The Promise (Thunder Point #5)(67)

And then Scott overheard them speaking.

“Peyton, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Well, I’m practicing in a clinic. And it’s going to be a very busy afternoon, so, please, get right to the point,” she said.

“Peyton, with your ability you deserve far better than this little dump.”

“This is a very respectable clinic, Ted. We have an outstanding staff. We do good work here. If you’re just going to be insulting, please, leave. At once.”

“Stop, stop, I didn’t come here to discuss your current place of employment. We have to talk about us. We had our problems, but I think we can work them out. We were a very good team, and I’m not managing very well without you. I didn’t realize how much you meant to me until you were gone, and now...I really need you back.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to manage.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes, Peyton. I need you back in Portland. The kids need you.”

“I’m sure Lindsey will be more than happy to lend a hand,” she said.

“Look, I know you’re very upset about Lindsey, and I admit, it was a terrible mistake on my part and I’m sorry. She’s out of the picture. She’s gone, and I have to straighten out this mess with you.”

“Out of the picture,” Peyton said slowly. “Aren’t you expecting a baby with her? A baby you created while we were a couple? While we were still living and sleeping together!”

“We’ve been over that. You were freezing me out, ending it with me. It’s no excuse, but that’s how it was at the time. I might not have made the best decision, but there certainly was provocation. It’s reasonable I’d turn somewhere. But that’s over, so—”

“No, Ted, it’s not over. What about the baby?”

“I’ll support her and the baby, but she’ll have to work elsewhere. I should have known better than to fall into that trap. Now, what’s it going to take, Peyton? I have more problems than I can count since you left, and I’m sorry. I regret damn near everything, especially her.”

Scott was shaking his head in absolute awe. He did that to her? And he expects her to accept his apology and come back?

“You’re too late,” she said. “I have no intention of going back to Portland.”

“You have to listen to reason,” he said. “I want you to—”

Scott took quick steps back to his office. He swung the door open without knocking, and Ted whirled around with a scowl on his face. “As fascinating as I’m finding this conversation, I’ve already heard too much,” Scott said. “I need you to take it out of here. Now.”

“I have appointments soon, Scott. Ted and I are finished talking. I have a busy afternoon ahead,” Peyton said.

“I’ll cover for you. It sounds like you have things to settle. Go, settle them.”

“Apparently there’s no privacy in this clinic,” Ted said. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk. How about your place? You do have a place around here somewhere?”

“We’ll walk down to the dock at the marina. You’re not coming to my house,” she said. She grabbed her sweater and headed past both men, down the hall and out the clinic’s front door.

Ted followed her, and Scott watched them leave together. From the clinic’s window he saw them cross the street and head down the hill toward the marina. Devon was on her way back from the diner, carrying a couple of take-out cartons—one for him, one for Peyton. He had completely lost his appetite.

Devon came into the clinic, still looking over her shoulder. “Who’s the good-looking guy with Peyton?”

“The ex,” Scott said.

“Does that Lamborghini belong to him?”

Scott leaned over the counter to look out the window. “Probably,” he said.

“Where are they going?” she asked.

He watched as Ted dropped an arm around Peyton’s shoulders, and she stepped away, escaping his touch. “Down to the bay so he can demonstrate walking on water,” he said. Then he turned and went into his office, closing the door.

* * *

Peyton was stunned to see Ted at first, then realized she shouldn’t have been surprised. She knew the man. He believed he could turn any situation to his advantage.

“Let’s just get something straight,” she said. “I had plenty of legitimate complaints about our relationship, but I always trusted you to be honest and faithful. You might be over this infidelity, but I’m not. For all I know, there might’ve been others. There’s no way I’ll ever trust you again, no way I’m willing to take that kind of chance. Tampering with Lindsey was a fool’s move, but the next time, you might find a woman of more maturity and substance, a woman you can actually move on to, leaving me devastated and broken all over again. No, Ted. I’m not going there. No way.”

“You were devastated?” he asked a little too hopefully.

“I’m over it,” she snapped. “I’m over you! I can’t believe you. Lindsey didn’t quite measure up, and you ousted her. For God’s sake, can’t you at least take responsibility? Or is this just one more child for you to throw money at and ignore? How many more will there be?”