Tripp shook his head. “Stop being sodifficult.”
“Speak for yourself,” she shot back.
He released a dark chuckle. “You’re the one with nowhere to go. I can wait all day.”
More silence on the other side of the door. Tripp grinned. She might be stubborn, but he could be patient.
“Yo, Tripp, your turn,” Reese called from the end of the hallway.
Shoot.
He wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn he heard a quiet laugh through the closed door. Tripp scowled toward Reese. “Let someone else go first.”
“Sorry, man. It’s your turn. I’m just here to fetch you.”
Tripp grumbled as he stalked down the hall, tossing one last fleeting glance to where Wendy was hidden. There was zero chance he’d be able to corner her again any time soon.
Yep.
Zero chance.
Tripp’s eyes followed Wendy across the room when she finally slipped from the confines of the hallway. He stood on the pedestal where she’d been standing and the seamstress was busy hemming his pants. Wendy didn’t even bother to offer him a triumphant smile on her escape.
She was wrong.
She had to be.
Everything she’d said lingered in his mind, making him go just a little more stir-crazy.
Tripp continued to scowl as he stood there, letting his sour mood fester. It wasn’t until Leo stood that he realized just how angry he looked.
“You… okay?” Leo stood up from his chair and moved closer, his voice lowering. Did he actually care what everyone else overheard? It wasn’t like Tripp was going to say anything that would further incriminate himself. He was well aware of what the people in his family thought of him when it came to Wendy. They’d backed off for the time being, but if they knew what hadtranspired in that hallway they might not be so willing to leave him be.
“Yeah,” Tripp muttered. “Fine.”
“Sure don’t look fine.”
Tripp fought the itch to fold his arms and snap at his cousin. But what good would that do? This wasn’t Leo’s fault.
Leo took another step forward. “What’s going on? You’re acting… different.”
He huffed. “What would you know about me acting any different than I normally do?”
His cousin smirked and the look he gave him seemed to suggest they both knew that Tripp didn’t have a leg to stand on.
Tripp let his focus sweep through the room. His cousins and their spouses were all chatting and having a good time. He couldn’t tell if anyone else had noticed Wendy slipping out the front door. This was supposed to be a fun event and he’d scared her off.
His jaw tightened and he turned his attention to Leo once more. “Do you think I’m doomed to never find love?”
That question was no more a surprise to Leo than it was to Tripp himself. Until today, Tripp hadn’t cared one bit about whether or not he’d settle down. He was young still. He had every right to date around. How else was he supposed to know what he wanted?
But deep down he knew that wasn’t the whole truth.
Wendy had struck a nerve with her statement.
It wasn’t news to him that most of the women he dated ended up getting married within a year of their breakup—married to someone else. It was like he had the magic touch.
Tripp stepped down from the pedestal and shuffled a few steps, but Leo followed.
