Chapter 7 Colten
SEVEN
COLTEN
“You head home to Penny and the kids, I’ll make sure Lexi gets home,” I say coolly, keeping a mask of indifference on my face even as Ken gives me a confused look.
There’s no reason I should be here.
No reason I should even know this is where she is.
But I couldn’t stay away, and even as I watch Nico’s car pull away from the restaurant, I still find myself unsettled.
It was harder than I thought it would be to watch her be on a date with someone else. Maybe because it’s been so many years since she last entertained the idea of dating, or maybe because her matching with anyone else is just the beginning of an inevitable end I’m not prepared for.
“You sure? Don’t you have other shit to be doing than babysitting the boss’s little sister?”
Never.
But I keep that thought to myself and shake my head. “It’s nice to get out of the office for a bit. Enjoy your night.”
He says a quick thanks before heading around the corner to where he parked the car.
I turn my attention back to my wildcat, her shoulder slumped in defeat as she quietly drinks the remainder of her wine.
Red always gets her contemplative. White makes her confident. And sparkling makes her hilarious and carefree.
One of the other options probably would have been better for a date, but it’s a cool night in Seattle, which will almost always have her reaching for a red.
I watch her for another few minutes, just taking her in. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her in person, and I find myself more than ready for Cruz to come back so he can take over running the family and I can go back to obsessively stalking his sister.
Okay, it sounds bad when you put it like that, but he knows about my obsession with Lexi. He even occasionally encourages me to act on it, but I won’t.
I can’t.
Lexi deserves more than a broken bastard who has known nothing but resentment by the people who were supposed to love me.
She deserves someone warm and loving. Someone experienced and without an aversion to human touch.
Like a moth to a flame, my feet carry me closer to the only woman to ever pique my interest. I wish I could say it was for lack of trying, but in the years Lexi and I spent on opposite coasts for college, I tried to get over her and under someone else.
I tried partying and dating apps, going to bars with friends, and even a blind date or two, but no matter what I did, I could never put Lexi from my mind for long.
And eventually I realized that although I could never be her soulmate, she was mine.
Just the thought has my chest tightening, but it’s a reality I accepted years ago, and I’d rather have her in my life in any capacity I can than lose her altogether.
The ma?tre d’ glances up from where he’s checking the reservation book but must realize I know where I’m going because he doesn’t engage past a quick nod.
In a few more long strides, I’m dropping into the seat Nico vacated a few minutes ago and meeting her deep brown, very confused eyes.
“Colten? What are you doing here?” Lexi asks, carefully placing her glass back on the table. She presses her fingers to her flushed cheeks.
“I thought Ken could use some extra family time, and I needed to get out of that office. I don’t know how your brother does it,” I tell her honestly, but for obvious reasons leave out the fact I hadn’t been able to keep my distance after she sent that photo.
I know for a fact that’s the most of her face that she’s ever sent to someone online, and the possessive monster that so often tries to rear his ugly head has officially taken the driver’s seat.
She frowns and drops her gaze to the table in front of her. “He works too hard. I’m glad he has Riley now. Someone to come home to other than a cat that hates him.” But there’s a sadness in her tone that makes my chest ache for her.
I’m no stranger to loneliness, which makes it easy to spot, and the idea of Lexi feeling that makes it hard to breathe.
“How is Mr. Whiskers?” I ask.
A small smile tips up her lips. “He’s such a sweet boy. I know he gaslights the hell out of Cruz, but he’s been such good company the last couple of weeks.”
“Not loving living alone?”
She shakes her head. “Definitely not. It’s too quiet, especially with a housemate that sleeps twenty-two and a half hours a day and spends the rest of his time messing up Cruz’s desk.”
“You don’t stop him?” I chuckle.
“Why would I?” She smirks, taking a long drink of her wine. “You want one?”
I shake my head. “Not gonna drink when I’m about to have precious cargo in the car.”
She rolls her eyes, but I don’t miss the smile she hides behind her glass and the flush that moves down her delicate throat.
“How was your date? Nico is a good guy from what I know of him.”
Her shoulders drop ever so slightly, and if I hadn’t spent years studying her body language, I’d likely miss the move. “It was okay. We weren’t a romantic match, but he’s a nice guy.”
I nod, brushing my fingers over the layer of stubble I’ve allowed to grow in the last couple of months. “You were hoping to be one and done like Cruz?”
She sighs. “Not really. I was hesitant to sign up for the matchmaker at all, but I’m…I’m lonely. It took a lot to put myself out there, and for my first attempt at dating since college to be a bust, it’s a hit to my confidence, I guess.”
“Wildcat,” I murmur, and her eyes snap to mine immediately. “Just because you weren’t compatible with Nico doesn’t mean you’re not going to be with anyone. Did Nico come back as a perfect match with the matchmaker?” I know the answer, but I need her to be reminded of it so she doesn’t spiral.
“No.” She shakes her head. “Just a partial. And it was a low partial at that.”
“Exactly. The next one could be a perfect match, and now you’ve taken the first step, the next date should be easier.”
“When did you get so good at this?”
I chuckle but don’t respond, because the truth is, I loathe to think of the day Lexi finds her perfect match, because it’s bound to be the worst day of my life.
“When are you going to sign up for the matchmaker?”
“I’m not.”
She pouts. “Why not? Maybe if you were going through this with me, it wouldn’t feel so terrifying.”
I open my mouth to respond but quickly snap it shut again. How can I possibly say no to anything she asks when she looks at me like that?
Lexi De Luca is my kryptonite.
“I’ll think about it,” I reply, reaching into my pocket when my phone vibrates.
Can’t these assholes give me one night of peace and quiet?
But it’s not one of our guys asking a stupid question for once, instead, it’s a motion alarm.
At Cruz’s house.
I open the exterior cameras, checking each one to see if I can pinpoint what set them off, but as I flick through the frames, I start to think it was probably a squirrel running in front of one of them in just the right way for it to go off.
There are a few of the little fuckers that like to torment Mr. Whiskers outside the back door, so I wouldn’t be surprised if our resident grumpy cat had a visitor or two.
“Everything okay?” Lexi asks, her brows dipping into a concerned frown.
I nod. “Just the cameras at your brother’s house. I think Mr. Whiskers had his friends over.”
She snorts and immediately covers her face as she dissolves into a fit of laughter, the sound making my chest warm.
I drop my phone to the table in favor of watching her.
It’s been too long since I’ve seen her laugh like this, since I’ve seen her so carefree, and there’s a part of me that wants to believe it’s because I’m here.
Because she knows I’m a safe place for her.
But I shut the dangerous thought down immediately.
One day the date she goes on won’t be a bust, and I’ll have to watch her have her happily ever after with someone other than me.
But for now, I can enjoy these little moments with her where no one exists but the two of us.