She waved him off. “Yeah, right. Trust me. Men aren’t knocking down my door. It’s just been a tough few years and this past year has taken its toll. I think my sister and my cousins are starting to feel sorry for me.”
“Maybe they’re just concerned. Two very different things. But that still doesn’t answer the question about why you’re anxious about them arriving tomorrow.”
She turned to the water, and blew out a breath, wrapping her arms around herself. “My cousins, Toni, Jada, and Martina are like sisters to me. We all grew up together and were pretty much raised as sisters, especially Martina and I. Anyway, for the past year or two, they have all found their soul mates. Guess who hasn’t?”
Michael said nothing. As a matter of fact, he was starting to think that the route this conversation was going was way outside of his expertise. He didn’t do relationships, at least not anymore.
“Well, I take that back. There was a time when I thought I had found my soulmate.”
“Really? So what happened?”
She turned slightly toward him. “I married him.”
Shock gripped him. “Hold up. You’re married?” He was going to kick Luke’s ass if he had put him in a room with a married woman.
“Was married.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He ran his hand down her arm. “So what happened? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Again, she hesitated. Biting her bottom lip, twisting the skin gently between her teeth. “I found him and his assistant on our living room sofa.”
Michael cursed under his breath, trying to come up with something to say. He could see her invisible walls going back up, and her eyes watering. She wasn’t over her husband’s infidelity.
Michael didn’t do well with tears and did the only thing he could think to do. He pulled her into his arms and held her.
*
Peyton dropped her sandals in the sand and wrapped her arms around Michael’s waist, soaking up the comfort he offered. She refused to cry over Dylan anymore. Too many tears had already been wasted on that scumbag. But she would be lying if she said that it didn’t still hurt to know that she wasn’t good enough for him.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. No one deserves that,” Michael whispered.
Peyton leaned back and huffed out a breath. She removed her sunglasses and hooked them on the front of her swimsuit. “I felt so stupid. I bought all of his excuses. ‘Babe, I need to finish this report. Don’t wait up, I’ll be late for dinner. Babe, they need me in the New York office, those bozos don’t have a clue. I’m still in traffic.’ To this day, I wonder if there were any trips. He was probably screwing around right un—”
“Don’t. Don’t do this.” Michael pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. “I’m sorry I asked. More importantly, I’m sorry you went through that. I know it had to be tough.”
She heard his words, but the way he was caressing her cheek and staring into her eyes, she could barely think straight. If anyone was a nice distraction from thoughts of her cheating bastard of a husband and failed marriage, it was him.
The wind picked up, and her hair blew around even more than it had been since they started walking. Sighing, she ran her hand through the loose curls. This was another reason why she usually wore it in a bun or a tight ponytail.
“I really should have put my hair up.” She gathered her locks and pulled them back.
“Don’t. I’m glad you wore it down.” He pushed her hands away and ran his fingers through her hair. Granted the move might’ve been a little too intimate, but damn if it didn’t feel good and sexy.
“Since I’m your better half for the next few days,” Michael said, his voice dropping an octave. “I’m requesting that you wear your hair down whenever you’re with me. I like it this way.”
“Okay,” she said, but she wasn’t sure she’d spoken loud enough for him to hear, barely hearing herself over the pounding of her heartbeat. Heck, with the way he was looking at her and the sexiness of his voice, she would have agreed to almost anything.
Butterflies jockeyed in her belly when his hands cupped her face. His gaze slid from her mouth to her eyes and held before he zoned in on her mouth again as if contemplating his next move.
Before she could form a thought, he lowered his head, and his mouth touched hers. Her heart thrashed against her chest. The soft feel of his lips was like stepping out into the sunlight after being cloaked in darkness for years. Michael nipped at her top lip, and then the bottom one, tasting and teasing, taking her desire to a place it hadn’t visited in quite a while. The phrase ‘died and gone to heaven’ played around in Peyton’s head when he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.
Peyton gripped the back of his shirt, pushing all thoughts of her ex and everything else out of her mind. She focused on the here and now, while Michael’s experienced lips left no doubt that he knew what he was doing. She hadn’t been kissed like that in years, and the sounds of the waves slapping against the rocks only increased the special moment.
Michael lifted his head, and she whimpered, reluctantly prying her eyes open. The way he searched her face, she thought for sure he was going to apologize for kissing her, and so help her if he did she was going to punch him.
“I’m too much of an arrogant ass to apologize for tasting you,” he said as if reading her mind. The cocky grin spread across his mouth, sending wicked chills through her body. “Shall we continue our walk?”
Peyton cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah. Sure. That’s a great idea.” Before she could bend down to pick up her sandals, he handed them to her and grabbed hold of her hand.
They walked and talked as if the kiss never happened. But it was a lip-lock she wouldn’t soon forget, and she wouldn’t mind their tongues tangling again.
“How long were you married?” Michael asked.
“Dylan and I were married for five years.”
“So the jerk’s name is Dylan, huh?”
“Yep.”
