Page 44 of Fake it for Keeps

I studied him, surprised by the admission. “But you court it. The paparazzi, the public appearances, the whole spectacle.”

“Because I have to.” He met my eyes. “I have it all, Hallie. The money, the company, the lifestyle everyone dreams about. But I also have too much. Too many eyes on me. Too many people with opinions about how I should behave, including who I should date. They all have ideas about how I should run my father’s company.”

The rawness in his voice caught me off guard. Colt wasn’t faking that.

“Do you ever regret it?” I asked quietly. “Taking over Valenteen?”

He was quiet for a long moment. “Sometimes I have doubts,” he admitted. “About whether I’m the right person for it. Whether any of this is actually helping clean up my image or just making things worse.”

“You’re doing fine,” I said, and was surprised to find I meant it.

“Am I?” His laugh was hollow. “I hired a fake fiancée because my investors think I’m too much of a playboy to represent a company built on eternal love. That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of my life choices.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. This vulnerable side of Colt was unexpected. Uncomfortable. It made him seem human beneath his prickly outer shell.

I took a thorough sip of wine and asked what I was wondering. “Why are you such a man slut anyway?”

He almost spit his wine out for the second time at this table, and I silently congratulated myself. “You don’t pull your punches, do you?” he asked.

“It might be the wine, but screw it. I can’t figure it out. Quick hookups, different woman every week. What’s the appeal?”

His expression shuttered slightly. “It gets the job done.”

“The job?” I shuddered. “If that’s what you call sex, maybe you’re doing these women a favor with these one-night stands.”

The cocky smile reappeared on Colt’s face. “Most of them have left smiling. Of that, I am confident.”

“Most?” I asked, smirking.

He shrugged and glanced away. “Everyone has an off night from time to time. But my point is, my physical needs are met. No complications. No expectations.” He let out long breath. “I don’t have time to care for someone other than myself. Or Frankie, I suppose. But no one else.”

His eyes flickered with shadows I couldn’t quite read. Pain, maybe. Something that suggested there was more to the story than he was telling. Was he a puzzle worth solving? I still wasn’t sure.

Don’t fall for it, I warned myself. Don’t let yourself care about what might be broken inside him.

I didn’t know how to fix broken men. Hell, I barely knew how to keep myself alive some days. And besides, how bad could a billionaire possibly have it? He had money, power, freedom. Whatever cage Colt felt trapped in, he had built it around himself.

But even as I thought it, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being too hasty. It was possible there was more beneath his cocky surface. And Frankie had said there was more to her big brother.

I took a sip of wine and changed tactics. “Tell me about your dad. What was he like?”

The transformation was immediate. Colt’s entire face softened, a genuine smile touching his eyes.

“He was tough,” Colt said, his voice warm with memory. “But fair. Never let me get away with anything, but he also never punished me for things I didn’t do. He was honest—sometimes brutally so—but clever too. He knew how to get what he wanted.”

“Sounds like you take after him.”

“In some ways.” Colt leaned back in his chair. “He never lied, but he was a master at bending truths. Finding the angle that worked in his favor without crossing any lines. It was an art form, watching him negotiate.”

“Was he always in the jewelry business?”

“Always. Started from nothing and built Valenteen into what it is today.” Pride colored his voice. “He could be severe as a father. Demanding. Expected perfection and didn’t accept excuses. But he had a soft spot for Frankie. I used to envy that sometimes, the way he’d light up when she walked in a room. The way he’d let her get away with things he’d never let me slide on. She was truly his little princess.”

“That sounds kind of unfair to me,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“It was what it was.” He took another sip of wine. “I understand it now. He was priming me to take over the company. To have a seat at the head of the table of our legacy. Can’t do that if you’re soft. He was preparing me.”

“Was it lonely?”