He stood scratching his rugged beard. I knew I was starting to warm him up to the idea by his slowly emerging smile. I think deep down, Cole always did have an interest in me. All I needed was a little more time, and Payton Matthews would be a thing of the past.
"Lexi, you sure do drive a hard bargain."
"Yes, but a hard bargain for a very good cause. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Yesss, you can sign me up. But only under one condition."
"Anything, you name it."
I stood in front of him, trying to look as irresistible as possible.
"No tricks on the day of the fundraiser, Lexi. I mean it. You're not putting me in a dunking tank, I'm not going on any dates, and I'm not doing anything crazy. I'm just there to show support."
"You got it. Note to self. No dunking tanks and no dates, for now."
"Lexiiiii."
"Just kidding." I adjusted the collar on his shirt, which was a little out of place.
"In the meantime, be sure to ask Emmie to think about if she'd prefer to help with games or the cotton candy booth."
"Ha, that's a no brainer, but I'll let her know."
His daughter Emmie was the cutest little thing. She always looked so darling in the dresses that we sent her from the boutique. I'm confident it wouldn't be hard to win her affection as a stepmother. My family has known Emmie and Cole's mother for years. Yet another advantage to add to the list if you ask me.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"That's probably Payton," he said.
It was all I could do not to grit my teeth. I mean, could the man work in peace without having her checking on him? Or maybe she was here to check on me? Either way, if she wanted to come by and see what was going on, I'd be happy to give her a little show.
"I'll get the door." I offered.
I noticed him catching a glimpse of me as I walked out of the kitchen. It was probably my new dress that hugged my silhouette just so. Through the stained glass, I could see Miss Perfect standing with a bag in one hand and a cooler in another. I opened the door.
"Payton, darling. How are you?"
She gave me a fake smile and seemed rather shocked.
"Hi, Lexi. I'm pretty good. How are you doing?"
"Oh, I can't complain. And if I did, no one would listen anyway. It's been a while. I don't think I've seen you since our last photo shoot."
I let her continue to stand just outside of the door, hoping that she would get the message that I didn't want her to come in.
"Let me guess. Is all of this for Cole?"
"Yes, it is. I normally surprise him with lunch when my schedule allows."
She proceeded to step inside the house, but I shifted so she couldn't get past me.
"Lunch. Yes, that's right. He mentioned that you'd be stopping by. Unfortunately, the kitchen is literally in shambles right now. Cole asked me to thank you and to collect the lunch, so you didn't have to get in harm's way."
Those weren't his exact words, but there was no harm in keeping her out of a kitchen that was under construction.
"Well, I normally say a quick hello. It won't take but a minute,” Payton said.
"It's fine. You can hand everything over to me. I'll be sure he gets it. Mom would have a nervous breakdown if she thought someone was in her kitchen and could potentially get hurt."
She finally handed over the bag and the cooler.
"Do me a favor, Lexi. Please tell Cole that I packed all of his favorites and ask him to give me a call when he has a chance."
"Certainly. Don't worry; I'll get right on it."
Behind her, I could see the palm trees starting to sway and some dark clouds rolling in.
"Oh, Payton, it looks like a storm is heading in. You should be on your way. Be safe, dear."
Since my hands were full, I closed the door with my foot and returned to the kitchen.
"Lunch is here."
"Awesome, where's Payton?" Cole was looking beyond where I was standing.
"There's an awful storm kicking up, so she had to run. She did ask me to give you this contraption of a cooler, and this bag."
"Thanks. I'm surprised she didn't want to come in. Even if it was only to say a quick hello, she didn't say anything else?"
"No. I'm sure she was concerned about heading back before the storm lets loose."
"Hmm."
"Well, you go ahead and eat. I'm going to check on my mother and let her know she may want to delay heading back until the storm passes."
He bit into his apple while glancing out the kitchen window.
"Yeah, I guess I didn't do a good enough job at checking the forecast."
I really had my work cut out for me if I was going to win Cole over. It seemed completely unfair that Payton would just show up in the last year and serve as a distraction. After his wife's passing, I provided an ear to listen and a shoulder when he needed it most. That's okay. She may be a little setback to my plans, but my mother didn't raise a little weakling.
Payton
It wasn't like Cole to not say hello when I stopped by to bring him lunch. And it certainly wasn't like him not to call me. I'd have to deal with all that later on. For now, I had one week until the grand opening of my photography store, and I was feeling pretty anxious. My dream was finally coming to fruition, and all I could do was worry. What if no one showed up for the grand opening? What if my shipment for the front display didn't arrive on time? I had so many thoughts swimming around in my head. Thankfully, Abby my sister, was here to help keep me sane.
"Would you like me to hang
