The Stubborn Love Series: Books 1-5 Contemporary Romance Series

by Wendy Owens

  “God, no! My roommate Paige is dating Colin’s brother. He was there waiting for them. I don’t know, I think they’re all going out or something.” There, I had explained, it and it didn’t sound as insane as I thought it would. “So, where to?”

  “Is he an ex or something?” William continued to push for answers.

  “What? No way! Gross! Colin is not the type of guy I would ever date,” I informed him, clueless as to what would ever give him the idea there had been something between us at one time.

  “Really? He seems nice enough, and I suppose good looking, if you like that drop dead gorgeous type thing.” I needed this conversation about Colin to end… and quickly. He was the last person I wanted to be thinking about.

  “I guess… I never really noticed…” I lied. I wasn’t interested in dating Colin, but anyone with a set of eyeballs could see he was gorgeous.

  “Are you hungry?” William asked, my answer seeming to satisfy his curiosity.

  “Famished,” I replied with a smile, linking my arm into his.

  “You look beautiful, by the way.” I was pleased to have him confirm Colin’s sentiments. Here I was, on my first date since—well, that’s not important. I was ready for a fresh start.

  Chapter Eight

  The light peeked through the slatted wood blinds in my bedroom. Morning apparently did not care that I had stayed out late—it was determined to come upon me, no matter what. I begrudgingly drug myself to the bathroom sink, the picture of the girl in the mirror shocking me. In my late night semi drunken stupor, I had made my way to my bedroom, slipping out of the borrowed dress and climbed into bed.

  My morning breath was offensive, mascara was caked on under my eyes, and if the raccoon look wasn’t bad enough, my hair was a veritable rat’s nest. Staring at the sexy black underwear, I couldn’t imagine what I must have been thinking when I put them on.

  Splashing my face with some warm water, I lathered up and rinsed away a few of the traces of the previous night, using my wet fingers to comb through my hair. Pulling the tangles up, I placed the matted hair into a loose and feeble attempt at a ponytail. A toothbrush hanging from my mouth, I walked out and searched my drawers for sweat pants and one of Ashton’s oversized t-shirts. This had become my uniform for bumming it since as long as I could remember.

  Walking back into the bathroom, spitting and rinsing, I flicked off the light, shaking my head in disappointment at myself. A cup of coffee and bowl of cereal would make everything better, I decided. Attempting to be as quiet as possible, I cracked my door open. I held my breath, but it did not seem to lessen the creaking under my feet. The last thing I needed this morning was the third degree from Paige about how the date had gone.

  “About time!” I heard Paige call out from a reclined position on the couch. “I didn’t think you’d ever get up.”

  I smiled. I should have known she would be waiting for me. “Good morning.”

  “Morning? I don’t know what clock you’ve looked at lately, but it’s past noon, slut,” Paige snarled, clearly pleased with her comments.

  “Oh God, are you serious?” I asked in disbelief, still walking gently as I made my way to our small kitchen and began preparing my breakfast. As soon as I turned the corner I saw them—the flowers William, or should I say Stryker, brought me the night before. “Thanks for putting my flowers in water.”

  “I didn’t do that,” Paige replied, not the least bit curious about who did. I, on the other hand, immediately thought about it. It must have been Colin. I had been such a bitch to him last night; I couldn’t believe he would take care of a gift a date brought me. Perhaps it was an unconscious gesture.

  “I can’t believe it’s so late. I never sleep in like that,” I noted, carrying my breakfast, or lunch rather, into the living room, taking a seat in the chair Colin had been perched in the night before. A thought flashed through my mind of how great he looked, but then I remembered all of his annoying little comments, and eagerly pushed any notion of him from my aching head.

  “It’s because you got home after me. Nobody ever gets in after me. So does that mean there was a walk of shame this morning?” Paige asked, sitting up and rubbing her hands together like she was waiting for something juicy and delicious.

  “No,” I mumbled with a full mouth, lowering my eyebrows in disgust.

  “Oh, come on, roommate code, you have to give me all the dirty details, same as I have to give you all of mine,” Paige informed me.

  I swallowed and then smiled before explaining, “I don’t want to know all your dirty details. Besides, I doubt I could handle them anyway, knowing you.”

  “Hey!” she started. “No, you’re probably right. Christian and I can get very naughty.”

  “Agh! Gross. Stop! Please no more,” I begged, lifting my shoulders up to block my ears from the offensive information.

  “Fine, but I still want my half of roommate gossip. Was he fantastic in bed? A long schlong?” Paige’s lips twisted into an evil curl at the ends, her eyes never leaving me.

  I reached down with a free hand, grabbed a throw pillow from the floor, and launched it at her head. She caught it in the air, hugging it close to her body as she began laughing wildly. “You’re terrible,” I informed her.

  “So it was tiny?” she continued.

  “Oh my God, no, nothing happened,” I insisted, continuing to eat my cereal.

  “No, I don’t accept that. There is no way you were out that late in that dress and nothing happened,” Paige argued. “Spill it.”

  Oddly enough, there was something comforting in the idea of discussing it—something even more comforting in the idea of having a girlfriend. I hadn’t had a real girlfriend since Laney. When I started seeing Ashton I inherited all of his friends, but they were always clearly loyal to him.

