“Don’t ask her things she doesn’t know!” Max snapped.
I rolled my eyes. “Thirty or thirty-one unless it’s February.”
“Or a leap year,” Max offered helpfully.
“Right.” Colt grinned. “A month is nothing compared to a lifetime. Besides, I work for seventy-two hours straight and then I get three days off. I’ll come see you.”
“Really?” I perked up. “You would do that?”
“Yeah.” Colt pulled me into his arms and kissed my cheek. “I mean, shouldn’t your husband help you pack? Besides, I figure you’ll want to shop a bit in the city to furnish your new house.”
“We have a house!” I shouted, jumping into his arms.
“Duh,” Max said, sounding bored. “What? You thought you were moving into a cave?”
“A house.” Colt kissed my mouth. “A nice house where we’ll have privacy . . . away from the watchful eyes of—”
“—Jason,” Max offered. “—Reid, Grandma, parents.”
“Max,” I sang sweetly.
“What?”
“No, I meant—” I shook my head. “Never mind, I’m so happy.” I laughed as Colt swung me around.
“Hey, you guys want me to sing again?” Max asked.
“No,” we said in unison.
“Can you feel the love tonight . . .” he started.
Reid jolted to a sitting position, his eyes bloodshot. “Guys, I just had the craziest dream that I was at this wedding in a tree and the grandma took advantage of me and—” He looked around. “Aw, shit.”
“Hey!” Max held up his hand for a high five. “The drugs wore off! Yay you!”
Reid scowled. “Don’t touch me.”
Max put his hand down. “Fine, welcome back, Reid. We missed you, and we aren’t the only ones, hint hint.” He started laughing and then bent over and mimed a limping gait with an invisible walker.
Reid paled.
“Aw . . .” Max winced. “Too soon?”
Reid didn’t speak; he just nodded.
“So,” Colt whispered in my ear. “Any regrets?”
I laughed. “What? Lying to everyone I love, then ruining my brother’s wedding and taking the best man?” I tilted my head as if I had to think about it. “Nope, none.”
“I have regrets,” Reid piped up.
“Shh,” Max silenced him. “They were having a moment.” And then he sang. “The peace the evening brings. The world’s for once in perfect harmony . . .”
“Oh, what the hell?” Colton rolled his eyes as we all joined in.
“With all its living things!”
EPILOGUE
JASON
My best friend and my sister.
My sister and my best friend.
Together.
I flinched a bit as Colton laid a giant-ass kiss on her face, and then I told myself to calm down. I mean, they were married. Hell, they’d been married for two months now. It shouldn’t bother me that he was touching her, but I swear it was still a gut instinct to want to grab something sharp and toss it at Colton’s face.
Violence was apparently becoming my new thing. Especially considering the hell I’d been put through during their wedding weekend, which should have been my wedding weekend . . . but whatever.
“I don’t know why you watch this crap,” Max said from the opposite couch.
“Shh!” Milo hushed everyone. “It’s getting ready to start!”
Poor Colt. Milo was sitting on his lap so he was as trapped as they come. I, however, could leave any time I wanted. Except . . . I was bored out of my skull and every time I left Max alone, bad things happened.
He really needed to find a job—soon. I was getting tired of him hanging around. Not that he was lazy by any means. He just had way too much free time on his hands, and the free time always ended up meaning that I had to hang out with him because, oh, right, I had no girlfriend.
Jenna didn’t count, as I’d only taken her out four times and it hadn’t progressed past coffee.
Max said he was going to move in.
The hell he was.
“This evening on Love Quest.” The announcer spoke in the background as a series of catfights broke out across the screen. Women pulling hair, the poor bastard who was supposed to find true love looking like he wanted to kill himself. Yeah, somehow surrounding myself with twenty beautiful women didn’t sound appealing, not when I watched this show.
It sounded like death.
It looked like torture.
You’d have to be insane to want to try out for a show like that.
“Do you know a contestant who’s looking for love? Go to www.lovequestcasting.com to nominate them!”
“Holy shit, that would suck.” Max ate a mouthful of popcorn and shook his head.
“Yeah.” A small grin twitched my lips. “It really, really, really would.”
And suddenly I knew exactly how I was going to get my revenge.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I hate this part because I always seem to forget people who are really important. I’m going to start off and say that I’m just so incredibly thankful that God has allowed me to write . . . I thank him every single day that I’m able to get up and follow my passion. I’m not gonna lie, sometimes I get emotional just thinking about it. I can’t imagine doing anything else and I’m so blessed to be able to say I’m an author.
Erica, agent extraordinaire, you are amazing. Seriously. I call you, I panic, I freak out, I give you ideas, and you simply organize me and make it happen like real MAGIC! Thank you so much for going to bat for me and for being one of the best agents a girl could ask for!
Bloggers . . .I hate just saying bloggers. I hate that I’m grouping you guys together, but there are just so many of you who change my life daily. I feel like if I start naming you, then, well . . . this page is going to get really long. Just know, I really do read every review, every post, every tweet, and even if I don’t respond I so appreciate your support! I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without the constant support from the blogging community. You guys have a thankless job, I just wish I could give you all a high five and free books for life. Maybe free books and free Starbucks for life . . . right, I’ll get on that!
To my husband and two dogs who are often ignored because I’m stuck in the writing cave, thanks for putting up with me! And to all my publishers who make the magic happen—thank you for believing in me . . . and, um, thanks for telling me when something sucks and helping me fix it when it needs fixing.
Melody, it was such a joy working with you. Thank you for helping me make sense.
Skyscape, thank you for believing in this story!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2014 Lauren Murray
Rachel Van Dyken is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of Regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing, you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks or plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her husband and their two snoring boxers. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com.
The Consequence of Loving Colton Page 24