by Leroux, Lucy
“A fitting for what?”
“Err…for your dress. I hope you won’t mind being paired with my cousin Eustace. He has two left feet, but he’s been taking lessons so he should be shipshape by then.”
“Dress?” Enlightenment came slowly. “Are you asking me to be a bridesmaid at your wedding?” The one to Liam?
She’d thought she couldn’t feel worse, but she’d been wrong. The pain had grown too sharp. Somewhere in her head, a bubble burst. Blessed numbness followed.
“Yes, I was going to ask before, but then you got that job. But you’re back now, and I know it would mean the world to Liam,” Caroline rushed on, putting a hand on his arm. “He’s been beside himself with worry, but now everything will go back to normal. We can all get on with our lives.”
“Caroline, now is not the time,” Liam growled. “Peyton has been through a—”
“I’m fine,” Peyton rasped, finding her voice. “But I can’t be a bridesmaid. I’m sorry. It would be…against guidelines.”
“Guidelines?” Caroline repeated. She stared, apparently at a loss for the first time since Peyton had known her.
“What guidelines?” Trick echoed.
“The ones where I don’t expose myself. There’s a whole list. So, no, I can’t be a bridesmaid.”
“Is this something Matthias Raske told you?” Liam asked with a frown. Caroline’s lashes fluttered, but it was her only reaction to the man’s name.
“Technically, they’re Priya’s rules.” Peyton took a tiny sip of juice. “I have to keep a low profile, and your wedding would be anything but. I’m sure the pictures will be all over the papers and gossip sites. The slavers might come after me again if they knew I was walking around free. Maybe they’d go after Matthias as well, although that’s less likely with his army of staff and security personnel.”
There was a pointed silence.
“Oh, of course.” Caroline nodded. “I should have realized. Well, perhaps we can find another role for you, something in the background.”
“Thank you,” Peyton murmured, wondering why Liam didn’t say anything.
Brunch ended with her still waiting.
Chapter 19
Peyton studied the grey late-afternoon sky from her temporary suite as Maggie and Trick fought over who would open the bottle of wine. Neither had mentioned brunch or their brother’s fiancée for the last few hours. Thalia had fallen asleep half an hour ago, too tired to keep her eyes open. Trick had carried his very pregnant wife next door for an overdue nap, but he’d come back. He threw himself on the couch in front of the television set until it had gotten late enough for it to be socially acceptable to drink. They were starting their second bottle.
She knew neither of Liam’s siblings liked Caroline very much, but the funereal air they maintained was almost comical. Not that Peyton felt like laughing. She was still numb. For now, at least. But the pain waited on the other side of her icy shield.
This is it—this is rock bottom.
It won’t ever be this bad again, she promised herself.
This was her own fault. She had let herself hope. Dumbass. It had been a mistake, and the only person she had to blame was herself. True—Matthias had lit the spark with his baseless conjecture, but she’d been the one who set herself on fire hoping for what could never be.
Trick and Maggie kept exchanging worried looks as if they were waiting for Peyton to burst into tears. She half expected them herself, but they didn’t come.
Maybe I’ve cried myself out. A few years ago, there had been a time when she’d cried herself to sleep on a regular basis, usually when Liam started dating a new woman. His model period had been especially rough. But today, her eyes were so dry they stung. Perhaps she’d shed all the tears she was going to. Wouldn’t that be something? She had run out of tears for Liam.
Or I’m dehydrated…
“Peyton, I’m sorry about Caroline,” Maggie said, finally bringing up the disastrous brunch. She handed her a very full glass of wine.
Peyton handed it back. “I think I need water, not wine.”
Trick went behind the bar, then tossed her a bottle. She caught it one-handed, opening it and taking a swig.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.
“I really don’t.” She sat on the couch next to Maggie, who threw her arm around her. “But you two do, so go ahead.”
“Not if it upsets you,” Maggie protested.
“It doesn’t,” Peyton said.
