“Oh.” It’s all I can get out as I take a step back, my eyes on my feet. Colt’s not here. He didn’t come here. Where could he have gone? A hotel? Maybe I should’ve started checking hotels instead of coming here first. He was upset with his parents, not really talking to them. Why would he have come here? But it seemed the most logical starting point …
“Wayne, dear, who’s at the door?” calls a female voice from deeper inside the house, followed by footsteps, and then a model-thin, perfectly pressed woman pulls the door farther open. “Who are you?” she asks unceremoniously.
“Alexis.” My name is out of my mouth before I can check the instinctive urge to answer.
Her eyes narrow, and she repeats my name like it’s tipped with poison. “You’re here looking for Colt? You’re the one who trapped him into marrying you. Shouldn’t you know where he is?”
“Shannon, be nice,” Wayne says quietly. “Is this really how you want our first meeting with our newest daughter-in-law to go? Weren’t you just lamenting that you’ve driven Colt away just like the others?”
Her eyes never leave mine, a sneer curling her lip, but she answers her husband’s question. “If she’s here looking for Colt, then it sounds to me like there’s trouble in paradise. That means we can rescue Colt from this sham of a marriage.”
I have to force myself not to flinch. Everything she says is right on the money. We started out as a sham. If she gets to him first, she might be able to convince him that a divorce really is the best idea, even if she doesn’t know all the details surrounding our relationship.
“I’m sorry for bothering you,” I get out, turning, trying not to trip over my own feet as I head back to my car. Coming here was a mistake.
“Wait!” Shannon’s voice cracks through the quiet of the neighborhood.
I stop automatically, turning to see what she wants. “Let him go,” she says like she’s imparting words of hard-won wisdom. “My boys are stubborn. If he’s ignoring your calls, it’s because he doesn’t want to hear from you. Give him space. Leave him be. If you’re lucky, he’ll eventually call you back.”
With a nod—because what other response am I supposed to give?—I stumble the rest of the way to my car, get in and drive off, too distracted to even know which way leads back to the gate.
Colt’s not here. I just met my in-laws in the worst possible circumstances. And I have no idea how to fix any of it.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Colt
My phone rings for the thousandth time since I got to Brendan’s house an hour ago. First it was Alexis calling over and over and over again but not leaving messages. Then she started sending me texts begging me to call.
Now it’s my mother.
Exhausted, heartsick, and not thinking straight, I smash my thumb on the green button to take the call. “What?” I growl into the phone.
“Now, Colt, I know you must be upset, but that’s no way to greet your mother.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I force myself to take deep breaths rather than screaming and chucking my phone across the room.
I’ll have to talk to Alexis eventually, if for no other reason than to figure out what to do about our remaining concerts. Though if she’s taking a contract that requires her to divorce me, she probably won’t be allowed to perform with me, so I’ll need to contact everyone to have them remove her from the billing and give them the option to back out if they don’t want just me.
Sighing, I consider just hanging up on my mom, but part of me wants to know what she’s calling about. “It’s been a shit day, Mom, so can you get to the point with a minimum of reprimands about my tone or choice of words?”
She sniffs. “I was just wanting to let you know that we met your little wife today.”
God, I hate that she keeps referring to Alexis that way. Like she doesn’t think anything between us is real or serious.
And I don’t know if it pisses me off more because once upon a time that was true or because with the stroke of a pen this afternoon, it all ended.
But then the actual meaning of her words, not just the dig, penetrates my mental processes. “I’m sorry, did you just say you met Alexis today?”