“But you’ve thought about it,” Joey said softly. “Admit it.”
Peyton didn’t trust herself to speak. At this moment, she was operating completely on emotion, which was always a dangerous thing to do. “I’m all out of wisecracks,” she admitted. “I don’t have a list of things I can’t stand or even one of things I’d like to change. Is this what it’s like to be sprung?”
Michael laughed. “Damn. Exactly what did he do to you over there?”
Peyton laughed. “I’ll never tell.”
* * *
The good news was Frankie and Michael didn’t ambush Lincoln when he walked in the door. He did, however, hear their excited voices somewhere toward the living room area while he snuck up the stairs.
Once he reached the second level, he crept down to the guest room and knocked.
“What is it now?” Flex called out.
“It’s me,” Lincoln hissed back. “Open the door.” Immediately it was jerked open.
“It’s about time you got back here,” Flex said with a measure of relief. “What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?”
“Me?” Lincoln stepped into the room. “In case I haven’t made this clear, I really resent this whole situation. And furthermore, I can’t believe you—my relationship guru—won’t step up to the plate and just clear all this mess up.”
“I was going to…until Morgan showed up.”
“Yeah, I remember—I was there.” He crossed his arms. “You froze. What was that all about?”
Flex’s shoulders slumped as he exhaled. “I don’t know.”
Lincoln watched the transformation of his friend, fully aware that this was a side of Flex he’d never witnessed before. This giant of a man so clearly had a softer and deeper side to him.
“Look,” Lincoln began again. “I think I understand why you didn’t want to say anything in front of your ex. Clearly, there’s still a lot of hurt between you two. And let’s face it, I look good on anybody’s arm,” he joked to lighten the mood.
Flex laughed.
“But,” Lincoln continued, “you should at least tell your family the truth. I was just seconds away from the ‘why do you want my son’s hand?’ speech from your dad.”
“I know.” Flex sat on the bed. “But mark my words, the mere fact that I lied about being in a relationship will only come off as a cry for help to my sisters. And I just don’t know if I can handle them trying to fix me right now.”
“They just love you…” Lincoln hesitated. “And so does your dad. You should go talk to him.”
The tension immediately returned to Flex’s features. “We’re not going there. I only came for the wedding. I said all I had to say to him before I moved to Atlanta.”
Lincoln nodded and began to feel he’d done all he could here. “Okay, so it’s none of my business, but I think you’re making a mistake. I was just talking to your dad outside and, yes, he may be struggling with certain things, but he’s trying—and he’s your dad.”
“Linc, you don’t know anything about this.”
“Maybe not but, forgive me for saying this, it seems to me that you have to shoulder a lot of the blame on this.”
“Me?”
“You weren’t entirely truthful with your dad about your relationship with Morgan, were you? It’s kind of like how you’re not being honest now. You lied…for ten years. Of course, he blew up. I don’t know what was said and I don’t want to know. However, the man I just finished talking to may have a lot of regrets, but he loves you. Go talk to him.”
“I can’t.” Flex sat on the edge of the bed.
“A man who runs into burning buildings for a living can do anything. I know.” Lincoln turned toward the door.
“Wait.”
Lincoln drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Look, I sympathize with you. I wish I could help you, but I can’t.” He turned for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to Peyton’s—where I belong.” Lincoln’s shoulders slumped. “I’m falling in love with a woman I haven’t been completely honest with, either. I waited for this trip to tell her that I know you. I didn’t tell her, because she’d vowed never to date a friend of yours again. I didn’t tell you for the same reason.”
Flex exhaled. “I guess I gave you some pretty lousy advice.”
“It wasn’t so bad. I’m pretty sure she’ll understand—just like your family will understand.”
Flex nodded and then slowly lifted his gaze. “Falling in love?”
Lincoln’s face exploded into a smile. “I’m crazy about her. I have been since the moment I laid eyes on her. We just fit—intellectually, spiritually and physically.”
“Hey, hey.” Flex held up his hands. “Too much information.”
“It’s true,” Lincoln continued. “I’m in love with your sister, which is the main reason why I have to break up with you by tomorrow. Peyton is bringing me over for dinner. Either you tell everyone the truth or I will.”
Chapter 26
“Where have you been?” Peyton asked the moment Lincoln walked through the door. She ran a hand through her flyaway hair and then tossed her keys on a table by the front door. “I was just about to go out and look for you.”
Lincoln hesitated with the truth. “I had to help out a friend. Sorry. I thought you were probably still on the phone with your sisters.”
She blinked. “A friend? You know someone out here?”
