Her Accidental Husband (7 page)

They were silent for a minute, each focused on their meal. Cruz had put away the three
gorditas
on his plate and picked up a soda. His dark eyes were watching her carefully now. Almost warily. His relaxed casual demeanor from earlier replaced with a ramrod straight back and tense shoulders.

Curious. Maybe he was thinking about his call with Dick?

“You seem in better spirits today. Have you reconsidered your decision to call off the wedding?”

Where on earth had that come from? “Ummm. No? I meant what I said. It’s over. I can’t marry someone who could do that to me.” She licked the grease off a finger. “For me, cheating? That’s unforgivable.”

He picked up another stuffed tortilla. “I only ask because I’m sure you and Brad have some history together. History that led you to say yes to him once. I can’t imagine that overnight those feelings just disappear.”

She took another bite and chewed slowly, buying some time. She swallowed and met his inquisitive gaze. Dark brown eyes that looked…almost uncomfortable; he glanced down for a moment.

“It hurts,” she admitted. “It hurts to think that he could do that to me. But if I’m being honest with myself…well, I’m not like Kate. She’s always believed in happily-ever-afters and one true loves—too many old movies I’m afraid. I’ve always been the realistic one.”

His brows quirked up at that comment.

“It’s true,” she insisted, seeing his doubt. “Well, at least when it comes to matters of the heart. All I want is someone who shares the same goals as I do. Who cares as much about me as I do him. I thought I had that with Brad. I was wrong. Do I feel anywhere near the depth of despair I saw Kate experience when she first lost Michael, and later Dominic? No. I don’t think I’m wired to. So to answer your question, I guess you could say I’m sad…but not shattered.”

Although, saying all this out loud, admitting to someone other than herself, made her feel uncomfortably naked. Vulnerable.

She hated giving him such an unfettered look at her life and her emotions. She felt the uncomfortable prickling warmth behind her eyes that told her tears were close.

He looked even more uncomfortable, staring at something over her shoulder instead of meeting her eyes.

“Why are you asking about this all of a sudden? About whether I’ve reconsidered marrying Brad?” A new suspicion hit her. “Dick didn’t say something to you, did he?”

His gaze snapped back to hers, and the way his jaw tensed and flexed gave her the answer. “Hell, Payton. I’m sorry. I’m not going to let that man get in my head again. He did ask me to keep an eye out for you. Even asked if I might lend a positive word about Brad. But I can’t in good conscience do it. Brad was a prick, and he doesn’t deserve another shot. And aside from whatever Dick has asked me, I’m not going to tell you that going back to Brad would be a good idea. Forget I said anything.”

She swallowed. She wished she could forget it. It didn’t surprise her that Dick had stooped that low, to try and manipulate Cruz to get something he wanted. But to know that Cruz had started this conversation, not out of concern for her, but because he was fishing for an opening to build Brad up to clinch this business deal, bothered her more than she wanted to admit.

It served as a good reminder of why she and Cruz weren’t compatible. No matter how attractive he was and how he made her feel when he swept those dark eyes over her, he was a businessman first and always. Just like her father.

She needed to get away for a minute.

“You know,” she said in a falsely bright voice. “I’m going to run to the restroom. Get cleaned up. Who knows how long it might be before I get another chance. I’ll be back.”

Scooping her purse off her lap, she fled the table.

C
ruz watched Payton cross the restaurant, making sure she reached the restroom safely, with the sure knowledge that he was the biggest douchebag in the universe.

Hell. Did he want this account badly enough to push Payton back into the arms of a guy like Brad Eastman?

Hell no.

He was better than that.

And yet, he’d asked her those questions with the ulterior motive of getting her to see the possibility that her relationship with Brad could be redeemed. He’d sunk lower than he thought himself capable.

Payton deserved better than Brad. And as much as he wanted the account, he resolved never to attempt to do something as shitty as he’d just done again. There were other ways to make the deal. Playing someone like that wasn’t how it was going to be done.

