It was time he put her first.
He checked Marilyn quickly to see how she was doing. Her eyes were big, too, and the beeping of her heart monitor betrayed how much her pulse was increasing. A nurse came in to check, but she waved the woman away.
Nerves suddenly assailed Colton, but it was too late to stop now. He rose to his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
He turned to Harmon, and his chin dipped. ‘I know you told me to stay away from her. I did for years, but I can’t any more.’
He took a deep breath and remembered the litany Erin had given him. ‘I’ve made something of myself, sir. I have a good job and a house now. I can provide for her.’
‘Provide for me?’ Erin said, her brow furrowing.
‘Quiet, Sunny,’ Dustin hissed. ‘This is getting good.’
Colton glared at his friend, but then his brow furrowed, too. Hadn’t Dustin been trying to set her up with someone else? Where was all the tough-guy bravado about kicking his ass if Colton ever went after his little sister?
Dustin swept his hand before him, ceding the floor. ‘You were saying?’
Colton shook his head, but he cleared his throat when he saw Harmon. The tough lobbyist was sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed.
Screw it. In for a penny, in for a pound.
‘The age difference doesn’t mean as much any more, and I’d treat her like gold.’
‘Are you asking for her hand in marriage?’ her father asked. His look was as drilling as his voice.
‘Ohhh,’ Marilyn cooed from the bed.
‘What?’ Erin piped up. ‘No, he’s not.’
Her hair flew around her shoulders as she hopped off the bed. She planted herself directly between him and her father. ‘You’re not,’ she said firmly. ‘Are you?’
‘No,’ Colton agreed. Not yet, at least. He looked down at her. She stood in front of him, half his size, but ready to go toe to toe. She had every right to still be upset with him, but after the last few days, he’d thought…‘I’d just like to date her first.’
He felt so out in the open. Exposed and hung out to dry.
‘If she’ll take me,’ he added.
Her shoulders relaxed. She nodded and gave him a smile that was so beatific, it nearly blinded him. ‘Yes! You stubborn, beautiful man.’
On the bed, Marilyn gave a soft squeal and clapped her hands. Colton worried she’d get too excited, but when he looked at her, he was surprised. Her colour was back, and she looked ready to start planning another party. At least one Foster was in his corner.
Harmon still didn’t look happy, though.
Colton hated to go against the man’s wishes. He respected him too much. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said as he faced him, ‘but I have to break my promise.’
Harmon’s brow scrunched together. ‘Is that what the problem has been?’
Colton frowned. ‘Excuse me?’
Harmon rose to his feet. ‘I wondered what was taking you so long, all these years.’
Colton’s head snapped back. It took him a solid minute to process what the man had just said. When it finally sank in, he took a step forward with his hands bunched at his sides. Erin put her hand on his chest. ‘You’re the one who warned me off of her. You made it very clear that I wasn’t to touch her.’
‘When she was a teenager,’ Harmon came right back. His chest puffed out in indignation. ‘I didn’t want her pregnant at fifteen.’
‘Daddy!’ Erin squeaked. She’d gone bright red.
‘And you.’ Harmon bounced a finger right off Colton’s chest, right over his daughter’s head. ‘You had a future with no limits. I was damned if you were going to fail to get where you belonged because of hormones.’
Colton’s jaw dropped, and everything went silent in his head. He’d known Foster was looking out for his daughter, but he’d never suspected the man had been looking out for him too.
His throat thickened. Not many people had done that for him back in those days. Planning for the future had seemed like something frivolous. A game of pretend.
Only he’d made it.
And his future was looking even brighter now.
He tugged Erin into his arms and she hugged him tight.
‘I knew at Christmas!’ Marilyn blurted.
‘You did?’ Erin said. ‘How?’
