Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
I stepped out first and made room for Peyton to pass.
There was no time for him to open the door, though. It was ripped open from the inside, by whom I assumed was Peyton’s mother. She was a short, slender woman in her midfifties, and something told me she hadn’t looked like that before I’d told Peyton I was on my way. Now she wore a summer dress, had her hair up, and she’d done her makeup.
She had the same dark hair and green eyes as her son.
As if on cue, Julia became ridiculously shy and buried her face against Peyton’s neck.
“Mom, this is Julia, the only girl for me.”
“Hi, Julia. Aren’t you adorable?” Ms. Scott, or Carol, wore the definition of an “aww” face. I couldn’t blame her. My daughter was the only girl for me too. “I’m so happy to meet you. Peyton talks about you all the time.”
I sent him a smile.
“I’m sorry, I’m blocking the way,” Ms. Scott said, quickly sidestepping to let us in. “You must be Edward. My son talks about you all the time too.” She surprised me by swooping in for a hug, and she had this genuine, beaming smile that kind of melted away my nerves.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Scott. I hope you’ll tell me what exactly it is Peyton says about me.”
She tinkered a laugh while Peyton blushed and scowled at me.
Since I was the last one to enter, I closed the door and locked it.
“Well, let’s not all stand here,” Ms. Scott said. “Peyton, show Edward and Julia to your room so they can leave their things. I’ve prepared coffee and cake in the living room.”
I took off my shoes before I followed Peyton, past the kitchen to the right, the living room was up ahead, and down a hall. It was a nice place. I didn’t know why Peyton had felt the need to warn me. There were pictures of Peyton and Anna everywhere, and go figure, he’d been cute as a teenager too. Gangly and carefree. Which led me to believe at least those photos had been taken before everything changed for him.
The first room we passed had a sign that read “Keep Out,” along with Anna’s name.
Music came from the room.
“This is me.” Peyton opened the next door, and I was a little disappointed. I’d hoped for a journey back to his childhood. Instead, I was greeted by blue walls, a bed, a desk, and a TV. Then I remembered that they had moved in recent years, after Ms. Scott had landed a better job. “Most of my stuff is in Seattle,” he explained.
I nodded and glanced around, then landed my gaze on him. “You should give up that lease.”
“Should I?” His question seemed sincere.
Julia wanted down, so he helped her to her feet, and she started taking off her jacket.
“You should.” I walked over to him and finally wrapped my arms around him. “I missed you, baby boy.” I breathed him in and left a trail of kisses along his shoulder. “You belong with me. With us.”
He reached up on his toes and threw his arms around my neck. “I’m so fucking in love with you.”
Fucking hell.
My heart constricted, and I tightened my hold on him. “Good,” I whispered and kissed him. “That makes two of us.”
“Yeah?” He gave me that shy smile of his.
I kissed it. “I’ve never been so sure.”
He sighed contentedly and sank into my embrace, exactly where I wanted him. His arms dropped to my middle, and I cupped the back of his head and kissed his hair. With a glance over my shoulder, I saw that Julia was inspecting a stack of books on the desk. Considering they all had titles related to the Civil War, I doubted she’d find them interesting.
“Let’s go have coffee with your mother,” I murmured against the top of Peyton’s head. “Then I’m gonna hold you all night.” Sliding my nose down to his neck, I dropped kisses along the way and whispered in his ear, “I’ll need a quick look at your bottom too.”
He shuddered and nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Milk or sugar, Edward?”
“No, that’s good, thank you.” I shifted in my seat on the couch and took a sip of my coffee. Despite that I craved alone time with Peyton, I was more relaxed now and could enjoy myself. And I had Peyton next to me, with Julia climbing on us like a monkey. Right now, she was wildly curious about the treats on the plate Ms. Scott had prepared. It looked like chocolate cake with an assortment of cookies scattered around it.
“Julia.” I got her attention and nodded at the plastic bags on the floor under the coffee table. “Did you want to give them to Ms. Scott?”
“Oh, it’s Carol, please.” Carol turned toward the hallway. “Anna! Come say hi, at least!” She sent me an apologetic smile. “She’s off to summer camp in a couple days and has packed and repacked her bag all week.”