“I think you’ve spent far too much time on your own and doing things for yourself because no one else did. I mean, no offense, I’ve met your parents, and it’s obvious they weren’t overly nurturing.”
He nodded. “Go on.”
“And because your parents are so much like mine–well, at least my mother–I imagine you don’t know what it’s like to be loved and accepted just for you. That’s why you throw money at things and take control of projects. This way people have to look up to you or be thankful for you.” She cupped his jaw a little harder as she leaned in closer. “But I’m here to tell you that I don’t give a damn about your bank account. If you ever try to get your way with me by writing a check, I will strangle you.”
Swallowing hard, he nodded again. “Understood.”
Peyton relaxed and moved back a little, her hands sliding down to rest on his chest. “Good.” She smiled. “Ryder Ashford, I love our conversations and all the things we do together. I love laughing with you and all of our sexy time together.” She paused for a moment before adding, “And I do love the way you take care of me and look out for me. But I need you to respect me enough to let me make decisions for myself even if you might not agree with them.”
“I do respect you, Peyton. I swear. But…just like you pointed out, my whole life has been spent seeing how most people don’t really care about me as an individual. It’s always been about the money. I promise I’m going to work on it, but I can’t undo a lifetime of habits overnight.” His arms tightened around her. “So I think you’ll just have to be with me all the time to keep me in line.”
She smiled. “I like the sound of that.”
Ryder did too, but…he didn’t love it.
The master negotiator in him told him he needed to sweeten this deal to give them both–hopefully–what they wanted.
Taking one of her hands in his, he gave it a gentle squeeze. “All the time seems a little vague, don’t you think?”
“Well…obviously we both have to work so we know we can’t be together every minute of the day, but…it’s still good,” she reasoned.
His free hand reached up and cupped her cheek, his thumb gently stroking her soft skin. “I’m thinking forever, Peyton.” His statement was low and a little hoarse and he’d never been more serious about anything in his entire life. “I don’t want vague and I don’t want possibilities. I want you–forever.” Her soft gasp as those beautiful eyes went wide gave him pause. But then those perfect lips started to smile. “I know I should have planned this better, but I’m sitting here looking at everything I could possibly want in this world.”
“Ryder,” she whispered.
“You’ve opened my eyes to things I never knew I could have.” Then he laughed softly. “And that’s saying something since I grew up in a family where we could afford everything we could ever want. But you, my beautiful girl, are more than a want. You’re a need. The fact that you’re sitting here in my arms and you love me and accept all my flaws is…well…it’s humbling. And wonderful.” Shaking his head, he laughed again. “I feel like there are a million words trying to get out at the same time and I’m fumbling with them all.”
Leaning in, Peyton gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “You’re doing better than you think.” Then she kissed him again and lingered a bit longer. When she pulled back, she smiled warmly at him. “You once shared with me why you liked being around my family so much, and it was weird to me that you considered us such an oddity because we’re just us. This is the way we are and always have been. We all have flaws, but when you love somebody, you love their flaws too.”
This all felt too good to be true. Ryder knew he’d closed dozens of deals that had made him tons of money, and he’d traveled the world and saw every wonder there was to see. But this moment in the living room of an investment property was the most perfect moment he’d ever experienced. “I love you,” he said, just because he could.
Her smile grew. “I love you too.”
“I’m never going to get tired of saying that or hearing it so…you’ve been warned,” he teased.
“Well, just so you know…I feel the same way.” She squirmed against him in the sexiest of ways. “How about we take this inside and finish making up properly?”
This girl…
“Great minds, Peyton. This is why we’re perfect for each other.” And in one swift move, Ryder was on his feet with her in his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he walked to the bedroom.
Their bedroom.
Gently, he laid her down and couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of her there. “I haven’t slept in days. It’s not the same when you’re not here. I don’t sleep, I can’t concentrate…you’re my home, Peyton. My rock. My everything.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she reached up to him. “You’re going to make me cry,” she whispered. “You have to stop saying such sweet and romantic things.”
“Never,” he vowed. “Every day for the rest of our lives you’re going to know that you are loved for who you are. I’m going to be your biggest supporter and cheerleader and I can’t wait to see the great things you’re going to do.”
As soon as the words were out, he realized now was not the time to bring up business. Instead, she pulled him down on top of her and wrapped herself around him, and it was like everything felt right again.
Her hands raked through his hair–her nails gently scratching his scalp–causing him to moan with pleasure. She knew exactly how to touch him to get a response, and right now, Peyton was doing her best to make him crazy with need.
The kiss was hot and possessive one minute, languid and sweet the next. Every touch, every moan, every sigh turned him on. In his mind, he envisioned them making love slowly, tenderly, but it was obvious that wasn’t what either of them truly wanted right now. It was hard to say who stripped faster; the only thing Ryder knew was that he was glad he was dressed casually. The skin-to-skin contact was beyond satisfying, and when she let out a throaty purr as she wrapped herself around him again, it spurred him on.
