She’d never uttered those words about any man before, not even to Cruz, but she knew with certainty that she did. And she’d never felt freer.
But whatever response she’d expected from her mother to this statement, her laughter was the least she’d expected. “The only marriage you two have is symbolic. Not legal. Trust me, honey. That little paper you have doesn’t mean anything.”
Payton didn’t believe it. Didn’t want to believe it. But there was something so definite in her mother’s tone that she found herself growing uneasy. “What did Daddy’s attorney say?”
“Something about filing paperwork and birth certificates, and some nasty business about blood tests before you’d even be given a marriage certificate. And even then, marriages can only be conducted by a civil servant—not some Mexican priest.”
The logic of what her mother was saying sank in.
Cruz wasn’t her husband. They were never married.
But it didn’t change how she felt. It didn’t change what was in her heart. “Be that as it may, Mother, it doesn’t change the fact that I love Cruz. That we want to be together.”
Her mother raised her brow. “You love him and you want to be together. How about Cruz? What does he want? Has he told you he loves you?”#p#分页标题#e#
Neither of them had spoken the words. It was too new, and they were still figuring this out. Not that any of this was her mother’s concern. “I’m not discussing the personal details of my relationship with you. In fact, right now I only have two people I need to talk to. Neither of them is you.”
Her mother examined her perfect manicure, picking off something invisible in the cuticle bed. “Very well, Payton. But let me remind you, less than twenty-four hours ago you were standing in that very spot telling me how you weren’t going to be like me. You weren’t going to settle on being second in anyone’s life. I’m warning you now. In the end, where men like Cruz are concerned, they’re always going to choose work first. Every time. And the sooner you resolve yourself to that inevitably, the less pain you’ll experience later on. Trust me, Payton. I know what I’m talking about. Cruz is no different than your father.”
She had thought she was impervious to whatever comments her mother could make. But she hadn’t expected this. To be likened to her mother? No.
She shook her head. “I’m nothing like you, and Cruz is nothing like Daddy.”
“Payton, do you think when I married your father that I was resigned to being the woman in the shadows of his life? That I was resolved to put up with whatever indiscretions he had over the years? To know that I would never—we would never—come first? I was once just as bright-eyed and naive as you. I thought we’d be going through this life, side by side. But somewhere along the way, that changed. No, this isn’t what I ever envisioned for myself. But it’s what I’ve accepted.”
She came to her feet and stopped in front of Payton, resting her cool hand on Payton’s arm. “I know that you want to believe Cruz is different. That things will be different between you two. But I know how men like him are. Their ambition and insecurities blind them to the more important things in life. At least with Brad, you know what you’ll get. He’s not blindly ambitious, doesn’t suffer from insecurities in the least, dear boy. Both of which flaw him…that’s true. But he does love you. And he could make you happy. Think about it.”
Payton stood there another minute after her mother closed the door behind her, leaving Payton alone. To her thoughts. To her doubts. Doubts that she couldn’t shut out as she stood under the pulsating water from the shower a couple of minutes later.
She was wrong. Her mother was wrong.
Cruz would never be like her father.
Chapter Fifteen
Cruz heard someone knocking at the door but it took him a full minute to finally open his eyes and realize where he was. He reached for the bed next to him, where he’d last seen Payton, naked and smiling before he fell asleep. Empty.
He sat up.
The pounding on the door returned.
Had she left for something and gotten locked out? He grabbed his pants from the floor and slipped them on, aware that the bathroom door was open and it was dark inside. She wasn’t in there. Or the main room, as he looked around, before finally throwing the door open.
Brad’s familiar too-cocky face met him. What the—?
“Cruz Sorensen. Been a long time. What’s it been? Since high school?” The guy stood there with that same air of confidence and entitlement he’d always had, a few bottled waters tucked under his arm.