Sometimes Moments (19 page)

After stopping on the last picture, Peyton set the others back on the bed and stared at the one in her hand. Madilynne had captured this particular moment. It was of Peyton smiling at the camera and Callum staring at her, oblivious to anyone around him. This was when she’d felt his love—if it had been real and not a figment of her imagination. Hope was a sadistic bitch and Peyton would rather they not cross paths. But this one picture filled her with just that. With a bittersweet smile, she leant the picture against the half-melted candle on her bedside table.

Standing, she placed her fingers on her promise ring and slipped it off. There was no regret or doubt in her mind. Just sheer relief to have it off. Once she’d opened the drawer of the table, she placed the ring inside and closed it before staring at the Polaroid.

I want sometimes moments.

“T
his is good,” Callum said, staring at her design for the dance floor by the lake.

Peyton sat behind her desk, her chin in her palms as she watched him mull over the idea to make the Reynolds’ wedding a success.

“You mind if I go over it, though?” he asked as he sat in the chair in front of her.

She let out a sigh. “So, it’s terrible then.”

Callum shook his head. “It’s not. It just needs an architect’s look at it.”

“How am I going to afford one?” she asked.

A smug look overcame Callum’s face. “You’re looking at one.”

Her eyes widened. “You did not become an architect.”

He nodded. “I’m practically Ted Mosby.”

She laughed at his
How I Met Your Mother
reference. It surprised her that Callum had become an architect considering he had grown up complaining about his father’s property development business and how he wanted nothing to do with it. But architecture wasn’t property developing.

“Well,
Ted,
how does my terrific design look in comparison to all the architect-y things you’ve seen?”

“It’s not hor—”

“Peyton!”

The roar had Callum stopping and stilling. Peyton quickly stood up just as Jay burst through the office doors.

“I knew it!” he growled as he stalked towards the desk.

“Jay, what the hell?” she asked.

“You slept with him?” he asked in disbelief mixed with pain.

Callum put the paper back on the desk. “Jay, you have the wrong idea.”

“Shut the fuck up, Reid,” Jay said firmly before he looked at Peyton. “What’s the matter with you, Peyton? You’re better than that. How could you do this to
me
?” The torment in Jay’s eyes confused Peyton.

“What are you talking about, Jay? We haven’t slept together. We’re working on the Reynolds’ wedding,” Peyton explained.

Jay’s nostrils flared and he banged his fists on the desk before sweeping everything onto the floor. Peyton watched, horrified, as her father’s clock hit the wall. A gut-wrenching pain she had never known attacked her stomach at the sight of broken clock.

“Callum, I need you to leave,” she said, not sure how her voice sounded.

“Peyton—”

She raised her voice. “Get out!”

Callum nodded once before he walked towards the door.

“You’re going to give up everything for
him
?” Jay asked, unaware that he’d just torn out her heart with his previous action.

“You don’t understand. Nothing’s—”

“The whole town’s talking. Someone saw him leave your house this morning!”

She noticed Callum stop just near the door, his body strung up tight.

“They have the wrong impression of what—”

“But he spent the night?” The anger in Jay’s eyes was something that she hated seeing. He was meant to be her friend, but he wasn’t listening.

“You’re not letting me finish!” Her breathing came in gasps as she raised her voice higher, demanding his attention.

Jay looked at her hand. “You took off Graham’s ring.”

Callum winced before he walked out of the office. Then the front bell rang, signalling that he had left the hotel.

Peyton stared at the door, ignoring Jay’s presence.

“Look at me, Peyton,” Jay demanded. With each interaction they had, she was beginning to see a new side of Jay. “You. Took. It. Off.”

“And?” she asked, shaking her head and stepping towards the mess Jay had made. She bent down and picked up her father’s clock. The sight of the mangled pieces caused her eyes to water as she took in the broken hands and the lack of ticking.

“Shit, Peyton. I’m sorry.”

“Get out, Jay,” she said, trying to control the hot emotions working up her throat.

“Peyton—”

She stood up and looked at him hard. “He spent the night, okay? But nothing happened. You were at Daisy’s farm and I’m not even mad that you went against me for her. Keeping me safe from stuff like a storm was your thing. I never obligated you to it. But when I needed someone, Callum was there. And yes, I took Graham’s ring off. Not for Callum, but for
me
. You won’t understand, but Graham will. I’m not giving up anything for Callum. He’s leaving soon.”

She wasn’t sure when she’d lied, but somewhere in what she’d said, there were a few. Right now, though, she didn’t care. She decided that in order to save their friendship, Jay would have to leave. Peyton placed the clock down on the wooden desk and fought the tears from falling.

“Get out, Jay. Before I say something that I’ll regret.”

Jay clenched his fists tight. “I’m sorry, Peyton. The clock—”

“Just leave,” she instructed, not looking at him.

