“What do you think?” Colton asked a second time. He’d blame the rain for Makena not hearing him, but she’d been lost to him for a moment.
The prospect of her disappearing on him wasn’t especially pleasing. After being in the vehicle with her for half an hour already, he barely knew any more about her or her situation than he had at the start of the conversation.
The fact that she deflected most of his questions and then overexplained told him the storm brewing outside wasn’t the only one.
Since she seemed ready to jump if someone said boo, he figured some things were better left alone. Besides, they were trapped together in a storm that didn’t seem to have any intention of letting up over the next twenty-four hours. That would give him enough time to dig around in her story.
Colton relaxed his shoulders. He needed to check in with his mother and see if she was okay with having the twins sleep over. Again, he really didn’t like doing that to her under the circumstances no matter how many times she reassured him the twins were nothing but pure joy.
“About what?” Makena asked.
“Staying at my apartment at least until this storm blows over.” Colton banked right to avoid a tree limb that was flying through the air.
“When exactly might that be?”
Colton shouldn’t laugh but he did. “I’m going to try not to be offended at the fact that you seemed pretty upset about the prospect of spending a couple of hours alone with me. I promise that I’m a decent person.”
“No. Don’t get me wrong. You’ve been a godsend and I appreciate the food. I was a drowned rat out there.” She blew out another breath. “I wasn’t aware there was a big storm coming today. And especially not one of this magnitude. I got caught off guard without an umbrella.”
He didn’t feel the need to add, without a decent coat. The roads were making it increasingly unsafe to drive to Mrs. Dillon’s place. It looked like there were more funnel systems on the way. A tornado watch had just been issued for this and four surrounding counties. He’d like to say the weather was a shock but it seemed folks were glued to the news more and more often every year and some supercell ended up on the radar.
“You didn’t answer my question.” The reminder came as she stared at the door handle.
Makena sat still, shifting her gaze to the windshield, where she stared for a long moment. She heaved another sigh and her shoulders seemed to deflate. “I appreciate your hospitality, Colton. I really do. And since it doesn’t seem safe to travel in this weather, going to your place seems like the best option. I have one question, though.”
“And that is?”
“It’s really more of a request.” She glanced at the half-full coffee sitting in the cupholder.
He knew exactly what she wanted. “I have plenty of coffee in my apartment. I basically live off the stuff.”
“I haven’t had a good cup of coffee in longer than I care to count.”
His eyebrow must’ve shot up, because she seemed to feel the need to qualify her statement. “I mean like a really good cup of coffee. Not like that stuff.” She motioned toward the cupholder and wrinkled her nose.
He laughed. At least some of the tension between them was breaking up. There was no relief on the chemistry pinging between them, though. But he’d take lighter tension because he was actually pretty worried about her. He couldn’t imagine why she would be living even temporarily in an RV that didn’t belong to her in a town she didn’t know. She was from Dallas and they’d met in Austin. Again, his thoughts drifted toward her running away from something—he wasn’t buying the broke musician excuse. And since he hadn’t seen her in well over a decade, he couldn’t be one hundred percent certain she hadn’t done something wrong, no matter how much his heart protested.
Something about the fear in her eyes told him that she was on the run from someone. Who that would be was anyone’s guess. She wasn’t giving up any information. Keeping tight-lipped might have been the thing that kept her alive. Didn’t she say that she’d been on the road for months with her music? There were more holes in that story than in a dozen doughnuts. The very obvious ones had to do with the fact that she had no instrument and no band. He figured it was probably customary to bring at least one of those things on tour.
“To my place then,” he said.
The light changed to green. He proceeded through the intersection, doing his level best to keep the questions at bay.
His apartment would normally be a five-minute drive. Battling this weather system, he took a solid fifteen and that was without anyone else on the road. A call home was in order and he needed to prepare Makena for the fact he had children.
As he pulled into the garage and the rain stopped battering his windshield, he parked in his assigned parking spot, number 4, and shut off the engine.
“Before we go inside, I need to make you aware of something—”
Makena scooted up to sit straighter and winced. His gaze dropped to her hip and he figured he had no business letting it linger there.
