Just Sign Here - Cara Dee Page 0,50
no dessert after dinner,” I said.
The world came to an end for Julia there, and Daddy was suddenly the meanest person ever.
Daddy could live with that.
The next day, I got a rare chance to take an actual nap. It started out with Julia next to me, but she woke up before I did, and Cathryn left a note saying they’d gone to the mini golf course on the property.
My workday was over, and Peyton was nowhere to be seen, so I took a shower and got dressed. Cargo shorts and a button-down would do for a casual date. Considering Peyton wanted to get something “off his chest,” I hadn’t made any grand plans. Instead, I’d packed a daypack with a blanket, a bottle of rum, and some snacks. On the way out, we’d pick up dinner from the restaurant, which reminded me—I had to call and place my order.
“Boss, you in there?” Mathis called from the terrace.
I crossed the living room and poked my head out. “Well, there’s one of you. Have you seen Peyton?”
He jerked his chin in the general direction of…elsewhere. Everything was where he nodded. “I saw him in the office earlier.”
Ah, so the main building.
Mathis sat down in one of the chairs and lit up a cigarette. “Your dry cleaning arrived earlier. That’s all I had to say.”
“Thank you.” I stepped outside and took a seat too. “Do you have any plans for the Fourth of July?”
We’d have one week back home in Boston before we headed out again. But it would be our last extended trip for a while. After a tour of some of our major hotels on the mainland, we’d be home for a couple months.
“I’ll be at my brother’s, I reckon,” he replied. “What about you?”
“Same as always, I suppose. Trent’s family picnic.” My cousin and his wife went all out for the holiday. I mostly went because Julia loved to spend time with Trent’s girls. They were her age.
Mathis nodded slowly and took a drag from his smoke.
“You invitin’ Peyton?” he asked with a smirk.
I chuckled. “I wish, but he’ll be with his own family.” It’d come to no one’s surprise yesterday when Peyton and I had shown some PDA at the pool and later at dinner. “He’ll fly straight to Seattle when we get to Miami.”
I wasn’t looking forward to that, even though I understood him. I was just being selfish. I’d promised him we’d make sure he could see his family once a month, “give or take,” and it’d been almost two since he’d spent time with them. Additionally, most of his prerecorded episodes on the radio network had aired now, so he’d spend a day in the studio while he was on the West Coast too.
“Speak of the devil.” Mathis nodded at something behind me.
I peered over my shoulder and saw Peyton walking toward us. He looked tired, but he smiled when he spotted me.
“You’re up.” He jogged the last few steps and squeezed my shoulder, then dipped down and kissed me chastely. “How was your nap?”
“Fantastic. They should be a thing for adults, too.”
“I hear it works in Spain.” He grinned and sat down in the empty chair next to me. “When are we heading out?”
“Whenever you’re ready.” I grabbed his hand, just because I could, and threaded our fingers together. “I thought I’d pick up dinner before. That’s all.”
“Perfect. I only need a quick shower. Can we get something greasy from the pool grill?”
I chuckled. “Anything you want.”
“Well, aren’t you two sickeningly sweet,” Mathis drawled.
“Finally! I’m one of those people now,” Peyton exclaimed. “Just wait till we get to the office. All his memos will be delivered on pink Post-its with hearts on them.”
I laughed and kissed his knuckles.
An hour or so later, we arrived on a secluded part of the beach with one daypack and one to-go bag from the grill.
“I apologize for not being more creative with what I would like to consider our second date.”
Our day on the private beach had been too good to waste in the official count.
“This is perfect,” Peyton said with a shake of his head. “I just wanna chill with you.”
After we got comfortable on the blanket, he tore into our food and devoured a hot dog—off the kids’ menu—before I’d even started on a pizza slice.
“What a fucking day,” he groaned around his food.
My amusement made way for a pinch of worry. “Did I miss something while I had my beauty sleep?”
He shrugged and grabbed another hot