Bad Reputation

by Callie Blake

  It was only two of them, but the words she said next were the best he’d ever heard in his life.

  “I’m in,” Peyton laughed through a waterfall of tears. “Yes, Connor,” she whispered as he kissed her in the midst of the field. “I’m in.”

  “Jesus Christ, what a view.”

  Connor stared out the window as he walked into Peyton’s tiny bedroom at the B&B. It was legitimately smaller than his closet back home, marking the first time he’d ever been this happy to be in a room so tiny and cramped.

  “It’s incredible, isn’t it?” Peyton said dreamily, smiling as Connor set a tray of Prosecco and strawberries onto the nightstand. “From Sofia?” she guessed.

  “Yeah. She keeps calling me ‘prince.’ What’s up with that?”

  Peyton giggled. “Nothing, now get over here. You promised to tell me the story of how you even found me here.”

  “Did I?” Connor smirked. “I was kind of enjoying the fact that you thought I was a wizard.”

  “Seriously, though. How the heck did you find me? This isn’t even the place I went to as a kid. This is like, the tiniest village in all of Tuscany. The place I rented my car from in Siena hadn’t even heard of it before,” Peyton said, her brows pinched in an adorable mix of awe and confusion. “I mean it, Schaffer,” she said, pulling him by the shirt onto the bed. “Enough with the secrets. I need you to spill.”

  “It was Kensie,” Connor laughed. At the sound of her name, Peyton’s face immediately crumpled. “Easy,” he said, laughing gently. “I would’ve never come here without going to her first and making sure she was fine. In every way.”

  “She’s not mad at me?” Peyton asked, her voice tiny.

  “Of course not. And in your heart, you had to have known she wouldn’t be. There’s no one in her life that she loves the way she loves you. You’re her everything,” Connor said softly. He cracked a little smile. “Including her Airbnb login.”

  Peyton blinked. “Come again?”

  "Apparently Kensie was permanently banned from Airbnb a few years ago?”

  “Ugh, yes. She threw a birthday party at this super expensive rental a few years back, and Poppy Somerville wound up literally swinging from a chandelier,” Peyton groaned. “She did like, sixty thousand dollars worth of damage, so Kensie’s account got the hammer.”

  “Well, that worked out just fine because she’s been logged into your account ever since,” Connor grinned, watching Peyton’s eyes slowly widen as she realized what that meant. When it all sunk in, she smacked him with her pillow and gasped.

  “No wonder you figured it out down to where I was staying!” she laughed. “God. I guess Kensie and her crazy friends wound up doing me a favor for once.”

  “Both of us, really,” Connor said, handing Peyton her flute of Prosecco. He cocked her head when he detected the crooked little grin on her lips. “What?”

  “Nothing. I just like the sound of ‘us,’” she said shyly.

  “So do I,” Connor said, pausing to let the word sink into his skin. “Cheers to us then,” he murmured, their glasses touching to make a delicate clink as he leaned in to give her a kiss.

  Peyton grinned against his lips.

  “To us.”

  28

  “Um…” Peyton cocked her head with delight as she squinted at the headline. “‘Tables Turn as Schaffer Chases Love?’” she snorted.

  It was her first time at Connor’s stunning duplex in Chelsea, and she wanted desperately to explore, but distracting her was the newspaper clipping laid nicely out on the kitchen counter.

  “What?” Connor was already laughing as he met her in the kitchen. A curious frown knit his brow as he came up behind her, unconsciously wrapping an arm around her waist and picking up the neatly trimmed article. “‘Onlookers snapped away on Wednesday morning when Connor Schaffer stormed a DUMBO painting studio in search of the one who got away,’” he read before snorting. “Oh, Jesus.”

  “How did this even get in here?” Peyton cracked up as she plucked the article from Connor’s fingers.

  “My guess is Liam.”

  “He has the keys to your house?” Peyton asked with surprise.

