After Peyton got over her flu, Jeff planned things for them to do together as often as possible. But most of the time she didn’t show. And forgot to call. He tried to be understanding. He knew the pressure of establishing oneself as a professional in the medical field, how dedicated you had to be. But if they were going to be man and wife, Jeff needed to work at making things right between them. And he expected her to do the same.

Problem was, she didn’t seem to understand he needed that.

For Jeff, it was almost as if he was getting to know her all over again. Although, he sometimes wondered if he ever really did know her.

Like after the last time they had sex. Yes, he was trying to make that happen, but he had to picture Carly to make it work. Which only made him hate himself afterward.

Tonight Peyton was supposed to be home by six and she had actually agreed to have a cozy movie and pizza night with him. Jeff had arrived home at five and set up the TV room with snacks and ordered a pizza. Unlike most women who liked rom-coms, Peyton liked thriller movies—something he was grateful for—so he cued up a good one on their smart TV. While he was in the kitchen mixing up some margaritas for them, Peyton called and said she would be delayed at work. Again.

Jeff respected how dedicated she was to her job, but when seven o’clock turned to eight and then nine o’clock and she still wasn’t home, he called her cell. It went straight to voice mail. Knowing she was trying to prove her worth in the medical practice that hired her, he told himself to be patient and understanding. So he popped a couple pieces of the now cold pizza in the microwave, put the pitcher of margaritas in the fridge, and made himself some coffee.

After eating, he decided to read a while and went upstairs to get the book he’d left in the guest room. Actually, they had decided to make the guest room “theirs” and turn the master bedroom into a guest room. New beginnings, right?

He went back downstairs and sat in his favorite chair in the living room, trying to read, but every time he sat for a while by himself, memories of those ecstatic nights with Carly assailed him and the little man in his pants stood at attention at the thought of her. And he couldn’t help remembering the look on her face in that museum with the Monet paintings. Or the sound of her voice whispering to him in bed. Or the way she mesmerized the people in that cafe on their last night in Paris.

But Carly had turned ugly on him again the last time they were together. Maybe he deserved it for the way he’d said having sex with her was a mistake. But for her to call Peyton the whore of Sarvinger’s, as if that nasty story she’d made up were true, made him wonder what kind of person she was.

His phone rang and he picked it up thinking it would be Peyton but saw it was his sister, Kendra. “Hey, twinsie.”

“Movie night ain’t going so well, is it?”

“Peyton had to work late and…”

“I knew it! I could feel it. That’s why I called. Why did you even take her back?”

“Look, she’s trying to get her career going.”

“Stop rescuing her. Peyton doesn’t need it. You’ve given enough of your life’s blood to her and she doesn’t deserve it.”

“That’s harsh, Kenny. And I’m not rescuing her.”

“Oh please. You’re a chronic caretaker. You need to fix broken things and broken people, but people like her just can’t be fixed and that’s not your responsibility.”

“People change all the time.”

“Not her. Some piece of Peyton’s heart is missing. She isn’t genuine. If after all you have done for her, given to her, and been to her over the years she still hasn’t changed, then she never will.”

He blew out a sigh. “And you know this how?”

“I sense it, bro. And you would too if you paid attention to your feelings instead of acting like a doctor all the time. She’s not one of your patients. Why don’t you call that woman you took to Paris? She sounded cool and just right for you.”

“Nah. She did a weird thing that tells me she’s not so great after all.”

“What did she do?”

“She tends bar at an inn in Montauk and made up a story about Peyton meeting men there.”

“How do you know it’s not true?”

“Oh, come on. She was angry. Even suggested Peyton might run an escort service.”

Kendra made a hmm-type sound. “I hope you’ve been using condoms so you don’t pick up any disease.”

“I have, but you can’t possibly think—”

“Peyton’s gone an awful lot. It’s after nine at night right now. Where is she?”

“I told you she had to stay late at her office.”

“Doing what? Have you called the office?”

“No, when she’s working on patient records she doesn’t pick up.”

“Oh, that’s convenient.”

“I think you’re being a little unfair to her. Sounds like you’re buying into that bullshit prostitute story Carly came up with.”

“Let’s just say if I were you I’d do a little snooping. And if you don’t, I will.”

