he broaches the other potentially uncomfortable topic of the evening.
“I can sleep on the couch if you want.”
My head jerks up, and I stare at him, but he’s keeping his gaze trained carefully on the cake. I look at the couch and then back at him, imagining him trying to fold himself up onto that. It’s bigger than my loveseat at home, but not by much, and while Colt’s not the tallest man I’ve ever encountered, he’s tall enough that he won’t fit comfortably.
“No,” I say, shaking my head and looking toward the bed. They call it a suite, but it’s really just one room, with the bed on one end, and two steps down, the sitting area with the table, TV, couch, coffee table, and a small upholstered armchair.
In contrast with the narrow couch, the bed looks plush and inviting, piled high with pillows and a fluffy white duvet. “We’re adults. We can share a bed.”
He nods, never looking up. “Okay. Thanks.”
I brush aside his thanks. “It’s nothing. We’ll be living together soon, right? Won’t we be sharing a bed anyway? Or are you planning on sleeping on my loveseat?”
That finally has him looking up at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he chuckles. “I guess I hadn’t really thought about that. This has all happened so fast that I’ve just been focusing on getting to today. I hadn’t really thought about what happens after. But yeah, I guess I’ll be … moving in with you.”
The way the color drains from his face has me reaching out and gripping his free hand. “Colt? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
He blinks rapidly and sucks in a breath like a drowning man gasping for air. He clears his throat and swallows convulsively a few times before answering. “Yeah, fine. I’m fine. It’s just … oh god.” He covers his mouth with his other hand.
“Colt.” I squeeze his hand hard enough that my nails are starting to dig into him, and he flinches. “You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
He shakes his head and clears his throat again. “Nothing. It’s—I just … I never told my parents about this. I mean, they know I’m seeing someone—you, I mean. They know I’m seeing you. But I didn’t tell them about this, because then they’d want to come. And that wasn’t the deal. And it all seemed fine when it was hypothetical and not really real, but now we’re married, and it’s real, and oh my god my mom is going to kill me.”
His panic over his mother’s reaction is almost comical, except that same icy panic is wrapping its fingers around my own heart. “I know. I haven’t told my parents either. But it’ll be okay. We’ll tell them together.”
He clutches my hand in his, meeting my eyes and shaking his head. “No, you don’t get it. Delores is leaking the pictures right now. We might already be hitting the entertainment news sites. If not yet, then certainly by morning.”
“But …” Confusion wrinkles my brows. “It takes time for photographers to get pictures ready. Even if he rushes, he wouldn’t get through them before tomorrow at the earliest. That guy was taking pictures of everything. He must have hundreds of files to sort through.”
Colt shakes his head again. “Didn’t you see her? Delores was taking pictures with her phone. Those are the ones she’ll be leaking. The others are to sell the official photos later. I don’t know about your parents, but my mom’ll find out before I have the chance to tell her unless I call her right now.”
I’m frozen in place, my hand wrapped around his until he gently pries my fingers off of his with his free hand. “I have to get my phone,” he mutters, cursing as he stands and looks around.
His phone is on the table, but in his panic, he doesn’t even see it. I pick it up and hold it out to him. He gives me an appreciative glance and takes it. He opens his mouth like he wants to say something, stares at me for a long, considering moment, closes it and sighs. Hands on hips, he stares up at the ceiling, then finally looks back at me. “Would you … I mean, you can say no, and I get it, but would you, uh, would you be willing to talk to them? My parents, I mean? They’ll want to see you and talk to you and if I know my mom, she’ll insist on