Page 49 of Protecting Peyton

I blinked.What the hell?“I like children.” Somehow, I’d been sucked into theTwilight Zone, going from the hottest kiss of my life to being sized up for a wedding dress by his unhinged mother.

“We would’ve had five, maybe six, if we could’ve,” she said. “With all these dual-income couples, there’s a population crisis now. That’s what the news says, right, Ruppie?”

“I don’t know.” March clenched his jaw again. “Her condo reallywasbroken into.”

Karla took a long sip of wine. “Let me know if they catch the guy. I’ll make sure he has it rough.”

“We’re working on it,” March said.

She turned back to me. “I work for the county probation department. I know people.”

Perfect.Law enforcement. Just what I was trying to avoid. I pushed back from the table.

“Ruppie, I’ve had a long day. Is Peyton in the room I normally use, or in with you?”

I coughed.

“Yes,” March said. “She got here first, so she got the normal guest room.”

I shook my head. “I can?—”

“No,” March said sternly. “You were here first.”

“Then could you tell me where I’m sleeping?” his mother asked.

“The other bedroom, of course.”

“Nice meeting you, Karla,” I said as I rose.

“A pleasure, Peyton. I love meeting someone from back East. Some of these Californians have had a little too much sun, if you know what I mean.”

No, I didn’t. Still, I smiled as March led me to a well-appointed guest room. “What did she mean by too much sun?” I asked.

“Not a clue,” he replied.

I dragged my bags in, venturing close enough that I caught another whiff of his dangerously appealing scent.

“Sorry about Mom. She can be a lot to deal with.”

I giggled. “She’s fine. It’s good to see that you’re human after all, Ruppie.”

He sucked in a sharp breath and stepped menacingly close. “Don’t you dare call me that around anybody else.” The smirk gave him away.

“I won’t if you can go back to not hitting on me.”

He worried his bottom lip. “Okay, for a while. Do you really find me that repugnant?”

“No, not at all.” I shook my head and backed up a step to get some distance from his pheromones or whatever it was I felt when he was too close. “Quite the opposite, and I can’t afford a relationship.”

“So, in time, I have a chance?” he asked.

It was a dangerous move, but I laid a hand against his chest. “No. I’m like a tumbleweed, always on the move, here today and gone tomorrow. I don’t want to inflict that pain on either of us.”

The sensation was almost too much when he placed a hand over mine, keeping me rooted to him. “If you trust me, I can help with that need to keep moving.”

I pulled my hand free. “You’re a good man, March. I’m a mess.”

“Why do you still refuse to use my first name?”