Nobody Does it Better

by Samantha Chase

  He nodded because he had no clue about kids, so he had to take her word for it. “I was just in with Austin but he had to hop on a call but I was looking for Parker’s number. Do you happen to have it handy?”

  She eyed him curiously. “Why not just ask Peyton?”

  Waving her off with an easy laugh, he said, “Well, I’m hoping to surprise Peyton with something and if I ask her for Parker’s number, she’ll get suspicious.”

  That seemed to relax her. “Aren’t you sweet?” She pulled out her phone and gave him the number. “When you talk to her, please tell her I said hi.” Then, taking a step around him, she said, “I really need to get inside. Jake’s only got an hour before he needs to be back on the jobsite and I don’t want to be late. It was good to see you, Ryder!”

  “You too, Mallory!” With a smile and wave, he made a hasty retreat just in case Jake or Austin decided to fill her in on his relationship drama.

  He dialed and Parker’s phone was ringing as he pulled away from the Coleman Construction offices. Honestly, he had no idea what Parker did for a living other than housesit for friends down in Florida, and he hoped she was available to talk.

  “Hey, it’s Parker! Leave a message and I’ll call you back! Thanks!” the recording said and with a muttered curse, Ryder hung up.

  Now what? He wondered. He didn’t want to leave a message; he wanted to talk to her. No, he wanted to talk to Peyton, but clearly that wasn’t happening any time soon either, so…where did that leave him?

  Going home held little appeal, but…all the people he knew here in town were related to Peyton, and it didn’t seem like a good idea to go and reach out to any of them. He thought about all the plans he had for this town and for his future, and it didn’t seem possible that it was all just going to go away.

  Turning the car around one more time, he drove to the northernmost part of town, to the property that would never house The Ashford. All of his dreams were supposed to go into this project and it died before it ever got off the ground. It was depressing as hell, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. The town wasn’t on board with it and he should have listened to Peyton on that from the beginning. She had been the only one brave enough to tell him that his plan was flawed, and looking back, he should have listened.

  Hindsight and all that crap…

  The drive didn’t take long, and after parking on the edge of the property, he climbed out and stared at the expanse of cleared land. It was nothing but plowed dirt with some random markers for where the buildings were supposed to go, but in his mind, Ryder saw so much more. He saw the white buildings, the lush greenery, and the fountain out front. Maybe at some other point in life he’d get another opportunity to make this happen.

  Just not in Magnolia.

  And not with the people he had come to love.

  Peyton’s face instantly came to mind, but he pushed it away.

  Ryder had no idea how long he stood there and just stared out at the empty space, but eventually he turned away, got back in his car, and started to drive home.

  But he stopped back at the café first.

  Inside, he handed Dana the envelope that held the contracts and the check. “If you could please leave that for Peyton in her office, I’d appreciate it,” he told her before finally going home.

  Normally he’d throw himself into work–there was always something that needed his attention, but his head just wasn’t in it. That should have alarmed him because it had never happened to him before, but as he sat down on his sofa, he just sort of accepted it.

  Tomorrow was another day, and he’d have to start thinking about transitioning out of Magnolia and deciding where he was going to go. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he yawned and considered taking a nap right here on the couch. There was no way he’d get any sleep in the bed. So he kicked off his shoes and decided to get comfortable.

  His eyes closed and he felt himself relax. His mind wandered back to the property, but this time he envisioned something different there. Something very different from The Ashford. It was funny how inspiration hit at the oddest times, but Ryder knew better than to ignore it. The next thing he knew, he was in his office pulling up different websites and feeling more inspired than he had in a long time.

  There was no way he was giving up–not on Magnolia and definitely not on Peyton.

  13

  There had been an accident on I-95 and a drive that should have taken seven and a half hours took closer to ten. By the time Peyton crossed into Magnolia Sound, she was near delirious with exhaustion.

  And starving.

  She had stayed an extra day with her sister just because she wanted to. They went for mani-pedis and out for lunch in the afternoon before joining several of Parker’s friends for dinner. It was the perfect break from life that Peyton needed before going home. Now it was time to deal with the fallout with Ryder.

  It was a little after nine and the café would be closing soon, but she figured she could stop in and grab something to eat and make sure everything was okay there before going home. She considered going to Ryder’s but figured it would be smarter to wait until tomorrow considering she’d been on the road all day.

  There were still a few customers enjoying their meals when she walked in, and she smiled and waved on her way to the kitchen. She chatted with everyone and got caught up on the local gossip and felt some of the tension from the long drive starting to leave her. There had been no issues while she was gone–not that she expected any. Her staff was amazing. So she made herself a plate of grilled scallops with a side salad and took it to her office.

  The first thing she noticed when she sat down was the large envelope with her name on it standing against her computer monitor.

  “Hmm…what’s this?” she murmured as she reached in and pulled out the stack of papers. A check fell free and floated to the floor and when she picked it up, Peyton swore she was having a stroke. “What the hell?”

