Page 53 of My Best Bet

“Nothing,” he said, wagging his eyebrows.

I laughed and pushed against his chest. “Not an answer. What do other girls wear to this thing?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” He smoothed his hands down my body, distracting both of us.

“Colt, we can’t–”

He cut me off with a kiss. “We can.”

_________

With his sunglasses, fresh haircut, and designer plaid suit, Colt looked like he walked straight out of a J Crew catalog as he drove his Range Rover with one hand.

I settled on a light blue sundress so I could slightly match his suit. Flipping down the car mirror, I studied my makeup andtried to smooth my flyaway hairs back into my claw clip. I hadn’t realized I’d been bouncing my leg until Colt placed his large hand on my thigh, trying to calm me.

Skating and his mother. The only two things that made me nervous enough to break out in hives. I could already picture her and her disapproving frown and that mental image made my neck itch like crazy.

“Are Kappy and JP coming?” I asked as we drove past mansion after mansion.

“Yeah, they should be there already,” he said distractedly.

My shoulders relaxed with a noticeable sigh of relief. If I embarrassed myself, Kappy would do something worse to make me feel better, I was sure of it. He was always like that.

Colt snorted. “Wow,theymake you feel better, but I don’t?”

I rolled my eyes. “Your mom hates them more than she hates me.”

“She doesn't hate you,” he said with a chuckle, “but fair enough.”

When we finally pulled onto his street, it was obvious that the party already started by the amount of fancy cars lining the curb. We had to park a couple houses down from his. Colt opened the car door for me and guided me by the small of my back toward the party.

The Conover's front lawn was basically a hill. The brick mansion with blue shutters sat on top of the hill, making it look even more imposing if that were possible.

A few people were milling about the front of the house, but most of the party was out back by the pool.

As we marched up the steep driveway lined with blue hydrangeas, Mrs. Conover caught sight of us. Her eyes drifted over my dress and her face morphed into a deep frown.

I stutter-stepped and almost broke an ankle in my stupid heels.

“Woah, babe,” Colt caught my arm and held me steady. “Careful. Those ankles are important.”

“She hates me,” I hissed.

“Who cares?”

I whipped my neck to face him. My mouth dropped open. That was the first time he didn't deny it. “So she does!”

“No.” He looked shocked, like he couldn’t believe he just slipped up. “She doesn’t.”

A whine escaped my throat. He was totally lying.

His eyes softened and he cupped my face with his palm. “Baby, who cares? My mom doesn't like anyone, we went over this,” he said with a forced chuckle.

“Youdon’tcare that she doesn’t like me?” I asked glumly, scratching at my neck, which was now probably breaking out in hives. This just didn’t seem fair. My parents loved him. My mom thought he was “such a responsible young man,” and my dad, who barely came out to this side of the state, always wanted Colt to come over so they could chat about hockey.

Colt winced when he spotted my rash and grabbed my hand to stop me from scratching. “C’mere.”

He pulled me to the side of their mansion so we were hidden from sight from the rest of the party, then he backed me up against the brick. “Theonlyopinion that I care about…” He peppered my jaw with kisses until he made it to my mouth. “On this whole fucking planet…” He kissed me deeply, making me go a little dizzy, then broke away. “Is yours, Meredith Bennett,” he said in a low voice. In a commanding move, he pulled my leg up and hooked it around his waist, then pushed against me, making me feel how hard he was. I loved when he manhandled me like this, sometimes it was the only way to stop my overthinking, and he knew it. His strong hand gently grasped my jaw. “Got it?”

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