“Yeah,” Payton urged. “And you know I love stuff like that.”
“If Luke says we can spare the time,” Jason said, “I’m in.”
All eyes fell back on Luke. He blinked hard, trying to force his mind away from the article. But how could he? He’d just found out that Payton’s fiancé was cheating on her. There had to be a part of him that was glad about the fact. Heck, that meant she’d be available after all. But that didn’t mean Luke was. Besides, he could barely think straight as he considered what a blow this would be to Payton. He only wished he could shield her from it somehow.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Payton said, snapping him out of silence.
Luke cracked open his mouth to reply, but Dad beat him to it. “He does too have to help get it ready,” he grumbled. “The big baby.”
“Come on, Luke,” Mom said. “It’ll be fun. It was your idea to do something with the old barn. May as well take a professional’s help while we can get it.”
Ross snatched the phone from Luke’s hand under the table, and Luke nodded. “Sure.” He cleared his throat, kept his gaze trained on his mom—not Payton. “I mean, of course. I’d be happy to.” He glanced at Dad in time to catch a reprimanding scowl.
Jason leaned across the table. “Interior design is actually Payton’s first passion,” he said under his breath. “That’s why she came out with the bedding line for Shades.”
Luke could barely focus on Jason’s words. The kid would be furious when he heard about his sister’s cheating fiancé. It might be the one thing that got him on a westbound plane after all—to go punch that puny turd in the nose. Heck, maybe Luke would join him. But what if Luke was wrong? Perhaps this is just how manufactured Hollywood relationships went. It was possible Payton wouldn’t even flinch at it.
The idea infuriated him more than the cheating itself. To think someone would walk into a loveless marriage, all for the sake of appearances.
With a heavy sigh, Luke snuck a peek at Payton, the picture of ignorant bliss: whisking away as Mom dumped cups of powdered sugar into the bowl, a smear of white dotting the tip of her nose.
Luke wouldn’t bring it up while they were here. He’d tell Jason about the article later, maybe let her brother break the news.
Luke dreaded seeing Payton so hurt. That is, if she even cared about stuff like that. He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ignore the matter and marry Archie anyway. She led a very different life than Luke did, a fact he continued to lose sight of. The whole thing was just one more reason he should steer clear of his beautiful guest. Now if he could only muster the resolve to do so.
“See you tomorrow,” Payton said as she wrapped her arms around Dee. Luke’s sweet mother had won her heart. The woman’s shoulder-length hair tickled her nose as Payton spoke up. “I really had a great time tonight.”
“I’m so glad,” she said. “It’s been wonderful having you over.”
Bob cleared his throat and bumped into the two, disrupting their embrace. “Don’t I get one of them hugs?”
Payton smiled. “Of course.”
“I meant from Dee,” he said with a laugh. But then he pulled Payton into his burly arms and patted her on the back. “Glad you put up with me tonight,” he said. “And despite the fact that you helped with dessert, it didn’t taste all that bad.”
“Thanks a lot,” she said.
Luke pressed a kiss to the top of Dee’s head. “See you tomorrow, Ma. Pops,” he added, moving on to Bob.
Mel hurried over, clenching her stuffed piglet with one hand and dragging a blanket with the other. “Let me see if your nails lasted,” she said.
Payton held out her hands, showing just how good the polish looked. Sure, Mel hadn’t been able to keep in the lines, but a little polish remover along the edges had done the trick just fine. “Still there,” she said, wrapping an arm around her warm, tiny frame. “Thanks for painting them for me. They look so pretty.”
Pete stormed in for a side hug. “Night, Payton,” he mumbled. The little guy patted Luke’s leg next. “Thanks for helping with the fort. Come on, Melly. I found the marbles so we can play.”
Rachel and Ross had taken off a while ago, leaving the kids for a sleepover while they caught a late movie. Payton grinned as the two raced into the opening of a little den made of quilts and couch cushions, Mel’s tattered rainbow blanket dragging at her heels.
A spurt of nervous energy shifted through Payton as she envisioned the drive back. Jason and Taylor had headed out to a nightclub for the night, which meant Payton and Luke were on their own for the remainder of the evening.
At the truck, Luke opened her door and offered his hand. His palm was warm against hers, but there was even more heat in his gaze. Enough to cause that nervous buzz to roar in her chest once more. Payton didn’t know how to process the connection she felt with him. But after tonight, one thing was very clear—she could appreciate, even more, why her brother wanted to stay: In addition to the many things she’d become enchanted with, the laid-back, welcoming family environment added a completely new breath of fresh air. Dee was loving and kind. And it was obvious that Bob, though the man was still a mystery to Payton, was as tender-hearted as his wife. One minute he was razzing someone enough to make them blush, and the next he was fixing a loose bolt on a tube slide he’d made for the grandkids, one that took the giggling duo from the back patio onto the grassy hill below.
And Luke wasn’t kidding—Mel and Pete were smart and adorable; he had every right to brag about them.
Rachel and Ross were fun to watch too. Without saying a word, the couple had picked off one another’s plate, seeming to know the other wouldn’t miss the baked carrots or sliced ham.
