Page 32 of Colin

“What? How?”

“I know. This sucks. Maybe in the spring, when things pick back up, I can hire someone else, but not now. And this is a terrible time to do it. It’s fucking Christmas.” He flung his hands to the side and balled them into fists. I knew he was mad about it, but it wasn’t his fault at all.

“No. That’s okay. I’ll live. Do you want me to work out this week or this shift?”

He shook his head, looking sadder than I had ever seen him. Hell, I hadn’t even known his lips could dip that far down in the corners. “Effective immediately.”

“Well. Okay. I get it. I don’t blame you at all. We’re still friends, right? I mean…”

He jumped me, hugging me hard. “Of course. You’ll always be my friend.”

Andy was my best friend. I didn’t think I was that for him, but for me, losing him would be worse than losing a stupid job. Maybe he didn’t know that. I hugged him back. “You’re my best friend, Andy. You’ve been there for me so many times. You’ve made me a better person.” That was true. He pulled me out of my shell, gave me confidence I didn’t know I had, and even if he didn’t hook me up with a daddy, he helped me realize I didn’t need one.

Only now, I did. More than before.

Shit.

“You’ll be okay. We all love you, Turtle-Dove.” I couldn’t even complain about the nickname. “Plus, you have Rourke. I promise he’s not going to kick you out or anything.”

If only he knew. Rourke was so busy trying to get me to move into the big house that I knew for sure I wouldn’t get kicked out. That wasn’t the point, though. “No, no, he won’t. I’ll be fine. But I really have to figure out what I’m doing. You know? What do I want to do with my life? This job was only ever supposed to be temporary. I just…”

“Got lost along the way?”

“No, more like I’ve always been searching for the right path and haven’t been able to find it, so I stopped looking.” It was time to start looking again. What did I want? Who did I want to be? And how did Rourke fit in with that?

Chapter twelve

Rourke

Today wasn’t going to be full by any means. I went for an early run, which often helped clear my head and let me focus better. I needed my assistant to set up conference calls with the teams running my businesses to help determine what the next year would look like. Other than that, nothing.

Ending my run at the front of the house, I went in and made a blueberry protein shake. It turned out pretty tasty. “Mmm…” I grabbed a towel and headed outside, thinking a dip in the pool would be great when I finished my shake.

I noticed immediately that the hot tub was running, so I headed over. Colin was in it, which was fabulous, but he was holding a wine glass, and a bottle was sitting on the sidewall. “Hey, Colin. What’s going on?”

“I know. Day drinking.” He held up his glass. “Sorry, I got it from your wine case.”

“That’s not a problem. Can I join you?”

He spread his arms out. “Your tub.”

I got in and set my drink down beside the wine bottle. “So what’s wrong?”

“I was fired. Well…let go. Not for performance or anything. The owners decided to cut back.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah. Totally. And now I don’t know what I’m doing. At all.”

“You should take time and think about it. You know you’re good here, right?”

Colin stood and dropped his trunks. “Fuck me. That’s all I’m good for. At least that will pay the rent.”

What the ever-loving fuck? That pissed me off. “You do not sell yourself to me or anyone. You’re not a whore. And that is not what I’m after.” How many times did I have to tell him that? I took a deep breath to calm myself. He had been drinking. And it had been a stressful day, and it wasn’t even noon. “Colin, baby, you’ll figure this out. And I’m here for you.”

Colin pulled up his trunks and sat back down, but tears were in his eyes. I hated seeing him like this, but I wanted all of him, including this part. I turned him to face me and kissed his eyes, one at a time. “Shh… baby.” He nuzzled closer and gently kissed me. It didn’t take long before it turned hot and passionate. He crawled over me, begging for more with his lips and tongue, water dripping from him and soaking the bottom strands of his hair. Delicious. Vulnerable and needing comfort.

“Come on. Get out.” I stepped out first and grabbed my towel. Apparently, Colin hadn’t brought one, so I wrapped him up in mine, then bridal carried him into the pool house through the door he had left open.

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