  With trembling fingers, she sorted through the papers and realized they were the contracts they had originally discussed when they first started working together. She scanned the document and saw it was everything she and Ryder talked about, but…did he honestly think this was what she wanted? The moment they started dating, she never once thought of their business arrangement. In her mind and in her heart, this was about the two of them just being together.

  Maybe he was just using you…

  No. She refused to believe that. Standing, she grabbed everything–the contract, the check, her purse and keys–and stormed from her office. “Can someone please throw away my dinner?” she called out on her way out the door. “I need to go!”

  It was a good thing Ryder didn’t live far from the café because even as mad as she was, getting back in the car was the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest right now.

  She slammed her car door when she parked in his driveway and stomped up the front steps. It was tempting to use her key and totally surprise him like that, but if a business relationship was what he wanted, then dammit, that was what he was going to get. So she rang the bell and knocked on the door consistently until he opened it.

  He was disheveled. That was her immediate thought. His hair was a mess, there were dark circles under his eyes, and the most shocking…

  He was in shorts and a t-shirt.

  “What the hell is all this?” she yelled, waving the envelope in his face, refusing to be distracted by his appearance.

  His eyes went a little wide before he cleared his throat. “The contracts. We uh…we never signed them.”

  Next, she pulled the check out of the envelope and made a big show of ripping it up and letting the pieces fall at his feet. “It’s insulting. That’s what it is,” she told him. “How dare you do that to me after everything we’ve shared! I thought I meant more to you than that, but obviously my first impression was correct. You just throw money around to get what you want. And since what you want is to pay me off and send me on my way since we’re do
ne, then fine. But I don’t want or need your money, Ryder Ashford. I never did.”

  She was feeling pretty damn proud of herself for getting through that little speech without crying. And with what she hoped was a scathing look, she turned to walk away.

  Only…Ryder’s hand grasped her arm to stop her. He spun her around and she realized he no longer looked quite so disheveled. Now he looked big and menacing.

  Uh-oh…

  “You think I did this to get rid of you?” he asked incredulously.

  Yanking her arm free, she nodded. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

  Muttering a curse, he took a step back into the house. “Can you please come inside so we can talk about this?”

  “There’s nothing to say. This little packet said more than enough.”

  “For the love of it, Peyton. Please? Just…five minutes?”

  With a snort, she stepped inside. “Right. Like I haven’t heard that line from you before.”

  And yet…here I am giving him the damn minutes…

  She stomped up to the kitchen and saw it was a mess. This was all so unlike him, and as much as she hoped it was because of her, she couldn’t seem to let herself believe it. The man was too self-sufficient, and he was obviously done with her, so…this all had to be for some other reason.

  Crossing her arms and doing her best to look defiant, she waited him out.

  “Look, like it or not, we made a deal months ago, a deal that I neglected to follow through on. That’s not who I am, Peyton. You did everything you promised to do and I didn’t, so…that’s what the contract and check are about. I want you to know that I appreciate all that you did and all that I learned from you.” He paused and looked like he wanted to touch her, but…he didn’t. “About restaurants,” he quickly corrected. “I learned a lot about the restaurant business and hopefully–maybe sometime in the future–I’ll be able to put all of it to good use.”

  “In the future? What are you talking about? What about The Ashford and my restaurant? Or rather, your restaurant with some of my ideas?”

  Because yeah…it still stung.

  His broad shoulders sagged and at that moment, Peyton felt like the worst kind of person. She was being mean and a brat and a bully in a way that only he brought out in her.

  With a weary sigh, she quietly said, “Ryder, I appreciate that you’re a man of your word. But the day we got…romantically involved, that whole deal went away.” Then she realized she was lying. “Well…most of it. I didn’t want the money. I never did. That was your negotiating tactic. And I thought you wanted to build my restaurant because…because you thought my plan was good. That you trusted me enough and believed in me enough to want to build it. So…that’s on me. I’m sorry for the things I said and for my bad behavior. I won’t stand in your way so you can build whatever it is that you want. After all, it’s your money, not mine.”

  Then, even though it nearly killed her, she forced herself to smile as she held out a hand to him.

  “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Ryder Ashford, but I’m not going to sign any contract. I enjoyed helping you and thank you for being willing to take a chance on me.”

  This was the very last thing she wanted to be saying to him. The entire drive back from Parker’s, she rehearsed how she was going to apologize and how he’d hopefully do the same and they’d make up in spectacular fashion. Once she saw that contract and check, however, everything changed.

  So she was back to being the broken-hearted woman she was when she arrived on her sister’s doorstep and she had a feeling that was who she was going to be for a long time.

  Glancing down at her hand, she realized he still hadn’t taken it.

  O-kay…

  Dropping it, she kept her smile in place. “I should go.” She’d taken no more than three steps when his words stopped her.

  “What is it you want from me, Peyton?” His voice was so low and so gruff, she almost threw herself at him. But when she turned around, she saw the same sadness there that she’d seen in her own reflection for the last two days.