Peyton answered additional questions about Dylan and how she had moved on. Rarely did she talk about her ex-husband or their divorce. And for the first time, it wasn’t as painful to remember.
“Are you ready to head back and get a real breakfast?” Michael asked, glancing at his watch. “Actually, it’ll be more like brunch.”
“That sounds good.” They turned and headed back the way they came. Peyton hadn’t realized they’d walked so far.
“Okay, enough about me. What’s your story?” So far, her first impressions of Michael were off. He might’ve been cocky, but he was proving to be a nice guy. “I assume you’re not married,” Peyton said when he looked to be in deep thought.
“Nope. Never took the plunge and probably never will. I’m not a committed relationship type of guy.”
With the patience and kindness Michael had displayed since they’d met, Peyton didn’t understand his comment. They might have only been pretending to be a couple, but from what she’d seen, he would be the perfect mate for someone.
“Why not?”
“I’m just not. I’ve seen too much. I’ve done too much. And I don’t think I have what it takes to make a relationship work.”
“Is it because you think you would cheat?”
“No. Not all men cheat,” he said simply.
“Yeah, if you say so.”
“I know so.” He nudged her with his arm. “My stepfather would never cheat on my mom. Luke would never cheat on Christina. There are some upstanding men out there that we both know. So don’t let some jerk taint your idea of marriage. And just because it’s not for me, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try marriage again.”
Peyton laughed. “Look at you sounding like the authority on marriage.”
Michael chuckled. “Trust me. I’m not.”
“Okay, so tell me more about yourself.”
“There’s not much to tell. I’ve lived in Brooklyn most of my life.”
“I thought I detected a New York accent when we first met.”
&
nbsp; He laughed. “Accent, huh?”
“Yep, you definitely have an accent. So what else? Do you live in a brownstone?”
“Actually, I do. But of all the questions you could’ve asked me, why that one?”
Peyton shrugged. “I guess when I think of New York, I think of Times Square, Central Park, and brownstones. I’ve always been fascinated by some of the architectural details and character found in many of the older structures.”
Michael shook his head. “I still can’t believe you were an electrician construction worker. You are the finest electrician I’ve ever met.”
A smile touched her lips. “Thank you.” She could get used to all of his compliments. “So, tell me about the brownstone.”
“I purchased it about two years ago. A real gut job that I’ll probably be working on until I’m old and gray. I lived in an apartment for most of my adult life, but needed something bigger to accommodate me, and my daughter.”
Peyton stopped again. “You have kids?”
He nodded. “A daughter, Michaela.” His eyebrows dipped. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. I guess I’m just surprised.” She started walking again. She loved children and had always wanted at least two, but she didn’t date men with children.
Peyton mentally shook herself. She and Michael weren’t dating. It didn’t matter if he had a child. She’d do good to remember that this whole ridiculous situation was just pretend.
“So what made you become a private investigator?”
“I was a cop at first. When I decided to leave the force, a friend of mine had started a P.I. agency and asked me to come aboard.” He shrugged. “I liked the work and a couple of years later, started my own business. I mainly work for defense attorneys.”
“Wait. Are you the one who dug up information on Leroy Jones last year when he was trying to sue Jenkins & Sons?”
Michael nodded.
Peyton remembered Luke saying that his P.I. friend was the best in the business. Little did she know that Michael was that friend.
Shortly after moving to Cincinnati from New York, Luke had joined a law firm where he’d later been commissioned to represent Leroy, a local contractor, who was trying to sue the Jenkins family on some bogus charges. That was also the time when Christina thought Luke was conspiring against the family. All hell had broken out. Peyton hadn’t thought Christina and Luke’s relationship would survive the misunderstanding.
“You said that you were a cop for a few years. That’s probably even more dangerous than being a P.I. What made you decide to go into that field?” She wondered if the faded scar across his neck had been a souvenir of his career choices.
Michael remained silent and kept walking. Peyton turned to see if he’d heard her question. Since he had his sunglasses on, she couldn’t read his eyes, but the strong set in his jaw was a sign that the subject was touchy.
“I was a total screw up before my mother married my stepfather, Carlton, when I was nine.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe how bad he’d been back then. “Carlton was a cop and saved my ass more times than I can count. And seeing him in his uniform, looking all badass,” Michael chuckled, “I wanted to be just like him.”
“He must be really proud of you.”
Michael hesitated before a slight smile tilted his lips. “Even after he adopted me, giving me his last name and treating me like his flesh and blood, I gave him hell. But he never gave up on me and yeah, I think he’s proud. We have a great relationship now.” Michael turned serious. “I don’t even want to think about where I would be if he hadn’t come along.”
“What do you mean?” When he didn’t respond, Peyton squeezed his hand. “Michael?”
“Looks like we made it back. I’m starving, what about you?”
She hesitated, not missing the way he changed the subject, making her even more curious about him and his life.
“I guess I am a little hungry,” she answered. There was more to Michael than his charming ways and great sense of humor. Maybe at some point he would feel comfortable sharing his story.
