For Her Amusement: Bid on Love: Bachelor #5

by Heather Anne

“Morning. You don’t need that. It’s already so humid.” I nod towards the blanket. She places her coffee down on the white wicker table, folds the blanket, laying in on the couch behind her.

  “How are you holding up?”

  “Eh. I’m alright I just wish I would hear something. The only message when I looked at my phone was a text from your brother just checking in.”

  Her face brightens and I brush her off. As much as I could get caught up in over- analyzing all things Colton McDaniels, I have more important things to worry about now. Like my brother and getting to the store early enough to make the bank deposit.

  “I’m going to jump into the shower and head over to the store. Kaitlyn closed last night, and I need to get the deposit ready before I open.” I get up, helping Sienna up as well.

  “Are you okay if I head home? I’m going to freshen up and meet you there.”

  “Sen, you don’t have to do that,” I protest.

  “I want to. Someone needs to be around to keep you out of your own head, and also to help you plan your outfit for your big date with my brother.” She waggles her eye brows causing me to laugh and it feels good.

  “Thank you!” I give her a big hug.

  “I’m always here for you, you know that,” her voice is sincere.

  “Ditto, my friend”.

  Sienna meets me at the shop as planned. Word has gotten out about Paul’s injury so there hasn’t been any down time. Between customers coming in to buy things for our troops to show support, to friends checking in, to the bridge club bringing me trays of food, it’s been bittersweet. My heart is full of the love, support, and prayers being offered to both me and my brother. But at the same time, there’s an emptiness there that the feeling of not knowing causes. Even though I’ve been busy, that hasn’t stopped me from checking my phone every five minutes, willing it to ring with any kind of information on my brother. The officer said he was stable. A part of me wishes I hadn’t listened and took the next flight to Germany, but what would I do there? Sit and worry with no one around me. No support. My head knows I’m better off staying put but try telling my heart that.

  Just as Sienna and I start to close shop, the bell on the front door dings, alerting us to a customer.

  “We’re closed!” I holler from the back, making my way towards the front.

  “Good, I bet you two are hungry,” Colton replies as he shoots a sweet smile in my direction.

  “We’re going to eat at our place,” Sienna chimes. A puzzled look crosses Colton’s face and I produce the trays of food from behind the counter.

  “Mrs. Dawson’s baked ziti and Mrs. Sherwood’s apple pie,” I say in a sing-song voice.

  “Did Mrs. Sherwood make her famous sweet cream to go with the pie?”

  “There’s a container of it in the mini fridge in my office.” I point towards the back of the store.

  He shouts “YES!”, disappearing behind my office door.

  I shoot Sienna a confused glance, her nonchalant shrug gives nothing away.

  I’m not really sure what’s gotten into Colton. Sure, he was sweet as Mrs. Sherwood’s pie yesterday, but him showing up here is not normal. I can count how many times he’s been in my store on one hand. I push the dozens of unanswered questions and the possible upspoken reason behind his visit to aside.

  “You ready?” he asks, handing Sienna the container of sweet cream and taking the trays off the counter.

  “Yep. You guys go ahead, I need to set the alarm.”

  I lock up the store and head into the cool night. I opt to ride with Colton, causing both him and Sienna to give me a confused look. I shrug it off because there’s a reason for my request.

  He helps me into his truck and the memories of yesterday come flooding back. The phone call, how he took charge, how he held me; a wave of warmth courses through my body at the memory.

  “You ok?” Colton looks over at me with concern.

  “I’m ok. I just wanted to say thank you for yesterday. I really don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there. I didn’t handle that call well at all,” I apologize.

  Almost instinctively he reaches over and squeezes my thigh, causing a different kind of warmth to envelope me.

  “You don’t need to thank me, Ev. It’s what friends do,” his matter of fact tone cools me off quick.

  “Well, I appreciate it. I only have Paul, and I can’t even imagine what it would do to me if he didn’t make it back home.”

