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“Hi,” I said, keeping my eyes away from his face.
He cleared his throat. “Hi.”
Colton reached forward and lifted my bag from my shoulder and carried it to his car. When I sat in the front seat and turned to him, I set the ground rules.
“This is purely business. Two days, one night, and then I get what I want and you get your signature.”
“Right,” said Colton, looking at me with a furrowed brow. “Except there’s just one more thing.”
I prepared myself for his version of the ‘it’s only business’ speech. “What is it?” I asked.
“Morgan thinks that we’re in love.”
“He… what?” I shouted, not expecting those words at all.
“He insinuated it… I think.” Colton rubbed his creased forehead. “I don’t recall his exact words, but you don’t need to worry. We won’t be showing any public display of affection.”
“Good,” I said, but why then did I feel sad about it? It was confusing sitting in a car with Colton, pretending to be his girlfriend after he fired me for pretending to be Ava Grady. Everything was so messed up. I didn’t know what was happening, but I would figure it all out after this weekend. I just had to get through the next forty-eight hours.
16
Colton
This was harder than I thought it would be. I’d prepared my own ground rules before arriving at Frances’s house. But she beat me to it. Except after seeing her, all I wanted to do was break those rules and kiss that mouth. But she was right. There was too much between us. Despite the explosive chemistry, I still couldn’t trust her. She’d lied to me, had pretended to be someone else.
Would she be honest with me moving forward?
“Who was that guy yesterday?” I asked, hoping she would tell me the truth. I suspected it was her ex-boyfriend, but I didn’t understand why he was there.
She stared straight ahead and didn’t answer, fidgeting with her fingers on her lap.
“Blonde guy,” I continued. “The one with the big mouth and small balls.”
“Yes. I know whom you were referring to. I just don’t want to talk about it.”
I pressed down on my lips. She wasn’t lying, just avoiding the truth.
“How far is the cabin from here?” she asked.
“About an hour and a half drive,” I said, checking my app.
Looking out her passenger window, she added, “I’m going to close my eyes for a bit until we get there.”
“Didn’t you sleep last night?” I asked.
Why isn’t she sleeping? Did the asshole say something to upset her?
“Not really. Got a lot on my mind right now.”
My first instinct was to reach over and run my hand down her hair and rub her back, but I clenched the steering wheel instead. Frances Netto’s worries were not my concern.
Only a few minutes had passed when light breathing hummed from the other side of the car. I avoided any potholes on the road and turned down the radio.
Driving down country lanes reminded me of when my brothers and I would take road trips with my parents. My dad, who loved the outdoors, would take us camping, fishing, and hiking nearly every weekend. We didn’t have a cabin, but I suspected it was only because my father didn’t want to be tied to one place. My brothers and I have never been camping since. I said it was because I didn’t have time, but I knew it wouldn’t be the same without my father.
Following the app’s instructions, I turned onto a dirt road. Tall log trees lined the gravel driveway, reminding me of tall sentinels standing guard. A wood-faced cabin with a gray roof and a white wrap-around porch sat in the middle of an open field. They had built a barn house next to it and a coral right in front. I didn’t see any horses, but suspected they were in the barn.
Pulling up to the front of the cabin, a large golden retriever ran over to greet us. His enthusiastic barking woke Frances. Moaning in her seat, she pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes. The sound made me groan inwardly.
