His hands tightened in a grip as he remembered that helpless feeling he’d experienced as she crumbled in front of him, tears no longer dammed back. Knowing she was being ripped apart by the actions of the one man who was supposed to love and protect her. Having two sisters, he’d seen first hand the pain and devastation that love can bring, and he’d been careful in his thirty-five years not to get close enough to any woman to cause that pain. It wouldn’t be fair to them.
Unlike Dominic, a family, house, woman of his dreams…they weren’t something he ever envisioned. He wanted to make a name for himself. Conquer the business world and make sure no one ever underestimated him. He couldn’t let himself get distracted by the mess that love could cause. Having Angelina crush his naive seventeen-year-old heart had been enough.
His thoughts turned to the other thing that had stood out about last night. That had, in fact, kept him company long into the early hours, when sleep evaded him.
Payton.
What the hell had she been thinking answering the door in that T-shirt and prancing around the room like she had? Did she have no idea how enticing and sexy as hell she’d been with her hair tousled and around her shoulders, her cheeks flushed, her eyes brilliantly green? It was obvious she didn’t.
But he did. As had the guy who’d delivered room service, sneaking glances at her legs and chest when she was too distracted with signing the slip and holding the phone to notice. It had taken every ounce of strength not to slam his fist into the guy’s belly when he couldn’t keep his gaze higher than her breasts.#p#分页标题#e#
At least this morning she was fully dressed again and Cruz could think straight.
A catchy song came on the radio and Payton’s head bounced slightly to the music. Her hair that had been so carefully straightened and styled yesterday was now in softer waves around her shoulders. Pretty. Probably silky and smooth too.
Once again, he asked himself what the hell Brad had been thinking cheating on a woman like her?
If Cruz was where Brad was, with an enviable last name and business title, ready to inherit a massive financial empire, and a beautiful and smart and funny woman at his side, he wouldn’t need to mess around with any cheap bimbo. He’d have everything he needed. Just goes to show that some people could really be bat-shit crazy, never appreciating what they had.
Reaching behind the seat, Cruz pulled his laptop out of the bag and booted it up. Even without an Internet connection, he could still get some work done. Cathy had called earlier to confirm he was scheduled for a conference call with Dick Eastman later this afternoon, and he wanted to be ready. He just prayed his cell service, which had already been spotty, would hold out until then.
Payton glanced over at his screen and then back at the road. “Seriously? You’re going to work for the next few hours? Isn’t this supposed to be a vacation?”
He didn’t look up as he responded, “First, I think we can both agree that this adventure isn’t anywhere near a vacation. Second, there’s no chance I’m letting you take the wheel longer than three hours. And third, when you have a job you love, that you’re passionate about, work is less of a trial than a thrill. But then again, I can’t imagine a social butterfly like you has ever worked a day in her life or aspired to be anything else than pampered.”
“Gee, and here I thought we were making some progress and you were something other than an ass.” He flitted his eyes up to see her grip the steering wheel and just as quickly release the tension. She swept her hair to the side and breathed in, as if following some three-step program for stress relief before she continued. “Not that I have any reason to explain myself to you, but I’ll have you know I had other aspirations once. I was even in the top fifteen percent at Vanderbilt—not an easy feat.”
“Vanderbilt? Isn’t that some snooty school turning out southern belles every season?” he asked, as if he hadn’t already Googled the school.
“It’s only one of the top-rated colleges in the country and was ranked number sixteen by U.S. News last year.”
Okay, he was being unreasonably condescending but he couldn’t help himself around this woman. For some reason, Payton Vaughn brought out the worst in him. Like he was taking out all his frustration with the business world and the good old boy’s club that he’d been working against on her. It wasn’t fair. He knew it but couldn’t seem to stop himself. “What did you major in, anyway? Home Economics? Embroidery? No. Don’t tell me, Liberal Arts and Science.”