Trick and Maggie regarded her with identical expressions of skeptical sympathy.
“Well, it doesn’t any more than I already was,” she said, waving them on. “You don’t have to walk on eggshells around me. After the last few weeks, there isn’t anything you can possibly say that would make me feel worse. We can only go up from here,” she added.
Her philosophical air broke the dam. Soon, Maggie groused about Caroline and her endless plans. “This wedding is going to be the worst.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not going to go.” Peyton poked her in the ribs. “What is the bridesmaid’s dress like?”
“Can something be elegant and awful at the same time? Cause Caroline’s choice manages to be both. It’s a genuinely nice fabric and the bodice is all right, but the skirt is a mermaid train. I can’t walk in it. Sometime that night, I’m going to end up flat on my face. I just know it.”
Turning suddenly, Maggie clutched her arm. “You don’t hate me for being a bridesmaid, do you?”
“Of course not. It’s not like you can say no. Liam would kill you.” Peyton turned to Trick. “Are you going to be the best man?”
“No, Calen is. I told Liam I’d be the best man at his next wedding,” Trick said with a wicked grin.
“You did not!” Peyton almost smiled.
“I did,” he said. “But the only reason he didn’t punch my lights out is because I hid behind my pregnant wife. Thalia somehow convinced him that the real reason is she was afraid of going into labor, so I might not be able to fulfill my best man duties. The wedding is near enough to her due date for that excuse to work. She was obviously lying through her teeth, but she’s too pretty and pregnant for him to hassle just now, so he let it go.”
“Having a woman to hide behind suits you,” she remarked wanly, sipping her water.
A buzz sounded from Maggie’s phone. She lifted it to read the text displayed on the screen, but then promptly put it away.
“What’s that?” Could it be Caroline again? Had she found a suitable ‘background’ role for her?
“It’s just Jason. He thinks he can break away from the surveillance detail for us to go to dinner, but I’m going to text him not to. I told the chef to prepare your favorite meal, and then—”
Peyton held up a finger to interrupt. She took the phone to read Jason’s pleading message.
“Don’t even think about it. Your hot FBI agent husband, who’s been stuck in a van for weeks and weeks, apparently needs to meet you for dinner and no doubt a quickie.”
Maggie laughed at her brother’s curdled-milk expression.
“Maybe it could be a double date?” Maggie suggested softly after a moment. “Ethan was so happy to see you. He’s been worried, too.”
“If Jason can get away, it’s because Ethan is covering for him,” Peyton pointed out. “I’ll catch up with Agent Thomas some other time. Now please get out of here so I can live vicariously through you.”
It took more poking and prodding, but Peyton was able to convince Maggie to join Jason for dinner. Once she was gone, Peyton looked at Trick, wishing he’d leave, too.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, pointing the corkscrew at her. “I’m not going anywhere. Besides, my wife’s asleep. If she follows her new routine, she’ll be dead to the world for a few more hours.”
He sat next to her on the couch, shuffling a deck of cards he’d picked up from the table. “Wanna play twenty-one?”
“Well, I’ve got not
hing better to do.”
“Ouch,” Trick said, putting his hand over his heart.
She flicked his nose. “Stop. I just mean I can’t even work. I don’t have a laptop anymore. All my stuff is still in California.”
“We can ship it out here.”
“No. I…I won’t be staying that long.”
Sighing, Trick slid a hand over his face. “I know. For what it’s worth, I thought Liam was coming to his senses for a minute there when he insisted on putting that charm bracelet on you. But he’s a glutton for punishment. I just hope he doesn’t regret marriage to the ice queen too much.”
Peyton blinked, then snorted lightly. “You’re going to have to stop calling her that. She’s going to be your sister-in-law.”
It hurt less to say it aloud than she thought it would. “And don’t let Maggie be mean to her. I think Caroline is feeling sensitive about the wedding.”
“How do you figure that? It’s all she talks about.”
