Go home.
See Peyton.
Make sure she’s okay before the internet tears apart every word I just said.
37
PEYTON
I’m coming apart at the seams, pacing the floor from my bedroom to the front door and back again for the hundredth time.
It’s media day. Daltyn was a mess when he left.
I can only imagine how it’s going.
My phone buzzes in my hands.
Allie: How are you holding up?
My fingers fly across the screen.
Me: Spiraling. Hard.
Allie: I’m coming to pick you up. We can browse the bookstore and go get coffee and pastries.
Me: You’re my hero.
Allie: I’ll be there in fifteenminutes.
I hurry into the bathroom and plug in my curling iron. I quickly brush my teeth and wash my face. Hell, I can’t even remember if I showered today.
I swipe deodorant underneath my arms and dash to my bedroom to put on the new jeans and sweater Daltyn bought me. Grabbing my perfume, I spray it on my pulse points, then dash to the bathroom to do something with my hair.
Ten minutes later, my hair hangs in loose waves, and I’ve even put on powder, mascara, lipstick, and blush before the doorbell rings.
I grab my purse and stride to the door, grinning when I see Allie’s face.
“You look gorgeous,” she says with a smile.
“Thanks. Considering all the social media attention, the last thing I want to do is step out looking like a wreck. God only knows what the heathens would blame it on. Probably Daltyn.”
I shut and lock the door, then follow her to her vehicle.
“Heathens is accurate as fuck. They are the worst.” She unlocks her car, and we climb inside. “I married Connor over the summer so I didn’t have to deal with as much of the media frenzy. There were things online, obviously. But Connor is different from Daltyn.”
She starts the car, then glances at me before turning around. “No one has seen Daltyn with a woman before you.”
“That just seems... strange.”
But when I think about the way he appeared in my bedroom after the nightmare, maybe it’s not.
Maybe Gram is right. The man has a traumatic past and has steered clear of women.
Which makes me wonder why.
Did a woman hurt him in the past? Or is it something else?
She shrugs. “Daltyn has always kept things close to his chest. He doesn’t open up easily.” She laughs as she drives down the lane. “Or at all.”
