Page 71 of That First Night
“Oh hello, dear,” she says on the other end. “I have missed you so much.”
“I missed you too, Mom.” I smile into the phone. “How was your trip?”
“It was great!” She beams from the other end of the phone. “It was a much needed two months away. I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I decided not to add the international plan for this trip and just wanted to enjoy my hiatus away.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I’m glad you had a great time. You’re back in the states, I’m assuming?” I ask her.
“Yes. I am at the shore house,” she admits. “Are you and Marc coming here for your birthday weekend?”
Dammit. I was hoping to have the space just to myself since I didn’t want to have to introduce Peyton to her. She’s very protective of me as her ‘first baby,’ she says often. In fact, she still pushes me to reach out to Sheila to try and make it work. I don’t think she will ever understand that it will never work out.
Her being so protective comes with faults. She isn’t the nicest to people we introduce her to at first. Hell, even Logan got the brunt of it when we first became friends years ago. The first time I brought him home, she grilled him for hours. I’m pretty sure he wanted to run out of the house. She was downright nasty. But Logan grew on her, and she started seeing him like another son because he wasn’t going anywhere as my friend.
I certainly don’t need her grilling Peyton this weekend and scaring her away from me.
What is Peyton to me, though? I don’t even know. I am starting to want her more than just as my nanny. But what if she doesn’t feel the same about me? She has to. There is no way the chemistry between us is one sided.
“Honey? Are you there?” My mom asks.
“Yes, sorry,” I say forgetting I was on the phone. “We’re coming down. Oliver is in Australia this week on his trip around the globe, so he won’t be there. I am bringing a couple friends with us.”
“Oh dear, you know Logan is always welcome down here.”
“Logan is coming.” I clear my throat with a small cough. “But we have three ladies coming with us, as well.”
“Ohh,” she says, less than amused.
“Well,” I pause. I’m trying to find the right words for now. I am not about to admit this to her over the phone. “One of them is James’ nanny, Peyton. I asked her to come and told her she can bring her two friends along for the weekend.”
“You got a nanny?”
“Yes,” I admit. “She’s amazing with James. Her two friends are great too. Oh, and her grandmother is coming down too.”
“Oh, wow,” My mom pauses as she takes in everything that I just threw at her. “Is there something you want to tell me, Tommy?”
“No,” I snap. “Her grandmother is sick, and I think it would be nice for her to get away with Peyton and spend some time on the beach.”
“Oh,” she says with a sympathetic sigh. “That sounds… interesting. Peyton is her name?”
“Yes,” that’s all I say. I don’t want to admit too much to her right now before I speak with Peyton. I also don’t want to get into a full-blown conversation where she asks me if I have spoken to Sheila. I am not doing this today. Quickly I add, “Mom, I have to get going. I have to stop at the store before I head home.”
“Okay, honey. We can finish this conversation later,” she adds. “Love you, Tommy.”
I sigh into the phone because that’s not fucking happening, “Love you too, Mom.”
I end the call and pick out a bouquet of multicolor roses. White, red, orange, pink, and yellow all wrapped in one bouquet. I know roses symbolize romance, but they also symbolize beauty and courage. They are nature's most beautiful flower and as corny as this may sound, Peyton is the most beautiful person I have met in my life. Besides, I will never forget the aroma of roses I smell when I am near her. All those years ago, that is the scent that stuck with me, quickly becoming my favorite flower.
On the drive back to the penthouse, my phone buzzes again in my pocket. I can’t help but think, ‘Leave me the fuck alone.’When I look down, I notice it’s a three-way call between Marc and Oliver.
“Hey,” I answer in an aggravated tone.
“Don’t even start with the attitude, fuck face,” Oliver says through the phone.
“You’re annoying me on my peaceful drive home,” I snap. “What do you two want?”
“Marc says you invited the nanny and her friends to the shore house for your birthday.” He laughs.
“I did.”
