Page 20 of Masters of the Game: Colton
CHAPTER 7
As Kelly sipped her cup of tea, she glanced out the office window at Boston’s skyline. It was a gorgeous day, and she had a good view of the Charles River and the Boston University Bridge beneath a beautiful blue sky.
She loved Atlanta. After all, it was where she was born, studied, and now worked. However, although she’d only been in town a few days, Boston was beginning to grow on her. At least the areas that she’d seen. More than anything, she loved the St. Laurent. What Monica had told her about it hadn’t done it justice.
Her hotel room had a beautiful view of the Boston Harbor. The amenities that came with her stay were numerous. She had awakened that morning to work out in the hotel’s fitness center like she’d done the prior mornings, but then recalled Alvie mentioning that Colton religiously worked out each morning before starting work. And she didn’t want to risk running into him there. Seeing him in a business suit was bad enough; she doubted she could handle seeing him in shorts and a sweaty t-shirt.
It was almost noon, and she hadn’t seen Colton yet. In a way, that was good, since last night had been enough. Sharing dinner with him had definitely been challenging. But she had no one to blame but herself. After they’d finished their meal and covered her reports, her naughty side had wanted to test the waters to see if she could entice him into losing his professional cool.
Kelly had seen the dark heat in his eyes when his gaze had followed her fork, each and every time she’d slid a piece of cheesecake into her mouth. Just seeing his reaction made desire claw her insides. But when she’d felt his heat from across the table, she’d known she had gone too far.
She hadn’t expected to get as comfortable with him as she had, and after dinner, she could have made up any reason to call it a night and part ways. But she hadn’t. Instead, she had looked for an excuse to remain in his presence longer. Even if it had meant talking about Mr. Perkins. In a way, she was grateful for that. It reminded her of the one thing she had a problem with--rejection. Of course, he hadn’t rejected her the same way her father had, but still, she couldn’t forget that Colton had walked out on her just the same.
And so she’d made an excuse to end the evening, claiming she’d needed to call and check on her mother. That had been a lie. Her mother was having the time of her life in the Canary Islands with Vernon Ellis, the man she’d been dating for close to two years.
Two weeks ago, Kelly had gone jewelry shopping with Vernon after he’d told her that he intended to ask her mother to marry him. The three-carat diamond ring she’d helped him pick out was gorgeous. More than anything, Kelly hoped her mother would accept his proposal. Her parents had gotten divorced close to sixteen years ago, and Vernon had never been married. He’d vowed never to tie the knot until he met a woman he knew would hold his heart forever.
He’d admitted that he’d known Mallory Perkins was the woman for him the first time he’d met her at an art auction. Since her mother hadn’t called with good news, that meant Vernon hadn’t popped the question yet. At least, she hoped that was the case. She didn’t want to hear that Vernon had asked, but her mother had turned him down. Kelly liked Vernon andthought he would be great for her mom. And after all she’d been through, her mom deserved love and happiness in her life.
You deserve those things, too.
Where did that thought come from? Of course, she did, but she had plenty of time. Jeez…she wasn’t even thirty yet.
Besides, even though she wasn’t in love, she was happy. She wondered how many times over the last year she had told Monica that. It wasn’t that long ago that getting serious with a guy had been the last thing on her sister’s mind. But after meeting, falling in love, and subsequently marrying Landon, that had definitely changed. Now Monica was happy and wanted everyone around her married and happy as well. Since Monica’s other sister, Sebrina, had married Parker a year and a half ago, Monica had decided to focus her attention on Kelly.
Kelly had told her sister numerous times that she was married to her company. She’d gone even farther and said she was in love with it. It had been the most important thing in her life for the past two years. She woke up with KP Consulting on her mind every morning and went to bed planning a strategy for it at night. So, what if her company couldn’t keep her warm at night or give her sexual release when she needed it? She would do what she’d been doing for the past few years--stay warm under an electric blanket and use her battery-operated boyfriend when necessary.
She had been satisfied using both until she’d come to Boston and seen Colton again. You would think two years, and humiliating memories of that night, would have put an end to her intense attraction to him, but it hadn’t. Whenever she was around him, her body reminded her of her deep-rooted desire for him. It was a level of wanting and need that just wouldn’t go away. And it should. Hadn’t she learned her lesson?
Kelly turned upon hearing the knock on her office door. “Come in.”
Colton entered and the moment their gazes locked, as was the norm, a gush of feminine awareness spread through her. The heat in the depths of his eyes proved the chemistry between them was still there. In a way, it seemed hotter and more intense today, and she was irked by the thought. Had they spent that night together two years ago, their sexual hunger for each other would be well out of their systems by now.
He was emitting some strong sexual vibes, although she doubted it was deliberate on his part. She figured he was fighting the intense attraction as much as she was. They were professionals, and she had been brought on to do a very important job. She couldn’t take any responsibility for his actions, but she definitely could for her own. For that reason, she refused to give in to the raw desire that always flared to life whenever she saw him.
“Good afternoon, Colton,” she said, moving away from the window to place her teacup on her desk.
“Kelly. How’s your mother?”
She lifted a brow. “My mother?”
“Yes. Last night, you said you were going to check on her. I presumed she was ill or something.”
The last thing she wanted was for him to catch her in a lie, just in case he spoke with one of her siblings, so she opted for the truth. “Mom is fine. In fact, she’s presently vacationing in the Canary Islands with Vernon.”
“Vernon?”
“Yes, Vernon Ellis, the man she’s been involved with for almost two years.”
He nodded. “And you felt the need to check on her while she’s on vacation with him?”
He was almost as bad as her FBI brother, Hansen, for questions. “Only because I figured I would have heard from her by now. Vernon told me a few weeks ago that he plans to askMom to marry him. They’ve been gone for almost a week, and I was expecting to receive good news. I’m worried she might have turned him down.”
He nodded again. “And what would have been the benefit of your call?”
He would have to ask her that, Kelly thought. Even if he did suspect she had used her mother as an excuse to part ways with him last night, she refused to let on. “Mom was excited about me getting this contract, and I told her I would call to let her know how things are going here. I was hoping she would mention something about the proposal then.” There. That hadn’t been a total lie.
“I see.”
