“I need to hear you say it, Peyton. I need you to tell me that you’ve had others. I need you to say it. I need to hear it.”
And there it was. The same voice. The same desperation. The same way he’d said that he loved her.
Peyton stood up and took a deep breath. She didn’t look at him. Instead, she gazed out past the trees. Tonight wasn’t what she’d expected. She definitely hadn’t thought her resilience would break and she’d sleep with him.
“Would you rather I lie to you, Callum? I’m not the liar here.” Peyton’s focus shifted down to see him staring at the small fire. It was like his eyes flashed with every single fear that he had. His frown was one she didn’t like to see.
“I haven’t lied to you, Peyton.”
She balled her hands. “No. You just don’t tell me the truth.”
Callum reached over, took the bottle of water that was next to the pit, and poured it over the fire. Peyton watched the fire extinguish and stepped off the blanket in time for Callum to pick it up off the ground.
He faced her. “The moment that I decided to come back to Daylesford, my intentions were to never sleep with you, Peyton. As I drove into town, I hoped you were with someone. The love of your life. Anyone. I didn’t care who. I just wanted you to be unavailable to me. When I saw that ring, I was relieved. I was also jealous. But I was relieved because it meant I couldn’t touch you. I don’t lie to you, Peyton. I never have. I’ve kept things, but I haven’t lied. I have never lied.”
She pressed her lips together before she breathed out heavily. It was time to have the what-you-said-during-sex talk.
“When did you say those words?” she asked.
“I’ve said it three times in my life,” he said and walked past her.
Peyton quickly turned around and saw him walking up towards the hotel. “Three?” she called out, and he stopped.
He turned around and gripped the blanket tighter in his hand. “The first time was when you were sick in bed. I told you that I loved you and you said that you loved Mrs West’s cat. But you also said that you were sure you were in love with me. The second time was when you were in hospital. I was sure you were okay when I said it to you, but you quickly passed out. And the last time I said them was in the car as I left this town. But there was a fourth time. The night I packed up my things, your dad saw us load the cars.”
Her heart halted silently.
My dad.
Peyton took two steps forward and asked, “What did you say to him?”
He looked her straight in the eye. Without a blink, Callum said, “I’m in love with your daughter, Mr Spencer. I love her enough to do this to her.”
Her eyelids fluttered quickly at him. Her father had known that Callum was leaving. He’d kept it from her. Callum had confessed his love to her father but never her. He’d been a coward then just as he was now.
“You obviously didn’t love me enough, Callum. Love isn’t hurting someone like you did. Love isn’t what you’ve done or been doing for over four years.” Peyton paused. “Tonight was a mistake. Holding hope you’d come back was a mistake. Being with you at seventeen was a mistake. Loving you, Callum, is a mistake!”
He didn’t flinch. It was like he had expected it. He gave her a sad smile before he said, “Thank you.”
Madilynne: I hate you. I hate you so much!
Peyton: What for this time?
Madilynne: Because I have to return to that stupid town!
Peyton: So I’m guessing that you haven’t left yet.
Madilynne: No. I’ve packed and unpacked several times. Since we’re best friends, would you just give me the recommendation for my resume?
Peyton: You know I would.
Madilynne: And that is why I love you. But word spread quickly. My folks know that I’m coming home. Can’t run now. I’ll see you in a few days. Be a good girl until then.
Peyton locked her phone and put it in her jacket pocket. She could last a few days until her best friend came back to Daylesford. By the time Mads returned, Peyton would be busy with prepping the hotel for reopening and for the Reynolds’ wedding. She’d be too busy to deal with Callum.
Peyton’s shoulders sagged and she let out a sigh. The soreness between her legs didn’t help with forgetting him. Neither did the revelation that he had somehow loved her when they were seventeen. Not now. But then. It was Peyton who loved him now and then.
Shaking her head, she opened the front door and stepped outside, closing it behind her. She immediately hugged the jacket around her tighter. It was bitterly cold out and fog was in the air. She smiled, knowing just how beautiful the lake would look.
Peeking up, she stared at the Reid house. She’d been stupid to sleep with him, only because it meant more self-inflicted pain. After Callum had said, “Thank you,” he hadn’t said anything else. Instead, he’d walked her home. It had been different from their last night. When they were seventeen, it had taken them almost an hour for Peyton to sneak back into her room. They had sat under the cherry blossom tree until he’d decided it was best that she got back inside before her parents had discovered she’d snuck out.