Jeff didn’t know what to think at this point, but Kendra wasn’t pulling any punches and in the past when he’d trusted his twin’s advice she was usually right. He’d opposed her from the beginning when it came to Peyton. But tonight his sister’s words got under his skin. Truth was, her latest round of no-shows had begun to stir up his suspicions. After all, it wasn’t every day a man came home to find that happy fiancée frolicking in bed with some other dude.

After ending the call, Jeff decided to put on his detective hat.

First he went to the master bedroom, where Peyton had left all her things even though she was now sleeping in the guest room with him. He shuffled around not quite sure what he was looking for. A piece of paper with a guy’s phone number? A black book with a whole lot of numbers? If Peyton was deceiving him, she was too smart to leave evidence of it around.

Feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, Jeff decided to quit playing games and take the bullshit by the horns. Time to go for a drive—to visit Peyton at the office.

Except…scratch that. The medical center’s commercial hours had passed. And with Peyton not answering her phone there’d be no way for Jeff to get inside the building. He tried the dermatology office phone anyway and got the answering service, as he knew he would. Tried Peyton’s mobile and of course got her voice mail.

Face it. He hesitated to come to grips with what might be an ugly truth he’d rather not see. He knew one call to her boss would end all questions and erase all doubts. Denial be damned. The time had come.

Jeff scrolled through his phone for the private mobile number of Greg Pearson, head doctor and owner of the dermatology practice that had hired Peyton. Luckily he answered.

“Hey, Greg, how’s up? Sorry to intrude at this hour, but something’s come up and I need to speak with Peyton. Trouble is she’s not answering her phone. I can’t remember if she said she was going to a movie or working at your office tonight.”

“Well, I can tell you she hasn’t been in our medical office tonight because that’s where I am.”

Jeff shook his head as if to clear it. Okay…Greg just told him he was in his office now—the place where Peyton told him she needed to be tonight—but she wasn’t there. He pressed on. “Sounds like you’re working overtime these days. Keeping Peyton pretty busy too.”

“Not sure what you mean.”

“Really? Maybe I misunderstood. I can’t remember since I work so many hours myself, but didn’t you have her working a bunch of evening hours last month?”

“Last month? Nope. None.”

“How about this week or next? Now that I’ve finally got some time, is it okay for me to make evening plans?”

Greg chuckled. “Don’t worry, Jeff. I don’t ask anyone on my staff for evening hours, unless of course a patient ends up in the ER, but with the simple procedures I have Peyton doing so far, that is highly unlikely.”

“Okay, thanks, Greg.”

Jeff ended the call, a rage brewing inside.

Kendra was right.

But that didn’t mean Carly’s outrageous story was true.

Or was it?

He fought back the sick feeling in his gut and rushed from the room, slipped on his shoes, and grabbed his car keys.

Maybe he’d be too late, maybe he wouldn’t be, but Jeff now knew that all those evening hours Peyton was supposedly putting in at her office didn’t exist.

She’d been lying to him.

And he wanted to find out why.

Jeff drove like a madman down Route 27 to Montauk. Maybe Peyton was somewhere else—who knew?—but all he had to go on as to her possible whereabouts was Carly’s sordid story. He had to at least check it out for himself.

The minute he pulled into the lot at Sarvinger’s By The Sea he saw it—a silver Escalade.

Was it Peyton’s? He drove his car closer and saw the vanity plate “U Go Girl.”

Yep, Peyton’s. His heart sank.

He got out of his Mercedes and walked into the small foyer. Unlike a big hotel with a lobby, this place instead had a first-floor restaurant and bar with elevators on the side hall that led upstairs to the inn’s rooms. He hoped Carly wasn’t working tonight. That would definitely make this awkward. But he was so angry about being deceived by Peyton that he didn’t hesitate.

On a mission, Jeff came determined to get to the truth. And to do that, he’d need to see the show for himself. With the bar lining the front wall of the large dimly lit space, there’d be no view of the elevators from that perspective. He chose a table on the opposite side of the room next to the picture windows overlooking the beach. From there he’d have a complete view of the Atlantic Ocean on one side—and a scene from The Sea of Love on the other.

A waitress showed up quickly and he ordered a burger and a double Glenlivet on the rocks. At this point he had zero appetite but couldn’t just hang out here at Sarvinger’s without being a customer.

