LITMIR.BIZ

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he’d been wrong.

      “I’m sorry. I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.”

      “Would that be before or after your next business meeting?”

      A kernel of warmth sparked to life deep inside him. Peyton might be angry at him but she was very firmly in Ellie’s corner and that was what he’d hoped for all along—that he’d marry a woman who’d be comfortable in a maternal role with Ellie.

      “There won’t be any more business meetings. I promise. Not while we’re on honeymoon, anyway.”

      “Until the next emergency arises and you need to offload your responsibilities again?”

      He fought to keep his features neutral as he replied. “I don’t make a habit of offloading anything. I’m sorry if caring for Ellie was such a burden to you.”

      Color flamed in her cheeks and her eyes grew bright. She looked like she was about to light off like a firecracker. Before she could respond, he put up a hand.

      “Look, I’m sorry—that was uncalled for. I shouldn’t have assumed that you’d look after Ellie when I couldn’t.”

      “You don’t even know me,” Peyton said, a grimace twisting her beautiful face.

      Galen walked closer to her and took one of her hands. “You’re right. I don’t know you, yet. I do, however, know you’re trustworthy. We wouldn’t have been matched if you weren’t.”

      Peyton nodded ever so slightly. “She was upset tonight, Galen. I hated it.”

      Compassion flooded him and he squeezed her hand gently. “You feel so helpless, don’t you?”

      The anger that had been holding her rigid dropped out of her just like that.

      “Yes, and I didn’t like it. I’m sorry I took it out on you. But don’t think I’m letting you off the hook.”

      “I know, and I’ll make it up to both of you. I am a man of my word, Peyton. No more business on this vacation.”

      “Thank you.”

      She pulled her hand free and started to gather up her things, including some handwritten notes and a laptop computer.

      “You were working?” he asked.

      “Not until Ellie went to bed, which was only a couple of hours ago because she was so upset.”

      “I didn’t mean it like that—no need to be defensive.”

      She raised her brows at him.

      “I didn’t. I’m merely interested. Is this a new article you’re working on?”

      “I don’t discuss my work until it’s published.”

      Peyton hugged her things to her as if hiding them from his gaze. Fair enough, but she was making it very difficult for them to find common ground for discussion and to get to know one another. So far both family and her work were off-limits. So what did that leave them? Not a lot.

      “I can respect that. Your work is sensitive, then?”

      “Usually, and this is particularly so. I’m not being obstructive. It’s just the way I work. Okay?”

      “Like I said, no problem. Hey, would you like to put your things away where my prying eyes can’t see them and come and join me on the patio for a nightcap?”

      She hesitated. He was beginning to brace himself for a flat no, when she nodded and said she’d be right back. Galen shrugged out of his jacket and yanked the tail of his tie through his collar. Valentin had been right. This marriage thing wasn’t easy, especially when you were married to a stranger.

      The other day, brushing her hair, he’d felt as though they’d reached a new level of closeness. But apparently going to work today had thrown all of that out the window and he was back to square one. He had to make this work, for Ellie. He felt a pang of guilt as he threw his things on a chair and went down the hallway toward Ellie’s bedroom.

      Since her parents’ accident she’d been sleeping with a night-light and her door slightly ajar. He entered her room and settled gently on the edge of her bed. Ellie’s eyes flashed wide open in an instant.

      “You’re home!” She sat bolt upright and her little arms wrapped around his neck.

      His heart squeezed tight and he hugged her back. “Yeah, I’m home, so no more worrying, okay? I thought we had a deal. You’re supposed to talk to me about the things that make you feel upset.”

      “I know,” she said softly as she pulled away. “It’s just hard when you’re not here.”

      “I’m sorry I was gone so long today. It won’t happen again while we’re on vacation, I promise, but it will probably happen again when we’re home. But I promise you this, too. I’ll make sure you’re never alone and you can always get whoever is with you to text me at any time.”

      “Even when you’re in an important meeting?”

      “Even then. Nothing and no one is more important to me than you, Ellie. I’m here for you. Always.”

      “Okay,” she said on a yawn.

      “Now, back to sleep, young lady. Tomorrow is a new day.”

      “Thanks, Galen. I love you.”

      “I love you, too, kiddo.”

      Galen pressed one more kiss to her forehead and then rose from the bed. She was already asleep by the time he got to the door. He looked back on her, his heart so full of love for this little girl it sometimes took his breath away. Moments like this reaffirmed he had done the right thing in marrying Peyton. Ellie had endured more upheaval than any child her age should have to bear. She deserved a family that could love and support her through life. He only hoped that Peyton’s defensiveness on Ellie’s behalf this evening showed she felt exactly the same way.

       Four

      Peyton slipped back into her room, worried that she might be caught eavesdropping on the tender exchange between Galen and Ellie. She hadn’t expected it of him, and that shocked her a little.

      She reached for a tissue and brushed away her tears. Theirs appeared to be a very special relationship and for some stupid reason it left her feeling as if she was very much an outsider. That had never bothered her before. She’d always been an outsider after the shame of her father’s dismissal from Horvath Corporation. Then in the new town they eventually settled in on the Oregon coast, she hadn’t fit in, either. She’d had city girl written all over her in the tight-knit community where fishing and tourism were the main industries. Even when she’d gone to Washington for college she’d been an outsider, a fact that had worked in her favor when she’d hidden her pregnancy and subsequent adoption of her baby. Being an outsider came naturally to her now. It afforded her powers of observation she wouldn’t have enjoyed otherwise. She even preferred it, she told herself as she reapplied her lipstick before returning to meet Galen for that drink.

      But then why did it still have the capacity to hurt so much? Was it that her own child would be around Ellie’s age? Was it because each day she was facing all that she’d given away? Peyton slammed a lid on those thoughts before they could drive her crazy. She’d made her choice, the best one she could for her child at the time. Even in the years immediately after the adoption there was no way she could have supported a child. Things had changed now, of course. Her work had paid extremely well at times. And the payday from the exposé on Alice Horvath would be huge, too. Horvath Corporation was global, but the company itself had never been her target. Just Alice. She’d been the one to arbitrarily destroy Peyton’s father’s career and, consequently, everything about Peyton’s life that she’d held dear.

      Keep focused, she told herself, sealing away her emotions

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