by Dawn Brower
“You’re a fool. That man clearly still loves you.”
Emma shook her head. “No, he’s moved on, and I’m not going to destroy his chances with Alison. Leave it be. Promise me you won’t say anything.”
“Of course, I won’t, but Emma you really should reconsider.”
“No, and that’s final.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest. “Please don’t push this.”
“Fine. I won’t, even if I believe it’s a mistake. I’ll file it away as confidential friend information.”
Emma smiled for the first time since she saw Colt’s arm around Alison’s waist. “Thanks, I’m so glad we met. I’ve needed a friend for a while now.”
“I’m here, no matter what. If you need to talk about anything call me, and I’ll be there.”
“Like the Jackson 5 song?”
He laughed. “Something like that.”
At least the evening wasn’t ending on a totally sour note. Ian had managed to get a laugh out of her. She meant what she’d said. Colt did deserve to be happy. Missy destroyed a part of both of them, and he’d been the one put through the most. He’d had to deal with people thinking he was a dead beat not wanting to take care of his own kid. At least he got that albatross off his back and was able to move on. She wouldn’t do anything to destroy his happiness. If Alison was who he wanted, it wasn’t her place to get in the way of their relationship.
Chapter Seven
The cold air blew through him, causing Colt to shiver and pull his jacket closed tighter. The evening before, he’d had dinner with Alison. He wanted to forget the whole night. The cold stare Emma had bestowed upon him as he’d gone after Missy. For the most part, Alison’s plan had gone off without a hitch. They’d come into the restaurant before Emma and Ian. Ian volunteered to share a table with them—Emma hadn’t liked the idea but still agreed. She didn’t say anything to give him that indication, but Colt knew her too well. He saw the tightness around her lips when Ian had made the offer. She didn’t want to have her ex and his new girlfriend crashing on her date with Ian. If only Emma knew they were just friends. He’d never stopped loving Emma, never would.
Then Missy walked in and everything fell apart. His chance of making Emma jealous enough to want him back went as cold as the wind blowing around him now. Missy Claybourn was the one person guaranteed to piss her off enough to leave without eating. When he’d gotten back to the table, Alison shook her head. Emma left, and Missy had disappeared before he could talk to her.
Now he was on his way to meet Alison again. This time for lunch. He walked in to the restaurant and found her already sitting at a nearby table. She was talking to…Ian. What the hell was he doing here?
“Hey.” Colt looked at Alison then turned to Ian. “How’s it going?”
“Oh hey Colt. Ian stopped in to get some coffee to go.” Alison sat back in her chair letting her hands fall to her lap. “We were talking about last night…”
Colt stuffed his hands into the pocket of his jeans and tilted back on his heels. “Yeah?”
Alison nodded. “Ian was confused about Emma’s…reaction.”
That’s because the good doctor didn’t have the privilege of living through the hell of the past year. He didn’t know who Missy was to Colt or Emma. How she’d bull-dozed through their life and decimated their relationship into nothing.
“Yeah, Emma has her reasons.”
Colt left it at that. If Emma wanted him to know the details, she’d tell him herself. It wasn’t his place to fill in the blanks for Ian.
“I’m sure she does.” Ian nodded at Alison. “It was nice seeing you. I have to get back to work.”
Colt watched him leave and gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to like the doctor. If he could, he’d hate him because Emma liked him. Unfortunately for him Ian seemed like a decent guy. Emma certainly could do worse. Hell, she had—she managed to intertwine her life with his. A fast and sure way to heartbreak—his certainly fell apart when she left him. No doubt hers mirrored his in equal amounts of pain and doubt.
“What was that about?” Colt asked.
Alison played with her cup. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You two looked pretty cozy.”
“It’s not like that,” Alison insisted. “He’s a nice guy. He came in and recognized me and came over to say hello.”
“Right.”
Alison reached across the table and smacked him in the shoulder. “What kind of girl do you think I am?”
“Only one of the best.” He flashed her his most charming grin.
“Don’t try to coax me into forgiving your lack of manners.” Alison tried to hide a smile but failed when it broke out bright across her face.
“Yup, I’m completely unforgiveable,” he agreed.
“Of course you are.”
Alison picked up the menu and began to scan the contents. Colt had no idea why because they both knew it by heart. She must have something on her mind and was searching for a way to broach the subject.
“Spill it, Ali.”
She looked up, her face devoid of emotion. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Tell me what’s on your mind.”
He was starting to get a little irritated. She was holding back, and Colt needed to know what she was hiding from him. It had to do with Emma. She wouldn’t keep it to herself otherwise.
“Fine. I’ll tell you.”
“I’m waiting.” He leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. “Anytime now.”
“Ian might have mentioned that he and Emma are not dating.”
What? He couldn’t have heard right. Alison said she was about to start dating again. They ran into them in the process of an actual dinner date. What kind of nonsense was Alison talking about? “I’m failing to understand what you’re saying.”
“Emma and Ian are friends.”
“So why did they go out on a date?” Colt asked, baffled.
“Because they wanted to spend time together.” Alison waved her hands around the table. “Much like we are doing right now.”