  “No, but we share the same cleaning lady, and sometimes he pays her extra to leave passive aggressive notes on my counter. Usually things like ‘thanks for sanding the floors at the bar – oh wait that was me.’ Guess he’s just upping his game.”

  Peyton burst out laughing. “You two are ridiculous.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re gonna have to get used to it now,” he murmured into her neck.

  “Oh, I think I’ll be happy to,” Peyton lilted, reveling in Connor’s warm kisses as he had her read on. “So. ‘According to studio regular Alison Hanley, Schaffer was ‘desperate’ as he appealed to a room of strangers, pleading for any information with which to find latest flame, artist Peyton Greene.’” Peyton raised her eyebrows. “Wow. They called me ‘artist’ instead of ‘assistant to Kensie Cohan.’ That’s a first.”

  “I have a feeling we’re both in for a lot of firsts,” Connor chuckled.

  “Yeah? Well, here’s another right here,” Peyton grinned as she read the next line. “‘Said studio assistant Liz Price, ‘He wasn’t anything like you read about in the tabloids. He was very polite. He wasn’t trying to bother anyone – he just wanted to find his girlfriend.’”

  “I hate to break it to you, but that’s not the first time someone’s called me polite. I’ll have you know that Mrs. Greenberg wrote ‘polite boy’ in the notes of my third grade report card.”

  “Cute, but I meant the fact that this article called me your girlfriend,” Peyton said smartly. “Though come to think about it, you accidentally called me your girlfriend that night at the trashy bar by the farmhouse.”

  “You have to know by now that that wasn’t accidental,” Connor said, turning Peyton around in his arms. He grinned as he studied the way her lips trembled into a nervous grin. “I’m yours, Peyton. You know that. I’ve wanted you from the first second I met you, and I’m not letting you go. You’re my girlfriend, yes, and in a few years, you’re going to my wife. I don’t want anyone but you.”

  Peyton’s rush of tears surprised her as she nodded. “It’s hard for me to believe that things this good can happen to me,” she whispered, swallowing hard. “But I’m working on that.”

  “And I’ll help you,” Connor smiled, cupping her face and thumbing away the tears that rolled down her cheek. “No matter what comes at us, we’re in this together. And I can promise you there’s nothing in the world I won’t do to make sure you’re okay and happy,” he whispered as she broke into a big, sniffling smile. “I love you, Peyton. Do you believe me when I say that?”

  She was still crying as she giggled, letting him kiss her sweetly on the lips.

  “I do,” she said. “A hundred percent.”

  Epilogue

  Five Years Later

  Rolling over in bed, Peyton opened her eyes to find his side empty again. She pushed her bottom lip out in a pout, resting her arm on his pillow before closing her eyes to sleep another ten minutes. Of course, that was a no-go since the little monster down the hall had already heard her alarm. Eyes closed, Peyton snorted at the sound of little feet pitter-pattering down the hall till they burst through her room.

  “Mommy!” Everly squealed as she jumped onto the bed, wisps of her soft brown hair hanging in front of her bright eyes.

  “Morning, crazy,” Peyton smiled groggily, charmed as ever. “Come here, let Mommy brush your hair.”

  As it did every morning, Peyton’s heart quietly melted as her daughter first crawled across the bed to grab her brush from the nightstand, then scooted her little butt backward till she was parked in Peyton’s lap.

  With a smile of content, Peyton brushed her daughter’s hair, still amazed at the fact that she was such a perfect mix of both her husband and her. Like Peyton, Everly had wavy, dark hair and a light dusting of freckles over the bridge of her nose. Like
Connor, she had blue-grey eyes and, according to her teachers, “nerves of steel.” Apparently, Everly was known in her class as the go-to gal if anyone needed help sticking up to bullies – including the ones in kindergarten. Pretty badass for a pre-schooler.

  “Mommy, Mommy! Daddy coming home today?” Everly asked excitedly.

