“Mom, what are you doing here?”
I look around for Rhy. When I peek out the front window, his truck is no longer in the driveway.
“Well, imagine my surprise when I got a call from a very concerned Rhyland this morning, asking me to come over so he could go to work, and you were…” She clears her throat. “A little under the weather.” She arches a brow, and I know she knows the truth that my “under the weather” was really the aftermath of a night of drinking.
My cheeks heat with embarrassment, and I walk over and plop down on the couch beside my mom.
“Good morning, sweet girl.” I press a quick kiss to Gabby. A sense of relief washes over me because she is safe.
“I’ve got things all set down here. Why don’t you go shower? You’re looking a little rough, deary.”
Her pointed look tells me it wasn’t a suggestion but a request. I press one more kiss to my daughter’s forehead before I head back upstairs to my room. I find my purse and cell phone on the nightstand. My phone is even on the charger. God, how did I get so lucky with this man? I’m still curious how the hell I got into his bed. Did he sleep in there, too?
I find numerous missed calls and texts. There are a few texts in a group chat I have with my brothers, which I ignore, a text from Sara Beth apologizing for the shit show that was the double dateshe convinced me to go on, and the rest are from Rhy. Along with five missed calls from him.
Rhyland:I’m sorry I had to leave for work, but I called your mom to come take over watching Gabby. If I hadn’t already agreed to be here for the wine delivery for Ollie, I would have stayed.
Rhyland:I hope I didn’t overstep by calling your mom and asking for her to come over. Please don’t be mad.
Rhyland:Payton, are you awake?
Rhyland:I hope you are feeling okay.
Rhyland:I guess you’re still sleeping, but please call me when you get up.
As I read through his texts a second time, I can’t help but wonder if he’s for real or not. He’s seriously apologizing for asking my mom to help because I wasn’t able to do my job and take care of my daughter. Hanging my head in my hands, I’m regretting my decision to have gone out last night instead of being home with her, where I should have been, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.
I debate whether I should call him back or respond to his texts. Not wanting to bother him while at work, I decide to reach out via text.
Me:I’m alive…
Delete.
Me:I don’t know what I’d do without you…
Delete.
Ugh, this shouldn’t be that hard.
Me:I’m awake. Thank you for taking care of me and especially for taking care of Gabby. I’m not sure I can ever repay you for everything you’ve done.
I press Send before I allow myself to overthink it even further. With that taken care of, I put my phone down. Just before I leave the room to head to shower, my phone vibrates, and the photo I snapped of Rhy and Gabby the other night appears on the screen, showing that he’s calling me.Why is he calling me?
“He-hello?”
“Payton?”
I clear my throat. “Hey, yeah, I’m here.”
He lets out a sigh of relief, and it causes me to smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your text. I just—just—” He fumbles for words.
“Just what?”
“I just needed to hear your voice for myself.”
To avoid squealing at his swoon level, I press my lips together and fall back on the bed. Seriously, why is he so perfect?
“Sorry for the text, but I didn’t want to bother you at work. I’ve already caused enough of a headache.”