Colt smacked his head. He was such an idiot. “She said she was dating.”
“Yeah, but did she ever once say it was Ian?”
Colt opened his mouth to speak. Then closed it fast—no, he’d assumed it was with Ian. How could he have been so stupid? “No, I thought they were because I overheard part of their conversation.”
“I thought so.”
“So I told her we were dating for no reason.”
Alison nodded her head, a smug smile on her face. “You sure did.”
“I have to tell her the truth,” he said.
“I couldn’t agree with you more.”
How did he get himself into these messes? He didn’t want to go crawling over to Emma and explain how he and Alison were only friends. She’d eat him alive with contempt. Just what he needed—something else for Emma to hold over his head as a reason he was no good. She could pull it out from time to time as an exhibit of what made him a horrible human being.
“In other news I do think last night worked rather well,” Alison said. She picked up her coffee and took a long sip. She ran her finger around the rim and smiled. “Ian was a font of information.”
“Really?”
“Let’s just say Miss Emmaline Novak was pissed off and fuming the rest of the night. Ian took her straight home and ate cold cereal for dinner.” Alison grinned evilly. “Not the intimate Italian dinner he’d looked forward to.”
“How is that a success?” Colt frowned and leaned on the table. “I know she was pissed off. As soon as she saw Missy, Hurricane Emma began to sustain wind speeds that put a category five to shame.”
Colt didn’t like how the evening went, and rehashing it only served to irritate him further. As far as he could tell the dinner had been a total disaster.
Alison sighed. “Emma still loves you. Trust me—she wouldn’t react so aggressively if she didn’t.”
“Fine, I’ll
take your word on it.”
“What are you two doing here?”
Colt looked up into the blue eyes of his publicist, Vitoria Miene. Standing next to her was the number one quarterback playing for the Starlings, Paxton Kerry.
“I didn’t know you had a lunch meeting,” Alison said. “I looked at your calendar before I left and switched on the answering service. Which reminds me, your new assistant starts next week.”
“It wasn’t planned.” She gestured toward Paxton. “He called and asked for a meeting and here we are. Do you mind if we join you? The two of you can give him some of the insight he’s looking for.”
“I don’t mind,” Alison agreed. “Do you?” She turned toward Colt and raised an eyebrow.
“Not at all.”
He didn’t talk to Paxton a whole lot. The man was a bit closed off and kept to himself most days. Colt couldn’t help wondering why he wanted to meet with Tori. His coffee-brown hair was perfectly groomed, not a hair out of place. His emerald-green eyes held a hint of—worry. What could be bothering the normally stoic leader of their team?
“So I’ve been talking to Pax here for a while now. His contract is up with his agent, and he’s considering signing on with us.” She paused and looked at Alison. “If he signs with us he’ll be your first primary client. I’ll still be there if necessary, but I think you can handle it. I planned on talking to you about it later on. I’ve discussed it with him—”she gestured toward Paxton“—and he doesn’t have a problem with it. What do you think?”
Colt watched as Alison sat back and studied Paxton. He knew his best friend well, and she didn’t seem too impressed with the quarterback. What had Pax done to her? Why did she not like him? Colt would have to ask her when they were alone again.
“I guess I don’t have a problem with that.”
“If you don’t want to work with me, cupcake, I understand. I can always sign with a different company…or re-sign with the one I’m with.” Paxton leaned back and wound his arm around the back of his chair, a cocky grin on his face as he talked to Alison.
Colt saw her flinch before she managed to hide her reaction. Did Paxton always talk to her in such a condescending manner? No wonder Ali didn’t like him—Colt wasn’t finding much to like either.
“No, it would be a privilege to work with you.” Alison’s smile was forced and her voice a little too chipper. “Truly I mean it. I think we can do great things together.”
“Good. See I told you she’d be on board,” Tori glanced at Paxton. “Colt can tell you how we work if you have any more questions. He’s been a client of mine for a while now.”
Colt nodded. “Yeah, Tori’s good people. She’s been an asset through my recent troubles.”
“Oh, that baby thing. I remember that.” Paxton tapped his finger on the table. “I don’t have any scandals. Just some everyday stuff. You can handle the mundane can’t you?”
“Of course. We prefer it actually. Less of a headache.” Alison laughed. “I can do whatever you like and help with any publicity that might arise. Tori has taught me well.”
“Good to know, cupcake. I don’t expect you’ll have to work too hard.” He grinned at her. He winked, an apparent attempt to charm her, and light sparkled against his irises. “I’d hate to see dark circles under those pretty gray eyes.”
When had Paxton turned into a jackass? Did something about Alison bring out his arrogant side? He was the one person on the team that didn’t chase after women. He was focused a hundred percent of the time. Colt had overheard him saying he had better things to do than chase tail.
“Well I’ll leave you three to discuss this in private.” He nodded at Paxton. “If you have any other questions feel free to ask.”
“Will do,” Paxton said. “See you later.”
“Bye Ali, call me later,” Colt said as he stood.