Everything was a blur after that. It was sensory overload and as they moved together, sharing messy kisses while laughing and sighing pleasure, he finally knew what true happiness was.
And it was all thanks to the magnificent woman in his arms.
“Oh my goodness, this is heavenly.”
“Mmm…” he hummed beside her. “I have to agree.”
“No, seriously…I can’t believe how amazing this is!”
Shaking his head, Ryder chuckled. “Peyton, it’s a BLT, and you made it yourself. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
She waved the sandwich in his face. “Are you kidding me? Are your taste buds not working? This sandwich is spectacular! The avocado really gave it a pop of flavor and the candied bacon is just decadent. Yum!”
“Watching you fry up bacon in nothing but my t-shirt was way more decadent,” he corrected. “The sandwich is good. Catching a glimpse of your incredibly sexy bottom peeking out from under my shirt was simply spectacular.”
“Such a guy,” she murmured around a giggle.
It was after midnight, but when Peyton told him she hadn’t eaten dinner–after her stomach growled loudly and repeatedly–he dragged her from the bed and into the kitchen. It was too late to order anything to be delivered, but they had been stocking his kitchen over the last several months, so he knew they’d be able to put some kind of meal together.
He just didn’t expect it to be this good.
Off in the distance, he heard his phone chime with an incoming text. Frowning, he got up and walked across the room to see who it could be.
“And for the record, you walking around in nothing but those snug boxer briefs is pretty spectacular too,” she called out, winking at him when he turned around.
It was hard not to preen under her praise, but the message he was reading stopped him in his tracks.
“Ryder? Is everything okay?”
He reread the message
again just to make sure he understood it. “Um…yeah,” he murmured, frowning, before turning the phone off and putting it down. When he sat back beside her and picked up his sandwich, he could feel the weight of her stare. “What?”
“Seriously? You’re not going to tell me why your face got all scrunchy?”
Laughing, he turned to look at her. “Scrunchy? My face got scrunchy? Is that even a thing?”
“Trust me,” she said solemnly. “It is.” But then she started laughing too, so…
“It’s nothing,” he said before taking a bite of his sandwich. Unfortunately, even the crunch of the extra crispy bacon wasn’t enough to drown out Peyton’s sigh. “I’d tell you, but…I feel like it’s something I should tell Austin first. And Garrett.”
With wide eyes, she dropped her sandwich. “Oh my God! It’s about Uncle Cash, isn’t it? Was that who texted you? Did he tell you where he was? Is he here in Magnolia? Is he going to try to see Aunt Grace again?” She shook his arm. “Or…or…did he tell you why he disappeared? Is it too late to call Austin?” Looking around wildly, Peyton tried to see the clock on the microwave.
“First of all, calm down,” he told her. “Yes, it’s too late to call Austin or Garrett. No, it wasn’t Cash who messaged me. He’s not here in Magnolia though so there’s no worry about him going to see Grace or anyone.”
That took some of the wind out of her sails. “So…who was it?”
“Peyton…”
“Ryder,” she mimicked. “Oh, come on. It clearly has something to do with Uncle Cash and you know once you call Austin and Garrett, everyone’s going to know. Come on. Please!”
Rolling his eyes, he knew she wouldn’t let up, and he also knew she wasn’t going to be the one to gossip to anyone about it until her cousins brought it up first, so…
“Okay, so my guy had last tracked Cash to Seattle and…”
“Wait. I’m sorry. Your guy? For real?”
He nodded. “Yeah. My guy.”
It was her turn to roll her eyes. “You know, I heard everyone mentioning him like that, and I thought they just couldn’t remember his name. But you really just call him your guy? Why?”
“His name isn’t important and he doesn’t like to draw attention to himself.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Do you want to know what he texted me or not?” he asked with a combination of humor and frustration.
“I do. I do. Sorry.”
With a nod, he gave her the basics. “It seems as if Cash is living with a woman in a little town just outside of Seattle.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders sagged. “That’s a little anticlimactic. I mean…obviously he’s involved with someone. What’s the big deal?”
“This woman is a bit…younger than Cash,” he said carefully. “Like…younger than Jackson.”
It took a minute for the implication to hit her, and then her eyes went wide. “Oh my goodness! No! You think this woman is his daughter?”
“We don’t know yet, but she’s obviously someone important to him if he just packed up and left Magnolia without saying goodbye to the family he was supposedly reconnecting with.” He shrugged. “If you think about it, it just makes sense. He’s got a second family.”
“Wow,” she sighed. “That is going to hit everyone hard. Ugh…so much drama. I mean…why come back at all?”
“I think he was truly interested in the inheritance, but maybe got a little caught up in nostalgia when he saw Garrett that day. Who knows?”
“It’s just wrong that he dangled that money at the guys and then left town with it. So he gets to be a millionaire and share the wealth with his other family.” She shuddered. “He’s the worst.”
“Actually…” he began slowly, unsure he should be sharing this, but… “He never cashed the check.”
