Page 70 of Without Apology

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Simon

“You hungry?” I held Peyton in her bed as both our heartbeats started to calm down. Her naked body tucked into my side was about the best thing I’d ever felt.

“Mm. I probably should eat.”

“Do you want me to order in?”

She yawned, and I wondered just how much she’d had to drink.

“I have leftover pizza in the fridge if you want.”

Sounded good to me. And since I thought she probably should get something in her stomach if she’d been drinking, I pulled on my boxers and walked out of her bedroom. I spent a moment taking in all the details of her home. Touches of her were on every wall, with pictures, art, and colors. The place was as vibrant as she was. I spent a few minutes scanning the pictures of her family, smiling at a portrait above the fireplace where the entire crew was making funny faces.

Love. That’s what I felt when I studied the family photo showing Peyton with others who had to be her sister, brother-in-law, and nieces. And of course, with Cooper in the middle.

Upon exploring her refrigerator, I found the container of pizza, amazed to find it was homemade, not from a store. It appeared to have several types of meat on it. After washing my hands, I heated a few pieces and looked forward to tasting it.

When I strode back into the bedroom, I saw her in the same place I’d left her. “Wake up, beautiful. You should get some food.”

She stretched, offering me a look at her sexy body. One I planned on spending more time exploring after dinner. “Yeah. I guess I should.”

“You want to come out to the kitchen?” My plan was to eat at the counter, but she shook her head.

“Nope. In here is good.”

“In the bed?”

She laughed. “Yes. I know it’s probably out of your comfort zone, but come on. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

Indeed it was out of my comfort zone. I normally preferred to sit down properly to have a meal. “All right. Let me bring in dinner.”

She giggled, probably wondering why I’d bothered to dish it up. Once I handed her the two plates, I brought in two large glasses of water.

“Thank you. Mm, you even heated it up. Good.”

“Did you make this?”

“Mm-hm. I buy the dough, so sort of cheating, but otherwise I managed to put it together.”

I took a bite, enjoying the several types of salami and pepperoni. “It’s good.”

“Thank you.”

“I hope I didn’t cut your evening short.”

She shook her head, her mouth full, making me think her adorable.

Finally able to speak once she swallowed, she responded. “I’d had more than enough to drink. Had to take an Uber.”

“Still, it was presumptuous simply to show up here without checking if you had plans.” I hadn’t meant to be rude, but I simply hadn’t been able to wait to see her. Especially after she’d dismissed me earlier. After I left work, I’d intended to drive to my place, but I’d come here instead.

“I suppose it was rude. Next time you could simply ask me. We did talk earlier today.”

It sounded simple, yet it was anything but. “Fair point. Are we okay?”

She fixed her gaze on me. “Meaning what?”

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