Page 49 of An Unexpected Turn
“I should have come back to your apartment Saturday morning.”
“You don’t need to explain,” she said, crossing her legs under her. “Mike needed you, and to be honest, I needed a minute.”
I shook my head. “I also didn’t need to fix the wall on Friday night. I just needed to see you and didn’t have the balls to come out and say it.”
A smile tugged on the side of her mouth. “I had a feeling about that. I wanted to see you too. I was so worried about both of you all day Friday. Seeing my students fight always bothers me, but knowing the kind of kid Mike is and how it would upset you made me sick to my stomach.”
“I got into my share of fights in high school. I worry because he’s a young fourteen, and that’s my fault.”
“How is that your fault?”
“Because he’s my only son, and I babied him because of what happened with his mother and me. I tried to make my marriage work, but ...” I scrubbed a hand down my face, hating how this would come out. “My heart wasn’t in it—not for a long time. When I asked for a divorce, Eileen lost it and has hated me ever since. My son has seen and heard a lot of things I wish he hadn’t.”
“Sometimes people are happier apart than together. When my father left, I was barely eight, and I still feel the relief.”
“I never got in too deep with anyone after. I dated, but I was afraid of hurting anyone like that again, so I focused on Mike and tried to make the most out of the little time we had together on weekends. It was easier to move on if I made sure I didn’t become invested in anyone.”
She nodded, studying me. “I get it.”
“No. No, you don’t.”
I scooted closer and pulled her to me.
“From the time I saw you in the parking lot with Mike, I haven’t been able to stay away. I should have, for so many reasons.” I chuckled. “But I couldn’t. The fact that you’re almost a decade and a half younger than me, my kid’s guidance counselor, and the niece my best friend thinks of as a daughter hasn’t stopped me. When I almost kissed you in the kitchen with Keith right outside, I knew—”
“That it was a matter of time. I figured that out a long time ago too.” She set the cup next to the blanket, draping her arm over my torso and cuddling into my chest. “I think we moved on from mess to clusterfuck.”
I cracked up, resting my chin on the top of her head.
“Sounds about right. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”
Peyton lifted her head. “What way?”
I cradled her cheek as a long, defeated sigh fell from my lips. She was so damn gorgeous it almost hurt to look at her.
“That I would tell everyone and everything to fuck off just to have you for myself.”
Her mouth parted when I skimmed my thumb over her lips.
“I almost stopped at your uncle’s house first to ask his permission.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Without realizing it, we’d rolled back on the blanket. I hovered over her, settling between her legs. She feathered her hand down my cheek and over my jaw, triggering goose bumps along my shoulder that had nothing to do with the cold.
“Because,” I murmured so close to her mouth that our lips brushed, “if he told me no, it wouldn’t have mattered. I’d be right here anyway.” Our mouths fused together. Peyton grabbed at the back of my jacket as I sank deeper into her. This kiss was slow instead of how ravenous I usually was whenever her lips touched mine. I wanted to savor her instead of devouring what I could before I lost it.
She pulled back from the kiss and shook her head.
“If we came here to talk, I need to tell you something first.”
“Okay,” I whispered, my stomach falling a bit. “What is it?”
“Could we ...” She nodded behind me as she sat up on her elbows. I took the hint and climbed off her, bracing myself for whatever she had to say.
“Aunt Maya knows this, but Uncle Keith doesn’t. Aside from her and Claudia, and my old school and most likely the entire school district I was in, no one else does.” Her chest rose as she sucked in a deep breath. “I had a fling with the principal at my last job. I ignored a lot of red flags and took a professional chance that cost me, especially when I found out that myflingwas an affair since he was married. He’d told me that he was separated and we had to lie low until his divorce was final, and I believed him.” She turned away from me and rubbed her eyes.
“That’s why you said you didn’t leave anything behind in Brooklyn, and why you ended up here.”