“What?! How do you even know that? And why wouldn’t he? I mean…two million dollars! Who wouldn’t take that money and run?”
“I’m not even going to begin to try to understand Cash’s thought process. All I know is my guy was able to check it all out and the check was never cashed. Maybe he does still plan on giving your cousins the money. Who knows?”
Picking up her sandwich again, Peyton frowned. “Well, I don’t even want to think about any of it. It’s giving me a headache and I wish I didn’t know any of it.”
“You begged me to tell you!”
“I didn’t realize it was going to be such awful news!”
It would be wrong to argue that she should have known by his…scrunchy face–which he still didn’t think was a thing–but honestly, the last thing he wanted to be talking about right now was Cash Coleman and all the ways he’d done his family wrong. Instead, he finished his sandwich and washed it down with a bottle of water. Once he saw that Peyton was done, he took both their plates and cleaned up.
“I can help,” she said as she got up, tugging the t-shirt down to cover her bottom.
Which was completely adorable.
Once everything was put away, Ryder took her by the hand and led her back to bed. “Come on, Duchess. I think we’re both ready for a good night’s sleep, right?”
As if on cue, she yawned. “Definitely.”
Five minutes later and with his girl in his arms, Ryder turned off the light.
And was asleep before the room went fully dark.
14
“Do you have to go into the café this morning?”
They were sitting at the kitchen island sipping their coffees, and Peyton found herself torn. She’d already been irresponsible by taking off the way she did, so what kind of example would she be setting if she took yet another day off?
“I really should,” she said with a sigh. “I stopped in last night, but…I didn’t get anything accomplished. How come?”
“Well…I did some thinking after you left the other night–about The Ashford, your restaurant, and a few other things–and I’d like to run some ideas by you.”
“Really? Did Austin finally get the permits approved?” Last night they hadn’t talked about business and she was more than okay with it. But she also loved that Ryder was sharing the things he was working and asking her opinion on them.
As long as they were discussing and he wasn’t keeping secrets about the things that directly involved her.
“No, the permits got denied again,” he told her, shaking his head.
“I’m so sorry, Ryder.” Reaching over, she placed her hand over his. Truthfully, she did feel bad about his plans not working out. She might not have agreed with what he wanted to do with the property, but she hated that the project he was so passionate about wasn’t going to happen. “So what happens now?”
“Are you sure you have time? I don’t want to keep you if you need to go. We can talk about all of this tonight over dinner if that’s better for you.”
Smiling, she leaned over and kissed him. “I’m never on the schedule unless someone’s out or on vacation. And considering the mood I was in last night when I left the café, I’m guessing no one’s expecting me in this morning.”
That made him laugh softly. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
“Anyway…”
“Give me a minute to get my laptop so I can show you what I’m working on.” He got up and left the room and Peyton couldn’t help but smile. She hated how they’d fought, but she seriously loved the way they made up.
Last night and again this morning.
Still, she realized something about herself through all of this. For years she’d lacked confidence in herself, thanks to her upbringing. Then when she finally started believing in herself, the only one still doubting her was her mother. And when Ryder came on the scene, there was just something about him that made her feel comfortable standing up for herself and her ideas.
At least…she thought she was comfortable.
The truth was, she’d reacted like such a brat because he managed to hit her trigger. Peyton knew Ryder was nothing like her parents–especially h
er mother–but something in the way he had spoken to her just had her reacting as if he was. From now on, she knew she would have to be aware of that and not fly off the handle. It was impossible to say it would never happen again because…well…it was Ryder. It would be foolish for her to think she could keep up with him and everything he knew about business, and she knew she was going to be reminding him again and again that she could handle more than he thought. If they were going to work together, they were going to have to learn to communicate better.
And considering his mention of forever last night…
Yeah, that one was still sinking in. He hadn’t formally proposed, but she knew that was exactly what he was talking about. It felt like maybe she was dreaming–too many things were falling into place for her that it didn’t feel real–and yet…here she was.
“Okay,” Ryder said excitedly as he came back into the kitchen, laptop in hand. When he sat back down beside her, he seemed to take a moment to collect his thoughts before looking at her. “When the permits didn’t get approved, I gave up. I threw in the towel and was convinced the universe was trying to tell me something.”
“Oh, Ryder…”
“You were gone, and I thought we were through and I told myself it was a good thing I wasn’t going to build the resort because there was no way I wanted to stay here in Magnolia without you.”
His admission made her heart both ache and soar. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him she wasn’t going anywhere, but she knew he was leading up to something.
“My plan was to sell the property, leave the plans for your restaurant with Austin for you to tweak and I’d pay to build it when you were ready.”
She moaned his name again because…she couldn’t believe he would do such a thing.
“But then a little inspiration hit. I had no idea what was going to happen between you and me, but…you were the inspiration behind the inspiration,” he said with a wink.
“I’m not even sure what that means.”
Opening the laptop, he pulled something up and then turned the screen toward her.
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