Page 91 of Mistletoe and Malice
Her stomach growled, and she checked the clock again. 11:40. Time for lunch. And where was Colton?
She opted to leave her hair down and walked out into the hall. As she neared the foot of the stairs, men’s voices filtered out of her father’s study. Her pulse hitched, and she smiled as she walked up to the door and tentatively poked her head inside.
There he was. Even more handsome this morning than she’d considered him every morning before, even in jeans and a button-down shirt instead of one of his suits. But today he was hers. And that made all the difference.
Her father gestured with his hand. “Riley, come on in.”
“Good morning. I can’t believe I slept so late.”
“Not a problem, honey. I’m sure you needed it.”
Colton nodded in her direction before averting his gaze.
Her smile faded as she walked into the room, glancing from her father to Colton and back, the tightening in her stomach now having nothing to do with hunger. Something wasn’t right.
To the side, standing where she’d first met her then-unwelcome detail, were two men and one woman. “Mack. Hello.”
Mack inclined his head toward her. “Riley. I’m so sorry about what happened last night.”
She glanced at the floor and folded her hands in front of her before meeting his eyes again. “It was … awful. But your guys handled themselves perfectly.”
“Yes, well, that’s kind of why I’m here.”
“Oh?”
He gestured to the two at his side. “Riley, I’d like for you to meet Piper Bentley and Nowell Cooper. Piper, Nowell, this is Riley Hudson.”
She shook their hands. “Hello, Ms. Bentley, Mr. Cooper.”
“Please,” the tall, red-haired man responded. “Call me Nowell.”
The statuesque, blonde woman next to him gave her a small smile. “And you can call me Piper.”
“Piper will be taking over for Trevor for the next week, more than likely,” Mack said. “He put up a fight about having to stay home for a few days, but I finally threatened him with time off without pay if he didn’t comply with doctor’s orders.”
Riley tried to smile around the dread moving through her chest.Something wasn’t right.“Sounds like Trevor. I’m so relieved he’s okay. I was praying so hard.”
“We all were.” He gestured to the man next to Piper. “Nowell here will be replacing Colton. He’ll stay here at the house and will be your point man.”
The floor dropped out from under her, like that momentary weightlessness when a roller coaster crests the highest peak and starts its descent. “What? Why?”
“Not my call. Colton decided it would be best to turn the reins over to someone else.”
She spun back to the man she’d declared herself to, her heart knocking hard against her ribs. “You’re leaving?”
“I thought it best.”
“Because of what happened … last night.”
“Yes.”
Regret clouded his eyes and lined his face. Last night he’d said he wasn’t sorry. Yet he clearly was. And now he was just … leaving. Leaving her. After all they’d shared mere hours ago.
“I see.” She swallowed the lump swelling in her throat. “Then I’ll leave you all to brief my new detail on my schedule and such.” She turned back to Colton. “Thank you for all you did for me. I always felt safe with you.”
Until now.
He reached out and shook her hand. “It was an honor.”