  “He’s going to be ok, Everleigh and what you said isn’t true,” his voice softens. I turn my head to really look at him. His dark hair a disheveled mess, the scruff outlining his strong jaw, the angle of his nose, the way his blue eyes shine behind his dark glasses from the reflection of the street and head lights is enough to bring even the strongest woman to her knees.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You have Sienna.”

  “True,” I agree.

  “You have me too. You know that, right?” His voice is quiet yet resolute.

  The only thing I can do is nod. I have no words. I know I have him as a friend. He proved that above and beyond yesterday but I can’t help hoping that his admission has a double meaning.

  “I appreciate that,” I finally say.

  “We’re still up for tomorrow night?” Something close to worry crosses his face for a split second before his confidence returns.

  “Yeah. It will be good to keep my mind off of things.”

  “Good,” he smiles his ‘light up the room’ smile.

  I feel the blush redden my cheeks, and looking away from him, I stare out the window allowing my thoughts to wander. Neither one of us says a single thing for the rest of the ride to his house. To most people, that would be awkward, in this case, it’s a comfortable silence. I’ve never been able to be alone with someone without breaking silence before. I’ve always had to find useless things to talk about like the damn weather. But with Colton, it’s different. As much as I’ve avoided him due to the fact I’m usually a clumsy fool around him, it’s never been uncomfortable.

  When we get to his house, Sienna is waiting in the driveway. She gives me a look to make sure I’m ok. I give her a wide grin and we head inside. The three of us work as a team, getting plates, putting the trays in the oven. The small talk and banter between us is something that I have never allowed myself to experience. Sure, Sienna has been my best friend for as long as I can remember, however, there has always been a part of me that felt like an outsider when it came to her and Colton and that’s true to an extent but tonight, everything feels different.

  While the food is warming, I take a seat at the kitchen table and Sienna comes over with two beers.

  We clank our bottles together and I take a deep pull, feeling the cool, bubbly liquid slide down my throat.

  “So, how’s Brant?” I tease her, chuckling at how red her cheeks get instantly.

  “Who the fuck is Brant?” Colton’s loud voice echoes from the other side of the kitchen.

  Sienna rolls her eyes and mouths thanks a lot to me, as I take another swig of my beer, my lips smiling around the bottle.

  “A guy I’m kind of seeing, I guess…” she cowers a little. It been too soon to put a label on her relationship with Brant.

  “Kind of? You guess? Who the fuck is this asshole?” Colton walks over to the table, standing over Sienna in his protective big brother way.

  “It’s new, I know him from the dance school. He’s a single dad, his daughter is one of my students. He was at the auction and…well…we,” she stammers and Colton looks revolted.

  “Ugh. I don’t need to know details. He had better be good to you, Sienna,” he warns, she nods.

  Sienna’s last boyfriend was a controlling, pretentious asshole. I’m not sure if he ever laid a hand on her but the verbal and emotional abuse was apparent. He was such a douche and she was a completely different person when they were together. There was a time that I didn’t think our friendship would survive h
er relationship. When she finally opened her eyes, seeing him for who he really was, she left; not without issue but she got out of that situation. She’s a stronger person because of what she went through. She had so much courage to leave, file a restraining order and get back up on her own two feet. She hasn’t dated much since then, so for her to be into someone is huge.

  I shoot Colton a warning glance, silently telling him to keep his mouth shut. When he raises his eyebrow in challenge, I roll my eyes at him.

  “So, are you going to see him again?”

  “We’re supposed to go out to dinner tomorrow night,” Sienna smiles.

  “Looks like everyone has dates tomorrow,” I attempt to lighten the mood to no avail. Colton stiffens, the buzzer on the oven goes off breaking the tension. I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

  The three of us eat in silence, which is fine by me. I need the company yet I don’t have much to say. Thoughts of Paul fill my mind as they have often over the past twenty-four hours. I let myself be alone in those thoughts, needed the comfort of the memories.