Whether she went back to Brad or not was on her and her alone. Cruz was only there to make sure that she got to the hotel in one piece and eventually made her way home, where she could make those decisions herself.

His cellphone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out to see his future sister-in-law was calling. “Kate. How’s the bride-to-be? Have you finally spent enough time with my sisters to send you screaming for the hills?”

She laughed. “Not a chance. Although Benny has been betting that you might arrive with Payton tied and gagged in the trunk and several bald patches where you’ve torn out your hair.”

Yeah. That sounded like Benny, the youngest of his siblings and who he affectionately called “the brat.” Even her fancy medical degree wouldn’t change that. “Tell Benny that we don’t all have to resort to such tactics as binding and gagging someone to get them to spend time with us. But I assure you, your friend is doing fine and if I do end up gagging her, I won’t be putting her in the truck. Nah. It’s too small. I’ll just duct tape her to the passenger seat.”

“Oh. Well now I feel better,” she said and laughed. “Is she around?”

“She’s using the restroom.” He briefly filled her in on their coordinates and that he expected they should still be arriving sometime around six that evening.

“Just be careful. It’s only a simple rehearsal dinner with the family and a brief run through of the ceremony. Nothing worth risking your lives for.”

“I’ll try and tell her that, but she seems to think there’s a certain order of how things are supposed to go. And part of that is getting you out for some crazy girls’ night. Something about how this has been a party fifteen years in the making may have passed her lips.”

“Well, don’t share this with Payton because she’ll probably be devastated, but the whole girls’ night party thing had always been her idea. I’d be just as happy hanging out with her in the honeymoon suite, drinking champagne and doing our nails. But seriously, Cruz. Thanks for looking out for her. She’s the closest thing I’ve got to family.”

Kate’s voice softened, and he could feel the tenderness she clearly felt for her friend. “I know you two didn’t really hit it off when you first met but you’ll see with time that, although Payton may seem impervious to anything, resilient, and even charming and funny, most of the time it’s just a facade to hide how sensitive she really is. If you lived with her mother for long enough, you’d probably understand why.”

He grunted, thinking about the kind of woman who would be controlling enough to order her daughter’s wedding dress one size too small—and who’d tell her to forgive and forget her fiancé’s treachery. “Yeah. I’ve got some idea.”

“Would you believe that the woman has called me four more times this morning trying to get updates on Payton and to demand that I bring Payton to her senses and stop being so selfish?”

His hand tightened on the phone. In the time he’d known Kate, selfish was the last thing he’d call her. She had a big heart and only wanted to help people. Hell, she’d left a high-powered law firm so she could take on more downtrodden and financially challenged clients—like his sister, Daisy—just a few months ago.

“Don’t worry, Dominic shared a few of his thoughts with her when he heard that.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

“Glad to hear it. But rest assured, Payton is doing all right and holding her own. You just worry about yourself and remember…this weekend is for you. You and Dominic. Don’t let that dragon lady unsettle you. I’ll let Payton know you’re looking forward to partying hard tonight.”

He hung up the phone and picked up the last
gordita
on the plate and sank his teeth into it. What did that make…five? No sense letting good food go to waste. Especially since he couldn’t take another bite of those chocolate bars Payton bought that morning after taking her first bite and falling in love.

He shook his head again at the thought that any mother would force starvation on an already gorgeous and healthy daughter so she looked the right way for a wedding. It made him doubly grateful for the warm, loving parents he and his siblings were graced with. Who accepted all of them for who they were—although, since Dominic found Kate, there had been more “helpful” hints from his mom about not getting too caught up in finding success he didn’t have someone to share it with.

But to tell the truth, none of the women he’d dated had sparked that interest in him. Sparked that need to be with them longer than it takes a construction project to run through to completion, to want to plan a future with someone who, in twenty years, he’d want to snuggle up against him in bed—ideally naked.

Not until recently.

Hell and damnation. He was not going to think about Payton that way. He couldn’t. Not because there was anything wrong with her, contrary to what her mother may have ingrained her to believe, but because…he didn’t have anything to offer someone like Payton.

