Her Accidental Husband(47)

And like that, their crazy, unexpected trip, a trip that had brought him more adventure and excitement, the feeling that he was fully alive, came to an official end.



“Payton! Cruz! I’m so happy to see you,” Kate said, the relief palpable in her voice.

Payton turned to find her friend rushing toward them, her vibrant red hair hard to miss, as was the dark handsome fiancé who followed close behind. Kate pulled Payton into a hug that threatened to bruise a few ribs if she didn’t let up. It was another reminder of how much Dominic and his big-hearted family had worked miracles on Kate, who before knowing him, would have been more likely to pat Payton awkwardly on the back than give her such an effusive hug. Payton liked the change.

“Isn’t it bad luck for you two to see each other before the ceremony?” Cruz asked Dominic, who was similar in height and coloring to his older brother, but was freer with the disarming smiles. And whereas Dominic’s eyes twinkled blue in mischief, Cruz’s dark brown eyes were more sharp and astute, seeming to have the power to look inside your soul—or maybe that was just her.

Kate waved her hand. “Not a chance. We only have two weeks to be together without the pressing worry of trial dates and Dominic’s studies,” she said in reference to her fiancé’s recent return to the architecture program he’d abandoned a few years before to help out with the family business. “I’m not wasting even a minute holed up in a hotel room to honor some silly old superstition.”

Dominic’s hand was around Kate’s waist and he brought her up against him and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Nor would I run the risk leaving her alone in our opinionated aunties’ care. They’d only share more stories from when we were kids that would best be forgotten—for both our sakes.”

“Too late on that score,” Kate said and laughed, and turned to Payton to explain. “They used to come here every summer growing up, getting into their fair share of trouble. Once, the two of them, six and four at the time, broke into the town’s candy shop during siesta time, and then snuck back to their beds, almost undetected. They might have gotten away with it if they didn’t have melted chocolate plastered all over their faces. Who’d have thought I’d be marrying a known felon.”#p#分页标题#e#

The image of Cruz doing anything as undignified—and illegal—as breaking into a candy store at the tender age of six brought a reluctant smile to Payton’s lips. But it couldn’t quite quell her sudden anxiety at having her mother pounce on her before she’d had a chance to decompress for a few minutes.

Kate was studying her, and as if sensing her feelings, stepped forward and grabbed her hand. “I’m going to entrust my future husband in your hands for just a little while, Cruz, while I take my maid of honor up to her room to get settled. We have a few things to talk about.”

“Like the fact my mother is somewhere in this very hotel waiting to welcome me?”

In a conspiratorial voice, Kate said, “I have it on good authority that your mother is out at the pool drinking daiquiris waiting for your call. If we slip away now, we should have some time before she’s tipped off that you’re here, since I understand most of the hotel staff is hiding from her.”

Payton exhaled a tiny bit in relief. Kate pulled on her hand, but Payton felt a strange pang at the thought of leaving Cruz behind. She turned to him, hoping her face showed only relief and gratitude instead of the unsettling sadness that their time together was over. “Thanks again for making sure I got here in one piece. It’s definitely been an adventure.”

“That it has.” They studied each other a few heartbeats more before Kate pulled on Payton’s hand.

“Come on,” Payton heard Dominic saying to his older brother, “Let’s get you cleaned up. And mom wants to see you, make sure you’re actually in one piece.”

“The roads down here weren’t that bad.”

“I wasn’t talking about the roads,” she heard Dominic distinctly say, followed by their laughter.

“Okay, I’m guessing we have less than ten minutes before your mother starts pounding on that door demanding an audience with you,” Kate said a few minutes later as they stepped into Payton’s room and shut the door. “So you had better start talking.”

Payton dropped her purse on the desk. “Talk about what?”

“Oh, let’s see,” Kate said and tossed her long red hair over her shoulders before turning those laser-like gray eyes on her friend. “About the fact that two nights ago you were devastated to discover your fiancé was sleeping around and then last night, when I tried Cruz’s phone four times to reach you to see if you were okay, I only got voicemail. And then Cruz tells me this morning you got a late start and you couldn’t talk because you were in the shower.”