Page 32 of One Hot Summer
Ishould have felt accomplished. Just last week, my firm closed a record-breaking deal. The press release with my face on it had gone out this morning. My phone buzzed every twenty minutes with congratulations, LinkedIn requests, thirsty associates eager to remind me I was “an inspiration” and would I please take a look at their business plan. The old me—the man I spent the last decade shaping—would have basked in it. He would have poured a double whiskey, loosened his tie, and thrown a celebratory dinner for the team. But right now, all I could think about was Adam.
I checked my phone again. No texts, no missed calls, just a notification from the Yankees app and a spam offer for hair regrowth serum. I threw the phone down so hard it skittered across my desk. Collin, my business partner and the only person who ever came in without knocking, paused in the doorway.
“Long day?”
“I’m fine,” I told him in a clipped voice.
He arched an eyebrow at me. “Suuure. You seem totally fine. I always throw my phone when I’m fine too,” he said with the kind of knowing humor that only old friends could get away with.
I glared at him, not in the mood to joke around. “Just drop it, Collin.”
Ignoring me, he stepped the rest of the way into my office and shut the door. He dropped into the seat across from me and folded his arms over his chest. “Spill it. And no more of this “I’m fine” bullshit because we both know that’s a lie. You’ve been in a lousy mood for a month now. I’ve noticed, and the rest of the staff have noticed. Now, it’s just you and me in here and I’m not leaving until I get some answers. So, spill. What’s going on with you?”
I sighed. Collin was a great friend, but he was like a dog with a bone when it came to getting information. There was no way he was going to leave unless I talked. “I met someone,” I admitted quietly.
Collin blinked as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard me correctly. “Say that again?
“I said I met someone.”
A smile split his face. “You met someone? When? Where? What are they like—wait. If you met someone then why have you been acting like an angry bear with a toothache?”
I rolled my eyes at the analogy. I don’t think I’d beenthatbad, but then again, I did make Glenna cry the other day when I barked at her for not having the copies I needed ready for me. I made a mental note to bring her coffee and an apology the next day.
“It’s complicated.”
“Try me,” he insisted.
I leaned back in my chair with a huff. “Fine. I’ll tell you, but not a word of this leaves this office, you got me?”
Collin made a show of making a cross over his heart with one finger. “I’m your best friend. You know you can trust me.”
“I fucked up.”
“Fucked up how? Are they married? Did you get someone pregnant?”
I shook my head. “Not married andheis definitely not pregnant, but I still fucked up. Big time.”
“If he’s not married, how bad can it be?”
“He’s Dalton’s best friend,” I answered lowly.
Collin leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees as he searched my face as if waiting for some punchline. “Dalton. As in your son? How old is this guy?”
I glared at him. “He’s twenty-one and legal. I wouldn’t fuck up that bad.”
“Okay, okay. I just had to ask. I mean, you’re the one who said you fucked up big time.”
“Yeah, because he’s friends with my son, not because he’s underage.”
“So, what happened? You banged this kid one night and he told Dalton or what?”
I stiffened defensively. “First of all, he’s not a kid,” I hissed. “And second, it wasn’t like that.”
“What was it like then?”
The fight faded out of me as I remembered walking into my cabin to find Adam there, wearing nothing but a towel. Just picturing his sweet face made my heart ache. I spent the next several minutes telling Collin what had happened, skimming over the more personal stuff and ending with Dalton finding out.
When I was finished, he leaned back with his arms behind his head. “Well, shit.”
