His voice is almost beseeching, and something about it makes my shoulders droop. Releasing a slow sigh, I glance around the room, feeling myself start to cave. And once I notice the giant-ass spider on the ceiling, Ireallyfeel myself caving.
A thought occurs to me.
“Why do you care?” I demand, looking back at him.
Landon frowns. “What?”
“Why do you care if your ex-girlfriend’s sister is living in a shithole?”
His brow quirks. “So, you admit it. It’s a shithole.”
I clamp my mouth shut, beating myself up for letting him trick me into revealing my true thoughts about the apartment. Bastard.Sighing, my chest deflates as I glance around the lackluster room in defeat.
“I was just trying to be positive,” I mutter. My gaze shifts out the window to the gravelly parking lot below.
Eli’s right. You can barely see the ocean.
Landon’s eyes roam my face, and unless I’m mistaken, his expression softens a little. “Let’s go.”
I resign myself to the unfortunate truth—this was a horrible idea, possibly one of my worst, and the relief I feel when I step outside is undeniable. I suck in the fresh air and follow the brothers out to the parking lot without a backward glance at apartment 210.
As I turn toward Eli’s truck, Landon’s hand shoots out and snags my arm, his warm fingers wrapping lightly around my wrist. “Nope. You’re riding with me.”
I shoot his brother a guilty look. “But…what about the mattress? I should go help him get rid of it.”
“Eli can deal with it.”
“Gee, thanks!” calls Eli, but Landon ignores him.
I give Eli a reluctant wave, mouthingsorryas Landon leads me toward his car, only dropping my arm once I’m sliding into the passenger seat. He shuts my door and moves around to the driver’s side, slipping into the pristine interior. As we pull onto the road, I can’t say I’m sad to watch the Sunny View Apartment Complex fade off into the distance. Can’t say I’m sad at all.
“I’ll find another apartment,” I say, as we sit at a stoplight. “But it might take me a while.”
“Don’t bother,” Landon says without hesitation.
I glance at him sharply, but he’s staring straight ahead at the light with one hand on the wheel. “What?”
One of his shoulders lifts. “Just stay at the house.”
“Stay at the house,” I repeat, not sure I heard him right.
He glances at me then, very briefly out of the corner of his eye. “That’s what I said, didn’t I?”
“You want me to stay at the house?” I ask again. “Your house? The house where you live? Like, indefinitely?”
We start moving as the light turns green. “Notindefinitely. Until you can afford an apartment that doesn’t reek of dirty bong water and rat feces.”
I twist in the seat to get a better look at his face, but as usual, it gives nothing away. I narrow my eyes, wondering why he’s being so decent all of a sudden. “What’s your angle? Are you trying to get some sort of revenge against my sister or something?”
His face twists, offended by my brash accusation. “Revenge? For what?”
I shrug. “You tell me.”
“I have bigger things to worry about than revenge,” he points out. “Like running a company.” I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes at the mention of his company. “Plus, I’m not that petty.”
“Then why?” I press.
“Why what?”