  “Honestly? It started off pretty good. He took me to this great restaurant in Midtown,” I began to retell the evening’s events.

  “Ooh! Where did you go?” Paige asked, absolutely panting with anticipation, savoring every detail.

  “Some place called Gilt,” I replied, remembering how impressed I was with the location and decor.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Umm—yeah, I mean, I think that’s what it was called,” I said, doubting my memory.

  “That place is so expensive and posh! This guy must be loaded.” Paige looked like she might leap from her seat with each piece of information I gave her.

  “I don’t know—maybe—he’s some sort of investigator,” I added.

  “Well then he must have some dirt on some pretty powerful people,” she suggested, giggling.

  I smiled, “I doubt it’s anything like that.”

  “If a guy took me to a place like that I would totally jump his bones,” Paige informed me.

  I gave her a disapproving look before reminding her of the boyfriend who she could barely detach her lips from. “I bet Christian would love to hear you say that.”

  “Maybe he should take me to some nicer places.”

  “Let’s just say the restaurant was great, but the company, not so much,” I offered, wanting to make sure she understood the evening was not as dreamy as she seemed to be imagining.

  “What happened?”

  “When we got there he had already ordered for us ahead of time. He told me he had asked the chef to prepare something special. At the time I was kind of amazed, but now, looking back on it, it was really annoying. The food was great, but it would have been nice if he had let me pick for myself,” I explained.

  “That doesn’t sound like too terrible of an offense,” Paige argued.

  “Oh, just wait. So by like the millionth course he had had enough to drink to put down a buffalo, and he started talking about himself in the third person.”

  “No! He didn’t!” she exclaimed.

  “Yup! And it gets worse; he calls himself by his last name, which is Stryker. He proceeds to tell me about how ‘Stryker has trouble with ladies getting t
oo attached,’ and ‘Stryker always gets his man.’”

  “Oh my God! I think I just vomited a little in my mouth.”

  “I know, right?” I squealed. “I ended up getting drunk just to be able to put up with him.”

  “So, why were you out so late? Where did you go?” Paige was clearly puzzled.

  “Oh, this guy was a piece of work. He wouldn’t let me leave. I told him I had to get up early, I had a headache, and at one point I even told him I had to wash my hair.”

  “Ouch.”

  Taking another bite I chewed, swallowed, and started laughing. Looking back on the night it was funny now.

  “He didn’t seem to take a hint,” I added.

  “Why didn’t you just get up and leave?”

  “I didn’t want to be rude. I knew the place was expensive, and I had agreed to go on a date with him,” I said, defending my actions.

  “Oh, honey, you’re a New Yorker now, you better learn to get rude.”

  I couldn’t believe in only a week’s time I had come to absolutely adore Paige. I was certain I couldn’t have picked a better girl as my roommate. She always made me laugh, and I admired the way she lived her life exactly the way she wanted.

  “I guess I do need to figure that out. Ugh, he seemed like such a nice guy when we were at the park. And he was hot, so damn hot!” The story felt even more ridiculous as I retold it. Paige was right; I could have saved the entire night by just getting up and walking out.

  “The douchebags always are.”

  “He ended up dragging me all over the city, one club to the next, most of the night was a blur. He even flirted with other girls right in front of me, but I really didn’t care by that point. I just wanted it to be over.”

  “At least you got a free dinner out of it,” Paige said, attempting to point out the brighter side of the evening.

  “Yeah, apparently if you pay a lot for dinner that must mean you will get laid. When he dropped me off he started groping me and trying to stick his disgusting tongue down my throat.”

  “Gross!”

  “I know! I barely got out of his clutches; thank God we have a security door. I think he would have followed me all the way into the apartment had it not been there.”

  “No worries, I would have kicked his ass,” Paige reassured, sticking up two fists and give me her best vicious facial expression. A deep belly laugh erupted from me at the image of her petite frame in the stance.

  “I bet.”

  “I’m serious!” she defended her capabilities. “Okay, maybe I would have called Christian and Colin, and they would have come down here to kick his ass.”

  “Please, no. The last thing that night needed was for Colin to show up. He’s such a pig.” I rolled my eyes, leaning forward and placing the half empty bowl on the coffee table.

  Paige looked at me, clearly perplexed by something I had said. “Why would you call him a pig?”

  “You can’t seriously be asking me that. You do remember I met Bailey, don’t you?” I asked, eyebrows raised.

  “That psychotic bitch? That’s how you’re making your judgment? She chased after Colin the entire time she lived here. He was never interested. She waited until he was totally wasted and then was all over him. He told her the next morning it was a mistake and even apologized to her—more than I think the whore deserved,” Paige snarled.

  “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? I was drunk last night and managed not to sleep with my date. Seems like a lame excuse,” I argued.

  “Whatever. Colin and I argue sometimes, but that girl did everything she could to get her claws into him. I warned her to leave him alone, but she just wouldn’t listen.”

  “He’s so cocky, and I just think he’s kind of a tool,” I defended my position, avoiding her intense glare.

