Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Wendy was equally as gorgeous, with a sharp cut to her raven-black hair that made the modelesque angles of her face pop, but her wide smile and warm hazel eyes helped make her less intimidating and more welcoming. She had an arm casually looped around Archie’s bare waist, head nearly resting on his shoulder.
“I’m Eric, Col—”
“He’s my boyfriend,” rang out a cheery (and already drunk) voice from down the hall. I turned to see a dripping wet Colton, towel wrapped around his waist, his perfect six-pack on full display.
Fuckin’ hell, how is he so hot?
Colton came straight for me, smile plastered on his face, bare feet padding across the shining marble floor. He opened his arms and took me into a moist hug, kissing me on the lips like any regular boyfriend would do.
Okay. So far, so good.
But damn it, I couldn’t deny a not-so-fake spark lighting my chest up like a firework when our lips touched. How the hell was I going to get through this without catching any feelings?
Or worse: what if they’d already been caught?
“Here, I’ll grab your suitcase,” Colton said, hand wrapping around mine and gently tugging the suitcase from my grip. Archie and Wendy excused themselves, heading down the hall toward where I assumed the pool to be. Jen followed them, saying again how great it was to finally meet me and giving her brother a playful wink and a not-so-discreet thumbs up.
I followed Colton in silence to the end of the hallway, where we turned into our bedroom. There was a four-post bed sitting dead center in the room, with one of the walls covered in a dark green and pink floral wallpaper that easily could have been considered gaudy if it were placed anywhere other than a five-star French villa. I noticed that besides the bed, there were only two other chairs in the room, bordering an arching window, and neither of those chairs looked comfortable enough to sleep in.
Guess we were going to need extra pillows after all.
Colton closed the door, and his smile dropped. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “How was your flight?” he asked in the driest tone possible.
Damn. Maybe we weren’t even going to need the extra pillows. Colton had formed enough ice between us to easily keep us separated.
16
COLTON COOPER
I was still pissed. Couldn’t hide it. Seeing Eric again brought back all those emotions I’d been trying to unpack since our night together. I thought I’d gotten over it, but the kiss I’d given him out in the hall made it all come rushing right back.
How were we going to get through the next two weeks of this?
“My flight was fine,” Eric said, rolling his suitcase to a corner of the room and looking out the window at the garden, full of purple lavender bushes and bright red roses. He wore a pair of black sweatpants and a gray T-shirt, his hair slightly messy but still perfect somehow, even after nine hours of flying. “How’s everything been here?”
I shrugged, prying my eyes off him as he turned around to face me. “They’ve been fine. A lot of crying the first night. It’s the first time we’re here without Mom, so that’s rough, but I know she’d want us to have a good time. And to figure out what the hell happened to her.”
“That’s why I’m here,” he said, turning his attention to his suitcase. He laid it on the floor and kneeled down, his shirt hitching so that a sliver of tan skin peeked from underneath, sprinkled in a light patch of hair.
I looked back out the window, knowing that my bathing suit and towel would do nothing to hide any unwanted boners. Because even with how annoyed I was at Eric, I could already feel my core tightening at the idea of dropping this towel and getting behind him.
“Is everyone here already?” Eric asked. He pulled out a pair of hot pink swim trunks.
“Grandma Macy and her wife, Luna, should be getting here in time for dinner today, but other than that, everyone is here. Plus, a surprise guest.”
“Who’s that?” Eric asked.
“Jax, my mom’s lawyer. He was supposed to be here to just read the will but surprised us when he showed up holding my sister’s hand. Apparently, they’re a thing now.”
“Which sister? Kendall?”
I nodded, brow arched. “She continues to prove she’s the messiest of all. No one had any idea she was going to show up with someone, much less the lawyer.”
“Sounds a little familiar,” Eric said with a wink. I rolled my eyes but couldn’t tamp down my smile.
“Whatever. Change into your swim trunks and meet me in the hallway,” I said, moving over to the door as Eric dropped his sweatpants. I wasn’t exactly sure he needed the modesty from me, considering he’d been inside me only a couple of days ago, but I gave it to him anyway. If only for my own sanity.