“Jesus,” she said, pulling her panties and scrub bottoms back on. “Every time I think it couldn’t be better with you, you go and prove me wrong.”
“It takes two to tango,” I teased, buttoning up my pants. I loved this. I loved the spontaneity we had between us, the small moments that reminded me how much I loved this woman so damn much. She was a beautiful person from the inside out, and I felt reminded of that daily.
“I hate to fuck and run, but I have to get back to work,” Peyton said, popping up on her tiptoes to kiss me. She fixed her hair, wrapped her half-eaten sandwich, and backed towards the door. Her eyelashes fluttered in such an unsubtle way that I almost ripped off her clothes and took her right there for a second time. “Dinner,” she reminded me. “When you’re off shift. Nina wants us to come to her house.”
“Whatever you say,” I murmured, unable to focus on anything besides the perfect specimen in front of me. Dinner? Family? Siblings? None of that stuff held a candle to Peyton Blake.
“I’m serious,” she said, reaching for the door handle that I just now realized we’d forgotten to lock. She giggled a bit at this, that red tint in her cheeks growing. “Behave yourself tonight. We can humor your mother for a couple of hours.”
“Hey,” I said as she was about to close the door behind her. She stopped, poking her head back in, and my heart fluttered against my chest. “I love you,” I said, and Peyton smiled.
“I love you, too. I’ll see you soon.”
Chapter36
Peyton
I’d picked out a sky-blue sundress with a silky gray wrap for dinner that night, making sure to stop by the liquor store on my way home after work for a fancy bottle of wine. Korbin arrived home shortly after I did, already moaning and groaning about having to go to dinner.
“When was the last time you saw your siblings?” I asked, fixing my hair in the mirror. “Was it when your dad died?”
Korbin scoffed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. “I’ve seen them both once or twice since then,” he said. “Turns out I’m not really missing much.”
I turned away from the mirror to face him, stepping up to rest one of my hands on his cheek. “Imagine if something happened to Ian or Isabella tomorrow,” I murmured. “How would you feel never having seen them?”
Korbin’s hand covered mine, and he sighed, eyelids fluttering closed briefly. “You have such a good heart,” he said. “The world needs more people like you.” His lips brushed mine, and I sighed, wanting more than anything to forgo this dinner and spend the rest of the night in this man’s arms, but I knew we couldn’t. His family was my family, and that’s all there was to it.
“How are you feeling?” I asked as Korbin, and I walked together to his truck. “About Amanda, I mean.” He opened the door for me and then went around to the driver’s side before answering, clicking the seatbelt into place.
“I don’t really know how to feel,” he said with a slight shrug. “I don’t know how concerned we should be about her, either.”
“Do you think she’s dangerous?”
“I think she’s capable of being dangerous.”
I fell silent, thinking of Amanda. It rattled me how uncertain it was with her. Was she dangerous? Innocent? Just a lost girl or a sinister criminal? Was she sick? Sick enough to harm one of us or somebody else? I hated not knowing. I was ready to get to the bottom of this.
There was no more discussion of Amanda as Korbin pulled up to Nina’s house and shut off the engine. He opened the door for me and took my arm as we walked up to the porch. I raised my hand to knock, but before my knuckles could touch the door, it swung open, and Korbin’s little sister Isabella appeared, beaming at us.
“Peyton,” she said, ignoring her older brother completely. “God, have I missed you.” She stepped out to wrap me in a hug, clinging to me for a second longer than necessary, then turned to Korbin.
“Hey, sis,” he said, and she glared at him.
“This woman is a saint for agreeing to marry you twice,” she scolded him. “I hope you know that.”
“I do,” he said, squeezing my hand. “Believe me, I do.”
“Come in, come in!” Nina shouted over Isabella’s shoulder. “Dinner is ready.”
I stepped into the house after Isabella, handing her the bottle of wine we’d picked up beforehand. “It smells wonderful.” Korbin’s brother Ian was setting the table; he looked up and grinned when we came in.
“Long time no see,” he said, crossing around the table to hug me. “You look more and more vibrant every time I see you.”
“How are ya, kid?” I asked, smiling as Ian took my coat and hung it in the closet for me. “How have things been?”
“Construction keeps me busy,” said Ian, clapping his brother on the back with a quick hello. “But I like the travel. My company does a lot of traveling.”
“Sounds nice.”