“Now, there’s no reason to panic.” It was clear she’d already done just that.
“Was this a bad idea? Do you have a girlfriend or wife in there waiting? I know what you already said but—”
“Before you get too twisted up, hear me out. I have twin sons. They’re with my mother because the woman who usually lives with me and takes care of them while I work got called away on a family emergency and had to quit. She hated doing it but was torn, and blood is thicker than water. Besides, I told her to go. She’d regret it if she wasn’t there for her niece after the young woman was in a car crash.”
“I’m sorry.” Much to his surprise, Makena reached over and touched his hand. Electricity pinged. Turned out that the old crush was still alive and well.
“Don’t be. It was the right thing for her to do.” He debated these next words because he never spoke about his wife to anyone. “I was married. I didn’t lie to you before about that. My wife died not long after the babies were born.”
“Oh no. I really am sorry, Colton. I had no idea.” She looked at him. The pain in her eyes and the compassion in her voice sent a ripple of warmth through him.
He had to look away or risk taking a hit to his heart.
“Why would you?” He’d gotten real good about stuffing his grief down in a place so deep that even he couldn’t find it anymore.
When he glanced over at Makena, he saw a tear escape. She ducked her head, chin to chest, and turned her face away from him.
“I’m not trying to upset you...” This was harder than he wanted it to be. “I just didn’t want you to walk into my place and be shocked. You’ve been through enough tonight—” longer if he was right about her situation “—and I didn’t want to catch you off guard.”
She sat perfectly still, perfectly quiet for a few more long moments. “You have twin boys?”
“Yes, I do. Silas and Sebastian. They are great boys.”
When she seemed able to look at him without giving away her emotions, she turned to face him, wincing with movement and then covering. “I bet they’re amazing kids, Colton.”
It was his turn to smile. “They are.”
“Are they at your house?”
“My mom is watching them for me at the family’s ranch while I work. She’ll be worried with all the weather. I need to check in with her and make sure the boys are asleep.”
“How old did you say your boys were?” She seemed to be processing the fact that he was a father.
“One year old. They’re great kids.” He needed to contact his mother. But first, he needed to get Makena inside his apartment with the least amount of trauma to the hip she’d been favoring. “How about we head inside now?”
He half expected her to change her mind, especially with how squirrelly she’d been so far.
“It would be nice to dry off.”
Colton shut off the vehicle’s engine and came around to the passenger side. He opened the door. She had her seat belt off despite keeping the blanket around her. Color was returning to her creamy skin, which was an encouraging sign.
“It might be easier if I just carry you up.”
“I think I got it. I definitely need some help walking but I want to try to put some weight on this hip.”
Considering Makena knew her identity and didn’t slur her speech—a couple of key signs she was lucid—his suspicion that she might have a concussion passed. Although, he’d keep an eye on her to be safe. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to let her try to walk; he had to trust her judgment to be able to do that.
“Okay, I’m right here.” He put his arm out and she grabbed onto it. More of that electricity, along with warmth, fired through him. Again, he chalked it up to nostalgia. The past. Simpler times.
Makena eased out of the passenger seat, leaning into him to walk. He positioned himself on her left side to make it easier for her. With some effort, she took the first couple of steps, stopping long enough for him to close the car door.
His parking spot was three spaces from the elevator bank, so at least she didn’t have far to go.
“You’re doing great,” he encouraged. He couldn’t ignore the awareness that this was the first time in a very long time that he’d felt this strong a draw toward someone. He hadn’t been out on a date since losing Rebecca. He’d been too busy missing his wife and taking care of their boys. Twelve months since the kiddos had been born and soon after that, he’d lost his best friend and wife in one fell swoop. He never knew how much twelve months could change his life.
MAKENA LEANED HEAVILY on Colton. She couldn’t help but wonder if he felt that same electrical impulse between them. If he did, he was a master at concealment.
Thankfully, the elevator bank was only a few more steps. Pain shot through her if she put any weight on her left leg. But she managed with Colton’s help. Despite having told him repeatedly that she’d be fine, this was the first time she felt like it might be true.
