Just not in Magnolia.
And not with the people he had come to love.
Peyton’s face instantly came to mind, but he pushed it away.
Ryder had no idea how long he stood there and just stared out at the empty space, but eventually he turned away, got back in his car, and started to drive home.
But he stopped back at the café first.
Inside, he handed Dana the envelope that held the contracts and the check. “If you could please leave that for Peyton in her office, I’d appreciate it,” he told her before finally going home.
Normally he’d throw himself into work–there was always something that needed his attention, but his head just wasn’t in it. That should have alarmed him because it had never happened to him before, but as he sat down on his sofa, he just sort of accepted it.
Tomorrow was another day, and he’d have to start thinking about transitioning out of Magnolia and deciding where he was going to go. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he yawned and considered taking a nap right here on the couch. There was no way he’d get any sleep in the bed. So he kicked off his shoes and decided to get comfortable.
His eyes closed and he felt himself relax. His mind wandered back to the property, but this time he envisioned something different there. Something very different from The Ashford. It was funny how inspiration hit at the oddest times, but Ryder knew better than to ignore it. The next thing he knew, he was in his office pulling up different websites and feeling more inspired than he had in a long time.
There was no way he was giving up–not on Magnolia and definitely not on Peyton.
13
There had been an accident on I-95 and a drive that should have taken seven and a half hours took closer to ten. By the time Peyton crossed into Magnolia Sound, she was near delirious with exhaustion.
And starving.
She had stayed an extra day with her sister just because she wanted to. They went for mani-pedis and out for lunch in the afternoon before joining several of Parker’s friends for dinner. It was the perfect break from life that Peyton needed before going home. Now it was time to deal with the fallout with Ryder.
It was a little after nine and the café would be closing soon, but she figured she could stop in and grab something to eat and make sure everything was okay there before going home. She considered going to Ryder’s but figured it would be smarter to wait until tomorrow considering she’d been on the road all day.
There were still a few customers enjoying their meals when she walked in, and she smiled and waved on her way to the kitchen. She chatted with everyone and got caught up on the local gossip and felt some of the tension from the long drive starting to leave her. There had been no issues while she was gone–not that she expected any. Her staff was amazing. So she made herself a plate of grilled scallops with a side salad and took it to her office.
The first thing she noticed when she sat down was the large envelope with her name on it standing against her computer monitor.
“Hmm…what’s this?” she murmured as she reached in and pulled out the stack of papers. A check fell free and floated to the floor and when she picked it up, Peyton swore she was having a stroke. “What the hell?”
With trembling fingers, she sorted through the papers and realized they were the contracts they had originally discussed when they first started working together. She scanned the document and saw it was everything she and Ryder talked about, but…did he honestly think this was what she wanted? The moment they started dating, she never once thought of their business arrangement. In her mind and in her heart, this was about the two of them just being together.
Maybe he was just using you…
No. She refused to believe that. Standing, she grabbed everything–the contract, the check, her purse and keys–and stormed from her office. “Can someone please throw away my dinner?” she called out on her way out the door. “I need to go!”
It was a good thing Ryder didn’t live far from the café because even as mad as she was, getting back in the car was the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest right now.
She slammed her car door when she parked in his driveway and stomped up the front steps. It was tempting to use her key and totally surprise him like that, but if a business relationship was what he wanted, then dammit, that was what he was going to get. So she rang the bell and knocked on the door consistently until he opened it.
He was disheveled. That was her immediate thought. His hair was a mess, there were dark circles under his eyes, and the most shocking…
He was in shorts and a t-shirt.
“What the hell is all this?” she yelled, waving the envelope in his face, refusing to be distracted by his appearance.
His eyes went a little wide before he cleared his throat. “The contracts. We uh…we never signed them.”
Next, she pulled the check out of the envelope and made a big show of ripping it up and letting the pieces fall at his feet. “It’s insulting. That’s what it is,” she told him. “How dare you do that to me after everything we’ve shared! I thought I meant more to you than that, but obviously my first impression was correct. You just throw money around to get what you want. And since what you want is to pay me off and send me on my way since we’re done, then fine. But I don’t want or need your money, Ryder Ashford. I never did.”
She was feeling pretty damn proud of herself for getting through that little speech without crying. And with what she hoped was a scathing look, she turned to walk away.
Only…Ryder’s hand grasped her arm to stop her. He spun her around and she realized he no longer looked quite so disheveled. Now he looked big and menacing.
Uh-oh…
“You think I did this to get rid of you?” he asked incredulously.
Yanking her arm free, she nodded. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
Muttering a curse, he took a step back into the house. “Can you please come inside so we can talk about this?”
“There’s nothing to say. This little packet said more than enough.”
“For the love of it, Peyton. Please? Just…five minutes?”
With a snort, she stepped inside. “Right. Like I haven’t heard that line from you before.”
And yet…here I am giving him the damn minutes…
She stomped up to the kitchen and saw it was a mess. This was all so unlike him, and as much as she hoped it was because of her, she couldn’t seem to let herself believe it. The man was too self-sufficient, and he was obviously done with her, so…this all had to be for some other reason.
Crossing her arms and doing her best to look defiant, she waited him out.
“Look, like it or not, we made a deal months ago, a deal that I neglected to follow through on. That’s not who I am, Peyton. You did everything you promised to do and I didn’t, so…that’s what the contract and check are about. I want you to know that I appreciate all that you did and all that I learned from you.” He paused and looked like he wanted to touch her, but…he didn’t. “About restaurants,” he quickly corrected. “I learned a lot about the restaurant business and hopefully–maybe sometime in the future–I’ll be able to put all of it to good use.”
“In the future? What are you talking about? What about The Ashford and my restaurant? Or rather, your restaurant with some of my ideas?”