Page 52 of Two Minutes for Holding

“I’m not worried about him.”

“Peyton, we’ll be fine,” Clay said, the confidence in his voice reassuring me. “Now, go get some rest and I’ll see you in a few days.”

I was just placingthe load of towels I’d washed into the dryer and started it when my cell phone rang. I glanced at the screen to see my brother’s name. Swearing under my breath, I contemplated not answering it but then reconsidered. I was pissed with him, and he needed to know it. How dare he hit Clay.

“What?” I barked into the phone, not caring how I started this entire conversation between the two of us.

“Don’t you dare start off a conversation like that with me. I’m beyond pissed with you!” Knox yelled.

I could hear Mom or Lorelai in the background muttering something, but he covered the mouthpiece and mumbled something at them.

I had nothing to say because he had no right to be angry at me. I was an adult, and if I wanted to have a relationship with Clay, I had every right to.

“I see you have nothing to say. That figures, it’s very much like you. I don’t know why I ever expected anything different from you, Peyton.”

Tears filled my eyes as he spoke. His tone was harsh, his words even more so.

“What do you mean by that?”

“God, you sat right there that night and lied to my face in Vermont. I asked you point-blank if you were in his room and you fucking lied to me.”

“That’s because it wasn’t any of your business.”

“Not my business?”

“That’s right, you heard me. It’s not your business.”

“Seriously, Peyton, of all the guys on the team, Clay?”

I frowned. Was he upset about the fact that I’d messed around with one guy on the team or was he more upset at the fact that it was Clay?

“What is that supposed to mean? I would imagine it would upset you regardless of who it was that I messed around with.”

“Correct, but Clay?”

“Yes, Knox, Clay. What’s the problem?”

“It’s Clay, manwhore of the team. Jesus, if you even knew how many women—”

“Knox, it’s none of my concern, and it’s not like you are a saint, either. Hell, I’m sure you’ve had your fun just as much as any of the others on the team.”

“Peyton, this isn’t about me and my fun. This is about you and your choices and—”

“It’s always about me and my choices, isn’t it? Well, my choice was Clay, Knox, like it or not. It honestly didn’t even startout being that way. I ran into him the night you forced me to face the security after I shoplifted.”

“What are you talking about? The night you lied about being at my place tucked into bed, the night you came home drunk and staggered down the hallway…that night?”

How had he known? He’d been asleep when I’d left, I was certain of it, and I’d been as quiet as a mouse, or so I thought when I returned.

“Yes, that night.”

“So, you’ve been fucking him this entire time?”

“No, I never said that. If you really need to know, I slept with him when you forced Mom and I to go to Vancouver after I called you. I was in trouble that night. I’d stopped into some little dive bar there and some guy was trying to pick me up. He was touching me and saying all these things, making me feel not only uncomfortable but super dirty. I didn’t know how to handle it, and then I saw Clay across the room. He’d promised me that if ever I needed anything and you weren’t around, I could count on any of the guys on the team.”

“Oh, I see how it is. You were horned up and wanted to get laid.”

“You are impossible. No. I needed help. He came over and chased the other guy away. We talked for quite a long time after that, and then one thing led to another. We’re attracted to one another, and it just sort of happened.”

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