“So, um, how long have you and … your fiancé …”
“Archie Kendall,” she said, surprised that Luke had brought him up.
“Yeah. How long have you been engaged?” Luke kept a stern-looking gaze on the road ahead, the headlights nearly getting swallowed into the night. The thick darkness reminded Payton of her first night there. How she had feared she’d never find the place in the late hour.
But she had.
Did that mean she could find her way out of the darkness in her life? Darkness she hadn’t even recognized until experiencing the brightness and beauty of true unfiltered light. All Payton had ever known was the artificial kind.
Luke cleared his throat, reminding her he’d asked a question. Something about how long she’d been engaged.
Payton licked her lips and gulped, wishing the reality of her old life would fade into black, where she’d never have to face it again. “We’ve been engaged for three months now.”
Luke tightened his lips, his shoulders looking high and tense. Just what was going through his head tonight? Ever since dinner, he’d been watching her with a questioning look in his eye. As if he were trying to crack a code. “Do you love the guy?”
Payton bristled, the bleak shadows of the night pushing beyond the glass, past the strap of her safety belt, and through her thinning layers of skin where it burrowed deep into her chest.
“You don’t have to answer that,” he mumbled.
“I know,” she snapped.
“So are you going to?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
Payton shot an incredulous look at him, her head turning so fast it made her dizzy. “Like you said—I don’t have to.”
“My parents have been married for over thirty years,” Luke boasted.
“Mine have been married for a long time too.”
“Yeah, but are they happy? Are they in love?”
The darkness thickened, making it hard to pull in a breath. “That’s none of your business.” She pressed her eyes shut, inhaled a slow, deep breath through her nose, and held it for a beat before letting it out.
As she opened them once more, Luke’s red brick rambler, complete with a white picket fence, came into view. A picture of the American dream—wonde
rful husband, happy kids, loving parents just a mile or two away—something Payton would never attain. But who was to say that Luke would have it either?
“I don’t see you engaged to anyone,” she shot, her chest feeling lighter as the tables turned. “You have your family trying to set you up with women and you don’t give any of them a chance. Sounds like you’re a real snob, if you ask me.”
Luke didn’t reply, only shut off the engine and pushed open his door. He climbed out with a huff before turning to look at her, the interior light illuminating his face. “You’re right,” he said, surprising her. “What you do or who you love is none of my business. Just like my love life is none of yours.” He slammed the door.
“Yeah, well, at least I have a love life,” she hollered.
Luke took three steps toward the home, but stopped as her words echoed beyond the cab. He spun around, marched to her side of the truck, and cranked open the door. “Is that really what you have—a love relationship?” His jaw clenched so tight he could be breaking molars in there. “Or is it one of convenience? ‘Mommy and Daddy think it would be a good business move if I married that pompous Kendall jerk, so I’ll do it.’”
Dark shadows hid most of his face, all but his heat-filled eyes as they peered right through her façade. He shoved a hand toward her expectantly, then shifted his weight as he waited for her to take it.
“Tsk.” Payton shoved his hand away and jumped out on her own. “You’re a jerk,” she boomed, barreling past him and toward the house.
The passenger door slammed behind her. “Go ahead and think that, precious, but all I did is ask you one simple question that you didn’t want to answer. Sounds like the real problem is in your life.”
She stopped walking, spun to face him at the base of the steps as the automatic light kicked on. “Oh, really?”
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Really,” he growled, taking a step forward. The toe of his shoe scuffed the side of hers as he stepped even closer, just inches from her face. Her heart hammered out a tangled beat: a combination of shock at his audacity and a new, undeniable thrill. Alluring hints of his spicy cologne fused with the warmth of his solid figure and toyed with every sense Payton had.
She resisted the urge to take a step back.
“If you’re engaged to a man,” Luke said, voice low and even, “he should be crazy about you. He should be sick at the mere thought of another woman in his arms.”
The passion in Luke’s words—on the tone of his raspy voice—all of it fused with the darkness in her heart. She stood there, breaths jagged and raw, until a realization came to her. “You never asked if Archie loved me.”
The question lingered in the night like an echo.
Luke took a step back. “What?” The whispered word sounded more like an inner thought.
She nodded. “The question you asked in the truck was whether or not I loved him. But what you said just now implies that you don’t think he loves me.”
Luke shot a look to the stars before setting his gaze back on her. Her heart hammered as he searched her face. He shuffled forward once more, even closer this time, their breath mingling in the waning space. “If Archie doesn’t feel that way, he’s a fool. And so are you for marrying him.”
And with that, Luke stomped up the stairs, burst into the house, and left the door open behind him.
Chapter 16
Payton remained still after Luke stomped away, the tension stretching like a rubber band, linking them even through the distance he’d created. Passion and anger, rejection and … and an unfathomable sense of longing coated the night air in his absence.
In the glass of the storm door, Payton’s reflection became clear. Wide, brown eyes, a stunned expression on her pale face. She was a sorry woman, wasn’t she? Still engaged to a man who didn’t love her. A man who was cheating on her, in fact. What was she waiting for? For her circumstances to magically change? For someone else to don the rescue cape for once and swoop in to save her? None of that was going to happen. Like every other mess in her life—one way or another—Payton would have to clean it up herself.
