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“He can’t,” Landon butted in.
Sutton dissolved into giggles.
Jensen just sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. “Children, can we not?”
“Sure, Dad,” Austin said, clapping his brother on the back.
Jensen shot Austin a perfect dad look, proving his point. “I’ve just had so much practice.”
Then, his eyes wandered to his pregnant wife, who approached with Peyton.
I stepped away from the Wrights and their family antics. Some things would never change.
Peyton touched my hand, and her smile was still wide with pride. “You’re so fancy. Up on a stage with the head of the company.”
“Nah,” I said, running a hand back through my hair. “It was nothing.”
“Whatever. We both know that’s not true. It was a big deal.”
I beamed. “Yeah. It felt pretty good to get recognized like that, and I can’t wait to start working on the soccer complex.”
“You’ve really found your place,” she said.
“I never would have thought it’d be at something like this, but…yeah, I think I have.” I took her hand in mine. “Let’s go get another drink.”
We waited in line at the bar, and I got a bourbon and Coke while she stuck to champagne. Then, we wandered out onto the mostly empty balcony. Peyton moved closer to a heater, and I offered her my jacket, which she let me slip around her shoulders. She pensively stared out over downtown Lubbock.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked her.
She frowned and then met my gaze. Her dark chocolate eyes were depthless, and I wanted to dive in and disappear. Fuck, I wanted more than that. I wanted her. I wanted her more than I ever had. Sixteen years had made me think that this could never happen. I’d moved on. I had a life. One that was taken away too fast, but I still lived. But then she had walked back into my presence, and suddenly, everything was upside down. We were only right side up when we were together. How had I survived all this time without her?
“I missed it here,” she said softly.
“You sound…sad?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that this is such a different world. In New York, I feel like…I’m always swimming upstream. There’s this endless current that I’m battling against. I don’t exactly belong there even though I’ve lived there nearly as long as I lived here. But everyone is constantly hustling. And I liked that for a long time. I felt like it gave me that push to always be better.” She shrugged one shoulder. “But here, I just…I don’t know…”
“Fit?”
“Yes,” she said, touching my arm. “Here, I just fit. No expectations. No constant struggle.”
“You could come back,” I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
I wanted to ask her to come back. I wanted her to be here. To be here with me. But I hadn’t meant to ask her to do it.
She smiled softly but remained silent. I wasn’t sure if I’d overstepped the bounds. This was all new. Even if we’d been here before, we weren’t in the same place.
“Look, forget I said anything. Lubbock will always be your home, is what I meant…”
“No, it’s okay,” she said. She swallowed and met my gaze again. “Sometimes, I want to come home.”
“You do?”
“Sometimes.”
But not enough to do it. I knew better than to say that this time.
She laughed and clutched my jacket tighter around herself. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to be sad tonight. This has been a great night. I’m glad that you invited me.”
“You don’t have to pretend with me, Peyton.”
“I’m not pretending.” She stepped forward and ran her hand down the front of my shirt. “And I just want to be with you tonight.” Her voice dropped, low and sultry, as she looked up at me from beneath her lashes.
My hands slipped around her waist, pulling her in closer. “Good. Though…I do understand the allure of New York.”
She shook her head with a tilt of her head. “Have you ever been there?”
“I have,” I said. I slid my hand up to cup her jaw and dropped my mouth until it was only an inch from her lips. “I came to see you.”
“What?” she gasped, nearly touching my lips. Her eyes went wide. “When?”
“After I left the soccer team at SMU, I flew out to New York. I bought a ticket to your show and went to see you dance.”
“I had no idea. Why didn’t you say something?”
“I planned to. I bought flowers. I waited for you after the show. And then, when you came out, you were with your dance friends. You were laughing and looked so happy. I could see that it was the place for you. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t see a way for it to ever work. I couldn’t move to New York, and you were never coming home.”
