Page 48 of Last Minute Fiancé

“Colt…”

“Don’t Colt me. I work far too many hours, just like you, and I suck at people. But we are friends, even if we don’t hang out every weekend because we hang out and eat lunch together every single fucking day here. I just didn’t realize how close you and Addison were getting. So talk to me. I’m in the mood to talk about feelings. This will never happen again.”

I laughed, I couldn’t help it. Because that was true. Colt did not like to talk about feelings, except maybe with his husband. And even then, I wasn’t sure.

“My head is in the clouds right now, probably because I slept past my alarm.”

“Because of your girlfriend staying the night at your house? A girlfriend I didn’t know about?”

I laughed. “Your fishing is more like sending tiny little bombs into a lake and seeing what pops up. You know, what floats.”

“Well, what’s floating? I feel like I should say that to you from now on. What’s floating, Cassidy? Tell me all the details. Before I quit caring about your feelings. Because I’m about to do that.”

“I still don’t know how you landed a catch like Dane.”

“I’ll have you know Dane loves me for who I am. Grouchy asshole and all.”

“Well, I love you too. Just not like that.”

“I know. I’ve never been on your radar. But that’s fine, you weren’t on mine. You were too young. Too innocent. And, you know, you had Ashleigh.”

I had known Colt long enough that he and his husband Dane had met Ashleigh. And they both grieved with me when she died.

It seemed like forever ago that it had happened. That I had lost my one and only girlfriend.

How the hell was that even possible? The one girlfriend I’d ever had, the only person I had ever been with before Addison, was Ashleigh. And she was gone in a blink of an eye and there was no taking that back.

There was no finding a way through that grief. Though I had somehow. And I knew moving away from Portland had helped.

Now I didn’t know what I was supposed to do next.

“Losing Ashleigh was probably the hardest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life, and that’s a lot, considering my family.”

Colt took the seat in front of me, and steepled his fingers in front of him.

“I know. I watched it happen. Your parents are a piece of work, and I always liked you and Ashleigh together. But you’re not the kid that you were when you were with her, you know.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Grief changes you. I saw it with my mom when dad died. She was a completely different person before his death, and then after. When she got married again? I thought I would hate the guy. But he made my mom smile. And it took a while for my mom to smile again, so I was happy to see it.”

“I remember you telling me that, vaguely, when I was trying to get through the grief.”

“You don’t get through it, you wade through it, you sink and you drown and then you find your way up to the surface again. And look at that, another floating metaphor.” He winked, and this was the Colt that I loved. He was an asshole, but he got you. And once you were his friend, he never let you go. Even across states. “I’m glad to see you with Addison though. She makes you happy. Although, you look a little growly right now. So, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

I shook my head, aware that my brothers might know about the whole fake fiancé thing and the pregnancy, but they were so tied up in their own worlds, for good reasons, that I was afraid to tell them the truth. Because I didn’t even know my own truth.

“I know I’m not that man anymore. And honestly, I’ll always think of Ashleigh. Always wonder what we could have had. But I have been ready to move on for a while now.”

“That’s good. You’re moving on with Addison and having a baby. That’s goddamn amazing, man.”

I smiled brightly, I couldn’t help it. “I know right? I’m going to be a dad.”

“Well, that’s going to be one scary thing. We’ll figure out the hours for the practice. We’ll make it work. That’s why it’s just the two of us. Because we’re not going to be corporate snobs that don’t let men have time off for their kids or something. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

I grinned. “I never had any doubt.”

“So. You and Addison. You’re going to give me any details?”

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