Devoured - Cathryn Fox Page 0,61
it on the floor? I falter backward a bit, my mind racing and slowing on the most logical explanation here.
Peyton found these papers and bailed.
I sink into the chair, unable to believe this. I pull my phone out again and send another text. When it goes unanswered, I dial her number, but it goes straight to voice mail. Has she blocked me? Worry sets in, and I pick up my phone and check flights out of Malta. There isn’t one until tomorrow, so it’s not like she’s taken off today, unless she chartered a private flight.
Fuck me.
I drive my fingers through my hair and pace and continue to wait for her response. When my phone finally rings, my heart leaps—except it’s my sister. “Hey,” I say, sounding completely irritated.
“Ah, are you okay?” Lucy asks.
“I don’t think so.”
She lowers her voice. “What’s up, Roman?”
“I think she’s gone, Luce. I think she saw the prenup and changed her mind.” I glance around the empty villa. It’s stark and hollow without her in it.
“That doesn’t sound like Peyton.”
“I didn’t think so, either, but her things are gone, and she’s not answering my messages.”
“Maybe she’s staying somewhere else tonight.”
“I thought that at first, but all her things are gone.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” She goes quiet for a moment. “Could something have happened at school?”
I tug on my hair as it gets harder and harder to breathe. “I don’t know.” I swallow but there’s nothing I can do to hide the panic in my voice.
“You know the principal, right? Why don’t you give him a call?”
“Okay, good idea. Thanks, Luce.”
“Let me know, okay?”
“Don’t say anything to the others, please.”
“You know I’ve got your back, Roman. I wouldn’t have made you eat mud if I didn’t love you.”
That pulls a chuckle from me. “Later, Easy-Bake. Love back.”
I find Andrew’s number and call his place, but no one picks up. Determined to get to the bottom of matters and hoping I’m making a huge deal out of nothing, I call for Elias and get him to drive me to Andrew’s home. I’m out of the car before it even comes to a complete stop, and I dash up the stairs. I pound on the door, and Andrew opens it, a frown on his face.
“If you’re here to try to get Peyton’s job back for her, you’re wasting your time.”
My heart stalls and I grab a hold of the rail, squeezing until my knuckles turn white. “What are you talking about?”
His eyes narrow on me, assessing my face. “She didn’t tell you?”
“No, I can’t find her.”
He nods, like he understands that. “Now that she’s out of a job, she’s probably going back to the States.”
“Why is she out of a job?” Jesus, what the hell happened today? “She’s the best person for it, Andrew.”
“Is she now?” He taps his finger on his chin and worry explodes inside me. “Do good people lie about being married, Roman?”
I suck in a fast breath. “Oh, shit.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“You know we’re getting married tomorrow.”
“It was never about the marriage, it was about the lying.”
“Come on, Andrew, you have to give her another chance,” I plead. “A marriage bar is ridiculous. You must know that.”
“I’m sorry, Roman. The contract has already been signed by Richard.”
My throat squeezes tight. “You’re making a big mistake.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m in the middle of something.”
He closes the door and I stand there staring at it for far too long. How the hell did he find out? It had to have been Richard, and while I’d like to track him down and introduce my fist to his face, right now it’s Peyton I’m worried about. She needs me. Phone in hand I head back to the limo and shoot a text to Peyton, telling her I know about the job and we need to talk.
Three dots pop on the screen and I stop breathing, waiting for her words to come in, but when they do, my jaw drops.
Peyton: Thank you for your support. You’re off the hook. Marriage is no longer needed.
“What the hell?” I say as my life crashes down around me. She’s letting me off the hook? Doesn’t she know how I feel? A groan catches in my throat. How could she know? I was too afraid to tell her, too afraid she’d bolt.
Goddammit, even though I never expressed what she meant to me, she had to know, right? Or have I been reading what’s between us all wrong? I sit in the back of the