With slow steps, she trudged closer to the door. The rubber band that pulled her in Luke’s direction grew stronger; they had unfinished business, but she couldn’t address it tonight. She had one more mess to take care of first.
In an odd, trance-like state, she shuffled into the bathroom and filled the tub; warm water always helped clear her mind. It wasn’t until she was soaking in the heat, steam dancing over her face, that Payton thought back on her discovery that night, one that had been coming on in phases since she’d arrived: it was time to end things with Archie once and for all, and deal with the consequences that followed.
She thought back on what Luke had said about Archie, the idea of having another woman in his arms. But why had he … Of course!
It hit her like a face slap. “He knows,” she mumbled to herself. Archie’s ugly affair had finally leaked to the press, and Luke had discovered it. Payton didn’t need to turn on her phone or laptop for confirmation. Luke’s interrogation tonight said it all.
So everybody knew about the affair now.
Payton let that sink in, wishing she could shake the dread and humiliation that came with it. Dread at the idea of seeing photos and accusations plastered in tabloids. Humiliation from the fact that everyone would know he’d cheated on her.
She drizzled her melon-scented body wash onto the loofah and smoothed it over her arms and the back of her neck, a new sort of energy pulsing through her—an urgency to end things.
By the time she was out of the tub and rubbing a towel over the long strands of her hair, Payton knew exactly what she’d say when Archie answered. And if he didn’t answer, she’d leave a message saying pretty much the same thing. She didn’t owe him anything more.
Dressed in her silky nightshirt, a towel wrapped firmly around her damp hair, Payton shot straight into her room and closed the door. She opted for the rocking chair, dug her phone from her laptop bag, and powered it on. The small device dinged and buzzed as it glowed to life, alerting her that she had fourteen missed calls, three voicemails, and a whole lot of texts. She swiped her thumb across the screen.
Poor Roz. More than half of the missed calls were from her. The woman had a way of worrying over Payton’s image as much as Payton did at times, which was why she was a good match for the job. Her mom and Chloe had called as well. Archie, on the other hand, had not.
With shaky hands, Payton tapped the square to let her voicemail play:
“Payton, it’s Roz. Call me back as soon as you get this.”
It moved on to the next one:
“Payton, I am so sorry.” It was Chloe, and she sounded frantic. “I swear I didn’t leak anything. Archie’s just being careless. It’s like he doesn’t even care. I wish I was there with you. Call me when you get a minute. Love you.”
The final message started up:
“It’s Roz again. Listen, I’m sure you’re aware of everything going on. The media’s all over it. I’ve told them you have no comment at the time, but we’ve really got to get a statement out there soon, so call me.”
“Great,” Payton hissed. If there’d been any doubt of a leak before, it was gone now. She had the urge to crack open her laptop and see what exactly had been revealed, but why bother? She had enough material of her own with what Chloe sent.
A quick glance over the texts said none of those were from Archie either; the jerk hadn’t bothered to reach out at all. Most of the texts were from her mom. Looked like a whole lot of sympathy for now, but soon enough Olivia Keller would kick into action mode, insisting Payton play just the right card.
Eventually, Payton would get back to Mom, Roz, and Chloe too. But Archie was top on the list, and she couldn’t wait to cross him off.
Payton gulped, nodded her head, and cleared her throat. Ready. She swiped her thumb over the screen, tapped Archie’s name, and gulped again as it rang. Never mind. I’m not ready. But it
was too late.
“Payton?” His voice sounded squeaky.
“You guessed it. Does that mean you still have my number in your phone?”
“Listen,” he said, “I already talked to your mom. I’m cooling things off with Basha and making a public apology so we can move forward with the wedding.”
There was so much new information packed into that sentence that Payton didn’t even know what to do with it. “My mom called you?”
“Well, first your mom talked to my mom, and then they talked to me. I get it. I do. I know it’s a good social and business move for us to get married.”
“Did you say Basha? That’s her name?” Payton’s stomach was sick again, but her anger won out.
Archie was carrying on, but Payton was done hearing it.
“Shut up, Archie.”
The line went silent. “What?” he asked.
“I’m not marrying you, Archie Kendall. Ever. I don’t care if you got down on your knees and begged me to …”
“It’s funny that you say that.” Archie’s tone changed, the sound heightened and amused.
“Funny, why?” She wasn’t the violent sort, but fantasies of punching him in the head shot to mind.
“Because when couples get married, it’s usually because the guy does get on his knee and ask her. With you, it’s like you just boss everyone around. We barely started talking about it, and suddenly you were setting dates and picking out rings and talking about wedding colors.”
Whoa. Forget about decking Archie; it felt as if she’d just been punched in the gut herself. She grabbed a handful of the silk material from her nightshirt and fisted it. “Are you saying you never proposed to me?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“That’s not true. You totally asked me to marry you.”
“Oh really? Tell me when.”
“I can’t remember exactly when it was.”
“Where were we?” he challenged. “Just tell me that.”
This Cowboy's a Keeper (Unlikely Cowgirl Book 3) Page 10