  “Hey. Easy with the bouncing, bug,” Peyton giggled as Everly tried to calm herself down. “And yes, Daddy is coming home today. That felt like a very long business trip, didn’t it?”

  “Too long!”

  Tell me about it, kiddo.

  It was only three nights, but it was the longest Peyton had been away from her husband since they were married four years ago. She wasn’t used to it, and she never wanted to be. Of course, she had to remind herself to be grateful for the fact that he was so busy. Once upon a time, Peyton worried about Connor’s career – about how quiet things were for a good year after their whole drama with her Uncle Russell.

  It really happened. People declined work with Connor for fear of pissing off Russell. But to Peyton’s amazement, Connor was unfazed. For most of that year, she hung out with him, Liam and Liam’s wife, Amanda at their unfinished tavern on Mercer Street. While the boys built new booths and countertops, she and Amanda drank wine and painted on the terrace. At night, they all cooked dinner together, and on nights she managed to dodge the paparazzi, Kensie would come by and join. She was still forced to sneak around since her dad forbade her from spending time with Peyton or Connor, but it didn’t matter. By the end of the year, she would permanently cut contact with him. Funny enough, it came right around the time of Everly’s birth – Connor’s parents finally cut contact with Shane.

  “Mommy! Phone,” Everly said, keeping her cute head still for Peyton while pointing to the buzzing phone on the dresser. “Is it Daddy?” she asked hopefully when Peyton grabbed it to check the texts.

  “No, baby, it’s Aunt Kensie. ”

  “Aunt Kensie!” Everly squealed.

  “She says she’ll drive us to the airport tonight to pick up Daddy. Isn’t that nice?” Peyton asked as Everly clapped nodded.

  It was still weird to think about, but Kensie now drove a mom van. A Mercedes mom van, but still. She lived in the suburbs with her three kids and husband, retired NHL star Alexei Novikov. When they first started dating, it had actually taken Kensie two weeks to realize she’d met Alexei years before – at a nightclub, on the same night that Connor saved Peyton from that Blake Rittenhouse guy.

  The day Kensie told Peyton, the two had laughed for hours, especially when they remembered that Alexei was the same man who dumped Poppy Somerville after a single date – which was actually the same night that he and Kensie met.

  “Isn’t life frickin’ crazy?” Kensie asked that afternoon as they sat on pillows on the floor, tearing through popcorn, wine and Netflix.

  “So crazy,” Peyton snorted.

  And it was. But these days, she loved the madness.

  * * *

  “Story time, story time, story tiiiiiiime!”

  Everly’s tiny yet giant voice rang out from down the hall as Peyton brushed her teeth. From the master bathroom, she giggled as she heard Connor laugh and cave as usual.

  “Alright, one more. But after that, it’s lights out – deal?”

  “Deal!”

  Once she finished up in the bathroom, Peyton scurried to set up her surprise for Connor in the bedroom. After that, she rushed down the hall to catch the end of story time because three years into have a kid and she wasn’t sick of it yet. She was still obsessed with watching them be adorable together, and she was pretty sure she’d always be.

  Leaning in Everly’s doorway, Peyton rested her head against the doorframe, a smile spreading wide on her lips as she soaked in her view of Everly in her mermaid pajamas, half-tucked into bed and sitting utterly riveted as her daddy read her one more book. From where she stood, Peyton listened to the velvet of her husband’s smooth, relaxing voice, all the while letting her eyes travel up his muscled, perfectly tapered, V-shaped back.

  Lord. Did it get better than this?

  As always, Peyton’s heart swelled while watching Connor read the last sentence of the book, pausing lightly between the words “the” and “end,” and then kissing their daughter goodnight.

  “’Night, Mommy, love you,” Everly called softly from over Connor’s broad shoulder.

  “Goodnight, bug. I love you,” Peyton said, turning off the light and smiling at Connor as he met her in the hall. “Tired?” she giggled, letting him walk straight into her arms and bury his face in the crook of her neck.

