He wished she’d do something to show she’d forgiven him. But she didn’t. She averted her eyes as if she couldn’t bear to look at him and let him go.
19
Wallace studied Peyton as Virgil left. He thought she might run after him. The way her eyes followed him suggested she wanted to. That bothered Rick, but she held back and, to be sure she didn’t surrender to the impulse, he moved in front of her and indicated the door. “Shall we go in?”
She lowered her voice even though Virgil’s footsteps had faded. “What are you doing? You can’t let him go back to that motel.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not safe! If he’s really on Michelle’s radar, she won’t forget it. You don’t want her to start talking. All of Crescent City will wonder about Virgil if she does.”
“Virgil.”
“That’s his name.”
It was her familiarity with it that drove him crazy. “So what do you want me to do? Rent a room for him somewhere else? How do we know that won’t make matters worse?”
She bit her lip. “There’s no need to do that. You can both stay here. It might be a bit cramped and…odd, considering—well, everything—but it’s only for one night and at least we know it’ll be safe. That’s the most important thing, the one thing we can’t lose sight of.”
“Is that really why you want him here? To keep him safe?” He shouldn’t have said it but couldn’t refrain.
“You’re being ridiculous! My offer protects your plan. Isn’t that what you want? For this investigation to be successful? Because if he goes back to that motel, I’ll go to the media if I have to but I’ll stop him from entering the prison tomorrow or any other day. Either we do everything we can to keep him safe or we release him from the obligation and turn him loose.”
Rick didn’t want Virgil Skinner anywhere near Peyton, not after what had happened while he was gone. He needed some time alone with her to let her know he was available now. Surely, once she realized that, Virgil would hold no interest for her. But she could be so stubborn. And it made sense to hunker down here, all three of them. “I’ll get him.”
She looked so pretty standing in the moonlight. He’d fantasized about her for months, maybe even a couple of years. So why hadn’t he pursued the possibilities between them? Why hadn’t he prepared for what he now wanted by at least flirting with her?
Because he was too damn practical. A cheap one-nighter with a stripper once in a while kept his sex life interesting without endangering his job. But now that he was divorcing Mercedes, it was time to figure out who would replace her.
“If I bring him back, will you be grateful?” he teased.
“Grateful?” she echoed.
“You know, make me glad I did?”
Instead of smiling in return, she studied him as if she’d never seen him before. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
It was too big a reversal, too soon. He decided not to push it. “I’m just messing around.”
“No, you’re not. You’re treating me differently after what I told you last night.”
So that was what she was worried about. “But not because I hold it against you. I know you’re under a lot of pressure, and you’ve been without a romantic relationship almost as long as I’ve known you. I can’t blame you for taking what’s right there, what’s easy.” Especially because he hadn’t been available to give her a better option—until now.
He thought she’d be relieved to hear this. It was a pretty generous response, in his opinion, but she didn’t seem to appreciate it. “That’s not how it was.”
He stepped closer. Knowing she’d been with Virgil made him jealous on one level, but it also turned him on because it convinced him there was a sexual side to Peyton he hadn’t seen. Maybe he’d never wanted to acknowledge this before, but she was everything Mercedes was not—attractive, successful in her own right, a woman he could respect and someone who could create a little more excitement in the bedroom. “Then how was it?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I should never have told you.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“Why would you be glad?” She seemed appalled by his reaction, but she didn’t understand that everything had changed.
“Because it shows that you trust me. And that prodded me into making a decision I should’ve made when I first met you.”
When he took her arm, she glanced at his hand as if ready to bolt. “What decision?”
“I split with my wife today.”
He couldn’t help hoping she’d act excited about the news. But she didn’t. She pulled away, looking shocked, upset. He had to admit the breakup of his marriage had been sudden. He’d never indicated to anyone that he might take such drastic action, almost couldn’t believe it himself. If Peyton hadn’t told him about her and Virgil, he might’ve struggled along with Mercedes indefinitely, but the knowledge that she’d slept with another man, especially a man so unworthy of her, had galvanized him into action. If he couldn’t fix his marriage, why was he hanging on? It was better to toss out what was already ruined and start fresh with someone who wasn’t angry and bitter and run-down. Someone who understood his work—who was part of it. With his support, her star could continue to rise, too. Getting together would be perfect for both of them.
“What did you say?” she whispered.
“I left my wife.”
“Why?”
“Because it wasn’t working. I didn’t even realize how miserable I’d become until this morning, when I suddenly understood how…different my life could be.” Peyton’s, too, but he didn’t say that.
“What about your kids?”
“We’ll share custody, like millions of other divorced parents. It’s not what I wanted for them, but they’ll survive. Hell, I survived, didn’t I? And no divorce could’ve been more acrimonious than my parents’. Mercedes and I won’t make it that hard.”
Fortunately, she didn’t point out that he couldn’t control Mercedes, that he might not have a choice about the level of difficulty. He was counting on his wife’s love for their children, but she’d grown so depressed in recent years he wasn’t entirely sure what she might do. He didn’t like the financial repercussions of divorce, either, but he figured it was preferable to get that over with and start rebuilding rather than let the marriage drag on until he had even more to lose. Peyton made a nice living. If they got together, her income would help compensate for the money he’d have to forfeit.