I hated the arguing and the resistance from clients who needed the help.Feeling the weight of everything, I stepped out of Larson’s office and into the hallway to see a very displeased-looking Colton Fox sitting on a bench across from the door.For a moment, I still couldn’t believe I was doing this, but it was true.
He looked at me but said nothing as Kent, Pamela, and Thompkins left, each of them saying their goodbyes, but he said nothing, only watched as they made their way down the hall.
As I watched him, the only thing I could focus on was his demeanor.This man sitting in front of me really was a stranger.He definitely wasn’t the Colton I used to know.
“Ready?”I asked, keeping my tone neutral.
“I’ve been ready for an hour,” he muttered as he stood up and made his way down the hall the same way I’d come in.“You are all overreacting to this.I told them to give it time, it would blow over and be gone.”
“I can assure you we aren’t overreacting,” I said, following him down the hall.“If it were going to blow over, it would have by now.”
The moment we stepped outside, I saw my bags sitting beside a black pickup truck.Then, as if out of nowhere, the man who’d driven me here appeared and nodded at Colton.
“I have her things.I can put them in your truck, sir,” he said to Colton.
Colton looked at me, then nodded.I could tell he was less than pleased to have me stay with him.I wasn’t all that excited about it either at this point.Colton led me around his truck, opened the passenger door, offering me a hand as he waited for me to climb in.
“What are you doing?I have arms,” I said as he stood there.
“Suit yourself,” Colton muttered.“The truck is higher than you’d think.Didn’t want you to rip your skirt,” he said, his eyes skimming down the length of my body once again.
“Please, I’ve gotten into plenty of vehicles before—in this very skirt, in fact—and I wear skirts more often than not.”
“Again, suit yourself.”
This time he didn’t wait; he walked to the back of the truck where the other man was loading my bags and began organizing things.I bit my bottom lip as I looked at the foot rail and went to place my foot up onto it, but the pencil skirt I’d chosen for today was too tight and barely had any give at all.I tried it again, this time lifting my skirt a little higher, and placed my heel on the footrail.
As I went to pull myself into the truck, I felt my foot slip, and I screamed as I fell.I tried to grab the handlebars but missed, and that was when I felt a pair of powerful hands grab my waist.
“I got you.Stop fighting me and just relax,” his deep voice said.“Let your body relax.”
“What the hell are you doing?”I screamed.
“I said relax, stop fighting me.”
Against my better judgment, I stopped fighting and allowed my body to relax against his muscular chest as the scent of his cologne invaded my senses.
“Now, reach up and grab the handrail,” he whispered, his warm breath tickling my cheek.
I did as he asked, hoisting myself into the passenger seat, quickly adjusting my skirt while getting comfortable.
“Thanks,” I muttered, trying to catch my breath.
“Next time, just take the help, would you?”he bit out, closing my door.
He said nothing as he opened the driver’s side door and climbed into the truck.He threw his wallet on the center console and fired up the engine and pulled away from the arena.
I shifted in the seat,let out a sigh, then reached down and slipped my cell phone into my purse.Once I relaxed in the seat, I glanced over to see Colton watching me.
“What?”I questioned.
“So, are we still pretending we don’t know one another?”he asked, glancing at the road and then back at me.
I looked away.When I’d first been told I’d be helping Colton Fox fix his reputation, part of me had been excited, while the rest of me was nervous at the mere thought of seeing him again.It had been years, and while I’d watched him on TV for the first few of his career, it wasn’t the same as being in the same room with him.
I remembered what it felt like being in the same room with him when I was younger.He was intoxicating, and from the way my body had immediately reacted upon seeing him again, I knew nothing had changed.Until he spoke.
However, I also couldn’t jeopardize my job by allowing others to know that I knew him, or by letting my unresolved feelings for him get in the way.I feared I’d given away the first part the moment he walked into the room and announced we knew one another.It had taken everything in me to compose myself and put on a show, because what I really wanted to do was sit down and talk to him like we used to.
