Page 38 of After All

“You been paying a lot of attention to Peyton,” Scott commented. He wasn’t the jealous type—well, he didn’tlikebeing the jealous type. And he wasn’t, really. But it bugged him a little that Derek and Kyle had noticed these things about Peyton. Of course, one was a doctor. He was kind of trained to see people and notice subtle things. And the other was a bartender. Not trained, exactly, but certainly experienced in seeing people in various emotional states.

“Well, I see a lot of Peyton,” Derek said with a laugh.

Everyone knew that the Come Again was one of Peyton’s favorite places. She was a night owl, for one thing, and it was the only place in town open past six. She was also very social. And, being the only place open after six, the Come Again was where a lot of people ended up on any given night.

Or was it that she didn’t like being alone? That seemed more accurate, for whatever reason.

“And I’m not all wrapped up in tryingnotto sleep with her for a bunch of deep, psychologically complicated reasons,” Derek added, “so, I can see it all clearly.”

“You are definitely not psychologically complicated,” Kyle agreed.

“Not at all. Total straight-shooter. If that girl came atmein a naughty nurse’s costume, no way I’d be worried about a thing except if I have enough condoms to last the night.”

“Watch yourself, Wright,” Scott cautioned with a scowl. “It’s only my leg that’s not one hundred percent.” Not that he was concerned about Derek and Peyton.

Derek grinned. “You’d have to catch me first, old man.”

Scott was only a year older than Derek, but the younger guy loved to point it out whenever he had the chance. “My Taser would absolutely catch you.”

Derek pushed up out of the recliner and stretched. “Well, like I said, you’ve got the girl. I think you need to quit thinking so much and maybe just startdoing.”

“You out of here?” Kyle asked, as Derek picked up his beer can and plate and headed for the kitchen.

“Yeah, told Bryan I’d close up and then Mitch is stopping by.”

“You guys really going to add on?” Scott asked. Derek had been playing with the idea of adding on to the Come Again. He had a grand scheme of adding a pizza kitchen and expanding the business. The Stop had pizza but it was…pizza. Nothing special. Derek seemed to think that Sapphire Falls was ready for something more.

Derek came back into the living room. “Yep, Bryan’s on board. Said we can do a partnership where I manage the pizza business and keep whatever profits come in as long as I also pay all the bills for it. He keeps the bar business.”

“And Mitch is going to do the work?” Kyle asked.

Derek nodded. “He said he and Andi will do it after hours and it won’t disrupt business.”

Mitch Dugan and Andrea Gallo were two of the best contractors and builders in the area. Both from Sapphire Falls, and best friends, they’d started their business about two years ago. They were getting busier, and doing something like the addition to the Come Again would get a lot of attention.

“Sounds great,” Kyle said. “And like I told you, if you need an investor, just let me know.”

Derek clapped his friend on the shoulder as he went by. “You’re a good guy, no matter what they say,” he told him. “And you,” he said to Scott. “Quit torturing Peyton.”

Scott laughed at that.Hewas torturing Peyton? Yeah.

He and Kyle both focused back on the baseball game on TV, but Scott couldn’t stop thinking about Peyton actually caring about him. Of course she did. He knew that.

His phone pinged with a text message. He looked down. And smiled. Peyton.

Did you take your pill?

She was checking up on him.

Before he could answer, Kyle’s phone pinged. He looked down where he had it resting on the arm of his chair. Being the only physician in Sapphire Falls, he was pretty much on call twenty-four-seven. He frowned and opened the message. Then he looked up at Scott with brows raised.

“Peyton wants to know if you’ve been drinking because you shouldn’t do that while taking pain pills.”

Scott snorted. “Good thing you’ve got her to remind you of that, Doc,” he said.

Kyle just rolled his eyes. “Seriously, man, just sleep with her.”

“You think I should?” Scott asked. Derek was one thing. He didn’t harbor any hopes for a deeper relationship. Scott had thought Kyle understood his side though.

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