Peyton shrugged. “Maybe that’s because she senses everyone’s reluctance. It would be hard for her not to. You, in particular, cringe every time she brings it up. And she has to know that’s not a man’s general wedding-talk aversion. You and Maggie planned your own ceremony and reception down to the last detail.”
“I guess I have been kind of a dick.” Trick’s exaggerated sigh reminded her of when they were kids and the cooks tried to get him to eat his vegetables. “You’re not going to leave right away? You have to stay until you figure out what you’re going to do.”
“Whatever that is…Eva called. She held my job open, but Priya is right. I can’t go back to my old life. It won’t be safe.”
Trick grabbed her hand. “We won’t let anyone get you again,” he promised.
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” she confessed. “I came out of that mess relatively unscathed. I know I wouldn’t be that lucky a second time, but the bigger threat wouldn’t be to me. That outfit was professional and well-organized. And they were also careful and ruthless—they wouldn’t be afraid of causing some serious collateral damage if they believed I was on the loose and could cause them trouble. I don’t want anyone to get hurt trying to protect me. I’ve got to be smart about this.”
She sat up with a gasp. “Oh, my God. I didn’t even ask. What the hell happened to Dylan?”
“Don’t worry.” Trick’s mouth turned down. “We didn’t let Liam kill him. Dylan’s in jail.”
“Oh.” She sagged against the couch. “I can’t believe it. Do you think he’ll be safe there? Those dealers wanted to kill him if he couldn’t pay up.”
“He traded you to pay that debt. Don’t tell me you’re worried about that asshole?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “He was desperate. I won’t forgive him or anything stupid like that, but I don’t want him dead.”
Trick sniffed. “Well, he should be safe enough in prison.”
They sat in silence for a little while. “I need a new computer,” she said after a while.
“I’ll buy you one tomorrow.”
“I wasn’t angling for a handout, Trick.”
He scoffed. “It’s not one. And I hate to point out the obvious, but you can’t use any of your own money, so you better cut up your credit cards when we get them back. I’m sure that’s on the Priya woman’s list of dos and don’ts.”
“I’m sure it is. She was highly organized. Matthias used the expression terrifyingly efficient.”
Peyton rubbed the rim of her water bottle contemplatively. Behind that ultra-professional veneer was a brilliant and passionate woman. Matthias had been the bank, but the underground railroad had been all Priya. Peyton couldn’t help but admire the other woman’s desire to make a difference in this crappy world.
If only she’d had a little more time, Peyton knew she could have cracked Priya. They would have been friends. As for Matthias, thinking about him sent an unexpected wave of longing through her.
He was another missed opportunity. All that time spent pining for Liam. One chance after another had come and gone. The worst part was, she’d closed the door on them herself. At the time, she hadn’t cared, but that was how she’d gotten to this point—an almost twenty-five-year-old virgin with no job and no prospects of independence. She was going to have to rely on her friends in order to start over. Life had officially passed her by.
“What did you say?”
“Hmm?”
“You muttered something about Matthias.” Trick looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “He’s an interesting man. More fit and a hell of a lot younger than I thought he would be. That look he gave you when we picked you up…did anything happen between you?”
“Of course not.” She was an idiot hell-bent on wasting her life on unrequited love. “And it never will. He’s gone now.”
Trick glanced at his watch. “Yeah, he should be by now.”
Peyton blinked. “Matthias left two days ago. The Ormen Lange was pulling up anchor and getting the hell out of Dodge on Friday.”
Trick rubbed his nose. “Something must have delayed him because Liam’s guy at the port said the yacht was still there this morning. I didn’t think anything about it, but Liam seemed anxious about it. I didn’t tell him I tried sending Matthias a message, inviting him to brunch, but I’m glad he ignored it now. Caroline does have a way of spoiling things, doesn’t she?”
He wasn’t watching Peyton anymore, so he missed her parted lips and dumbfounded expression.
