Page 5 of Better Together

And just like that, Remi’s smile was back as she held up his shirt and pants. “Thanks for the new clothes.”

She darted toward the bathroom, but he caught her with his good arm, pulling her back to face him. When he had her full attention, he took the moment to stare into her eyes. They were hazel with dark-brown flecks, and he loved looking at them, dreaming about them, imagining those eyes were his to admire whenever he wanted.

Colt cleared his throat and whispered, “Those are not yours to keep. Stop stealing my clothes.”

Remi grinned. It was the same mischievous grin she’d had the time she volunteered him for Christmas caroling at the assisted living center last year. “I’ll bring them back…one day.”

Colt loosened his hold on her arm, and she skipped off toward the bathroom. That woman had no idea that she was his world. He’d be revolving around her like a satellite until his dying day, and she’d never be the wiser.

He fisted his left hand and winced. Loving Remi was a lot like an injury that never healed. She said his name, and a bolt of lightning shot through his chest. She smiled up at him, and the urge to wrap her in his arms and kiss her senseless was a fire in his veins.

She reminded him they were just friends, and he died a little inside.

Colt would never claim to know everything, but there was one thing he did know. Remi was going to bring him to his knees one day, and there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.

Chapter2

Remi

Remi slid into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. What had gotten into her? Colt got a bruise, and she turned into a complete sap. He was her friend, that was all, and she didn’t want anything else.

But she did get itchy whenever she thought about the inevitable loss of the constant in her life that was Colton Walker.

He wanted a wife and kids and the perfect white picket fence life. He talked about it enough that Remi couldn’t forget about it.

She didn’t want those things, and that’s where the buck stopped. One day, she would lose her best friend, and she wasn’t in a hurry to give him away. When that time came, she’d bow out with grace.

But not today. She’d selfishly keep him as long as she could, even if the version of her he knew was hiding a lot of darkness and mistakes.

Looking around the sleek modern bathroom had her gaping. Colt had been living at Ridge’s place for a few months now, but she’d never had a reason to peek into his bedroom or bathroom. Everything was crisp lines and luxury materials. The floor was a faint gray marble and unnaturally warm against her feet. She stepped onto a nearby rug and dug her toes into the softest material she’d ever touched.

Colt was living in some kind of alternate reality. It was great, but Remi would never get used to the finer things in life. She’d grown up in a love-hate relationship with money, and she wanted to talk about it exactly zero percent of the time.

She pulled the wet shirt away from her stomach, but the cold fabric sucked back to her skin as soon as she let it go. Real classy. She wasn’t wearing a white T-shirt, but the lines of her figure were too detailed for her liking.

Pulling the shirt over her head, she quickly tossed it into the sink and scrambled for the dry shirt. Colt wasn’t one of those bodybuilder types, but he probably had at least a hundred pounds on her. The flannel shirt hung low around her chest and down to the bottom of her thighs.

She snuck a glance at herself in the mirror and chuckled. She looked ridiculous. Colt would get a good laugh when he saw her.

Getting the wet jeans off was probably comical as well, since she ended up lying on the floor and pulling on the hem while bending her leg behind her. Gritting her teeth, she gave the bottom of the jeans one more tug and lost her grip. Both hands flew at her face, knocking her back onto the floor.

“Oof!”

“Remi, are you okay in there?”

Of course, Colt was standing outside the door waiting to save her when she did something stupid.

“I’m fine. Go order the pizza. I’m starving.” In truth, the battle with the jeans had worked up her appetite.

She paused and didn’t hear him leaving.

“Colt, I can do this myself.”

How many times did she hear that from kids' mouths every day? Now she knew how they felt.

“Fine. I’ll be downstairs.”

This time, she heard his footsteps retreating and the bedroom door close behind him.

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