“That’s a nice rock,” he said, nodding in my direction. “You did good, Butler.”
“Notice she’s not wearing it,” I mumbled, but Peyton only smiled at this before slipping the ring back onto her finger, where it belonged.
“We should figure this out,” she said to me as Remington got up to hug her, squeezing her until she giggled.
“Congratulations, you two,” he said, and Peyton blushed.
“Thanks, Rem.”
“I’m going to go hop in the shower,” he continued, glancing over his shoulder at me. “Leave you two to talk.”
I nodded thanks at him, and Remington disappeared upstairs, leaving Peyton and me alone in the kitchen, filling the spaces with silence.
“Do I stay here?” she asked finally, glancing up to meet my eyes. “Do you—do you want to live together?”
I laughed, and this seemed to offend Peyton because she flipped me off with a scowl. “Of course, I want to live with you,” I said, nudging her playfully in the arm. “I asked you to marry me, didn’t I?”
“Okay, but that didn’t exactly work out the first time,” she said. I could tell she was trying to tease me, but the hurt in her voice was evident. It would take me some time to make up for all the mistakes I made with Peyton, but I was more than willing to do it.
“Do you want to come home?” I asked her. “Do you want to live in Eagle River, or do you want me to move to the city? Because I’ll do either one. For you.”
Peyton smiled, intertwining her fingers with mine. “I wouldn’t mind being closer to my mom. I really loved being there for her. Maybe—maybe I can talk to Maggie and see if they’d hire me full time. I enjoyed my job, too.”
“Yeah?” I asked, and Peyton nodded.
“Yeah. I think I’d like to move back to Eagle River.”
“Should we get our own place, or do you want to move into the high-rise with me?”
Peyton pretended to ponder this, tapping her lip gently with one finger. “Man, the high rise is terrible,” she teased. “I don’t know if I can force myself to live there.”
“Har-har.”
Still smiling, Peyton slid from the stool and leaned over to kiss me, slipping her tongue between my lips. I tasted chocolate on her, cocoa and whipped cream from breakfast, and I kissed her back, hungry for her, a craving that would never truly be satisfied, even if we spent every waking moment together.
“God, I missed you.” Brushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear, I kissed her again, until Peyton’s body was pressed against mine, molding into me until we were one person. “I can’t wait to have you home.”
Peyton smiled then, releasing me to go to the fridge for a bottle of water. She popped the cap and took a drink, watching me from across the kitchen. “I’ll talk to my boss today and give Maggie a call,” she said. “It will take some time for me to pack everything and move, I’ll probably just have to make trips in between working.”
“That’s fine,” I assured her. “And I’m going to help in any way I can.”
“I’ll have to spend my nights between here and there until I’m moved,” she said, sidling up next to me to rest her head on my shoulder. “But I’ll try to be there with you most nights.”
I kissed the top of Peyton’s head and closed my eyes, breathing her in, the scent of her hair, the sensation of her body against mine, the soft, soothing sound of her voice, the one I’d become so familiar with over the years.
“I’m excited,” I whispered, brushing her ear with my lips. Peyton shivered with pleasure, pressing further into me.
“Me, too,” she said. “I think this is the right choice.”
“It is,” I assured her. “Being together will always be the right choice.”
After leaving Peyton and Remington to their packing, I drove back to Eagle River with a smile on my face and hope in my heart. I was ecstatic, over the moon that Peyton had chosen me to be her one. After all the mistakes I’d made and the hurt I’d put her through, she was giving me another chance. I wouldn’t fuck it up.
I stopped at the high-rise to grab my overnight bag for work, running into—who else—Amanda on my way back down the elevator.
“Oh,” she said, startled when she saw me. “I was just coming up to see you.”
She didn’t look good, not at all. It had only been a couple of nights since she’d thrown herself at me in a drunken stupor, but in that short time she suddenly looked like she hadn’t slept or even eaten in days. Her hair was limp and dull, falling around her shoulders as though it might just snap off at any moment. Dark shadows hooded the top and bottom of her eyes, making her appear ominous in a way that made a tremble of apprehension climb up my spine.