Not yet.

Not until he could prove that he and his company were as good as Dick and Brad Eastman, like the Vaughns and Vaughn Communications. Not until he could rest assured that another person, someone like Brad Eastman, couldn’t just walk into his life and steal away his happiness again.

Until he had everything to offer to someone like Payton.

Chapter Seven

W
ith Cruz at the wheel, Payton went to work syncing his phone’s Bluetooth to the car’s radio. She stared at the phone, waiting as it tried to find a connection.

Four hours. They were still four hours from Puerto Vallarta, and if she didn’t have some recognizable music soon, she was going to go insane. Well, that or be forced to start singing “99 bottles of beer.” Maybe even the song about finding a peanut.

Cruz would be the one ready to go insane. But that would only serve him right for the little stunt he tried before. Although, now that she’d had some time to nurse her wounds, she was willing to put it behind her. This deal was important to Cruz. To his family. And he at least came clean.

It also had made her face a few things about herself. About her feelings toward Brad.

Finally, the connection took, and she went to the “music for the road” playlist she’d put together.

Hmm. This really is an art. Choosing the right stuff. Which one to lead with…

She spotted a title and smiled.

The speakers shuddered for a moment as she turned the music up and then AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” blared out.

She looked over at Cruz, waiting for a reaction.

He gave her a sideways glance. And smiled. “Okay. I’ll give you that one. Solid choice. But if I hear any country, it’s going off.”

“Hey. There’s nothing wrong with country music, buddy. The old clichés of drunk assholes bemoaning the loss of their wives and dead dogs is not even close to true.”

He guffawed.

Is that a challenge?

She brought up the music store on his cell phone and typed in the next musical choice. This was too much fun.

When the AC/DC song was over, Brad Paisley’s twangy “I’m Gonna Miss You” streamed next. She hadn’t been able to resist but already had another song waiting to follow it up.

“I’m going to be sure to send you my phone bill from this little trip of ours.”

“Every dollar will be worth it,” she said smugly and watched as he rolled his eyes as Brad sang about a man choosing fishing over his wife. But there was still the tiniest of smiles.

“Which actually reminds me,” he said, clearing his throat and turning the music down to a more manageable level. “Kate called earlier to check in on you. She mentioned that your mother reached her. Seems pretty determined to speak with you.”

“I’ll just bet she is.” Payton was reminded once again why she’d chucked her phone, and any lingering regret flew away.

“You okay?” he asked, a note of concern in his voice from her continuing silence. She noticed his tanned fingers gripping the steering wheel. Concern for
her
?

She took a breath and tossed her head back, this time smiling a full sincere smile. “I am. Really. And if my mother knew what was good for her she’d book herself into a spa somewhere for one of her bi-monthly serenity checks.” Something her mother did anytime Payton resisted her attempts to control her life. “Thank you, though. For your concern.”

“Oh. And Kate also wanted you to know that she’s really looking forward to your girls’ night out but we’re not to kill ourselves trying to get to the hotel in time.”

At this she laughed outright. “Did she actually tell you that?”

“Um, something along those lines, I think.”

“You’re almost as bad of a liar as she is. No, Kate
thinks
my plan is to paint the town red and all that, as I’ve convinced her, but I know my best friend better than anyone and I know that a night in, just the girls, is closer to heaven for her. My real plan is to surprise her later tonight. Not to say I don’t have a few surprises, but they’ll all occur in the safety of her suite.”

“It’s good to see it’s not only me that you like to torture.”

“Nope,” she fluttered her eyes at him. “It’s not just you. But you do bring new challenges to my endeavors.”

He laughed out loud at that and turned his attention back to the road. His shoulders relaxed, his shades on. Payton tried to resist staring at him. It was difficult to remember why she didn’t want him turning to her and leaning across the way, placing a kiss on her lips, feeling his breath on her, his fingers in her hair, maybe lower…

“Tell me about you and Kate. How did you two meet?”

Damn. Shifting gears…

“From what I know about Kate, I can’t imagine you two were playing in the same social circles. Didn’t you go to some ridiculously expensive private school?”

