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“I know it all seems so fast, but I honestly think I’ve loved you since college,” she went on, tearing his heart to shreds with every sweet, honest word she spoke. “And this past week has just proven to me that you are a man I could easily spend the rest of my life with. I want that chance with you, and I really hope you feel the same way.”
He took her trembling hand in his, even though everything within him felt as though it was falling apart, piece by piece. “Peyton . . . you’ve worked so hard for your life in New York. Hell, you fabricated this entire charade just to keep your parents happy because you didn’t want to come back to San Diego. I can’t and won’t let you give up your life and career for me.”
Because one of his greatest fears was that she’d walk away from a life she loved to be with him, then possibly resent him a few years down the road for making her choose. The risk was too great to take. He’d been there, done that, and barely survived the emotional aftermath. Somehow, he knew it would be even more devastating to eventually lose Peyton, this woman who’d given him his life back.
Tears shimmered in her eyes, and she valiantly blinked them back. “You’re not making me choose, Leo. I know what I want, and that’s you.”
He shook his head adamantly, the lone tear that slipped from the corner of her eye causing a huge lump to form in his throat. “I can’t let you do it,” he said, his voice hoarse. “You deserve so much more.”
Pressing his lips to her forehead, he inhaled the scent of her skin one last time, trying to convince himself that he was doing the right thing for her. She might not realize it now, but she would later, when she was back in New York and loving whatever job she ended up with. That’s where she belonged, he told himself.
Then, while he still had the fortitude to do so, he picked up his bag and walked out the door.
* * *
“Peyty, you really should eat something before you leave for the airport.”
“I’m fine, Mom,” Peyton said for the fifth time that morning since walking into the house to be with her parents while they ate breakfast. Her mother had taken one look at her red, puffy eyes and the sadness no doubt reflected on her face and had automatically shifted into worry mode and had been fretting over Peyton ever since.
Glancing away from her father’s concerned stare, Peyton took a sip of her coffee, the only thing she could stomach right now after spending most of the night tossing and turning while alternately dealing with the hurt caused by Leo’s rejection and being pissed that he thought he knew what was best for her . . . and didn’t believe that she’d gladly give up her life in New York for him. She wasn’t Amanda, and Peyton loved Leo more than enough to compromise and make sacrifices. She knew what she’d be giving up. It was a choice she was willing to make, but in the end, it hadn’t made a difference and her battered heart was paying the price.
He was an idiot, plain and simple, and she’d come to the conclusion this morning that there was nothing she could do or say that would change his mind. If I love you wasn’t strong enough to persuade him, then she didn’t know what ever would.
“Honey, are you sure you’re okay to travel today?” her mom asked, placing a gentle hand on Peyton’s arm. “In fact, since you don’t have a job yet, you can stay a bit longer and—”
“Tawny,” her father interrupted Peyton’s mother, a warning note in his voice. “Have you already forgotten the conversation we had last night after the kids left the house and what we agreed on?”
Her mother sighed. “I remember, Carson,” she said, a bit sheepishly. “It’s just difficult to turn all the worry off when it’s been second nature since the day she was born.”
“She’s a grown adult,” her father countered, his tone firm. “We agreed to let her live her life like one and stop interfering.”
Despite how lousy she felt, despite the heart that was split open in her chest, the corner of Peyton’s mouth kicked up in an amused smile at her parents’ little quarrel. “You guys really discussed that?” she asked in disbelief.
“Of course we did.” Her father finished off his bacon and wiped his mouth with his napkin, his eyes caring as they met hers. “We realized that maybe we have been too overprotective, but it’s only because we love you.”
“I know that,” she said softly.
“And we never meant to make you feel so smothered and pressured that you’d go to the lengths that you did with Leo to convince us you had a man in your life taking care of you in New York,” he added. “So, we owe you an apology as well.”
“Yes, we’re very sorry,” her mother echoed. “But—”
“There is no but, Tawny,” Carson cut in, giving Peyton’s mother an exasperated look. “We’re sorry, and we’re going to try and do better going forward, right?”
“Yes.” Peyton almost laughed at the prissy way her mother addressed her father. “I was just going to say that, if she ever needed to come back home, she could live in the guesthouse until she’s ready to find a place of her own.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” But Peyton honestly didn’t foresee returning to San Diego to live any time soon. Not when her one and only reason to stay had turned her away.
“I need to say one more thing,” Tawny said, cutting Carson a look that said he’d better not dare interrupt her this time, and he didn’t. “I know you told us that you and Leo agreed to a fake relationship for the sake of convincing your father and me that you had someone in New York, and it was all a temporary thing, but what I saw between the two of you seemed very real. Unless I’m mistaken?”
The careful way her mother phrased the question made it more of a curiosity than a concern. Peyton wasn’t surprised that her mother had seen their chemistry and connection, because being with Leo had been so easy and effortless. Like they’d been together for years, instead of just a week.
“No, you’re not mistaken,” Peyton said, staring down into her coffee cup while pushing down the surge of emotion trying to claw its way to the surface all over again. “In fact, I told him I loved him last night, but it just wasn’t enough to change his mindset, which, unfortunately, is because
a woman in his past hurt him pretty badly because she waited until their wedding day to tell him that she wasn’t willing to give up a certain part of her life for him.”
“Oh.” Her mother’s one word was quiet but shocked.
Peyton lifted her head and met her mother’s gaze. “Leo knows exactly how I feel about him, but I’m not about to beg him into believing me when I say that he’s a man I’d follow anywhere because I love him. He has to believe it for himself.”
