into the kitchen, I spotted Hailey. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her cobalt blue eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness. I could instantly tell that something was different. She seemed to have a glow about her that lit up the entire room. She jumped off the counter and walked over to her brother, wrapping her arms around him.

“I hear you’re going to be auctioned off!” Hailey said with a giggle.

Landon rolled his eyes and gave her a playful push. “Don’t tell me you’re on the committee now,” he groaned.

Hailey smiled as she took a drink of wine and shook her head. “Nope. But someone let it slip that you were up on the auction block.”

I felt my eyes widen as my father and Noah both laughed. As handsome as they both were—with their light brown hair and eyes the color of the sky—they were lucky I didn’t think of volunteering one of them for the auction before Landon’s name flew out of my mouth. Well, Mom would have been pissed to share Dad, and my brother was already dating someone.

“Who blabbed?” I asked, pulling my phone from my purse and searching for Janet Monroe’s number.

Hailey shrugged. “Not sure, but I’ve already had three of my friends cancel their plans for that weekend since they’re now planning on attending the charity ball. The committee is thinking they will sell every plate this year and might have to add some more tables!”

I frowned, not liking the idea of Hailey’s friends bidding on Landon.

“Oh, this is wonderful!” my mother gushed.

Turning to her, I forced a smile. Her own smile faltered, and I knew she could sense something was off. She had that magical power most mothers had. Never mind how stunningly beautiful she still was. My father used to tell me I was a mini version of her. Her brown hair was pulled up into a loose bun on top of her head, and it flopped to the side as she tilted her head and asked, “Is everything okay, sweetheart?”

“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly, and then hit Janet’s number on my cell phone.

“What’s all the excitement I heard?” Addie Lewis asked as she and Emmit walked into the kitchen. Each week our folks took turns hosting Sunday night dinner.