‘It was obvious.’ Marilyn rolled her eyes, but gave a wince. It wasn’t enough to stop her. She lifted a hand to her head and continued. ‘Whenever there used to be a family function, the three of you would have your heads together, laughing and chatting. Or Erin, you would be sitting on Colton’s lap. This Christmas, you couldn’t get far enough away from one another.’
She leaned back against her pillow, very pleased with herself. ‘A mother knows these things.’
Colton scowled. And they’d been so proud of their sneakiness. At least they now knew for sure there was nothing wrong with Marilyn’s memory.
Harmon came over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. ‘I thought you’d lost interest in my little girl when you let that simpering fool Marty get to her first.’
‘Harmon!’ his wife scolded.
‘I cared,’ Colton said firmly. ‘I cared a lot.’
‘Well, then it all worked out all right.’
Colton shook Harmon’s hand when he offered it. Inside, his heart was beating a tattoo against his ribcage. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. If Harmon and Marilyn approved…
He looked quickly at Dustin. ‘You were trying to set her up with someone else.’
His friend grinned like a shark. ‘Eavesdrop much?’
‘Who?’ Colton demanded.
‘You, you bonehead.’
‘You said a guy on the team.’
‘I was trying to be discreet. You know, work up to it?’ Dustin looked at his sister. ‘Only she didn’t bite.’
‘I am now.’ Erin smiled sweetly and rose on her toes to kiss Colton’s cheek.
He was the only one who heard her add, ‘And I probably will later tonight, too.’
The scintillating words went straight to his crotch, and he held her in front of him to make sure nobody noticed.
‘Be good.’ His voice dropped low. ‘For just a little while longer.’
Dustin walked over and held out his hand. ‘You’ve always been my brother. It feels good to make it official.’
Colton didn’t let the handshake go. ‘We’re not getting married.’
‘Not yet.’
Colton looked down at Erin. Yeah, not yet.
He sent a sheepish look at her parents. ‘Marilyn, are you doing all right? Would you mind if we stepped out for a while?’
He’d asked her family, but he hadn’t yet got around to asking her. She was the one he needed to apologise to the most. He had been stubborn. He’d blamed it on honour, but in all honesty he’d been scared.
He swept a hand over his hair. There’d just been so much to lose.
‘Go,’ Marilyn said. She waved her hand towards the door. ‘I’m not going to be here that much longer anyway.’
‘Mom, the doctors still need to run some tests.’
‘And they’ll learn that I’m fine. I have a hard head.’
‘She’s not the only one,’ Erin said as the two of them slipped out the door. She sent him a slicing look, and Colton winced.
‘I’m sorry, Sunny.’ He’d envisioned so many other reactions. Anger. Betrayal. Concern. Disappointment. He couldn’t believe how much time he’d wasted…how many family events he’d suffered through…
How many hard-ons.
‘You can make it up to me,’ she said saucily. She pulled him down the hallway, but suddenly diverted into a stairwell.
Colton was on her before the door closed.
He pushed her into the corner, lowered his head and kissed her. The feel of her mouth against his was like a balm to his soul. She wrapped her arms around his neck, but he caught her hands and trapped them over her head against the wall.
&
nbsp; She wiggled her hips seductively. ‘Oh, is that the way it is again?’
He nipped at her lower lip. The time for comfort had come and gone. He’d been without her for weeks. ‘I just like the way it makes your breasts look.’
She was wearing a scoop-necked top that was cut low, especially from his vantage point. He pressed a kiss on each perfect globe, and she moaned. He used his teeth to worry at her nipple through the material of her top and bra, and he got an even more urgent response.
She arched to give him an even better view. ‘Hurry,’ she whispered.
The idea of having her in such a public place made Colt hard, but he pulled back when he heard footsteps overhead. They weren’t the only ones avoiding the crowded elevators. ‘We can’t do it here.’
‘Why not?’ Her eyes turned smoky. ‘We’ve snuck around in other places.’
‘Yes, and there was a reason for that.’
She rubbed her belly against his growing erection. ‘It was hot.’