“Not by choice, but yes.” Any place would have been better than one filled with stuck-up snots high on their own self-importance. Snots who’d been her friends—or what she knew of friendship up to that point. Until she met Kate. “Kate transferred in sixth grade.”

He threw her a dubious look. “Kate attended your uppity school?”

“You might have noticed that my best friend is very driven. Brilliant. Hardworking.” Something that Payton had always admired. And the way Kate stood up for herself and anyone else she cared about. “She was awarded one of the few financial scholarships the school handed out every year, something I count my blessings for every day. I can’t imagine what my life would be like if Kate hadn’t come into it.”

A Sheryl Crow song came on but she was barely paying attention as she remembered that day seventeen years ago. She smiled. “You should have seen Kate then. She took herself so seriously—kind of like you. Always had an answer to every question asked, and it wasn’t hard for her to earn a few haters among the other kids. Kids who were ruthless in their taunting, mostly about things like her Payless shoes, since the uniforms eliminated the possibility of much teasing on that score. She had no reason to like any of us.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I wasn’t anywhere as smart as Kate, but I did okay. Academically and socially, since I was able to stay up on the latest fashions, thanks to Emily Vaughn, who actually hired me my own personal stylist. Don’t ask.

“Anyhow, it was probably just a month after she’d transferred. Poor little old me, with my big first world worries, was crying in the bathroom because I’d heard Heather Little bragging about kissing the boy who was supposedly my boyfriend at the dance the Saturday before. Not important in the big scheme of things and, like I said, Kate had no reason to be nice to any of us. But all the same, it was Kate who found me and who tried to comfort me.”

“Yeah. Sounds like her.”

The soft admiration in his tone gave her the oddest twinge of what could only be described as jealousy. Kate was wonderful. But could Cruz ever see her, Payton, in the same light?

“Kate not only got the tears stopped, but after she told me she’d seen Rob just that morning with a cold sore the size of Mount St. Helens on his upper lip and that Heather may soon have more than a story to share about her special night, I almost bust my gut laughing. And just like that I went from sobbing to laughing on what had felt like, moments before, the worst day of my life.”

“Don’t leave me hanging.”

She looked at him in confusion and he smiled, giving her that squishy feeling again in her belly. Thank goodness she couldn’t see his eyes through those lenses or she might have actually purred.

“Heather’s lip?” he asked in clarification.

She smiled. “It swelled to the size of a small apricot. Kate and I have been best friends ever since. She’s my family. And right now, I’m about all she’s got in this world, which is why it’s so important that I be there at her side on the biggest day of her life.”

“You’ll be there. No worries. And I’m betting right now, with my sisters’, mom’s, and all the aunts’ attention, she’s having second thoughts about having any more family.”

“Not possible. This is everything she’s ever wanted. And I couldn’t be happier for her—” Her voice broke off unexpectedly and she felt tears well in her eyes. She was happy. But all of a sudden, seeing Kate about to be welcomed into this large unknown family, she felt a little lonely. Would Kate still need her as much?

Cruz’s heavy hand settled on her shoulder. So solid. Warm. It felt like he was sending electromagnetic waves through her body. She willed herself not to lean her head against it. “You’re a good friend, Payton. You have every right to feel a little sad that things are changing.”

She wiped a tear away, already done with it. “I am happy for her. Really. Just a little sorry for me is all. What if she doesn’t—doesn’t need me anymore?”

“Never gonna happen. You’re pretty irreplaceable.”

She cracked a grin even as her ovaries squeezed at the raspy way his voice had dropped. “Are you saying that as a compliment?”

“Take it as you will,” he said and smiled back. Something she definitely liked on him, even if it turned her into Ms. Crazypants.

The beginning strain of “I Like Big Butts” flooded the cab and she laughed at Cruz’s pained expression.

She was going to have to work on getting him to smile a lot more often. It really worked for him.

