about me as a possession than as the love of his life? He tells me all the time that he wants me back, but why? He cheated. Clearly he didn’t feel that what we had as a couple was something worth treasuring, so why fight so hard for it?
I put the lid back on the pan to keep the leftover pasta warm as mom drops down into her chair at the table. I start making my way toward her, lost inside my thoughts when a knock sounds at the door, making my heart leap right out of my chest.
I spin around, finding Colton standing awkwardly in our doorway and I gape at him, not because I’m surprised to find him here, but because I was so lost inside my thoughts on Nic’s possessive behavior that I didn’t even notice Colton cut in front of the massive floor to ceiling windows to get to the door.
Mom flies to her feet, desperately trying to be respectful of our rich prick boss who stands in our doorway. “Mr. Carrington,” she says, her eyes going wide with fear, instantly assuming that she’s in trouble for something. “Is everything alright? Did I forget to do something?”
“Oh, no. Everything is perfect, Maria,” he insists, waving off her worry. His eyes briefly flick to mine before looking back at mom. “I was actually wondering if I could join you for dinner?”
The fuck?
“Oh, of course,” Mom says, her eyes going wide before she begins fussing around trying to make space for him. I gawk at him awkwardly as he steps through the doorway and heads for the table, wondering what his game plan is. “Did you not like the meal that was left out for you? I can prepare something else and let the chefs know to remove tonight's options from their rotation. I’ll just need a moment—”
“No, no, no,” he rushes out, giving mom a warm smile. “It’s nothing like that at all. It’s just …” he lets out a soft sigh before looking back at mom. “I used to eat with dad every night and now that he’s gone …”
“You’re alone,” I whisper, finishing his sentence.
Colton’s gaze comes back to mine and he presses his lips into a firm line before finally nodding.
Mom sucks in a sharp gasp before flying across the room and enveloping him in her arms. “I’m so sorry, my sweet boy,” she says, holding him tight as his eyes widen in confusion. “I should have been more thoughtful. It must get so lonely in that big house by yourself.”
“It certainly has its moments.”
Mom pulls back and gives him some space to move before pulling out a chair at the table and offering it to him. “You can join us whenever you want, Colton. My table is your table.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Munroe. It’s awfully kind of you to take me in like this. I hope I’m not intruding.”
“No, not at all. I’m actually quite used to it,” mom says. “With Ocean having her four boys, my dinner table was always filled with hungry bodies. I’ve actually been struggling to remember to cook less each night now that it’s just me and Ocean.”
“I can imagine.”
“Yes, well Ocean …” Mom’s eyes flick to mine. “OCEAN! What are you doing? Don’t just stand there. Dish him up a plate. The poor boy must be starving.”
The poor boy? Oh, no. She’s got this all wrong. Colton Carrington is far from a poor boy. Wicked, lethal, dangerous, cocky, prick, sexy as sin. They’re all the kinds of words that I would use to describe him. Definitely not poor. Not to mention, he also wouldn’t know what starving would feel like. I bet he hasn’t missed a single meal in his life.
Colton looks back at me and his lips pull up into a grin, realizing he’s completely won my mother over with a sob story about being lonely in his big mansion. I don’t doubt it. He probably is lonely, but the loneliness didn't start because his father died. It started way before that and I can guarantee that it doesn’t bother him as much as he’s putting on. If he was really that lonely, he could have called a million people who would have jumped at the chance to keep him company but instead, he chose to come here and have dinner with me and my mom.
He’s up to something. There has to be an ulterior motive that’s either going to embarrass or humiliate me, either way, I’m