My mind is racing, trying to figure out what to do. The first thing I come up with is getting her a glass of water. When I go to back up, she latches onto my wrists. “Please don’t leave me.”
“I’m right here, but I need to get you a glass of water, okay? Are you good right here for a second without falling over?”
She sniffs with a nod.
“Can you use your words, baby?” The word slips out without a second thought. She’s scaring the shit out of me like this. The only time I’ve ever seen her like this was when her father passed away, but that is a completely different scenario compared to tonight. She’s so far gone that she doesn’t pick up on the nickname I gave her because she slurs a yes while wiping under her eyes. The yes sounds more like a hiss than actual dialogue, but I’ll take it.
Verifying she is stable-ish, I rush over to the cabinet and grab the tallest glass I have and fill it with ice water. I’ve never been more thankful than I am now that she bought straws on a recent shopping trip, and I grab one. I’m not sure how well she can hold on to the glass and not dribble water down her chin, and the last thing I want is for her to chug a bunch of water, only to cause it to come back up.
Returning to Pay, I cage her in again. “Okay, sweetheart. Open up and take a few small sips of water.” I hold the glass in front of her, and when she wraps her lips around the straw and sucks, I scold myself for grabbing that straw. Fuck, that was stupid and not helping to keep my dick away. He’s clearly unaware of the state that she’s in, or he just doesn’t give a fuck when it comes to Payton Mosby—but I do.
Once I’ve set the glass down beside us, I reach for the dish towel folded next to the sink to wipe her makeup-stained cheeks. It’s quite possible I’ve made it even worse.
“Can you tell me what’s going on? Maybe even just the CliffsNotes version if you don’t want to talk about it.”
As Payton fills me in on the events of the evening, my rage turns to jealousy and back to rage. First, fuck that guy for making Payton feel any less for having a daughter. To me, it only shows how strong she is. It’s his fucking loss, and I hope that if he ended up hooking up with someone else tonight, she gives him an STD and his dick falls off or something. And second, fuck, Joel did a goddamn number on her, and if I hadn’t wanted to beat him six feet under for what he had done on the outside and abandoned his daughter, I now want to wipe out his existence with the damage he’s done on the inside.
“You know, maybe Princess Di was onto something when she mentioned her marriage felt quite crowded.” She laughs, but it’s not quite genuine. “What’s wrong with me, Rhyland? Am I always going to be like this? Was my one shot at love wasted on that asswipe, and just like Diana, I’ll die before getting the chance to find true happiness?”
I don’t care about the repercussions. All I want to do is put this woman in a bubble and protect her from everything, never letting her out of my sight. When I wrap her in my arms, her legs automatically wind around my waist. Her breath fans my neck, causing my heart to beat erratically.
“Nothing is wrong with you, Payton. You’re perfect,” I say into her hair. “You just haven’t found the right man who will worship at your feet and treat you like the queen you are.”Or maybe he’s just right in front of you and you don’t even realize it.I keep that last part to myself.
She doesn’t respond, although what was I thinking she would say—that she wants me, too? Just because she said I was hotearlier doesn’t mean she wants me. A few moments pass, and she still hasn’t said anything.
“Payton?”Nothing.“Pay?” When I pull back slightly, her head lolls to the side, and her eyes are closed.Well, alright then.I don’t know if she actually caught anything I said to her. But what Idoknow is that she is going to be hating life tomorrow, that’s for damn sure.
I adjust her in my arms so that I can cradle her against my chest and carry her up the stairs, bridal-style. In her current state, I’m not sure if she would even wake up if Gabby did. So I make an executive decision that my night babysitting has just extended to the morning. I don’t mind. I pass by her bedroom door and head straight for mine. Pushing it open with my foot, I close the distance between us and the bed and carefully lay her down, just as gently as I had with Gabby in her crib.
I’ll let her sleep this off tonight in here, and I’ll go sleep in her room and get up with Gabby if she wakes up. Payton is already going to feel like death in the morning. The least I can do is help her by getting a full night’s sleep.
As I pull up the covers over her, she snuggles further into the pillow in her sleep. Her dark hair fanning over the material makes her look like a goddess.She belongs right here.
I lean over and press my lips to her forehead. “Good night, baby. Sweet dreams. I’ve got Gabby for you.”
She mumbles something before rolling onto her side. Before I settle in for the night, I run back downstairs and grab her water, refilling it, and then the bottle of ibuprofen from the bathroom cabinet, and set them both on my nightstand.
Gabby is still sound asleep, completely oblivious to the surrounding chaos, when I return to check on her.Thank fuck.
Terri’s words play out in my mind as I settle on Payton’s bed. Her pillow smells like her, and I want it to cling to me just in case tonight proves that she can never trust me with her heart.But like Terri said, there are two hearts at play here, and what neither girls realize is that they both already hold my heart in their hands.
Chapter 15
Payton
Istretch my arms in front of me and groan.Ugh, why did I drink so much last night?When I press my face into the pillow, a familiar sense assaults my senses—Rhyland. Why does my pillow smell like Rhy?
I quickly sit up and regret it immediately, clutching my head and begging the world to stop spinning. It’s then I realize I’m not in my room at all. I’m in Rhyland’s.How the hell did I get here?
Memories flash through my mind from the night before: waving to Rhyland and Gabby as I got into my Uber, the look on Nixon’s face when he learned I’m a mom, and dancing with Sara Beth. Although everything after that is pretty fuzzy, I vaguely recall talking to Rhyland, but was that before or after I left? And that still doesn’t explain how I got into his bed.
“Oh my God, Gabby.” I throw off the covers and rush into my bedroom. The crib is empty.Where is she?
I rush down the stairs in a panic, almost tripping over my own two feet. Where is my daughter? Where is Rhyland?
I’m on the verge of a literal breakdown as I enter the living room. The sight in front of me has me halting, and I try to catch my breath.
“Oh, good morning, sunshine. I was wondering when you were going to get up.” My mother sits on the couch, feeding Gabby a bottle.
