Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The next day . . .
“I found him.”
Alex glanced up from her desk as Avery excitedly burst through the door. She stood, giving her back a quick stretch, which felt amazing after having sat for so long.
“Hey, sis.” She rounded the desk to meet the other woman half-way. “You found who?”
“Your perfect match.” Avery smiled wide.
“His name is Miles, and he’s the V.P. at one of the biggest accounting firms here in the city.
And before you say it, I know a guy who works with accounting isn’t your typical jam, but he’s cute, Al.
Like really cute. And he’s single, never been married, and no kids so he has lots of money, too. ”
“How old?” Alex asked, despite having zero interest in her sister’s sudden matchmaking endeavor.
“Forty-two.”
“The guy’s forty-two, and he’s still single?” She snorted. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”
“Hey, just because he hasn’t settled down yet doesn’t mean he’s fatally flawed. Look at you.” Avery motioned Alex’s way.
“What about me?” Alex scowled.
“You’re over thirty, never been married, and there’s nothing wrong with you.”
“So?”
“So . . . maybe you and Miles are kindred spirits who’ve been too busy building your careers to worry about a social life or settling down.”
“My social life is just fine, thank you very much.”
“Really?” One of Avery’s dark brows rose high. “When was the last time you were out on an actual date?”
Alex had to think back. Did her dinner with Gordan Crawford count? Before that, she’d gone out with . . . crap. What was his name?
Shane? Shawn. Shephard?
It was definitely something that started with an Sh.
“See?” Avery gloated. “You can’t even give me one guy’s name. Which, I’ll admit, is better than that stretch of time right after the whole Evan debacle. You had so many dates back then I didn’t even bother trying to keep them all straight.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Her sister’s expression softened, and her pretty gaze was filled with nothing but love. “You know what I mean. And I just want you to be happy, Al. As happy as I am with Garrett. And you’re not going to find that when all you do is work all day and then go home to an empty apartment.”
You should tell her about Colt.
“Listen, Aves. As much as I appreciate your heightened interest in my love life, I’m good in that department. Really.”
Maybe.
Only time would tell if this thing with Colt was going to go the distance.
“I call B.S.”
“It’s not bullshit.” Alex gave a vehement shake of her head. “I’m . . .” Just tell her. “Seeing someone.”
Avery blinked. “You are?”
“I am.”
And boy, did it feel strange to say that out loud.
Her sister blinked again before a barrage of questions were thrown Alex’s way.
“Who? And since when? Why didn’t you say anything before now?”
“Okay, wow.” Alex lifted a palm in the air. “That was a whole lot all at once.”
“Stop deflecting.”
“I’m not deflecting, but you have to at least give me a chance to answer one question before spewing out like seventeen more.”
“It was three, and you’re stalling.”
Damn. She sometimes forgot how brilliant her little sister was.
“To answer your second question, it’s new. Which also answers question number three.”
“How new are we talking?”
Going with Colt’s advice on sticking as close to the truth as possible, Alex answered with a mostly truthful, “A couple of weeks.”
“Two weeks?” Avery frowned. “You were in California two weeks ago. Where did you and this mystery man meet? Which reminds me, you still haven’t answered question number one.”
“We met here in Charlotte.” Truth. “He lives here, but he’s gone a lot for work.” Another truth.
“And you’ve been seeing him for two weeks?”
“Give or take.” Alex shrugged as she gave her sister a partial truth. “He’s taking me out to dinner tonight, in fact.”
Plans that had been made this morning, right before Colt had left her apartment.
Avery paused, seemingly processing the information as she shuffled her stance. “This conversation isn’t over by any means, but it’s going to have to wait.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just really have to pee.”
Alex chuckled, pointing toward the hallway at the back. “Help yourself. You know the way.”
Without hesitation, Avery spun on her heels and began hurrying across the gallery’s tiled floor.
“Hey!” Alex called after her. “I thought that wasn’t supposed to start until you were carrying a basketball around in your belly.”
“Tell that to my bladder!”
She laughed again, watching her baby sister disappear into the hallway’s shadowed entrance.
If you wait too long to tell her about Colt, she’s going to end up hearing it from Garrett.
In a nervous move, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and tried coming up with the best way to drop the news.
Hey, sis. So you know your brother-in-law, right?
The one I’m always saying I’d like to choke out with my bare hands?
The thing is, he and I had sex. Really, really good sex.
