Harlequin Special Edition June 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Fortune's June Bride\The Instant Family Man\Falling for the Mom-to-Be by Allison Leigh

Author:Allison Leigh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Harlequin Special Edition
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Maddy pouted for a solid hour. Peyton took her to Miss Viv’s for lunch, but it was a waste of time. Maddy didn’t want to eat and Peyton’s appetite was just as uncooperative.

Peyton had been tempted, so tempted, to say yes to Luke. To stay for lunch and some pool time, especially if it meant seeing Luke’s bare chest again. But just the fact that she wanted to stay, to loosen the reins on her life, let the mess rule the day and, most of all, see Luke half-naked again, all told her she should leave.

How was it that a man she had been infatuated with as a teen could still have such a hold over her emotions and thoughts? Had his kiss been that good?

Well, yeah. It had been amazing. Even better than she’d imagined in all those teenage dreams. And that was what scared her the most—that she wanted more. Not just more, not just a single kiss—

Everything.

A part of her did want to loosen those reins on her life, but she had seen where chaos got someone—and she’d always been the one left to clean up the mess and be the responsible—

Party pooper.

Was Luke right? Had she gotten so tied up in her schedules and order that she had left fun in the rearview mirror?

After lunch, Maddy didn’t want to go to the park, or to the pool, so in the end, they curled up onto one of the beds in Peyton’s hotel room. Peyton found a children’s movie on the television, and Maddy lined up her dolls to watch with her. Peyton got out her sketchpad, but barely scratched the white pages. Her mind wandered, and she found herself watching a movie about a prince rescuing a princess, and picturing Luke on a horse, sweeping her up to join him.

Riding off into the sunset?

No, that wasn’t reality. Those fairy tales she read as a girl weren’t going to come true here in Stone Gap with Luke Barlow, of all people. But her motivation to stick to that schedule and all those rules she loved so much was fraying like an old ribbon.

A second princess movie followed the first one, and as much as Peyton wanted to be up, working, doing something, she settled against the pillows with Maddy in her arms—and fell asleep.

“Auntie P?”

Peyton roused and found Maddy staring down at her. “Hey, monkey. Is the movie over?”

“Uh-huh. And somebody’s knocking at the door, but I didn’t answer it, cuz you told me not to.”

“Good girl.” Peyton pressed a quick kiss to Maddy’s temple, then swung her legs over the bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. There was a second knock at the door, just as Peyton was crossing the room.

She peered through the peephole, and there, as if she’d conjured him up from her dreams, was Luke. He’d changed into blue plaid shorts and a plain white T-shirt. His hair was damp, as if he’d just stepped out of the shower. He looked good.

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