Page 74 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

“I would have had plenty of good reasons to leave Ed, had he stayed and married me,” Hazel said. “I’m not even sure I would have agreed to marry him.”

Room service knocked and Callum let them in. The champagne was in an ice bucket and the strawberries in a bowl. The room service attendant put the tray on the coffee table. Callum tipped him and he left.

Going back to Hazel, he sat beside her. Leaning forward, he removed the bottle of champagne and easily and gently popped the cork, which didn’t go flying. Setting that aside, he poured Hazel, then himself, some. Handing her a glass, he clinked his to hers.

“Here’s to you being the amazing woman you are.”

She smiled softly. “Thank you.”

As she sipped, her golden-green eyes looked up at him suggestively, heatedly. When she lowered her glass, she said, “If you aren’t careful, you might end up liking me too much to leave me when this is all over.”

He’d rather not go there yet. “Maybe. I prefer to take it one day at a time.”

“Me as well.” She took a strawberry from the bowl and put it to his mouth.

He ate it and then took one for her, feeding her a strawberry.

“Mmm, there is something about strawberries and champagne,” she said.

“It’s the pairing of the sweetness in both.” He sipped some champagne.

“What were you like before Annabel?” Hazel asked.

He wasn’t sure what she wanted to know. “With women? The same.”

“No, did you date a lot? My guess is you had girls crawling all over you in high school. After that you must have dated a lot.”

He hadn’t thought of that since Annabel was killed. He had been very different. “I did date a lot.”

“Were you popular in high school?”

“I was a quarterback. I wouldn’t say I was the most popular. I didn’t get into school politics. That crowd seemed more popular.”

She breathed a laugh, clearly disagreeing.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I was popular. I was a che

erleader and I dated the quarterback. He and I were king and queen at our senior prom.”

“Do they still do that in school? Kings and queens.” He grunted in humor. “Seems like another lifetime ago.” He set aside his glass.

“Yes, and I’m only twenty-five.”

More memories from that time came to him. He hadn’t been popular with the good kids. He had run with a more rugged crowd.

“Back then I had more of a reputation as a bad boy,” he said.

She nodded thoughtfully. “I can see that.” She put her glass on the side table.

This conversation was far more interesting than sharing champagne and strawberries. “I started rebelling against my dad my sophomore year. That’s when he began prepping me for joining the Colton Oil executives.” He had not been executive material. Even as a kid he had always sought danger. Climbing trees. Riding motorcycles and mountain bikes. Rock climbing. Skiing. Anything exciting.

“I got into a lot of fights. Some of the other kids tried teasing me about being a Colton, a spoiled rich kid. Those kids usually got nosebleeds after I punched them. I almost was expelled. I think only my father’s connections prevented that. He grounded me and tried reasoning with me, but I never listened. He never laid a hand on me but I bet he wanted to more than once.”

“A bad boy. All because your dad wanted you to join Colton Oil?”

“Not just that. I aspired to a different existence. Something more earthy and adventurous.”

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