She shook her head.
“Because it’s important to you! No matter what we saw or which vendors we talked to, I was always going to defer to you on what we put in the kitchens. Don’t you get that? I would have been fine looking at a catalog or even if you just gave me a list of what you wanted me to buy!” Her expression never changed, and he had to wonder why he was even trying. With a helpless shrug, he said, “I wanted to experience it through your eyes. You were so excited about it and I guess…I just wanted to know what that was like. That’s why I’m pushing so hard to get us there.”
“Oh,” she said quietly.
“If you’ll excuse me, I just need about five minutes to let everyone know the change of plans. Could you possibly see about reserving a car for us while I handle this?” Turning, he started to walk away, and again, she called out and stopped him.
This time he didn’t turn around.
“No,” she said.
Slowly, he glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
“No,” she repeated. “I’m not going to see about reserving a car.”
His initial impression of her being an immature brat flashed through his mind, but Ryder quickly pushed it away. “Fine. I’ll take care of it. Travel arrangements weren’t in your job description. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really need to let everyone know what’s going on.”
“I’m not making the arrangements, Ryder, because…you’re right,” she said, and he heard a hint of annoyance in her voice and did his best to hide a smile.
“About…?”
This time she rolled her eyes. “This show is important to me and I really do want to get there. I just…I can’t help being scared. If we were getting on a 747, I’d like to think I’d feel better, but…I don’t know!”
There was no way he couldn’t go to her. She might just want a working relationship with him from now on, but he wasn’t going to think about that right now. Walking over, he pulled her into his arms and hated how she stiffened against him.
“I hate that you’re afraid,” he whispered, relieved when she started to relax in his embrace. “And I hate that I’m the one who caused that fear. Nothing’s going to happen this time, Peyton. We have a pilot and a co-pilot who have over thirty years of experience between them. The plane is more than twice the size of mine.” Then he pulled back and looked down at her with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “And you won’t be sitting alone. I’ll be right there beside you and I promise to do anything you need to distract you.”
Her own smile was reluctant. “You promise?”
He nodded. “I promise.”
With a weary sigh, she met his gaze. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Ryder was afraid to hesitate for even a minute because he didn’t want her to change her mind. “Can we get some help with our luggage, please?” he called out as he led Peyton over to the plane. “If there’s anything you want before we take off, just let me know and we’ll get it.”
Walking up the steps ahead of him, she murmured, “Any chance you have a tranquilizer dart? I’m pretty sure that would be helpful.”
The thing was, he knew she was only partly kidding.
On board, they took their seats and Ryder figured the best way to keep her distracted–and stay in the business zone like she wanted–was to focus on work. Booting up his laptop, he pulled up the site for the trade show and spent the next two and a half hours letting her talk about which vendors they were going to see and why they were the best of what they were looking for. She’d held his hand in a vice grip during takeoff and landing, but other than that, it was business as usual.
And he hated every second of it.
A town car picked them up at the airport and took them to their hotel. He’d booked them at the Four Seasons because it was his usual hotel of choice and the look on Peyton’s face when they checked in was almost comical. She’d made a few comments on how she would have been fine at a “normal” hotel, but he simply shrugged.
“We have one deluxe mountain-view room with a king bed and then the one-bedroom presidential suite,” the clerk confirmed.
“Correct,” Ryder replied and signed where he was directed and thanked him when he got the keys. It wasn’t until he and Peyton were in the elevator with the bell hop that she spoke again.
“A deluxe mountain-view room?”
“I thought you’d enjoy it. The view truly is spectacular.”
She made a non-committal sound. “And…you’re in the presidential suite?”
He nodded. “Probably just down the hall.” Glancing at his watch, he frowned. “I figure we can spare about thirty minutes to get settled in our rooms and then we’ll meet up and head over to the convention center. Will that work for you?”
Another quiet sound and nod were her only response and for the life of him, Ryder didn’t understand what was wrong. The flight had been flawless, the trip to the airport had been equally pleasant, and they were staying at one of the most luxurious hotels in the city before going to the big trade show. He might not know Peyton that well, but he figured she’d be a little more excited than this.
“Peyton, is everything alright?” he forced himself to ask.
She was staring at the elevator doors. “Fine. Why?” she responded listlessly.
O-kay…
“It’s just…you seem a little…underwhelmed. I thought you were looking forward to this?”
“I am.”
Something was definitely bothering her and for the life of him, he had no idea what it could possibly be.
“You’re not still upset because we flew, are you?”
“No.” Turning her head, she gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m not upset, Ryder.” Then she resumed staring at the elevator doors. Their rooms were on the sixteenth floor and when they stepped out a minute later, she thanked him and promised to meet him in the lobby in thirty minutes.
All without looking at him.
There were at least a dozen things he wanted to say to her–to force her to look at him and tell him why she was acting like this–but…he didn’t want to make a scene. The bellhop took care of her luggage before stepping back into the hall to lead Ryder to his room. So with nothing more than a curt nod, he turned and strode down the hall to his suite.
Inside, he tipped the bellhop and waited for him to leave before growling with frustration. It was going to be damn difficult to deal with walking around a trade show with Peyton being in this mood and being so…indifferent to him. And really, how dare she? She was the one who decided they needed to go back to a work-only relationship as soon as they’d left the hotel this morning. So why was he being punished?
The last thing he wanted to do was unpack, so instead he simply prowled around the suite. It was magnificent, just like he knew it would be, and he couldn’t help but wish Peyton was staying in it with him. The look on her face yesterday when she explored their ridiculously small motel room came to mind, and he wondered if she’d look around at all this luxury with the same expression. Walking over to the wall of windows, Ryder studied the view of the mountains and wondered if Peyton was looking out her window and impressed by what she saw.