Page 40 of Peyton's Price

He wasn’t watching Peyton anymore, so he missed her parted lips and dumbfounded expression.

He’s still here.Matthias was still in Boston. Why? Her lips parted as she remembered the look in his eyes when he almost kissed her. And perhaps the greater revelation—she had wanted him to.

Peyton sprang to her feet, then ran to the window, staring in the direction of the harbor as if she could search for theOrmen Langefrom here. It was the right direction, but too far. The view was obscured by other buildings.

“Could he?” she whispered. Had Matthias extended his stay in Boston because he was waiting for her?

The deadline had come and gone days ago, but, in retrospect, three days hadn’t been long enough for her to reassure all of her friends of her well-being. She was still fielding calls from friends from school and former coworkers who had transferred to Caislean hotels in other states.

She’d barely had a moment to herself—her fault, of course, for clinging to Liam since she’d gotten back, but she hadn’t had any time to think. Had Matthias decided to give her more time?

“What’s wrong?” Trick sat ramrod straight, watching her reaction with a tight expression.

She took a deep, albeit shaky, breath. “I just realized something.”

“What?”

She wiggled two fingers. “Well, it’s two things really. First—I’m done feeling sorry for myself. And second, I want you to stop feeling sorry for me, too. Don’t be mad at Liam on my behalf. We haven’t been fair to him. It’s not his fault that he never fell in love with me.”

“Peyton—”

She held up a hand. “Trick, I love you, but you and Maggie are too loyal for your own good. But now that Liam is getting married, you have to give Caroline a chance. She was just trying to be nice and include me when she asked me to be a bridesmaid.”

He wrinkled his nose. “You don’t think she was trying to rub your nose in it?”

She thought about it, but then shook her head. “No, I don’t. She’s…still an outsider. No one confides in her, and she’s not around us enough to guess what I’m feeling. Maybe she suspects, but I don’t think so. It was a genuine gesture on her part.”

Trick sniffed. “She’s not around us by choice. Caroline only ever wants to socialize with Liam and other jet setters. She lives and breathes high society, and she never stops networking. I would call her a social climber if she weren’t an heiress herself.”

“Maybe, but we didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat. Not for her or any of her predecessors. In fact, we’ve been assholes to most of Liam’s girlfriends,” she admitted.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Trick grumbled, but he couldn’t quite look her in the eye. “It doesn’t help he doesn’t exactly go for the warm and fuzzy types—the ones with two brain cells to rub together anyway. If they were halfway intelligent, then they were usually cold or self-involved. It was intentional, too. A normal woman would have developed real feelings for him, then he would have had to dump her.”

Peyton snorted.At least I saved Liam the trouble of having to dump me. She’d broken her heart all on her own.

“I’m not sure they were all that bad,” she mused, thinking back on the parade of beautiful women Liam had run through. Some of them had probably been nice enough if they’d bothered to give them a chance. But she hadn’t been able to do that. Because of her, his siblings hadn’t been able to either…

Then there was Matthias. Closing her eyes, she pictured him—the way his eyes locked on her when he talked and the funny little twist he put on certain expressions…and how alone he was.

But he doesn’t have to be.

Peyton laughed aloud, a hysterical tinge making the sound thin but light. Almost happy.

Trick groaned. “Okay, I think all the stress made you crack up.”

Peyton didn’t answer. She returned to the window, putting a hand over her heart. But the dull gnawing pain that had been a constant companion the last few months had faded.

Was there any chance theOrmen Langewas still in port? Her heart skittered and skipped.I have to find out.

Spinning on her heel, she went to the bar to grab another bottle of water. She tossed it at Trick. “Drink up. You need to be sober enough to drive.”

He frowned, setting aside the wineglass and picking up the bottle that had landed next to him. “Where are we going?”

She inhaled, holding the air in her lungs until she could summon the wherewithal to answer. But she didn’t need to.

Trick gasped, his eyes bulging out of his head. “No!”

“Yes,” she said, her eyes shining. “Get your keys.Now.”

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