  When it’s time for pie, I let out an audible moan as the sugary creaminess of the delicious dessert hits my tongue, Colton chokes causing him to cough.

  “You ok there, big brother?” Sienna smirks.

  He grumbles and goes back to his pie.

  I look at Sienna, both of us smiling wide. I affect him. He may not want to admit it, or accept it even, but I do. What he also doesn’t realize is that the game has changed. From the way he has been acting since yesterday afternoon, I can no longer ignore whatever this may be.

  When I’m finally home and in bed, I decide that tomorrow will be the day Colton will stop ignoring the chemistry between us.

  Chapter Nine

  COLTON

  Spending the evening with my sister and Everleigh was interesting, to say the least. From the ride to my house, to her moaning when she took that first bite of pie, it took every ounce of self-control to not take her right there on my kitchen table.

  My nerves are at all time high as I get ready for the date. I keep telling myself to keep my hands to myself. Not only is she Sienna’s best friend, but she she’s going through something pretty heavy right now and that makes her vulnerable. The last thing I want to do is take advantage of that vulnerability and lead her on. On the other hand, I want to protect her with all that I have. My feelings for Ev are like a double-edged sword. No matter what I do, no one wins. Someone will get hurt and I’d take the hit for her every damn time.

  I grab my keys and my phone. I text her to let her know I’m on my way. I check my glove box to make sure I have all the passes we need and take a deep breath before hitting the road.

  When I get to her house, I square my shoulders and knock on her door, the wind is knocked out of me when she opens the door, she is gorgeous.

  “Hi,” we say at the same time, both of us laugh nervously. Then we just stare each at other briefly. She looks amazing. Her hair is up in two short pony tails, she’s wearing a green flowing tank top that does nothing to hide the swell of her perfect breasts, the Capri jeans she’s wearing are distressed and hug her body in all the right places. I look at her feet which are adorned in black, glittery flip-flops. The blush on her cheeks from my perusal doesn’t go unnoticed. I can’t decide if I want to give myself a mental high five or a kick in the ass.

  “Flip-flops? To an amusement park?” The sarcasm is not hidden from my voice.

  “Why not?” Her shoulders square in defense.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go put on a pair of sneakers? I can wait.” I laugh at her eye roll.

  “I’m fine,” she smiles, closing and locking the door behind her.

  I guide her to my truck, placing my hand on the small of her back, ignoring the immediate warmth I feel from the simple touch. I open the door for her and help her into the truck.

  The ride to the park is easy. Conversation flows with no awkward silence nor does she bore me. I’m one of those picky assholes who finds that one flaw in a woman and harps on it until I can’t see them anymore. Everleigh, however, she’s flawless. She’s funny, interesting which pisses me off in a way. The only thing wrong with this girl is that she’s like a sister to my sister.

  Pulling up to the park, Everleigh gasps at the huge wooden roller coaster that sits right next to the parking lot.

  “Oh wow, Colton! This place looks awesome! We so need to ride that!” Her excitement is contagious.

  “Calm down, silly girl. We’ll go on everything at least once” I lean across her to get our passes and vouchers from the glove box, she shivers when my arm brushes hers.

  I get what I need and jump out of the truck. I run over to her side and help her down from the truck.

  As we make our way to the entrance, we stop right before the gate. I take the pass that’s attached to a lanyard and place it around her neck, I do the same with mine.

  “So, what’s first, Ev?”

  “Cotton candy!”

  I laugh. “Anything you want. The night is yours.”

  She links her arm through mine. I smile, allowing myself to enjoy the moment.

  We make our way past the huge fountain with the words ‘Thunder Park’ on top of it in stone with a huge gold lightning bolt as the base.

  The ground is made of slate stone that is too small to be brick but too large to be considered cobble stone. There are shops on either side of the pathway. Everleigh takes it all in. Her smile never falters.

  Just past the building, is a cart with a cotton candy machine attached. I look down at her and her face lights up. I get her a big puff of the blue spun sugar and she grabs it from me before I can even steal a piece.