T
he view outside the passenger window had been spectacular as the freeway curved and looped up and down once they’d began the westward trek away from Guadalajara, and Cruz was glad he’d given in and let Payton have a turn at the wheel again. It was nice to sit back and enjoy things without having to be in control.

The rising hills had begun to space themselves apart, and he could see the bluish tinge of the rows upon rows of agave in the fields nestled between them.

They’d passed most of the past few hours in a comfortable silence. Just enjoying the view or deep in their own thoughts. Payton hummed almost absentmindedly to the latest tune, something that sounded an awful lot like country music and yet…he didn’t totally hate it.

Just like he was finding that after all this time, he didn’t totally hate Payton either. In fact, maybe he never had. It had been easier to fight the unsettling attraction he’d felt for her since he first saw her by almost demonizing her, assuming she was as shallow and selfish as she was pretty.

But now he had another image in his mind. An image of two twelve-year-old girls becoming fast friends and giggling in the school restroom. Of an overbearing mother who tried to mold her daughter into who she thought the girl should be and the girl who, despite that, went off to college and studied things as gauche as environmental and earth science. Payton was a secret tree hugger. At that thought, he smiled.

She was definitely not what he had expected.

“How much longer until we make it to Puerto Vallarta?” Payton asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

He glanced at his watch. Just after three. “We should be there in about three and a half hours. Which is actually something of a relief. The last couple of hours of driving can be pretty treacherous. It’s a two-lane highway that winds through the mountains, and I wouldn’t want to experience that without daylight.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, just staring ahead at the view of the sun on the fields outside. “It really is beautiful here. I could almost forget everything that’s waiting for me back home,” Payton said, her tone wistful. “I’m going to have to come down here again and really explore the area when I’m not rushed for time.”

Hearing the sadness in her tone at returning home, the place where she should be happy, rankled. Not sure of her reception to his question, he started cautiously. “I have a pretty good idea what it must have been like growing up with your mother.”

“Ha! You don’t even know the half of it.” But she was still smiling.

“I can only imagine. You never really mention anything about your father, though. Where does he fit into everything?”

“My father doesn’t fit in anywhere. Not in my life.” The brightness and warmth had left her voice as she looked ahead at the road. “His life is his business. Vaughn Communication is first and foremost in his life. His mistress of the month is a close second, and then somewhere after that is my mother and then me. I’m frankly surprised he even managed to pencil my wedding into his busy life.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Cruz’s own father might no be as ebullient and openly demonstrative with his emotions as his mom, but he loved his children in a more quiet, subdued way.

“I assure you it is. At my sweet sixteen party—a party I hadn’t wanted, by the way, but Emily Vaughn saw it as a necessity for any young woman coming of age—he was supposed to lead me in the first dance. It was all arranged, what song the band would play and I’d even been practicing with Kate so I wouldn’t be a total spaz in front of him. Then he had a last minute trip to San Diego that couldn’t be rearranged. I danced with my Uncle Walter instead. It was pretty humiliating, even if I was only half surprised.”

He didn’t know much about a world where sixteen-year-old girls had large parties with bands, but he did know something of teenage girls—having lived with two sisters. As much as they might pretend they didn’t care, these things were important. It obviously left a lasting impression on Payton.

“So what is it I’m seeing planted out in the fields?” she asked, clearly ready for a change in topics.

“Agave plants. Or what you might know better as the fruit that will soon become tequila consumed across the world.”

She shuddered.

“What, you’re not a fan?”

“Only if you have limes—lots of limes—and a beer to chase it down.”

“Don’t say that around my mom. She’ll brand you a heretic. Out here, tequila is an experience, almost a religion.” At New Year’s his mother usually brought the good stuff out and passed it around so they could all toast to prosperity in the coming year.

“Let’s just say that six shots followed by a soak in a hot tub was not my brightest choice in college.”

She turned a devilish grin his way, her hair blowing in the wind from her open window. It put an image in his mind of a younger but just as mischievous Payton Vaughn drinking shots in a bikini. A white bikini. She’d have been something to look at. Still was. “No. Probably not,” he said, savoring the image.