“I’m not leaving until next Saturday, December twentieth.” Peyton lifted her chicken sandwich. “I’ll return December twenty-sixth, the day my parents leave for their cruise.”
“Why aren’t you going with them?”
Peyton shrugged one sexy shoulder. “I don’t want to.”
Fair enough. “I’m glad you’re only going to be gone for a week.”
“So am I.” Peyton smiled into his eyes. Minutes later, she was the one to break their companionable silence. “Ginny and I had a talk Tuesday night.”
Dread crawled up Darius’s back. “About what?”
“She warned me to stay away from you.”
Darius stilled. “Did she threaten you?”
“No, she just annoyed me.”
“What did she say?” Darius gritted his teeth as Peyton’s cheeks turned pink. That couldn’t be a good sign.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“The only reason I brought this up is that I thought you should know.”
“Peyton. Tell me.” Darius willed her to talk to him.
She hesitated a moment longer, then lowered her voice. “She said you’d break my heart.”
It was worse than Darius had imagined. “Do you believe her?”
“Of course not.” Peyton reached across the table and covered his fist with her small hand. “Stop comparing yourself to Simon.”
“We should file a report with the sheriff.”
Peyton shook her head, drawing her hand back. “We don’t need to involve Alonzo. Besides, I think she’s done with us.”
“What makes you think that?”
Peyton’s gaze slid away from Darius. “I told her I’d tell everyone in town she was a stalker and that you had to file a restraining order against her.”
That couldn’t have gone over well. Ginny had nearly lost her mind when he’d requested the order. “That would take care of the situation.”
“She forced my hand.” Peyton lowered her voice again. “I just pointed out that, if you were such a horrible person, why was her name the one on the restraining order?”
Darius arched a brow. “You said that?”
Peyton straightened in her chair as though offended. “It’s a legitimate question. She has no right to talk about you like that. She’s a hypocrite and a liar.”
It was strange to have someone so passionately on his side. “Thank you, Peyton.”
“For what?” She frowned.
“For handling Ginny for me.”
For making me believe that happily-ever-after is possible for me. For helping me find my heart.
CHAPTER 20