Twice, in fact. First, in California and again last night, when he stopped by my apartment.
And oh, yeah. By the way, we’re a couple now, too.
Alex was still standing there, mulling through different ideas when the gallery’s door opened and the subject of her thoughts suddenly appeared.
“Hey, you.” Colt sent her a panty-dropping smile as he made his way over to her.
He was dressed in dark gray suit pants and a light blue shirt but no tie.
The collared button-down made his gorgeous eyes pop, and the twin dimples in his cheeks deepened when he smiled.
His shirt stretched perfectly across his broad shoulders and biceps, and those pants fell over a set of thighs she knew intimately well.
The guy was the epitome of sex, and with that face and that body, he could easily be on the cover of GQ, or worse, on a billboard somewhere. Stationed high in the air for everyone to see.
Screw that. He’s mine.
The possessive thought took her aback, but Alex quickly schooled her expression and smiled. “Hey. You’re here.” She glanced toward the back before checking her watch. “And you’re early.”
“Guilty on both counts.” He grinned before holding out a small bouquet of flowers. “I saw these at a stand a few blocks down and they made me think of you.”
They weren’t nearly as fancy or big as the arrangement Gordan had sent. In a word, they were perfect.
“Oh. Um . . . thanks.” Alex took the offered mixture of spring-colored blooms. “They’re beautiful. But you didn’t have to do this.”
“I know.” Colt shrugged. “But this being our first official date and all, I wanted to do things right.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say your first date?”
Alex’s heart shot into her throat as they both turned to see Avery staring back at them with eyes as big as saucers.
“Hey, Aves. How are you doing? And congrats again on the bun you’ve got cookin’ in the oven. I gotta say, that was some unexpected news.”
“Not as unexpected as this.” Her sister shot her a pointed stare. “Is there something you’d like to share, sis?”
Crap, crap, crap.
This was not the way this was supposed to go.
She looked at Colt, who was grinning back at her like an idiot.
“I, uh . . .” Her mind raced. “I mean, Colt and I are—”
“We’re dating,” he blurted.
The man just put it right out there while still wearing that goofy grin.
Alex’s lungs froze, and her gaze flew back to her sister’s. “I was going to tell you. Really. But it’s new, and this thing between Colt and I happened super-fast, and—”
“You and Colt.” Avery’s focus bounced back and forth between them. “My sister and my brother-in-law are . . . together.” Her brows dipped inward. “Isn’t that like incest or something?”
“We’re not actually related, Aves.” Alex gave a quick roll of her eyes.
“Does Garrett know?”
Both women looked to Colt who was already shaking his head.
“Not yet. I’d planned to tell him this morning, but when I went by the office, he was in a meeting with a potential client.
I would’ve stuck around, but I had some things I needed to take care of for work, so I figured I’d get with him tomorrow.
” The handsome man paused. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to keep a lid on this thing until then? ”
“Keep something this big from my husband?” Avery scoffed. “I mean, I guess I can try.”
“It’s not that big,” Alex argued.
Her sister’s gaze widened once more as her voice rose a full octave. “Are you kidding? This is huge. And aside from the details of his team’s ops, Garrett and I don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“Please, Aves?” Alex begged shamelessly. “I know we’re asking a lot, but it’s only until tomorrow, and I mean . . . it is Colt’s news. Don’t you think he should be the one to share it with his brother? And besides, you both kept your pregnancy a secret from us for weeks.”
“That was different.”
“Was it?”
Avery stared back at her and then groaned. “Fine. I’ll do my best not to say anything. But if Garrett asks—”
“Why on earth would he ask?” Alex scoffed. “I seriously doubt he’s sitting around contemplating the odds of his brother taking your sister on a date.”
“I mean, it’s more than just this one date, though.” Colt shrugged casually when both women turned his way. “What? I’m just saying . . .”
“Coulter.”
Avery sent her knowing glance Alex’s way.
“Wait a second. You said you’ve been seeing someone for a couple of weeks.
A man you met here, who lives here but is gone a lot for his work .
. .” Clarity filled the woman’s pretty stare.
“Holy shit. You two have been sneaking around for the past two weeks?”
“Okay, one, we haven’t been sneaking,” Alex clarified. “And two, I said ‘give or take’. And three, this really is our first official date.”
“But how? I mean, last I knew, you two could hardly be in the same room with each other without the threat of starting World War III.”
“Believe me,” Colt intervened. “This wasn’t something either of us planned.”