He let out a groan that he swiftly changed into a cough. This time he heard voices coming their way.
‘Not here,’ he said decisively. ‘I want to take you home.’
Chapter Sixteen
He’d fought for her.
He’d come, he’d fought and they’d both won.
Erin felt lightheaded as they hurried down the stairwell and out to his car. Her mother was going to make a full recovery, and Colton had come for her. The weight that had been crushing her lifted, and her feet were so light, she was ready to take flight.
She couldn’t believe how fast everything had turned around. She had to pinch herself to make sure it was real.
She’d known her mother would recover. There had simply been no other option. She hadn’t even been able to contemplate the other possibilities.
Yet Colton…
Her gaze swept over his dark hair and wide shoulders. Those first few days, she’d waited for him to come after her. She’d desperately wanted him to come to his senses. Telling her not to love him? He needed love more than anyone she knew, and she couldn’t just turn off her feelings. She’d loved him for years. The more time had gone by, though, the less hope she’d had – and the more her resolve had strengthened.
She’d been with somebody who didn’t want her before, and she wasn’t going to do it again. She’d needed to put herself first.
But then her mother’s scare had brought everything into such contrast.
Love was love.
She wasn’t going to hold it against Colton when he’d walked into that waiting room. If he’d come as her friend, that would have been enough. She’d just been so relieved he was there. If that was all they could be to each other any more, she would have taken it.
But this was so much better.
She curled into the buttery leather seat of his car and, for the first time in nearly a week, relaxed. She felt as if she was coming out of hibernation. She hadn’t kept up with anything: the news, her friends, the passage of time. The weather seemed to have turned a corner. The sun was shining brightly, and the snow on the ground looked fluffy and pretty. ‘My mom’s going to be OK.’
If she said it aloud, maybe it would start to sink in.
Colton took her hand. ‘Marilyn had me scared.’
Erin squeezed his hand. She’d been terrified.
The streetlight turned green, and she watched him as he drove. His hair looked shaggier, and he seemed more muscular in the closed confines of the car. When she’d asked about him (because she couldn’t help herself), Dustin had told her how he’d been tearing it up on the basketball court.
The news media had told her how he’d been tearing it up in the judicial one. His latest case was even higher profile than his last, and news reporters were starting to follow him like a celebrity. She’d eaten up the short clips of him giving statements to the press.
She’d missed him, but she hadn’t been willing to go back. Not if he couldn’t admit he loved her too.
Only he’d done that now. He’d announced it to her entire family.
Her eyelids grew heavy as the car rolled smoothly down the street. The constant stress had worn her down. It had taken all the strength she had not to break, but now the worry was gone. After she’d made love to him, she was going to sleep for a week.
They should be at his row house soon.
She rolled her head on the seat to look out of the window. It took her a moment to orient herself. They weren’t headed to Dupont Circle. Instead, he was driving away from his place.
Erin frowned. DC wasn’t laid out in a crosshatch pattern like most urban areas. Instead, it had been planned in a series of hubs and spokes. The major roadway they were on led northwest to Georgetown. Why were they going there?
‘Are we going to my parents’ house?’
Had she missed something? Had her mother needed them to pick up something for her?
‘No, I’m taking you to my place.’
Erin pushed her feet against the floorboard and sat up taller. She recognised the neighbourhood, but this wasn’t where he lived. She looked at him sharply when he pulled into the unattached garage of a house that was familiar but should have no connection to him. ‘This is Sienna’s parents’ house.’
‘It’s mine now.’
She twisted in her seat when she saw the ‘sold’ sign on the front stoop. ‘Colton, what did you do?’
His expression turned sombre as he parked and killed the engine. ‘I couldn’t stay in the row house any longer, not without you there.’
Her breath caught. ‘So you bought a house you knew I loved instead?’
‘I didn’t say I was thinking straight.’ He played absently with her fingers. ‘You’ve been messing up my head, Erin.’
