“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said, resting my forehead against his. “Thank you.”
Linking my arm with his, Rem led me out of the club and into the Denver night. He ordered an Uber from his phone as we sat down on the curb, pulling in great breaths of fresh, clean air.
“Your handsome millionaire is right, you know,” Rem said as I rested my head against his shoulder. “You haven’t been the same since you moved back from the summit.”
I sighed and closed my eyes, feeling the nausea roll in my stomach. “I’m fine,” I lied. “All of you need to just accept that.”
“I don’t know who you think I am,” said Rem with a frown. “But I know you better than that, Peyton Blake, and I know for a fact that you arenotokay. So stop trying to pull the wool over my eyes.”
I giggled, but it was humorless. The truth was, I was exhausted. And sad. And I really didn’t know what to do with myself anymore. I woke each morning to check for calls or texts from Korbin. I went to bed every night desperately missing him, wishing he was here, strong arms around me, just holding me.
“Hey,” Rem said, nudging me gently in the arm. “I know you miss Korbin.”
I tore my gaze away from him, focusing instead on the black asphalt under my feet. “I don’t know if I miss Korbin, or just the thought of us,” I said honestly. “I was the idiot who thought he had changed. It started out so innocent, you know, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t let emotions get in the way. But I did. I always do.”
“You’re not a bad person for wishing for the best,” he said gently, scooting in closer to me to wrap an arm around my shoulder. “Korbin Butler was your first real love, and a part of you still loves him. But maybe it’s time to move on, Peyton, and give someone else a chance.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I’m trying to.”
“I know you are.”
A second later our Uber pulled up and Remington and I got in, riding back to the apartment in a comfortable silence. He helped me walk up the stairs and into our little house, settling me down on the couch before going to the kitchen to get us both large glasses of ice water. As he brought them back to the living-room, handing me one, he sat down next to me and sipped at his.
“I hate seeing you so miserable, you know,” he said, draping the throw blanket over our laps. “I miss the pre-Korbin Peyton.”
I chuckled and set my glass of water aside, shivering under the blanket. “She’ll be back soon,” I promised. “Once she gets over him—again.”
Remington looked at me, and I could clearly see the concern etched in his features. “I’m worried about you,” he said.
“You shouldn’t be.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Instead of answering his question, I tossed the blanket off my lap and stood up, stretching my arms up over my head. “I’m going to bed,” I told him. “See you in the morning, Rem.”
“Sure,” he said softly, but the concern in his voice was still evident. I didn’t care, though. I didn’t have the energy to care. All I wanted to do was the one thing that kept my heart from aching over Korbin Butler.
Sleep. I just had to sleep.
Chapter23
Korbin
I tried again and again to get ahold of Peyton for the next week, but to no avail. Every morning I woke up hoping to have a call or text from her, and every morning I was disappointed. On Wednesday afternoon, during my work shift, I was fixing the engine for one of our trucks when Paisley came back to get me.
“You have a visitor,” she said. “He’s waiting for you in the lounge.”
“Who is it?”
“He didn’t say, just said he was looking for you.”
Wondering who in the hell would want to visit me, I tossed the grease-stained rag aside and followed Paisley back into the lounge, where a man was seated waiting for me on the couch. He stood when I entered, grinning broadly as he offered his hand, and Paisley backed out of the room, leaving us in private.
“Hello,” I said. “What can I do for you?”
“Are you Korbin?” the guy asked, his eyes trailing over my body as if he were sizing me up—or checking me out. I couldn’t tell which it was.
“Depends on who’s asking,” I said. The guy grinned again.