When the door slammed shut, she breathed out exhaustedly. That wasn’t what she’d expected. Rumours spread like wildfire, but Jay had believed them.

Peyton looked at the papers, the pen, and the frame on the floor. Then she bent down, picked up the picture of her and her parents, and placed it back where it belonged. The glass had smashed, and the sight of the fragments angered and destroyed her. After she examined the frame, she saw the pier design on the floor.

“Callum,” she uttered and raced out the door of the office.

Her heart was beating wildly as she ran out of the hotel. She needed to find him, explain, and apologise for her harsh ways. She just hadn’t wanted him to see Jay in such a way.

Peyton stood on the path outside the door of The Spencer-Dayle. She wasn’t sure where he’d be or how she would contact him. Desperation bled into her chest as she scanned the area, her eyes landing on the pier across the lake. The achiness in her chest relieved the moment she saw him sitting on the edge, staring at either her or the hotel. She wasn’t sure.

When Peyton turned her head, she saw Jay stalking towards town. He didn’t get it, but she understood where he was coming from. Jay felt a need to protect her; she had sensed it in the years since they’d become friends. Sometimes, protection induced suffocation. And that was how Peyton felt when she was around him.

She looked back at the pier and then to the path—two choices, and whichever direction she chose meant consequences.

She squeezed her eyes shut before she started to run down the path. She was sure she saw Callum’s head dip from the corner of her eye. But all she did was run. Hard and fast. Her breathing had become heavy gasps.

Peyton heaved as she reached where her head told her to go. She stopped for a moment to regain herself before she walked towards him.

“You should go after him, Peyton.”

I am.

She lowered herself down next to Callum and let her legs fall over the edge. “What good would that do?” she asked, her eyes sweeping the view. This spot would always be her favourite. A lot of good times outweighed the bad. And Callum was a bit of both.

He let out a bothered sigh. Peyton turned her head to see him also staring out at the lake.

“Peyton, you’re losing people who you love because of my return. It’s my fault that he did that to your father’s clock. And I assume it’s my fault that you’ve taken off Graham’s ring.”

A handful of emotions filled Callum’s face. First, it was anger, then anguish, and finally regret. His eyes lightened instead of darkening. He was remorseful.

“I’m making your life worse. I wanted to come back because I owe you a lot of apologies. I’m trying to make up for a lot of wrongs that I should have made right four and a half years ago. Instead, I’m getting in the way of your friendships and causing the town to talk about you. This wasn’t part of the plan. It’s only going to get worse from here if we stay friends,
Pey
.”

All breath fled her. It had been a long time since he’d called her that. He was the only one to ever call her Pey. She was his when he breathed it out.

She blinked quickly at him, letting everything about him sear into her memory. She’d only get what little time he was willing to give to her. But she’d take it. All of it.

“Look at me,” she softly demanded.

Callum turned, his eyes meeting hers. So much filled them that she couldn’t tell what they held anymore. It was a mixture, but his pain hit her first.

“This is my fault. I’ll talk to Jay and get this sorted. I can’t let this town hate you the way they hate me just because we spend time together,” he said before his eyes left her.

Peyton stared at the side of his face.

“I never, ever wanted to hurt you, Pey,” he whispered.

And that’s when it all came crumbling down. Her supposed stance weakened and she was exposed.

I’m sorry, heart. I am so sorry.

Peyton lifted her legs up on the pier then leant closer to him. Once Callum turned to face her, she reached up and cupped his face in her hands. Wonder and surprise filled his eyes. Peyton loved it more than the pain and hurt that had been there earlier.

“I’m so sorry, Callum,” she said.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Peyton let her lips crash into his, stopping anything vocal from escaping him. Her heart stopped and then dipped. And then it did something that surprised her—it expanded in relief.

He kissed her with as much desperation as Peyton gave.
This
. His lips and just the feel of his hands on her hips bringing her closer had her eyes welling. She tingled all over. The memory of just how much she’d loved the way that he kissed her was like a crash of water against rocks—hard and painful.

Callum groaned and Peyton tangled her fingers in his hair. Something she always loved doing and wanted to do since this morning. He squeezed his fingers into the side of her body, causing Peyton to gasp. Then he automatically stopped, his fingers loosened—to her disappointment—and he pulled back. He looked stunned, and Peyton couldn’t help but feel disheartened by the displeasure on his face.

“You promised me that you wouldn’t let anything like this happen between us, Peyton,” Callum said.

Her hands still cradled his face. She took the opportunity and let her thumbs stroke his cheeks. He shivered under her touch, which was a win for her. It didn’t matter if he didn’t love her. She still had an effect on him.

“I promised that I wouldn’t let
you
kiss me.
I
kissed you,” she stated. This was what she had missed. Having him in her arms and in her hands. She knew what the end spelt, and for now, she wouldn’t care.