Page 35 of Peyton's Price

Trick turned to his brother. “Maggie’s going to kill you. You know that, right?”

“She’ll get over it once she sees Peyton,” he said, reaching for her hand around his brother. “Everyone will be able to relax. And Ethan and Jason can finally back off.”

“Is everyone waiting at the hotel?” Peyton was simultaneously relieved and a little nauseated.

“We can hold them off if you’re not feeling up to it,” Trick told her, squeezing her shoulders.

“No, it’s okay. I’m fine. It’s better to run the gauntlet tonight. Get it out of the way so everyone can see I’m all right.”

She tried to infuse her words with more enthusiasm than she felt. As much as she wanted to see Maggie, her friends, and the rest of the Caislean staff—many of whom had been like family since she was a child—she was still feeling drained.

Matthias reached out, his fingers touching her chin. “I did try to buy you a bit more time.”

“I don’t need it.”

They stayed like that for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes, when Liam appeared at their side. He gave Trick a hard nudge, jostling her into breaking the contact. “We’ll be going then,” he said.

Peyton frowned, and Matthias chuckled noiselessly.

Trick threw his brother an exasperated glance. “It’s going to be a mess tonight,” he told Matthias, “but it’ll be a mess with lots of great food and alcohol. The chef has been prepping to cook Peyton’s favorites all week. Once the part where my wife and Maggie stop crying about this is over, it might actually be fun.”

“Is that an invitation?” Matthias asked.

“Yes,” Liam abruptly barked. He cleared his throat. “Yes, it is. Will you come?”

Another hint of a smile played on Matthias’ lips. “I would love to. Unfortunately, I have plans that can’t be changed.”

“Are you sure?” Trick looked at him hopefully.

Matthias shrugged with just the right touch of apologetic regret. “I would reschedule if I could, but it’s business.”

“Well, if you change your mind or can make it tomorrow or the day after, we’d love to have you. Maybe we can gather the guys to come in so they can meet you. We can have a quiet dinner at the hotel. Just say the word and I can have our chef whip up a spread to rival the Feasts of Beasts.”

Matthias’ smile curdled a little as if the idea of meeting a room full of people who didn’t work for him was the last thing he wanted to do. “I’m not sure I can shuffle my commitments, but I can try.”

Even Peyton knew that for the lie it was. “I guess we should go. I don’t want to keep Maggie and Thalia waiting. In fact, if we take any longer, they’ll show up here.”

“She’s right,” Liam said, moving to extricate her from his brother’s grasp. He paused right in front of Matthias. “We should get going, but if you can get away, it would be good to catch up.”

Peyton watched, wide-eyed, wondering if Matthias would agree to come, but all he did was incline his head in acknowledgment.

Liam started ushering her to the door, Trick at his heels.

“Three days, Peyton,” Matthias called after her.

She tripped. Liam caught her easily, keeping her from literally hitting the deck. Getting to her feet, she blushed and tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go.

“Not that you will need it,” Matthias added with an almost imperceptible nod at the other man, who gently tugged until she started moving again.

Peyton paused at the threshold. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him not to wait. Instead, she only thanked him. Then she let Liam guide her out the door.

* * *

Peyton pulledthe covers over her head, but it didn’t shut out the bright sunlight pouring through the windows. The light filtered through the ultra-white down comforter.

Shit, I should have closed the blinds.She squinted at the bedside clock, wrung out despite more than twelve hours of sleep. Over the last few days, she’d been alternately hugged, kissed, and coddled in every way platonically imaginable, and she was exhausted.

Matthias was gone.

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