Page 4 of After Party

They drove for a few minutes without talking.

“Adrianne wants me to go to a class for wedding cake decorating.”

Okay, so that was not a topic he would have expected. Scott glanced into the mirror again. “Yeah?” He wasn’t sure what to really say to that.

“I love decorating cakes.” She tossed something that looked like Skittles into her mouth and chewed for a minute. “But I’m not sure about wedding cakes.”

“Why not wedding cakes?”

She didn’t respond right away and he just let her be.

Finally she said, “When I decorate little kids’ birthday cakes or retirement party cakes or congratulations cakes, I enjoy it. They make me smile and…” She trailed off. “Never mind.”

Scott frowned. “They make you smile and what?”

“Nothing. It’s stupid.” She turned on her side and nuzzled her cheek against something she was using as a pillow. “Is this your sweatshirt?”

He was distracted for a second by the fact that the new position pressed her breasts higher into the V at the front of the dress. “Um, yeah.”

“It smells amazing.” She opened her eyes and met his gaze in the mirror. “I guessyoumust smell amazing.”

Heat shot through him and he had to shift on the seat. She was drunk. Or at least tipsy. And trying to sidetrack him.

“Why don’t you think you would like decorating wedding cakes, Trouble?” he asked.

She sighed, as if he was being a huge pain in the ass. “It’s just that if you don’t like doing something, you might do a shitty job. Even if you don’t mean to. You know?”

He nodded. “That makes some sense. But you’re awesome at cakes.” She worked at the local bakery, Scott’s Sweets, and while Adrianne, the owner, was a master at all kinds of candy, if someone wanted a cake decorated, they asked for Peyton. “You don’t think you’d do a good job with wedding cakes?”

“Maybe not.”

“Why would they be different?” he wanted to know.

“Because I’m not a huge fan of weddings,” she said. “Or marriage, I guess,” she mumbled.

It didn’t take a genius shrink to know that was all about her parents’ dysfunctional relationship. And Scott had no idea how to respond to that either. Surely her sister’s marriage showed her that those relationships could be strong and positive and happy.

Heloved seeing Hope and TJ Bennett together. Everyone did. They were one of those true love stories. And then there was Peyton’s boss Adrianne and her husband Mason. And Adrianne’s best friend Phoebe and her husband Joe, and…hell, all of the happy couples in Sapphire Falls. Sapphire Falls was a haven. A place where people really did look out for one another, fell in love for real and forever, and valued family and friendships and hard work and faith and community. He’d come back because of all of those things. He’dneededthose things. Even if he was just watching some of it as it happened to other people. He’d needed to know those things did actually exist and that they could last.

He stared at the road. He was no relationship expert and he certainly wasn’t some eternal optimist. He’d seen a lot of shit in his line of work. He’d worked in Omaha for a couple of years after graduating from the academy and knew for a fact that all of the bad things people did to one another in the huge cities on the coasts also happened in the supposedly boring Midwest.

He’d also been recruited for a special task force on human trafficking up and down the main interstates that cut through those same boring Midwestern states. The work had been horrible, hard, and very rewarding. It was also what had finally driven him back to Sapphire Falls. He missed the simple sweetness of his hometown. And he’d been hell-bent on keeping the evils he’d seen lurking not that far from the borders, out of the small towns he’d grown up in and around. He was still on the task force and had performed a number of undercover operations. It was important work and he still wanted to be a part of it. He just couldn’t do it all day, every day anymore. Which made him grateful that the biggest problem he encountered in Sapphire Falls was…well, the woman in his backseat right now.

But it was also part of why he was so attracted to her. In a world where bad things happened every day and darkness seemed to lurk around every corner, Peyton Wells was…not a ray of sunshine. That was too mellow. She was a great big party piñata—bright and colorful and, while it might take a while to break through, inside she was filled with sweetness and goodness. She’d had a hell of a childhood, but instead of letting that make her sad and withdrawn and introverted and distrustful, Peyton made everything she did into a party and everyone she met into a friend. Unless, of course, that person had made someone she loved cry. Then she’d stand up and defend that person no matter what the risk to herself. She didn’t shy away from the truth about her parents or her childhood or even the other crappy things that happened in life. She faced it all. And she kept on partying. She was brave and strong and bright and she just fucking made him smile. He wanted that,her, in his life. And if the only way was giving her a ride home after the party, then he’d take it. For now.

“You know what I wish?” Peyton asked after a moment.

Scott pulled his eyes from the road and to the mirror again. Her eyes were closed and she yawned big and buried her face deeper into his sweatshirt as he asked, “What?”

“That just once you would act like a regular guy with me.”

Desire slammed into him and he gripped the steering wheel tightly as he forced his attention to the road. He swallowed hard. “What’s that mean?” he managed. But he was pretty sure he knew.

“Just once, I wish you would dance with me at the Come Again, instead of only showing up to be sure I don’t get into trouble. Or I wish you’d show up at a river party and instead of busting it up, you’d get drunk and make out with me. Or I wish you’d stop by the kissing booth at the festival when I’m working it. Or that you’d sit down in the bakery and flirt for a while instead of just getting your stuff to go.” There was a pause and then she added softly, “Just once.”

Jesus. His heart was thudding so hard against his ribs, he had to force air into his chest. So she wasn’t talking about sex. That’s what most guys wanted from her. But these things were…what he wanted too.

But not just once. That would never be enough.

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