“Well?”
I inhaled deeply and looked out the passenger window.
“We may have known one another a long time ago, but I can assure you I’m not the same girl I once was.So, I’d appreciate it if you’d stop acting like you’re outraged at the fact I didn’t run into your arms and wrap myself around you.”
“I’m not outraged.”
“You sure look like you are.”
“I’m not.Shocked, maybe, but not outraged.You say it as if we were two people who hung out occasionally, not like two people who once dated and were in love.”
“Be shocked all you like.I don’t really remember it the way you are describing it,” I lied.“You also don’t know me.I’m not the dreamy-eyed girl you remember.I’ve grown up.I’m also in an amazing relationship with a wonderful man, and the only thing I’m here to do is repair the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.This is my job, so whatever you were hoping to have happen when you got me alone, you can forget it.”
Colton chuckled and then shook his head as he looked out at the road in front of him.
“What is so funny?”
“Enlighten me, what was I hoping to have happen?”
“I know guys like you.You think you’re all that because of what you do.Think that women will fall at your feet and beg to crawl into your bed at night.It won’t happen, so get over yourself.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep.”
He glared at me as we stopped at a light and then leaned over.
“Newsflash, there, baby girl, I’m not desperate, and you could beg and plead all you want.Nothing will ever happen between us,” he whispered, not taking his eyes from mine until I broke contact.
Without looking in the mirror, I already knew that my cheeks were flushed.I sat back in my seat, keeping my back straight.Once we were moving again, I glanced over at Colton.He was no longer looking at me, but watching the road, and that was how he stayed for the duration of the drive.
We’d been in his truck for forty minutes and we hadn’t exchanged another word.I was just about to speak when we finally pulled into a quiet little neighborhood in Vancouver.As we drove through it, it reminded me of the area we’d grown up in.Minutes later, we pulled into a driveway, and I stared at the cute little bungalow that was in front of me.It wasn’t a place I expected Colton to live in; he struck me as a condo type.
Colton cut the engine and hopped out of the truck without a word to me.I watched in the mirror as he opened the back of his truck and then came to the passenger side door, pulling it open.
“Want help?”he grumbled.
With my jaw clenched, I shook my head no.
He shrugged and muttered, “Suit yourself,” and then made his way to the front door while I slid carefully out of his truck.
“Don’t forget your stuff in the back,” he called from the front door.
Was he seriously not going to help me bring my things inside, I wondered, but when I heard the front door slam shut, I had my answer, especially when he didn’t turn around and come back out.
Irritation flooding me, I went to the back of the truck, grabbed my bags, and struggled to get them into the house.I stopped the moment I entered the door.His house was empty.There were a couch and chair, a large-screen TV, a coffee table and two side tables in the front room, but it lacked the things that made a house a home.The walls were bare.The built-in shelving unit was empty.There wasn’t even a stack of books!I glanced over at what would be the dining room area.It too was empty.
“Problem?”He questioned, dropping his keys on one of the side tables.
“Nope, if you could kindly show me where I’ll be staying, I’d like to get unpacked.”
Without a word, he disappeared down the hall, which I could only guess was where the bedrooms were located, so I followed him.He opened one door and stepped to the side.
“You can stay in here,” he mumbled, looking displeased.
I looked around the room.Clothing stuck out of the partially open dresser.The bed was messy, showing someone might have napped after they made it.There was a book on the night table, and bottles of cologne on the dresser.Then I noticed a pair of men’s boxers lying on one pillow.
“Uh, is this your room?”I questioned, glancing at the hamper in the corner full of dirty laundry.
