Page 53 of Two Minutes for Holding

“Spare me the details, Peyton. Clay is nothing but a joke.”

Once again, irritation, followed by anger, flooded me. It wasn’t a wonder I never told Knox anything but lies. When this was the reaction, I always got in return, no matter if I told him the truth or not.

“You might think that Knox, but let me tell you, he is so far above and beyond the guys I’ve dated. He’s a man—”

“I don’t want to hear it, Peyton. In my books, Clay Harris is nothing but a fool, and he is dead to me from here on out.”

“You know what, big brother…you best watch who you are talking about, but that fool that’s dead to you is the father of my baby. Now, I’ve got to go. Oh, and don’t bother to pick me up from the airport on Friday. I’ll have Clay do it.”

I ended the call, then shoved my phone into my pocket. I didn’t have another thing to say to my brother on this subject, and if I had my way, I’d make sure not to see him when I was in Vancouver this weekend.

Chapter 17

Clay

I pulledup outside the airport early Friday morning and parked the car. Reese and Lorelai had called me to see if I’d be able to pick Peyton up from the airport tonight and take her back to my place for the night, since Knox was still angry and unbearable to be around. I told them it wasn’t a problem since she’d already asked.

I looked over to the door to see Peyton pulling a small suitcase behind her with a bag slung across her body. I quickly jumped out of the car and took off over to where she was, quickly taking both bags from her.

“Clay don’t be silly. I’ve got it.”

“I know, and now I have it.” I winked.

Once I had everything in the trunk of my car, I wrapped my arms around Peyton and placed a kiss on her lips.

“Good to see you. How are you feeling?” I questioned, placing my hand on the flat of her stomach.

She let out a cute giggle and shook her head. “I’m good. Honestly, I’m glad to be back here. I needed a break from packing.” She softly smiled as I opened her door and waited while she climbed in and buckled up.

I walked around the car and climbed into the driver’s side and took her hand in mine as I pulled away from the curb.

“Well, you can rest the weekend away. Have you talked to your brother again?”

Peyton had called me after her blowout with Knox over the phone. She was upset, angry, hurt, and it took me forever to calm her down. I’d told her to give it a couple of days and then call him to talk it through, but she refused. She told me that unless he called and apologized first, she’d not do it, and as far as I knew, he’d not called her.

“I don’t want to talk about him, please. I want to have a good weekend, watch you play hockey, and get some rest before I return to Vermont and go back to packing.”

“Fair enough, but you remember he plays on the same team.”

“Don’t remind me. I was trying to pretend he didn’t, and honestly, if he touches you again, I’ll have to hurt him.”

She was honestly adorable when she was angry, I thought to myself as I looked over at her. I placed my hand on her upper leg and gave her a light squeeze.

“Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” she said, placing her hand on top of mine.

“You can putyour stuff in here,” I said, opening the top dresser drawer I’d emptied.

“Thanks, but really, you didn’t have to. I can just keep everything in my suitcase.

I shook my head. “Not a chance.”

She smiled and began unpacking, placing her things inside the drawer.

“You can put your toiletries in the bathroom too. I made room on the right side of the double sinks. Is that okay?”

“More than okay. Thank you, but I feel you’ve sort of turned your stuff upside down to accommodate me.”

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