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“I’ll try and tell her that, but she seems to thin
k there’s a certain order of how things are supposed to go. And part of that is getting you out for some crazy girls’ night. Something about how this has been a party fifteen years in the making may have passed her lips.”
“Well, don’t share this with Payton because she’ll probably be devastated, but the whole girls’ night party thing had always been her idea. I’d be just as happy hanging out with her in the honeymoon suite, drinking champagne and doing our nails. But seriously, Cruz. Thanks for looking out for her. She’s the closest thing I’ve got to family.”
Kate’s voice softened, and he could feel the tenderness she clearly felt for her friend. “I know you two didn’t really hit it off when you first met but you’ll see with time that, although Payton may seem impervious to anything, resilient, and even charming and funny, most of the time it’s just a facade to hide how sensitive she really is. If you lived with her mother for long enough, you’d probably understand why.”
He grunted, thinking about the kind of woman who would be controlling enough to order her daughter’s wedding dress one size too small—and who’d tell her to forgive and forget her fiancé’s treachery. “Yeah. I’ve got some idea.”
“Would you believe that the woman has called me four more times this morning trying to get updates on Payton and to demand that I bring Payton to her senses and stop being so selfish?”
His hand tightened on the phone. In the time he’d known Kate, selfish was the last thing he’d call her. She had a big heart and only wanted to help people. Hell, she’d left a high-powered law firm so she could take on more downtrodden and financially challenged clients—like his sister, Daisy—just a few months ago.
“Don’t worry, Dominic shared a few of his thoughts with her when he heard that.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“Glad to hear it. But rest assured, Payton is doing all right and holding her own. You just worry about yourself and remember…this weekend is for you. You and Dominic. Don’t let that dragon lady unsettle you. I’ll let Payton know you’re looking forward to partying hard tonight.”
He hung up the phone and picked up the last gordita on the plate and sank his teeth into it. What did that make…five? No sense letting good food go to waste. Especially since he couldn’t take another bite of those chocolate bars Payton bought that morning after taking her first bite and falling in love.
He shook his head again at the thought that any mother would force starvation on an already gorgeous and healthy daughter so she looked the right way for a wedding. It made him doubly grateful for the warm, loving parents he and his siblings were graced with. Who accepted all of them for who they were—although, since Dominic found Kate, there had been more “helpful” hints from his mom about not getting too caught up in finding success he didn’t have someone to share it with.
But to tell the truth, none of the women he’d dated had sparked that interest in him. Sparked that need to be with them longer than it takes a construction project to run through to completion, to want to plan a future with someone who, in twenty years, he’d want to snuggle up against him in bed—ideally naked.
Not until recently.
Hell and damnation. He was not going to think about Payton that way. He couldn’t. Not because there was anything wrong with her, contrary to what her mother may have ingrained her to believe, but because…he didn’t have anything to offer someone like Payton.
Not yet.
Not until he could prove that he and his company were as good as Dick and Brad Eastman, like the Vaughns and Vaughn Communications. Not until he could rest assured that another person, someone like Brad Eastman, couldn’t just walk into his life and steal away his happiness again.
Until he had everything to offer to someone like Payton.
Chapter Seven
With Cruz at the wheel, Payton went to work syncing his phone’s Bluetooth to the car’s radio. She stared at the phone, waiting as it tried to find a connection.
Four hours. They were still four hours from Puerto Vallarta, and if she didn’t have some recognizable music soon, she was going to go insane. Well, that or be forced to start singing “99 bottles of beer.” Maybe even the song about finding a peanut.
Cruz would be the one ready to go insane. But that would only serve him right for the little stunt he tried before. Although, now that she’d had some time to nurse her wounds, she was willing to put it behind her. This deal was important to Cruz. To his family. And he at least came clean.
It also had made her face a few things about herself. About her feelings toward Brad.
Finally, the connection took, and she went to the “music for the road” playlist she’d put together.
Hmm. This really is an art. Choosing the right stuff. Which one to lead with…
She spotted a title and smiled.
The speakers shuddered for a moment as she turned the music up and then AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” blared out.
She looked over at Cruz, waiting for a reaction.
He gave her a sideways glance. And smiled. “Okay. I’ll give you that one. Solid choice. But if I hear any country, it’s going off.”
“Hey. There’s nothing wrong with country music, buddy. The old clichés of drunk assholes bemoaning the loss of their wives and dead dogs is not even close to true.”
He guffawed.