As Jeff sipped his scotch waiting for the burger, he kept a keen watch on the elevator doors. His burger came and he just looked at it, wondering if this was a fool’s mission. After Greg confirming his suspicions, Jeff had bolted out the door and driven here without a plan, and he wasn’t sure how long he should wait or what he would do if he found her.

After about forty minutes, he glanced up at the sound of the elevator doors opening. And there she was.

Peyton. Smiling up at a man he’d never seen before.

Or did he? It was the same dude that had greeted her outside of Kitchen It Up in East Hampton. And right now he had his arm around Peyton and looked like he’d just had a good round of sex.

Seeing the ugly truth, Jeff’s stomach lurched and he rushed to the men’s room and vomited. He felt sick, not just in his belly but also in his heart.

The caretaker in him surmised that his fiancée had some deep mental problems, maybe a sexual addiction or even schizophrenia. Of course Kendra would mock him and say this medical diagnosis was merely so he didn’t have to admit that Peyton was just plain mean and selfish.

And, yes, Carly was right. Peyton was playing him for a fool.

He walked back to the restaurant and paid his bill, relieved that the “couple” had left. He didn’t want to make a scene in the restaurant, but he sure as hell wanted to let his fiancée—no, ex-fiancée—know he was here.

He hurried out and when he stepped into the parking lot he saw Peyton standing by her car with the man—yep, the one he’d seen that day they went shopping on Newtown Lane. They were kissing and the guy had his hands all over her.

Jeff strode up to them and said, “Hey, Peyton. Remember me?”

Her jaw literally dropped.

Jeff lifted one side of his mouth in a smirk. “So, does he pay you or do you whore it up for free?”

Carly worked her regular station at The Sandcastle and couldn’t help watching for Jeff, even though she knew he’d never be back. After the way he’d treated her, she didn’t want to ever see him again anyway. At least that was what she told herself.

But when he started calling her and texting her and even sending her flowers with notes begging her to meet with him, saying he needed to talk to her, she had to beat down those silly heart wishes that kept hoping he had realized how wrong he was and wanted to come back to her.

What did he want to talk to her about? Was he still with Peyton? She didn’t know and didn’t care. She had quit her job at Sarvinger’s because she didn’t want to see that woman or hear anything about her. She’d be earning a little bit of money at singing gigs, so the job wasn’t any great loss. And it was worth it. Jeff and Peyton were now history and if she could burn them from her brain she would.

Too bad memories of her nights with Jeff still tortured her. In time it will fade, her mama would have said.

Today, just as Carly had worked herself into a good “I hate Jeff” headspace, wouldn’t ya know he walked in? Her heart raced at the sight of him.

But he didn’t come and sit in his usual place. Instead, he stood in the middle of the floor, put his fingers in the corners of his mouth, and produced a shrill whistle. WTF? The bistro wasn’t packed, but there were plenty of customers at the tables and along the bar. They all turned to him.

“I have an announcement to make,” he said. “I am an asshole, as accurately described by your brilliant and beautiful bartender, Carly Kuper. She also happens to be the love of my life. And she has taught me that when you meet a person you connect with immediately in a way that you cannot do with anyone else, you should trust your heart and trust her and never take this lightly because you’ll risk losing the person who is more important to you than anyone in the world. Carly, I’ve realized that is what you are to me. The one I would climb any mountain for or leap off any cliff. I want you to be the reason I get up in the morning and the one I think of before I close my eyes at night.”

Carly’s eyes misted. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. And what happened next totally blew her away.

Jeff went down on one knee and opened a velvet ring box. “Carly, I knew from the start that we shared a bond. I also know that I love you and I don’t need to wait years to know that you are my all and everything. Will you please make me the happiest man in the universe by saying you will be my wife?”

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Carly could barely speak. Taylor took her arms and pulled Carly from behind the bar and didn’t stop until she was standing in front of Jeff.

“Do you want me to say it again?” he asked. “Please don’t say no, Carly. If you do I’ll just have to keep asking until—”

“Yes. I will,” she blurted out.

With applause all around, Jeff leaped to his feet and took Carly in his arms, kissing her so deeply she thought she would faint.

“Let’s see the ring,” Taylor called out.

They laughed and he slipped a diamond encircled in sapphires onto Carly’s finger.

“I hope you like it,” he whispered.

Carly nodded and whispered back, “By the way, I love you too.”