  “Exhausted,” he murmured. “I swear I don’t sleep as well when you’re not in bed with me.”

  “Trust me, I know that feeling.”

  “Next trip, you’re coming with me.”

  “Mm, I think that depends,” Peyton smirked, nodding down the hall for Connor to follow her into their bedroom. She grinned as he let her walk ahead. Peering over her shoulder, she caught him with his head tilted just so, his hand holding his jaw as he checked out her ass.

  “God, I miss that ass,” he muttered to himself before suddenly frowning. “Wait. Depends on what?”

  Peyton grinned as he caught up to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing her neck as he undid the knot of her robe. “Tell me,” he murmured, his hands roaming her front the second the silk fluttered open. Peyton bit her lip as she felt him instantly harden against the small of her back.

  “Be patient,” she said just as he looked up and spotted the two flutes of champagne sitting on his nightstand.

  “What’s this?” he asked with a little laugh.

  “Oh, just a celebratory toast.” Peyton hugged his arms to her chest and kissed the tips of his fingers.

  “Yeah? Let’s celebrate then.”

  “Way ahead of you.”

  Peyton giggled as she climbed into bed, letting Connor roll onto her and kiss her for a good few minutes before handing her a flute of champagne. Her pulse picked up as she gently stopped him.

  “Actually,” she started, a smile quivering her lips, “you’re gonna have to drink my share.”

  “Why?” he frowned. But just as quickly as he asked the question, he got the answer. “No.” Connor paused, as if waiting for Peyton to say she was kidding. But when she didn’t, the brightest smile burst onto his lips. “Peyton. Really?”

  She was tearful as she said yes.

  They’d just been trying for so long that it felt like it actually might not happen. Everly had come to them easily, but for a year now, she had been asking them for a little brother and sister, and till this very morning, that reality seemed distant.

  But now, they three of them had been granted their wish.

  “We’re having another baby?” Connor whispered as Peyton’s lips bubbled with laughter.

  “Yes. It’s happening.”

  Two kids. When they first started dating, they’d both established that that was their magic number. Two. There was just something about it. It just sounded good.

  “God, I love you so fucking much, baby,” Connor said as he kissed Peyton, a hand on her stomach and tears. “I swear I couldn’t ask for a better wife. You’re the woman of my dreams and I…” he laughed as he trailed off. “I hate to say it, but I told you.”

  She didn’t even know what he was talking about, but she feigned anger. “Excuse you. Told me what?”

  “I said in five years, I’d tell you that I won our bet,” Connor smirked, calling back to their fight in the sea of Tuscan sunflowers – just a few minutes before they realized they couldn’t be without one another. “I said we had so much more to see together,” Connor reminded her. “And we did. We still do.”

  “Fine.” Peyton grinned at the memory. “You were right.”

  When it came to this, she didn’t mind being wrong. How could she? For so long, she’d thought that her destiny was already determined – that her place in the world was set, and she
was forever bound to serve everyone else.

  Somehow, it took meeting a writer to unravel the script that was her life.

  Once upon a time, she lived in the shadows, with not a thing to call her own. But these days, she was center stage in her role as mommy to two angels, and wife to the sexiest, most incredible, hands down best husband on the planet Earth.

  It was a story she could never fathom.

  And she couldn’t be happier.

  The End

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, all my thanks to you, the reader. This here is my debut book, and it is so flattering just to know that my story has been seen by other eyes. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

  To A.W, thank you for dutifully clearing out of the house every day so that I could write without distraction. And thank you for coming back every night with food. You sure do know the way to my heart.

  To D, thank you for listening every time I said I was giving up, and not believing me.

  To my dog, thank you for letting me snuggle the shit out of you after a long day in front of the computer. I know you’re usually a pretty apathetic guy, but you humored me when I needed it, and for that, I’m gonna buy you all the toys.

  Last but not least, thank you India Lee for the inspiration of your characters.

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  xoxo