*
Tension crawled up Michael’s back and settled in his shoulders as he guided Peyton to the resort. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about himself. One question would lead to another and then another, forcing him to remember years of pain, anger, and disgust. If he could, he would erase his first nine years, as well as the year Michaela was conceived. But since he couldn’t, he had to live with the nightmare that was once his life.
Chapter Five
The next day, Peyton lounged on the sofa in the suite, paging through InStyle magazine. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to peruse a magazine in the middle of the day with nothing planned.
She turned to the next page, a muscular male model with arresting eyes stared back at her, and thoughts of Michael infiltrated her mind. The time they spent together the day before had been a turning point in their relationship, or was it a friendship? Peyton wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she could easily see them being friends. Good friends.
Flashbacks of their passionate kiss kept playing in her mind and it was hard not to imagine what it would be like if they could be more than friends.
Peyton placed her feet on the floor and leaned forward to grab a different magazine when someone knocked on the door. Before she could answer, she heard, “Open up. We know you’re in there.”
Peyton smiled, recognizing Toni’s voice. It was safe to say the rest of the family had arrived.
She swung the door open. Her cousins Toni and Jada stood on the other side dressed like the models in the magazine she had just been looking through.
“Heyyy!” Toni said, throwing her arms around Peyton and pulling her into a hug.
“We’re here.” Jada blew her an air kiss as she strolled into the suite. “We thought we would come and get you to see what we can get into.”
“Why are you sitting around reading?” Toni pointed at the magazines on the table and sofa. “You need to soak up as much of this sunshine and heat as you can because when we left Cincinnati this morning, it was thirty-five degrees with snow on the ground.”
“That’s no surprise for the end of February.” Peyton reclaimed her seat on the sofa and Toni sat in the high back chair. “If you must know, I was out earlier and took a nice long walk on the beach, ate, and just got back not too long ago.”
Jada picked up one of the magazines from the living room table and sifted through the pages. Rarely did she dress down like she was today, wearing a light blue satin-like sleeveless top, white shorts, and sandals with a low heel. Since hanging up her tool belt, Jada hardly ever walked around in shoes that had less than a four-inch heel. Today her outfit was simple, but probably cost a fortune. Her husband, Zack, had recently retired from the NFL and one of his favorite hobbies was to indulge his wife with expensive shopping sprees.
Jada dropped the magazine back to the table and glanced around the space. “Nice room. It looks to be the same size as ours.” She walked toward the patio sliding doors and slowed, her attention on something on the floor.
Peyton followed her gaze and groaned inside. Michael’s duffel bag and a pair of brown Dockside boat shoes sat near it.
Jada pointed at the items.
“Since when did you start wearing size twelve men’s shoes?”
“What?” Toni leaped out of her seat. The mother hen of the group, she always stuck her nose in everyone’s business. “Why do you have a pair of men’s shoes?”
Just then, the door to the suite swung open.
“Honey, I'm home,” Michael announced before he walked fully into the suite. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize we had company.”
Peyton hadn’t seen him for the last couple of hours, and the butterflies fluttering inside her stomach were starting to be the norm whenever he was near. After breakfast, he had walked her back to the room and left a little while later to meet up with Luke. He had also planned to go for a run.
She wanted to ask what he and Luke were getting into, especially since she hadn’t heard from Christina but refrained. Their pretend relationship was starting to feel a little too real.
Peyton stood, and Michael’s gaze moved down the length of her body. This was the first time he had seen her in the dress she had purchased the day before from the gift shop while they were hanging out. Their undeniable connection was growing stronger by the minute.
“So what's going on here?” Toni asked. “And who are you?”
Mike extended his hand. “Michael Cutter, Peyton’s…well, a friend.”
Jada's brows shot up as she shook his hand. “Oh really? Why is it that we never heard of you?”
“Mike, as you probably guessed, these nosy women are my cousins, Jada, and Toni. Or as the family refers to them, JJ and TJ.”
“I figured as much. Beauty runs in the family I see, but I thought there were three of you.”
“Oh yeah, Martina. She’s seven months pregnant. Her husband didn’t think it was a good idea for them to travel,” Toni explained.
Michael nodded. “That’s understandable.”
He approached Peyton, his hand gripping her hip in a possessive move. Tantalizing tingles scurried up her spine, and she shivered, unable to move away despite him being sweaty from his run. If anything, she wanted to move even closer to him.
“I'm going to jump in the shower. Luke said the rehearsal dinner is at seven o'clock. Did you want to do anything before then?” The huskiness in his voice had her mind conjuring up all types of erotic things she wouldn’t mind doing with him.
She shook the thought free but didn’t step away from his hold. “I'm going to hang out with the girls for a couple of hours.”
Peyton didn’t think she would ever get used to those light-brown eyes. They glittered with mischief while his gaze bore deep into her.
“Okay,” he finally said. “Well, have a nice time and I’ll see you a little later.” He placed a kiss against her temple and gave her hip a little squeeze as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. “Ladies.” He nodded at Jada and Toni before heading to the bedroom.
Seducing the Boss Lady Page 5