  Was it possible she was reading this all wrong? Could Ryder have missed her as much as she missed him, and this was his completely misguided way of showing it? Or was she just seeing what she wanted to see?

  Then, because she had nothing left to lose, she figured she’d tell him exactly what was on her mind.

  “You want to know what I want, Ryder?” she asked firmly, confidently.

  He nodded.

  “You, you idiot! Just you! Though God only knows why! You’re impossible to deal with! You’re bossy and condescending and completely clueless about how to be in a relationship! We had a fight, Ryder! A fight!” she went on, her voice getting louder with each word. “And instead of insulting me about being childish, maybe you should look at your actions, buddy! I at least was honest about how I felt whereas you hurled insults and then tried to pay me off to get you out of your life! If I had known this was what I was going to come home to, I would have just…”

  She never got to finish.

  In typical Ryder fashion, he hauled her into his arms and kissed her senseless.

  There was nothing sweet or romantic about it. It was wet and urgent and needy. Peyton had already been breathless, but as she reached out and grabbed his shirt in her fists, it felt like she was holding on for dear life.

  Ryder abruptly broke the kiss–as breathless as she was–and stared down at her. “Do you have any idea how much you have turned my world upside down?” he growled. “Every single day since the moment I met you I’ve felt completely off-kilter.” His arms were banded tightly around her, and he didn’t seem in a hurry to let her go.

  Luckily, Peyton was more than happy to stay exactly where she was.

  “You’re right,” he went on. “I am bossy and condescending and completely clueless. I know exactly how to handle myself in business, but with you…you’re not like any woman I’ve ever known. I keep thinking that I’m giving you what you want and yet somehow you keep proving me wrong.” Dark eyes scanned her face, and she saw a vulnerability there that she’d never seen before. “Don’t leave me, Peyton. I need you.” Pausing, he reached up and caressed her face. “I love you.”

  Right then, at that moment, she was fairly certain her heart stopped.

  He loved her.

  A slow smile crossed her face as she reached up and cupped his strong jaw. “I love you too,” she told him. “Even though…”

  He cut her off again with a kiss, and Peyton simply melted against him. It was much better than talking anyway.

  There was nothing sweeter than victory, Ryder thought as Peyton’s curvy body pressed closer to him. But this one was definitely the sweetest.

  She loved him.

  He held her tighter and poured everything he had into the kiss, but there were so many things he wanted to say to her that couldn’t wait. So…reluctantly–again–he ended the kiss. With his forehead resting against hers, he breathlessly confessed how this was his favorite way to stop an argument.

  Fortunately, she laughed with him and he took her hand in his and led her over to the sofa so he could sit with her in his arms. As soon as they were comfortable–her back to his chest and his arms around her–Ryder felt himself relax.

  “I missed you,” he murmured, placing a soft kiss on her temple.

  “Mmm…I missed you too.”

  They sat in companionable silence for barely a minute because he knew they needed to talk. “Where did you go?” he quietly asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You said if you had known this was what you were going to come home to. I took that to mean you went somewhere.”

  “Oh. I went to see Parker.”

  “You drove all the way to Florida?” he asked, unable to hide his shock.

  “I was really mad and sometimes driving helps. Before I knew it, I was on I-95 heading south.” She shrugged. “I got there around midnight and was too exhausted the next day to get ba
ck in the car, so I left there this morning. My plan was to come right here, but there was an accident and I sat in traffic for an additional three hours. By the time I got into town, it was late and I was in a pissy mood and starving. I decided to swing by the café and when I did, I saw your envelope.”

  “You have to know I honestly thought I was doing the right thing. I thought part of the reason you were so upset was because I wasn’t honoring our agreement. That’s when I realized we never did sign a contract so…”

  Peyton turned in his arms and met his gaze. “Ryder, I was upset because you–the man I love–weren’t treating me like an equal. It felt like you were deliberately leaving me out of things. I know you’re used to being in charge of projects, but I trusted you to work with me on the restaurant and you weren’t.”

  “I see that now,” he agreed solemnly. “But in my defense, I truly believed I was doing the right thing, that I was saving you some of the grief and aggravation of the planning stages. Once things got the green light, it was going to be all you.”

  Now she fully maneuvered until she was straddling his lap. “I need you to listen very carefully to what I’m about to say,” she warned.

  “O-kay…”

  “While I appreciate what you were trying to do, I don’t need you to save me! I am more than capable of saving myself. Believe it or not, I was looking forward to all aspects of the planning phase! I wanted to learn!”

  “Peyton…”

  “And you know what else? You’re the one who needs saving, Ryder, and I’m going to be the one to do it!”

  Ryder was pretty sure his eyes were comically wide, but…

  “I need to be saved?”

  “Uh-huh. Definitely.”

  “Definitely? How do you figure that?” Honestly, he knew she was right. There had been several eye-opening things about himself that had come to light in the last year and most of them happened since meeting Peyton. But he was curious just what it was she saw.