Suddenly this just got a lot more real. And a lot more complicated.
After wallowing in my bed for a while, I get up and take a shower, my mind racing. I obviously need to call Colt, but it’s early, and I don’t want to wake him up. Except I do want to wake him up, because I want him to tell me that this is fine, this is what we’ve been planning, that it’s all going to be okay.
I manage to hold out on calling him until after I’ve made myself a cup of coffee. It’s almost nine. He should be awake by now, right? If not, it’s late enough that calling isn’t ridiculous.
Except when he answers, his voice sounds sleep-roughened, and the image of him tangled in sheets, his scruff longer with his hair sticking out everywhere does things to me. Warm, tingly things that center between my thighs. Does he sleep naked? Or in underwear? What kind of underwear? Boxer briefs? Regular boxers? Or the sexy briefs you see on underwear models on Insta?
“Alexis? Are you there?”
Blinking, I realize I’ve been drooling over naked fantasies of my soon-to-be husband for real, even if it’s only on paper. “Yes. Yes. Sorry. I’m here. I was just, uh, distracted by my, uh, coffee maker.”
His raspy morning chuckle washes over me. “That sounds serious. Did it break?”
“What? Oh, no no no. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.”
“Are you sure?” The amusement in his voice is now tinged with concern. “You sound a little off. Is everything alright?”
Sighing, I close my eyes and force myself to take a deep breath. Center. I’ve spent every day for a week with Colt. He’s not going to freak. “Delores called this morning. My agent. She woke me up, actually.”
“Ah,” he says. Fabric rustles in the background, but I force myself to ignore the images the sounds conjure up. “That’s why you’re up so early.”
I force out a weak chuckle. “Yeah. She actually called a while ago, but I didn’t want to wake you, so I waited a bit. Sorry if I woke you up anyway.”
“It’s fine,” he says, his tone more brisk. Businesslike. And suddenly, I hate it. I liked the warm, raspy, sleepy voice. I want that back. “What’d she say?”
“Um …” I fiddle with the handle of my mug. I need to just spit it out. Hemming and hawing won’t change her suggestion. And it won’t change Colt’s reaction, whatever that might be. Closing my eyes again, I tell him. “She says we should elope.”
Silence greets my statement. That shouldn’t surprise me. That was pretty much my reaction too. But for some reason, I was hoping he’d be all over it.
He takes a deep, audible breath. “We should elope,” he repeats.
“Yup. She says she’s run the scenarios and public proposals are too opportunistic and a drawn out engagement isn’t the right kind of buzz but when your brother got married in Vegas it made a big splash and if he’d capitalized on it he’d be huge by now and …” I trail off, having run out of things to babble about. Colt’s still not saying anything.
“Are you still there?” I ask at last.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “Yeah, I’m still here. I’m just …”
“Yeah,” I whisper after a beat. “Me too.”
“Um, let me get up and dressed. I’ll come over. We’ll figure this out, okay?”
Relief and gratitude wash over me. “That sounds good. I’ll see you soon?”
“Yeah. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.”
Chapter Thirteen
Colt
I get showered and dressed on autopilot, barely acknowledging my mother when I come out to grab a quick breakfast.
I’ve been staying with my parents since I quit Jonathan’s tour. Mom knows I’m seeing someone and also that I’m planning on pursuing my own career apart from my brothers. She’s encouraging, but is also her usual bossy and demanding self. She wants to know what my plans are, what steps I’m taking, how I plan to break out of the rut I’ve found myself in.
As if she didn’t have anything to do with it. She’s the one who told Jonathan to hire me.
The last question is the one that kills me, though. “What are you going to do in the meantime?” Which translates to, What are you going to do if this doesn’t work out?
I’ve told her I’m working on new material. And she knows I’m seeing Alexis, because she follows the entertainment news closely and so she’s seen the pictures. But she hasn’t