Undenied (Unspoken 3)

He choked on his laughter and a grin creased his face. “Sorry. I mean, you just caught me off guard. You’re the last person I expected to see.”

“So you want to grab lunch?” she asked. “I’m free until later this afternoon, then I have rehearsal dinner shit for the wedding.”

“Uh—” He broke off and shifted uncomfortably, moving his weight from one foot to another.

He really was giving her the brush-off. Heat bloomed across her cheeks, but she bit the inside of her

lip to control the tide of embarrassment. Damn, just when she’d convinced herself that there was a perfectly good reason for his flakiness the night before.

“On second thought, I can see you’d rather endure a trip to the dentist,” she said dryly. She tucked her hair behind her ears and backed toward the edge of the porch. “It was nice seeing you again.”

She turned and navigated the two small steps to the walkway cutting across the yard when his voice stopped her.

“Payton, wait.”

She stopped and slowly turned, giving him a long, measuring stare. He stared back at her, his eyes thoughtful, a hint of regret simmering in the depths.

“Give me a minute to get dressed, okay?”

Silence fell between them. She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and rocked back on her heels. “Okay.”

Wes watched her for a long second before he turned and went back to his bedroom. She was here. On his doorstep. Inviting him to lunch. And he was acting like a complete chicken shit.

“Suck it up and take it like a man.” Get this over with. She’ll leave town. It’s just like Gracie said. I’ll probably never see her again.

He glanced down at his embarrassingly flat shorts. “A lot of help you are,” he muttered. “A drop-dead gorgeous woman throws herself at you and all you can do is lay there like a fucking pussy.”

God, now he was talking to his dick. What a pansy.

He yanked on a T-shirt then fumbled for his tennis shoes which were shoved under the bed. Turning to go, he thought better of it and hurried to the bathroom. There, he yanked up a toothbrush and did a quicky job of brushing his teeth. Hell, she might try to kiss him again. Oddly enough, that idea wasn’t as terrifying as it should be.

As he passed through the living room, he grabbed for the keys on the hook by the door and walked outside. It was hot, but he was already sweating, and he hadn’t even gotten close to her yet.

He paused at the porch steps and looked at her. Really looked at her. Without all the discomfort her sudden appearance had caused, without the desire to see her vanish into thin air.

The truth was, she was beautiful. The sweet, young girl he’d known had blossomed into one hell of a gorgeous woman. She seemed confident yet relaxed, and she didn’t seem like a bullshitter.

She looked up and met his gaze when he neared her. She didn’t immediately smile but then one corner of her mouth lifted and she straightened her stance, one hand on her hip as if she was waiting for him to make the next move. Fair enough—she’d made the first one. And the second.

“Want to go in my truck?” he asked.

“Sure, just let me get my purse.”

He waited as she retrieved her bag from her car, then opened the passenger side door of his truck for her. She moved past him in a soft swirl of floral-scented air. She reached for the door handle, and he gently shut the door behind her before walking around to get in on his side.

“So where are we going again?” she asked as he backed out of his driveway.

“This was your idea,” he said. “Where are you taking me?”

“What are my choices?”

“Well, you can have a burger, Mexican or barbeque. Unless you want to drive into Beaumont, in which case, you can pick your poison.”

“We can do Mexican,” she said.

He drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel as he stopped at the one red light in town. He glanced over to see her staring out her window, her expression one of supreme I don’t give a fuck.

A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. He got out and waited for her in front of the truck then walked behind her inside where they were seated by the hostess.

A waitress dumped a basket of chips with salsa in front of them and then took their drink order. Wes waited until she’d returned and had taken their food order before relaxing in his chair and glancing up at Payton.

She munched on a chip, glancing curiously around the room. Then her gaze settled back on him, and for once he didn’t look away. He stared into her pale blue eyes, eyes that currently sparkled with challenge.

“Why are you so uptight around me?” she asked.

He blinked. Well, she definitely didn’t have any inhibitions. “Uh…”

She picked up another chip and dunked it into the salsa. “I can’t figure you out,” she continued. “I catch you looking at me, and I can see the interest, but then the next second, you’re running away so fast, you’re tripping over your feet. Am I that unappealing?”

“Good Lord, no,” he muttered, still reeling over the direct line she’d taken.

She arched one eyebrow. “Then what is it? Got something against brunettes?”

“Honey, I like all women,” he drawled.

She snorted. “That’s bullshit. If that were true, you and I would have ended up in bed last night instead of you pulling a lame-ass hat trick to escape.”

He coughed as a piece of chip went down the wrong pipe. He wheezed and reached for his water. A mournful sigh escaped him, and he briefly closed his eyes. Surely this was a guy’s worst nightmare. A gorgeous, vibrant woman offering herself on a silver platter, and his mind and dick weren’t in unison.

“Payton, you’re a beautiful woman—”

She held up a hand in annoyance. “Good God, if you’re going to give me that brush-off speech, save it, please. I don’t need you to patronize me. Contrary to what you may think, you don’t hold my ego in your little palm. Yeah, I’m attracted to you, yeah, we have a history, but that doesn’t mean you’re the only guy in the world I’ve ever wanted to sleep with.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face and groaned. This was such a cluster fuck. “That’s just it, Payton. Our history is what’s the issue here.”

Confusion darted across her face. “What?”

He glanced around at the nearby tables, cringing at the idea that he’d be overheard by someone. Then he looked back at Payton who stared at him with a crinkled brow.

“Can we get out of here? Go somewhere else to have this conversation?”

“Uh, okay, I guess.”