“It’s true what they say—it’s a small world.” Turning on his best puppy-dog expression, he closed the distance between them. “Sorry, I worried you.” He pulled her into his arms.
Peyton drew a breath and relaxed. “I was having crazy thoughts of you being a carjacking victim.”
He chuckled. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily. Besides—” he reached inside his jacket “—I brought reinforcements.”
She chuckled. “Is that your way of getting out of trouble?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether it’s working.” He grinned and then leaned down to steal a kiss. He could tell all was forgotten by the way she leaned into him and draped her arms around his neck.
Feeling every bit the gallant hero, Lincoln swept her up into his arms and proceeded to carry her back to the bedroom. In bed, their clothes were removed in a wild flurry of movements and their bodies came together like two perfect pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.
There was something about the sound of her soft whimpers and gentle moans that turned Lincoln into an insatiable animal. He couldn’t get enough of how her body molded itself around him or how her lips controlled him.
Beyond certainty, he knew he could never tire of making love to her. This was it, he told himself. This was what he’d been searching for his entire life. Not only was she beautiful, she was intelligent, strong and devoid of head games.
But what about you?
Lincoln ignored the question and tried to lose himself within her chocolate limbs and her smooth rich taste. Her orgasmic cries heightened in their intensity and her slick walls tightened around him.
An orgasmic cry exploded from her lungs and reverberated off the bedroom walls. Lincoln clutched her close as his body trembled and quaked in the aftermath of his own explosion.
Seconds later, he still held her close while their heavy breathing blended together. However, the question still lingered in his head. What about you?
“How do you feel, baby” he asked.
Peyton moaned. “Please don’t tell me that you’re ready to go again.”
“Tired?” He chuckled.
“You win. You win,” she conceded. “I’m a wimp.”
“And I’m the what?”
She hesitated.
He cupped his ear and leaned down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.”
“Fine.” She smacked him playfully in the chest. “You’re the king. Are you happy?”
“Extremely.” He turned onto his side so he could glance down at her. What about you? “How do you feel?”
Her smile softened at the edges. “Honestly?”
He frowned. “Of course.”
“Nervous,” she said, as if unloading a large burden. “It’s been three months and I keep waiting for a ball to drop or for the clock to strike midnight.”
Lincoln studied her.
“I know, I know. I’m being silly.” She shrugged, but was careful not to meet his gaze. “I’m not being fair to you or to this…relationship.”
He clutched a hand over his heart. “Oh, my God. She finally said it. Quick, someone call the media.”
“Very funny.” She rolled her eyes. “I just can’t believe that things are so good between us.”
He studied her again. “Can I ask you a question?”
She drew a nervous breath. “Sure.”
“What did this Ricky really do to you?” When she didn’t readily respond, he continued. “Dating is difficult. You’re not going to get an argument out of me on that. We’ve shared our horror stories. But…you didn’t marry just because you thought it was the next step, did you?”
She started to get up, but Lincoln gently held her in place. “Can I tell you what I think?”
Again, she didn’t say anything.
“I think you were in love and I think he either pulled a fast one or disappointed you somehow.”
After another long pause, she finally spoke. “I should have known better. Lord knows, my family warned me that he was just looking for a free ride. I bought into the whole starving artist spiel. Hell, how could I not? I know plenty of them. The thing is, Ricky never wrote songs, or booked gigs, or tried to get into anyone’s studio. Though he did know how to throw a party. Sometimes three or four times a week.
“So that was our relationship. I worked and he spent all the money. No one wants to admit that they’ve been made a fool. And it’s harder when everyone in the world knows but you. I understand why my brother flew across the country when he and Morgan broke up. Everyone was trying to fix his broken heart…as if they could. My three oldest sisters kept setting him up on blind dates.”
“What was wrong with that?”
“Nothing, except that they kept forgetting to tell him. Flex kept showing up at restaurants to meet one of us and instead he was met by his date for the evening. He caught on after the second time, then they went to ambushing him.”
“Well, I know what that’s like.”
“What?”
“Oh, nothing.” He waved off his comment. “So you and your brother have a lot in common?”
“As far as relationships go, yes. After I filed for divorce, Ricky found himself a richer sugar mama and I was spared paying alimony. Flex wasn’t so lucky.”
Lincoln frowned. “He had to pay alimony?”
“No. Morgan cleared out their bank accounts, CDs and stocks. Flex was devastated.”
“Was he?” he asked somberly.
“Yeah. Don’t tell my sisters, but I think he made the right choice in leaving. Lord knows I came close to moving to either London or New York myself.”
