“Nash, the last thing I want to do is hurt your feelings about this or disappoint you. I’ve had to be the only person in the world I can depend on since I was eighteen years old. I haven’t kept my body and soul together—not to mention raise a daughter—by making snap decisions or following my heart. I’ve done it by thinking things through, making a plan, and then following through.”
“I see what you mean.” He chewed his piece of Danish slowly. “But don’t you think there are times in life where we should just trust each other and . . . jump?”
My mouth twisted. “The last time I jumped, I ended up pregnant and alone and sneaking out of town instead of graduating.”
Nash set down his pastry, wiped off his fingers, and sat back, slumping in his chair. “Peyton, tell me you didn’t just compare me to Ryan fucking Harvey.”
My face went hot. “I wasn’t. I wouldn’t. Never.”
“You don’t trust me,” he said heavily. “And maybe I can’t blame you. Maybe I’m the crazy one.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s that I don’t trustlife. I don’t trust the world. Maybe I don’t trust myself unless I’m sticking to a plan.”
Nash reached for his wallet and dug out a few bills, tossing them onto the table. “Let’s get out of here. I think we’ve talked ourselves in circles—and maybe a little space wouldn’t hurt us.”
I couldn’t sit there any longer, anyway. I looped the strap of my purse over my head and rose to my feet.
“Sure. Let’s go. I should get back to Savannah, anyway.”
As we walked stiffly toward the door, Lucie called out.
“Bye, y’all! Have a great day.”
Although I wanted to race for the exit, I was raised better than that, so I paused, forced a smile and responded, “Thank you so much for the coffee and the pastries. Everything was delicious.”
“Glad you enjoyed them.” Lucie glanced anxiously at Nash before she faced me again. “Nice to meet you, Peyton. I hope you come back real soon.”
I nodded, but I knew I wasn’t going to be back in this town for a long time.
Chapter Thirteen
Nash
“What the fuck is this idiot thinking? Was he drunk when he wrote this email?”
Growling, I pushed away from my desk, standing up and stalking to the far side of the office where we kept our coffee bar, one of the few demands Reggie made in our business relationship. He enjoyed his fancy coffees, and stocking our little bar was one of the joys of his life.
I heard the squeak of his chair as he rose to his feet and trailed me to the espresso maker, reaching for his iced coffee mug and then hanging back to wait for me to finish making my basic black brew.
“Do we want to maybe switch over to decaf, my brother?” Reggie angled his body to be able to peer into my face. “I think the high test might not be agreeing with you this morning.”
“I’m fine.” I glowered at him and took a long swig from my mug. “Absolutely fucking fine.”
“Hmmm.” Reggie took my place, going through all the motions of doctoring his beverage, adding ice and carefully screwing on the lid to the top of the insulated mug. “I’m not sure you are being honest with yourself, Nash. Something is troubling you, and if it is not too much caffeine, I wonder what it is.”
“Nothing. Just that jerk we deal with over at the county permit office. He wants us to jump through all these fucking hoops to get a few simple permits. How long has our company been dealing with that office? He needs to get a fucking clue.” I tossed back some more coffee. “I’m going to have to haul my ass all the way over to the county admin complex this afternoon and deal with this joker.”
“Or we could give it a few days and see if it doesn’t work out,” Reggie suggested. “Sometimes there are misunderstandings, or difficulties in communication?—”
I slammed down my mug so that the remaining liquid sloshed out over my wrist. “This has nothing to do with a misunderstanding, Reggie! I was very clear from the beginning exactly what I wanted and what I was willing to do to make it happen. When others refuse to understand—that’s when there’s a problem.”
Reggie cocked his head. “Are we still discussing the permit office, my friend?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course, we are. What the hell else would we be talking about?”
“Ah, I don’t know.” He shrugged eloquently, one of his last lingering European gestures. “I am not the most observant of men, but you are my brother and my best friend, so I notice things.”
I closed my eyes, expelling a breath. Reggie had a knack for being able to guilt me with skill and finesse. I knew that he was worried about me, not only because he didn’t want me to blow up the relationship our company had with local authorities but because he did truly consider me his beloved brother.
