Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 68

Noelle’s ringtone was still blaring shamelessly in the background.

But the longer Landon listened, the more irritable he became.

This time, he simply switched his phone to silent, ignoring Noelle’s call altogether.

After Zinnia returned to her room, she spent some time on her laptop browsing house listings, then got up to wash up before bed.

Just as she reached the bathroom, a knock sounded at her bedroom door.

She paused, surprised, glancing in the direction of the sound.

The knock came again.

She walked over and pulled open the door.

Landon stood there, still dressed in his deep gray loungewear.

She blurted out without thinking, “Why are you still here?”

No sooner had the words left her lips than Landon’s expression iced over.

“And where exactly do you think I should be?”

Zinnia’s mind flashed to that crack of thunder earlier—and the phone call from Noelle.

She’d assumed Landon would be halfway to the Jensens’ by now.

If she were honest, he shouldn’t have come back tonight at all. It would’ve spared everyone the hassle, and Noelle might have slept better.

Of course, she didn’t say any of this out loud.

But Landon could read her thoughts as clearly as if she’d spoken them, just from the look on her face.

He let out a short, humorless laugh, more from exasperation than amusement.

Yet in the end, he just took a deep breath and visibly reined himself in.

“When you came back, your hair was soaked from the rain. It’s easy to catch a chill this time of year,” he said, his tone clipped but softer than before. “I made you some ginger tea. Go drink it while it’s hot.”

Zinnia’s surprise only deepened.

The big living room fell quiet again.

Zinnia felt awkward sharing the silence with him. She wasn’t used to it at all.

Not wanting to prolong things, she finished the ginger tea in a few quick sips, ignoring the heat.

She stood up from the table and said, “Thanks for the tea. It’s getting late, so I’ll head to bed.”

Landon looked like he wanted to say something else, but Zinnia didn’t give him the chance. She hurried to the guest room and closed the door behind her.

Only when she was safely tucked away did she let out a long, relieved breath.

What on earth had gotten into Landon lately?

She frowned, then let it go.

But just as she lay down, her phone startled her by ringing again.

She glanced at the caller ID—surprised and a little exasperated—but picked up anyway.