“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I guess we’ll find out.” I stood and headed for the door, but Hansen stopped me, reaching a hand out to place it on my shoulder.
“You’ll get through this,” he said with a nod. “All of us will.”
Chapter40
Peyton
I had just gotten home from visiting my mom and was starting dinner when Korbin walked through the front door, holding a backpack of his things from the station. He stepped into the house and shut the door behind him, switching both locks.
“Baby?” I abandoned the avocado I’d been slicing and came across the island to see him, reaching for the backpack to drop it at his feet as he looked at me, his beautiful eyes searching my face. “Are you okay? Why are you home so early?”
Korbin sighed, finally hearing me, and then kicked off his work boots and went to the kitchen for a bottle of beer. He popped the top and took a long drink, his eyes still focused on mine.
“I have something to tell you,” he said, and these words sent a shiver of anxiety through my veins.
“Oh, God,” I said, expecting the worst. “What is it? Are you breaking up with me again?”
Despite the tension in the air and the apparent concern I had, Korbin smiled at this, and then he chuckled, setting the beer bottle aside to cross the floor to me, resting his hands on my hips.
“Never again,” he said softly, trailing his finger gently down my bare neck until I shivered. I leaned in to kiss him, closing my eyes as he kissed me back.
“Okay,” I said, pulling my head back. “If it isn’t that, then what on earth is it?”
Korbin blew a breath of air through his teeth and released me, returning to the island for his beer. “It’s Amanda,” he said, and I cringed inwardly at the sound of her name. “She’s accusing me of sexual assault.”
The words rang meaninglessly in my ear for a moment, but even as the shock passed through my system, all I could do was stare at him. I watched his lips move but could not hear, wondering what would happen now.
“Why?” I asked. This simple question seemed to catch Korbin off guard because he set the bottle down a bit too hard, and the bang traveled across the quiet kitchen.
“Why what?”
“Why did she do that?”
“Because she’s crazy, Peyton,” Korbin said. “No, insane. That’s why.”
I stepped forward and slid onto an empty barstool at the island, my skin tingling and numb as I tried to process this, hands trembling on top of the counter.
“She’s going to ruin us,” I said softly. “She’s going to ruin us before we can even try again.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Korbin leaned across the island and took my hands in his, holding them tight between his own, his eyes forcing mine to look at them, holding me spellbound. “She’s just an insane little girl, okay? And this will all blow over.”
“You’re right.” I took a deep breath and nodded, forcing myself not to dwell on what was to come. But something in Korbin’s eyes told me he wasn’t done with the bad news, and my blood ran cold all over again.
“Do you remember the day you came to the station with lunch? I told you Amanda had just been there.”
“Yes,” I said slowly. “I remember. Why?”
“What I didn’t tell you is that she tried to kiss me,” he said, forcing himself to keep looking at me, keep facing me.
“She tried to kiss you?” I repeated, and Korbin nodded, looking shameful suddenly. Or embarrassed. I couldn’t tell which.
“Yes, she tried to kiss me.”
“Well—did you kiss her back?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest, and Korbin shook his head, looking stunned.
“Of course not, Peyton. I pushed her off me and left before she could try it again.”
I smiled, and he must not have been expecting that because his shoulders visibly relaxed in relief. “I mean, as long as you didn’t kiss her back, we’re all good, yeah?”
