Page 35 of Fixing to Be Mine

Colt cracks an egg and drops it in the hot pan.

“My little brother Emmett is a playboy, but he’s not a fool. Tessa kept making moves on him when I wasn’t around. So, Emmett, being Emmett, set her up. Told her to meet him in a hotel in Alpine, wearing some lingerie he had bought for her. Only it wasn’t Emmett who walked into the room that night.”He shakes his head. “You should’ve seen the look on her face.”

My breath catches as I realize the betrayal and understand how horrible it feels.

“He never fucked her. But he could have. It would’ve wrecked my relationship with my brother. She only cared about herself,” he adds quietly. “That’s unforgivable behavior. Our entire relationship would’ve had that stain on it. She tried to twist the narrative, but I no longer believed a word she fed me. To think I almost married her.”

His words hang in the air like Texas heat.

“I’m glad you didn’t,” I say.

“Me too,” Colt says, flipping the egg. “Had I married Tessa, I wouldn’t have met you. My girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend. Kinda like the way you say it.”

“Yeah?” He rubs a hand over his jaw and grabs a spatula. “Keep it up, and engagement rumors will be next.”

I’m like a teenager with their first crush. How is that even possible?

“I didn’t mean to start anything. Small-town rumors are outside of my wheelhouse,” I say. Even though I’ve dealt with rumors about myself on a national scale, this still has me more nervous.

Colt leaning against the counter short-circuits my nervous system. “Could’ve fooled me. You wrapped your arm around me like you owned me.”

“It’s called improvising,” I explain.

“Yeah?” He glances back. “You gave her all the proof she needed. And something tells me you’re not the type to stir up drama unless it serves a purpose.”

“Only when it’s strategically beneficial. Which is why I’ve decided I’ll only be here until next weekend.”

His smile fades before I even finish the sentence.

“That’s less than two weeks. Why?”

“I need to go home and settle some things.”

There’s a pause, but he doesn’t push.

“And where’s home?” Colt asks.

I hesitate—not because I’m hiding, but because saying it aloud makes it real. “New York City.”

His eyebrows lift. “City girl. I knew it.”

I smile at him as he processes that piece of information like he’s trying to figure out what it means.

“And what happens when you return to NYC?” he asks.

“I confront the ones who hurt me,” I say honestly.

The thought of confronting Donovan and Skye makes me physically ill.

“Your sister?” he asks.

“She’s on the list.”

“Speaking your truths to those who hurt you is needed so you can get closure. It doesn’t matter if they accept what you have to say or not. If you ever want to talk, I’m a real good listener, and I’m a vault. Nothing will ever be repeated, I promise,” he says, pulling two plates from the cabinet.

“Thank you.” I glance down at the journal. “I hope writing it helps.”

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