He’s still here. Matthias was still in Boston. Why? Her lips parted as she remembered the look in his eyes when he almost kissed her. And perhaps the greater revelation—she had wanted him to.
Peyton sprang to her feet, then ran to the window, staring in the direction of the harbor as if she could search for the Ormen Lange from here. It was the right direction, but too far. The view was obscured by other buildings.
“Could he?” she whispered. Had Matthias extended his stay in Boston because he was waiting for her?
The deadline had come and gone days ago, but, in retrospect, three days hadn’t been long enough for her to reassure all of her friends of her well-being. She was still fielding calls from friends from school and former coworkers who had transferred to Caislean hotels in other states.
She’d barely had a moment to herself—her fault, of course, for clinging to Liam since she’d gotten back, but she hadn’t had any time to think. Had Matthias decided to give her more time?
“What’s wrong?” Trick sat ramrod straight, watching her reaction with a tight expression.
She took a deep, albeit shaky, breath. “I just realized something.”
“What?”
She wiggled two fingers. “Well, it’s two things really. First—I’m done feeling sorry for myself. And second, I want you to stop feeling sorry for me, too. Don’t be mad at Liam on my behalf. We haven’t been fair to him. It’s not his fault that he never fell in love with me.”
“Peyton—”
She held up a hand. “Trick, I love you, but you and Maggie are too loyal for your own good. But now that Liam is getting married, you have to give Caroline a chance. She was just trying to be nice and include me when she asked me to be a bridesmaid.”
He wrinkled his nose. “You don’t think she was trying to rub your nose in it?”
She thought about it, but then shook her head. “No, I don’t. She’s…still an outsider. No one confides in her, and she’s not around us enough to guess what I’m feeling. Maybe she suspects, but I don’t think so. It was a genuine gesture on her part.”
Trick sniffed. “She’s not around us by choice. Caroline only ever wants to socialize with Liam and other jet setters. She lives and breathes high society, and she never stops networking. I would call her a social climber if she weren’t an heiress herself.”
“Maybe, but we didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat. Not for her or any of her predecessors. In fact, we’ve been assholes to most of Liam’s girlfriends,” she ad
mitted.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Trick grumbled, but he couldn’t quite look her in the eye. “It doesn’t help he doesn’t exactly go for the warm and fuzzy types—the ones with two brain cells to rub together anyway. If they were halfway intelligent, then they were usually cold or self-involved. It was intentional, too. A normal woman would have developed real feelings for him, then he would have had to dump her.”
Peyton snorted. At least I saved Liam the trouble of having to dump me. She’d broken her heart all on her own.
“I’m not sure they were all that bad,” she mused, thinking back on the parade of beautiful women Liam had run through. Some of them had probably been nice enough if they’d bothered to give them a chance. But she hadn’t been able to do that. Because of her, his siblings hadn’t been able to either…
Then there was Matthias. Closing her eyes, she pictured him—the way his eyes locked on her when he talked and the funny little twist he put on certain expressions…and how alone he was.
But he doesn’t have to be.
Peyton laughed aloud, a hysterical tinge making the sound thin but light. Almost happy.
Trick groaned. “Okay, I think all the stress made you crack up.”
Peyton didn’t answer. She returned to the window, putting a hand over her heart. But the dull gnawing pain that had been a constant companion the last few months had faded.
Was there any chance the Ormen Lange was still in port? Her heart skittered and skipped. I have to find out.
Spinning on her heel, she went to the bar to grab another bottle of water. She tossed it at Trick. “Drink up. You need to be sober enough to drive.”
He frowned, setting aside the wineglass and picking up the bottle that had landed next to him. “Where are we going?”
She inhaled, holding the air in her lungs until she could summon the wherewithal to answer. But she didn’t need to.
Trick gasped, his eyes bulging out of his head. “No!”
“Yes,” she said, her eyes shining. “Get your keys. Now.”
* * *