Chapter 27 #2
He’s still in his practice clothes, hair damp with sweat and a duffel bag slung over one broad shoulder.
He looks exhausted but his face softens when he sees Livy.
Then his eyes shift to me, sitting on his daughter’s bed with a children’s book in my lap, and something passes over his expression—surprise, certainly, but something else too.
Something I can’t place because all I can see are those big, veiny hands pressed against the doorframe.
Hands that would probably feel amazing on my skin…
I try to forget that image of his dick that is suddenly very present. Help. Send help. I need to grab my vibrator tonight. That’s it. I’m going insane.
“You’re... reading,” he says, as if confirming what he’s seeing.
“The bear lost his hat,” I explain, hoping that my face doesn’t blush all over again. “It’s a whole thing.”
A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “I know. It’s her favorite.”
“Jenna made mac and cheese! And she helped me with math! And she let me use the purple soap for bathtime!”
Colton’s eyebrows rise. “Sounds like you two had a good time.”
“We did,” Livy says.
I stand, smoothing down my wrinkled suit pants. “Easy-peasy, I’d say.”
“Thank you,” he says, and the sincerity in his voice takes me aback. “I didn’t expect... I mean, I thought maybe you’d just let her watch something, or...”
“No. It was fun. Actually, it was...” I hesitate, not wanting to admit how much I enjoyed it. How much I actually wanted a family all these years. “You know I like kids.”
“I really like that about you,” he says and my heart does a stupid flick.
Livy beams at the praise. “What else do you like about her daddy? And you didn’t give her a kiss again!”
We both laugh at her response.
“Livy, I’m sweaty as hell, she’s too beautiful to be covered in stink, don’t you think?”
“There, you think she’s beautiful. What else?”
“What are you? Hitch the date doctor?” he says.
Livy draws her eyebrows together. “What is a hitch?”
Colton grins and looks at me as if he sometimes can’t help himself with her. “I forget she doesn’t know any pop cultural references yet.”
“Dad, stop babbling and give your wife a kiss. I want to keep her, so you need to be a gentleman. I knew I had to teach you how to be a husband but it’s getting annoying.”
“I think this little girl should sleep before she gets herself in trouble.”
“Your wife needs a kiss, Dad,” she repeats and wins the stare-off.
That’s when his expression shifts—just slightly, but enough that I notice it. Something softer. Something almost… sad.
She said, I want to keep her.
The thought lands, sharp enough to cut through everything else. In the middle of all this mess, I’ve somehow managed to forget the part where this isn’t real. The part where it’s temporary. The part where I’m supposed to leave and hurt Livy. What did I do?
A year. That’s it.
And she doesn’t know that.
I can’t do that to her. I can’t—
Before I can spiral any further, Colton is suddenly all up in my space. Close. Too close. And then he just… kisses me. Like it’s nothing. Like it doesn’t rearrange my entire nervous system.
But my knees immediately betray me.
Of course, they do. They wobble and I trip over nothing.
He catches me without even thinking about it, steadying me like this is something he’s done before, like I’m not actively short-circuiting in real time.
I look at him. He glances back at me, and I’m aware of his big, big hand resting on the small of my back. If I could, I’d will it to slide into my skirt. To touch my bare skin.
Neither of us says anything.
His skin is still damp with sweat from training, breathing a little uneven and my brain, which should absolutely be filing a complaint at his odor, instead supplies the completely unhelpful thought that he… smells fucking hot.
Too hot.
Which is insane.
Because he just trained for hours. He should smell like shit, but he doesn’t. He smells good. And instead of being grossed out, I’m standing here wondering—unhelpfully, repeatedly wondering—what it would be like to pull him closer and not stop.
Am I losing my mind?
Yeah, I think I might be losing my mind.
Colton clears his throat and finally let’s go of me.
The minute his touch leaves my body I sigh deeply.
Will it always be like this? That tension that is almost unbearable? Every time he’s near me, electricity crackles between us, making it hard to breathe normally or think straight. I can’t live like this for a year. It’s not possible.
I watch Colton lean down and press a kiss to Livy’s head.
“Ew, Dad, you stink,” she says immediately. “Am I not beautiful or why are you kissing me now?”
He snorts. “You’re always beautiful. Good night, zaya.”
I say goodnight too and can’t help but laugh when she dramatically wipes the exact spot he kissed.
“Goodnight!” she calls after us.
We step out, and Colton reaches for the door but before he can close it, her voice cuts through the hallway. “No. Leave it open!”
He straightens instantly. “Okay. Okay, sorry.”
We both pause for a second like we’ve been personally reprimanded by a tiny dictator. Then he eases the door back just enough to satisfy her standards.
I turn to leave toward my room, fully planning on ending the day like a normal, functioning adult.
And then—
It just slips out.
“Her teacher,” I say. “Ms. Carter. She’s… very attractive.”
Oh…fuck. Where did that come from? I want to slap myself.
Colton looks confused. “Is she? I hadn’t noticed.”
Either he’s lying or he’s completely oblivious. I believe it’s the latter. Sometimes it feels like he doesn’t realize how many women consider him eye candy. Too many, if you ask me. But no one asks. I shouldn’t even ask myself.
“Anyway,” I say. “Maybe we can sit together tomorrow to go over the case again.”
He nods. “Tomorrow, once Livy is in bed?”
“Sounds perfect.”
I get into my room and take another deep, deep breath.
Just a case, I remind myself.
This is just a case.