  “Colin!” she exclaimed. “I don’t think I have ever heard anyone describe Colin that way.”

  “Well, how would you describe him?” I asked, wanting to turn the heat away from myself.

  “He’s probably one of the most generous guys I have ever met. Take this apartment, for example: he charges me what it costs to break even on the loan,” Paige explained.

  “Whatever. He just does that because you’re sleeping with his brother. If you two broke up, I bet he wouldn’t be so generous,” I insisted.

  Immediately, I could tell I had gone too far. “You know, Emmie, you really shouldn’t talk about things you know nothing about.”

  I should have shut up right there, but instead I went on the defensive. “Fine, enlighten me.”

  “There’s a reason Colin doesn’t have a girlfriend. He doesn’t have time for one. His real estate business keeps him so busy that he can only make time for casual things, which he is always up front about with girls. I know a lot of guys who are not so honorable about the way they handle the same situations.”

  “Really, your defense of him being a player is because he is too busy making a lot of money? So, now he’s shallow, too?” I argued, even more confident in my original stance.

  “Do you know why Colin is driven to earn so much money?” I shook my head in response to her question. “When Colin was seventeen his parents were in a car crash, neither survived.”

  “Oh my God, that’s terrible,” I gasped. Looking at him you would have never known he had been through something so traumatic. Of course, I doubt many would guess my husband had killed himself.

  “He and Christian moved in with their uncle, but that guy was completely useless. He was a videographer for some news station. He was never home. He never thought about who would get Christian off to school, or keep him out of trouble, or hell, even feed the poor kid. Do you think he made it to a single one of Christian’s football games growing up? No. But Colin did. All Colin thought about was his brother. Christian was only ten when it happened, and as soon as Colin turned eighteen he filed for legal custody of him.” I could see the respect now that Paige had for Colin. She admired him.

  “That must have been hard on him,” I agreed at last.

  “It never ended for Colin. He could see their inheritance from the life insurance policies, which wasn’t much, was dwindling fast, so when he was twenty, he took the last of it and bought his first investment property. I started dating Christian when he was sixteen, and the only thing I remember about those days is Colin either working or being with his brother. It’s never changed much either.”

  “Are you serious? You’ve been with Christian that long?” I asked, a little shocked. I was certain by their behavior they were a new love.

  “Yup, Christian tells me his whole life changed when he met me. It’s hard to believe we’ve been together five and half years. God love him, he is hot as hell, but there is no way he would ever be able to hold down a real job. He was pretty messed up by his parents’ death. Colin did the best he could with him, but he was just a kid, too.”

  “Well, you can’t tell by looking at him. Christian seems to have it together.”

  “Oh my God, no,” Paige said, flashing me a horrified look. “He’s a hot mess. I have to take him to AA three times a week.”

  “Shut up!” I gasped in disbelief.

  “I can party with the best of them, but Christian, he loses control. He doesn’t know when to stop.”

  “I would have never guessed he had a problem like that.”

  Paige pushed her lips together into a thankful smile. “That’s because of Colin. He gives up his own happiness to make sure his brother never has to worry about anything: money, a place to live, whatever it is, he tries to make sure he’s taken care of. Don’t get me wrong, Christian isn’t lazy, he helps Colin with the work on the places. It’s really sweet how much he looks up to his big brother. Sometimes, I don’t know, though, it’s like he checks out.”

  “I had no idea,” I muttered, a wave of guilt washing over me about the way I had judged Colin without actually getting to know him. It didn’t change the fact that I thought his relationships with women w
ere absolutely disgusting. But maybe I had been too hard on him.

  “Yeah, I hope he hasn’t bitten off more than he can chew,” Paige added.

  “What do you mean?”

  “This warehouse conversion he’s got himself tied up in. He had to pull money out of all of his other locations in order to secure the funds to buy the place. If he can’t get an investor after the first unit is done, I’m not sure what they’re going to do. He thinks Christian doesn’t know, but he’s not an idiot; he can see how worried Colin is.”

  It was becoming even clearer to me why Colin was so sensitive about the warehouse conversion. The future of both him and his brother were riding on it. I wished I hadn’t said the things I did about it, but I had, and God, he must hate me.

  “Enough of this depressing stuff,” Paige said at last. “I just wanted you to know you should give Colin a chance. He’s a really nice guy, and he thinks you’re smoking hot, so there’s that.”

  “What?” The word slipped from my lips in disbelief.

  “He told me last night,” Paige grinned.

  “Oh.” It was the only word I could manage to speak. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this new piece of information. He never committed to women, which meant he was in fact a player, even if his motives were honorable. At the same time, he had been through so much heartbreak in his life, I could relate to that. Not that he would ever know my story.

  “I almost forgot, Colin wanted to make sure I invited you to Half Kings next Saturday.”

  “What’s Half Kings?” I inquired, remembering Colin mentioning it the night before, and trying to not think about the fact that Colin was asking about me.

  “Some little hole in the wall a few blocks away. Colin leases them their space so he likes to hang out there.”

  “I don’t get it, why would he want you to invite me?” My curiosity was too peaked not to ask.

  “I think some band is playing or something. He thought you might enjoy it, I guess.”