No more than he’d been messing with hers. She cupped his face and felt the five o’clock shadow. ‘Show it to me?’
‘You’ve seen it a thousand times before.’
‘But it wasn’t yours then.’
He smiled and hurried around the car to open her door for her.
Erin stretched as she got out of the sporty sedan. This house had always been so intriguing to her, with its history and unique features – but he’d known that, hadn’t he?
He might have been running from her, but he hadn’t been able to leave.
She looked over the exterior of the Tudor with its timber framing and cobblestone walks. Georgetown actually predated Washington DC, and the buildings showed the neighbourhood’s age. She remembered Sienna telling her the house had been a chapel in the mid-1800s. It had been remodelled into a residence aeons later, and the Blakelys had done another renovation since.
The place was beautiful.
Around here, all the houses butted up against each other, wealthy or not, but this one had character. A yard ran along the entire south side and circled along the back to end in an outdoor patio. She remembered drinking lemonade in the shade of the awning with Sienna in the summertime.
She wondered what Colton and she might do out there now.
He took her hand and led her up the walk to the rounded front door. ‘The deal hasn’t closed yet, but Sienna gave me the key so I could start moving things in.’
Erin sighed in pleasure when she walked into the house. The living room had a cathedral ceiling and the half-circle window she loved so much. There was a fireplace, of heavy wooden construction, and so many special features that called to her designer’s heart. Opening her arms wide, she spun around.
‘Do you think you might want to move in with me?’ His expression turned serious. ‘No more sneaking around. Will that be enough for you?’
Enough? She planted her hands on her hips. ‘Are you asking me to be boring with you?’
Because that sounded more exciting to her than anything.
‘Erin, life around you is never boring.’ He lifted an eyebrow. ‘Never has been. I don’t see how it could be.’
Her grin hurt her face. She wasn’t going to totally give up the secre
t meetings. Just because they were playing house didn’t mean she couldn’t show up at his office au naturel. Or at the gym or her parents’ house or the cabana by the pool…She hadn’t just dodged a bullet with Marty; she’d avoided a cannonball that would have totally ruined her life. Her ex had been right. The two of them hadn’t fitted, but starting a life with someone wasn’t boring. She couldn’t imagine being anywhere else than right here, right now, with the man of her dreams.
‘Colton, this is crazy. What are there, four bedrooms?’
‘Five, if you count the nanny’s room.’
A nanny’s room. Her belly trembled, yet she winked at him. ‘How are we going to fill them?’
‘I’ve got some ideas.’
He stuffed his hands deep in his coat pockets and looked around the extensive, mostly empty, space. He was also a man with plans; she could see it in the set of his shoulders. The house had so many possibilities and such potential.
Just like the two of them.
His dark gaze settled upon her again, and a familiar sensuality came over her. When he started walking towards her, her fingernails bit into her palms.
‘There’s the master bedroom,’ he said. ‘That’s right upstairs in the corner.’
She knew where the master bedroom was.
‘Then I figured I can convert one room into a home office. The most famous designer in the world will need one, too.’
‘Aw, Colt.’
He stopped, his toes nearly bumping against hers. ‘Then there’s the two kids and a yard for the dog.’
Erin melted inside. He’d been attentive all those years ago. He’d destroyed the competition when they’d been forced to play the Newlywed Game. If he’d been there from the start, they would have won. She’d paid just as much attention to him.
‘Think of it this way,’ he said, ‘when Jason and Sienna bring their brood of four over, we won’t have enough room.’
Erin bit her lip. ‘Do you want kids?’
‘Yes.’
He didn’t even pause to think about it, and she let out a puff of air. What would their babies look like? Cute and blonde? Dark and dashing? An insatiable need to know struck her.
She slid her hand into his and stepped back, tugging him towards the staircase. ‘Maybe we should go practise.’
Courting Innocence Page 23