  “I love cotton candy,” she chuckles.

  “I couldn’t tell,” I smirk “You going let me have some?”

  “Maybe,” she teases, popping another piece into her mouth, moving to the side, away from me. She picks up her pace, getting ahead of me, her laughter filling the air.

  “Guess I’m just going to have to take it,” I challenge before taking off after her. I reach her grabbing her by the waist, I turn her body so that she’s facing me. Both of us are breathing heavy from the laughter. My hands move to grip her hips as she looks up at me, still giggling.

  “Everleigh, can I please have a piece of cotton candy?” I stick my bottom lip out in a fake pout causing her another fit of giggles. She pulls a piece of the candy from the cone and feeds it to me. She puts another piece in her mouth, some of it getting stuck on her bottom lip. I can’t stop staring at her mouth as her pink tongue darts out to get the sugar off her lips. My hand stays on her hip and she’s staring at my mouth in the same way I’m looking at hers.

  “Is it still there?” her voice is breathy. I nod, my gaze not leaving her plump, blue stained lip.

  I give into temptation, pulling her closer, leaning my head down, brushing my lips with hers. Once. Twice. I lose my resolve as my tongue meets her lips which part immediately. I kiss her slow and deep, our tongues touch lightly, unsure yet needy.

  Her kisses taste a little bit like cotton candy and a whole lot like bad decision. A soft moan escapes her, and I pull back in an attempt to catch my breath and calm down the urge to take her behind one of the buildings.

  The want in her eyes makes me release my grip from her hip. I can see that she’s as affected as I am and I want to kick myself for letting that happen. One taste of her isn’t going to be enough but it has to be.

  “Colton,” she pleads in a whisper.

  I ignore the sizzling air between us. “Come on, there’s a roller coaster you wanted to ride.”

  The disappointment that appears on her face kills me. I don’t want to hurt her, but I know that this is how it has to be. Kissing her was amazing but also confusing. There was so much put into it and not just from her. Whatever she feels, I’m starting to feel it as well, which is something that can’t happen. Only heartache and hurt can come from getting too involved with someone so clos
e to my sister.

  She nods, looks at the sign a little way ahead and walks in the direction of the Lighting Bolt, the wooden coaster we saw from the parking lot.

  I let her keep a faster pace than me, to gather my thoughts and calm down the hardness between my legs, at least a little.

  When I feel like I can handle it, I catch up to her, determine to keep any awkwardness at bay.

  I check her with my arm, alerting her to my presence, and she smiles up at me. No disappointment is apparent on her face. The kiss just moments ago, now a distant memory which is where it needs to stay.

  “This place is awesome!” she exclaims as we pass by booths with jewelry, airbrushed apparel, face painting, and henna tattoos.

  “Yeah, it seems to be. I think the real test will be when it opens. These events are great to introduce the press and local business to the parks but you really can’t tell how it’s run until it’s packed. How long do the lines get? How do they handle lines with over a sixty-minute wait time? Stuff like that.”

  “Have you covered events like this before?”

  “Several.” I go on to tell her about all the parks I have been to; which were my favorites, which was my least favorite. The best roller coasters and water rides. The best food and shows.

  “Wow. I didn’t realize all the places you get to go. Isn’t it amazing to love what you do?” Her eyes are wistful.

  “I don’t know if I would say I love it,” I admit for the first time out loud. “I like what I do, but traveling so much, I think like I’m getting to the point where I want to be home more often. Have more of a home base than just a place to sleep between trips.”

  “It must get lonely traveling by yourself all the time.” The sympathy in her voice causes my heart to fill my chest.

  “Sometimes, but I’ve met a lot of people. My buddy, Matt who works for an online travel magazine out of North Carolina and I try to arrange to cover some of the same openings so we have someone to hang out with.”

  “That’s good.”

  “In fact, he’s around here somewhere with his wife, Kelsey. We’ll probably end up meeting up with them at some point, if that’s ok with you?”