“But that’s just running away from the problem. And always expecting men to disappoint you is no way to live. If we were to get married, I can’t guarantee I’m not going to disappoint you from time to time. You can’t guarantee you won’t do the same.”
She sighed. “I know.”
Lincoln directed her chin so that their gazes would meet again. “Do you?”
His intense gaze saw past her facade and peeked into her soul. She didn’t mean for the tears to leak from her eyes, and once it happened she suddenly wanted to curl up and hide.
Leaning forward, he kissed the dewy tracks of her tears. “It’s okay,” he whispered.
And she believed him.
One kiss led to another, while one touch led to another round of lovemaking.
In all honesty, she didn’t think she had it in her, but once they got started she begged him not to stop.
Covered in sweat, the lovers had more than their fair share of rose petals sticking to their bodies. However, after adjourning to the bathroom for a hot shower, it wasn’t long before Peyton found herself pressed up against the glass orb surrounding the tile.
She didn’t have an answer to why she couldn’t get enough of him. Maybe it was time to stop asking why or when it was all going to end. Maybe it was time to just enjoy the moment—enjoy everything he made her feel.
She took her time washing him. How could any woman not love the feel of this man’s chiseled body for the piece of art that it was? As hard as she tried, it wasn’t long before her negative thoughts raced back through her mind.
He would be leaving at the end of the week. Long-distance relationships never worked. And there still has to be something wrong with him.
“What’s the matter?” Linc asked, shutting off the shower and reaching for the baby oil.
“Nothing,” she lied.
His handsome features twisted into a dubious frown. “It sure looked like more than nothing.”
She hesitated.
Lincoln exhaled and began rubbing the oil into her skin. “Remember when I told you there was something I needed to tell you?”
“The bad news?”
“I never said that it was bad news.”
Of course it is. “Okay.” While she waited through several of his false starts, her anxiety level began to creep up. “Just say it.”
“There is something I haven’t told you.”
Peyton didn’t like those words at all. She turned and exited the shower.
“Wait. Where are you going?” Lincoln followed.
She draped a towel around her body. “Nowhere. I just wanted to dry off,” she lied.
The look on his face told her that he didn’t buy it. However, he didn’t reach for a towel. “I’m hoping what I have to tell you isn’t a big deal.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” she challenged.
Lincoln suddenly felt unsure of himself. “All right. The thing is, when I first met you in New York I had no idea who you were.”
She blinked. “O-okay.”
“But when we went on our first date, I did put two and two together.”
“Linc,” she said, clutching her hands. “Will you just spill it? You’re making me a nervous wreck.”
“I’m friends with your brother,” he blurted out. “I know I should have said something sooner, but when you told me that you wouldn’t date another friend of his, I clammed up.”
Peyton stared at him.
He exhaled. “I didn’t tell Flex, either. He, sort of, made the same comment about it being a no-no. For the last three months it’s been killing me not to tell you.”
Lincoln waited for her to say something and was surprised when she suddenly burst out laughing.
Chapter 27
“
That’s it?” Peyton wiped tears from her eyes as she continued to laugh. “That’s your big news? I thought you were about to tell me that you were gay or something.”
Lincoln winced and then joined her in her laughter. “So, you’re not mad?”
She caught her breath and sat on the bed. “Well, I do remember my telling you all my horror stories dealing with Flex’s friends, so I can see why you were hesitant in bringing it up.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” He relaxed and joined her on the bed. “You have no idea what a relief it is to hear you say that.” He pulled her into his arms.
Her laughter quieted down as she slumped into his embrace. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“I’ll try not to.” He kissed her and wondered whether he should tell her about today’s events, but he wasn’t entirely comfortable telling her that Flex had lied to them. Flex should be the one to straighten that out.
“Is there anything else I should know?” she asked, staring bright-eyed at him.
He hesitated. “I don’t have any secrets, but…I think we need to talk to your brother tomorrow. I think there’s something he wants to tell you.”
She stiffened. “Has something happened?”
“No. Nothing like that.” He kissed her, then changed the subject. “Do you know what I could go for right about now?”
“What’s that?”
“Pizza!” He stood up and swept her up into his arms. “I’m starving.”
“Good. That makes two of us.”
He carried her into the living room where they ate cold pizza and drank warm wine. By the time the sun rose, the lovers returned to bed and fell into a deep slumber while cocooned in each other’s arms.
* * *
Flex took his time going downstairs for breakfast. He spent the night memorizing a speech and preparing for the consequences of his actions. When he reached the kitchen, he was just in time to greet Michael’s fiancé, Phil, as he was heading out to work.
Two days before the man’s wedding and still he had his nose to the grindstone.
Measure of a Man Page 19