He zipped up his jacket and prepared to exit out into the bitter cold wind. Whatever was going on with Ali and Paxton, he’d find out later. He didn’t want to sit through their stilted—and weird—conversation. He had his own problems to deal with. Colt had to find a way to let Emma know he’d misled her in believing there was more between him and Alison. Something he was definitely not looking forward to.
It was bad enough he didn’t get any lunch, finding Ian sitting with Alison, and Tori bringing in Paxton to interrupt them…he’d never ordered any food. Colt would go home and get something to eat. It looked like he’d suffer the same fate as Ian had the night before. Cold cereal—it does a body good. He shook his head and laughed. His life was such a mess. Colt made a vow to start fixing some of it and soon. He’d get Emma back—There was a real possibility it might take longer than he wanted it to though. He knew Hurricane Emma was a force to be reckoned with. It was a good thing he knew how to calm her down to a gentle breeze. Colt wasn’t above using every weapon in his arsenal.
Chapter Eight
The days went by in a blur. Emma got deeply engrossed in her work with the team. Each football player welcomed her and followed her instructions. No one wanted to be sidelined with an injury that could have been prevented. Today was a game day. Emma was grateful it was at home. Since she’d started working as the team physical therapist, they’d been on the road for the past four games. A month of traveling had started to take its toll on her. She wanted to curl up in Tori’s guest bedroom and sleep for a couple of days. So far, she’d managed to avoid talking to Wes. Tori had let her know how much it irritated him to keep missing her. Her brother was a little bit unhappy with her, and for once Emma didn’t care. She loved her job. Unfortunately, she’d have to deal with it soon. Thanksgiving was later on in the week, and she had the day off. The team didn’t play that day, but they did the following Sunday. She had no excuse to miss out on the family dinner.
She couldn’t worry about what might happen when they all got together again. For now she wanted to concentrate on the game. Emma had to be alert and ready for anything. Henry depended on her if something happened out on the field to one of the players. She walked down the hallway and into one of the back rooms of the stadium, her employee badge sliding across her stomach with each movement she made.
“Hey, Emma, how’s it going today?”
Emma nodded at the security guard doing his perimeter check. “Good. Any problems?”
“Nope. We’re all clear back here.” He smiled. “How do you think they’ll do?”
“We’ll win, of course,” Emma boasted.
“If you need anything let me know.”
“Will do. I need to find Dr. Ellwood. Have you seen him?”
“Yeah, I saw him walk into the locker room with Paxton Kerry a few moments ago.”
“Thanks,” Emma replied.
She couldn’t help wondering what was going on with the team’s quarterback. Emma was probably worrying for nothing. Still, something about it bothered her. She wouldn’t go into the locker room. It didn’t feel right to her, so she never invaded the players’ space. If they needed her, they knew where to find her. She’d head out to the field and take some supplies with her. Better to be prepared for the game anyway. She went into the supply room and filled a duffle bag with everything she might need on the field. After she zipped it closed she pulled the long strap over her shoulder and closed the door as she exited. Not paying any attention to where she was heading, she walked right into someone outside the room. She could feel herself falling, her arms flailing for something to grab onto. When she didn’t hit the ground, she realized why. She’d squeezed her eyelids shut tight preparing for pain, only to be encased in warmth. Her eyelashes fluttered open, and she found herself looking into Colt’s blue eyes. His arms were wrapped around her waist holding her tight against him.
“I’m so sorry. I should have been watching where I was going,” she apologized.
She gulped back a lump in her throat. He looked so good, and she had to use every ounce of restraint she had in her to not wrap her own arms around him. She wanted to reach
up and kiss him. To feel his lips sliding over hers, letting their passion roam free. Emma couldn’t give in to that desire. Colt had moved on. She didn’t blame him for finding someone new, but she couldn’t help wishing he’d waited. If he’d stayed single they might have gotten back together. How was she to know she’d suddenly wake up and want him again? Then a flash of him going after Missy crossed her mind, and she found herself angry all over again. Even if she wanted him, it never would have worked between them. Too many bad memories and not enough generosity within herself to forgive him—Emma needed to find the distance and strength to let him go for good.
“You can let me go now,” she said.
“You have been avoiding me for a while now. We need to talk.”
“No, I think we’ve said all we need to.” Emma shook her head and started to pull herself out of his arms. “Please let me go.”
“Emma, I know you were hurt when you saw Missy—”
Emma held up her hand, stopping him from saying more. “Stop, just stop. Don’t even start to say what was about to pass through your lips. Nothing would make that right.”
“You don’t understand…”
“And I don’t want to.”
Colt’s lips creased into a thin white line. He ran his hands through his long mahogany tresses and pushed them into his scalp. Emma knew he was frustrated. She couldn’t let herself care. If she had almost no room within her to forgive Colt—Missy would burn in hell before she’d give her a free pass for what she’d done. Emma could not, would not, give her any amount of compassion.
“Just once I wish you’d quit being stubborn and listen.” Colt’s arms shot in the air and he shrugged his shoulders. “You win, Emma. I give up. Believe what you want.”
He’s giving up on her? Like he hadn’t already? Who did she think she was kidding? Colt took the first opportunity he found to run away from her and what they had. He wouldn’t change it now.
“Did you care at all?”