The elevator did nothing to prepare her for the largeness of Colton’s penthouse apartment. Stepping into the apartment, she realized it took up the entire top floor of the building, which was three stories on top of the parking level.
It felt like she’d been transported into a world of soft, contemporary luxury. “This place is beautiful, Colton.”
She pictured him sharing the place with his wife and children. Losing the woman he loved must have been a crushing blow for a man like him. Colton was the kind of person who, once he loved you, would love you forever.
Why did that hurt so much to think about?
Was it because she’d never experienced that kind of unconditional love?
It was impossible not to compare Colton to River. She’d been so young when she and River had gotten together. Too naive to realize he was all charm and no substance. He’d swept her off her feet and asked her to marry him. She’d wanted to believe the fairy tale. She would never make that mistake again.
Colton’s apartment comprised one great room and was built in the loft style, complete with a brick wall and lots of windows. The rain thrashed around outside, but the inside felt like a safe haven. In the space cordoned off as the living room, two massive brown leather sofas faced each other in front of a fireplace. In between the sofas was a very soft-looking ottoman in the place of a coffee table. It was tufted, cream-colored and stood on wooden pegs. She noticed all the furniture had soft edges. The light wood flooring was covered by cream rugs, as well.
There was a pair of toy walkers that were perfect for little kids to explore various spots in the room. A large kitchen, separated from the living room by a huge granite island, was to her right. Instead of a formal table, there were chairs tucked around the white granite island, along with a pair of highchairs.
Seeing the kid paraphernalia made it hit home that Colton was a dad. Wow. She took a moment to let that sink in. He gave new meaning to the words hot dad bod.
The worry creases in his forehead made more sense now that she knew that he’d lost his wife and was navigating single parenthood alone.
Makena had once believed that she would be a mother by now. A pang of regret stabbed at the thought. She’d known better than to start a family with River once she saw the other side of him. She was by no means too old to start a family except that the pain was still too raw from dealing with a divorce. The dream she’d once had of a husband and kids was the furthest thing from her thoughts as she literally ran for her life. She still felt the bitter betrayal of discovering that the person she’d trusted had turned out to be a monster.
It had taken her years to extract herself from him. Now she’d be damned if she let that man break her. Her definition of happiness had changed sometime in the last few years. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment her opinion had shifted. Rather than a husband and kids, all she now wanted was a small plot of land, a cozy home and maybe a couple of dogs.
“Are you okay?” His voice brought her back to the present.
“Yes. Your home is beautiful, Colton,” she said again.
Now it was his turn to be embarrassed. His cheeks flamed and it was sexy on him.
“I can’t take the credit for the decorating. That was my mother.” Not his wife? Why did hearing those words send more of those butterflies flittering around in her chest again?
“She did an amazing job. The colors are incredible.” There were large-scale art pieces hanging on the walls in the most beautiful teal colors, cream and beige. The woman had decorating skills. The best part was how the place matched Colton’s personality to a T. Strong, solid and calm. He was the calm in the storm. It was just his nature.
She took a few more steps inside with his help.
“Can I ask a personal question?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Didn’t your wife want to decorate?”
“She’s never been here.” She felt a wall go up when it came to that subject.
“How about we get you settled on the couch and I get working on that cup of coffee?” he asked, changing the subject. His tone said, case closed.
“Are you kidding me right now? That sounds like heaven.” She gripped his arm a little tighter and felt nothing but solid muscle.
He helped her to the couch before moving over to the fireplace wall and flipping a switch that turned it on. There were blue crystals that the fire danced on top of. It was mesmerizing.
She tried to keep her jaw from dropping on the carpet at the sheer beauty of the place. It was selfish, but she liked the fact that he’d only lived here as a bachelor, which was weird because it wasn’t like she and Colton had ever dated, despite the signals he’d sent back in the bio lab. She had probably even misread that situation, because he’d never asked her out. The semester had ended and that was that.
Makena again wanted to express to Colton how sorry she was for the loss of his wife. Considering he had one-year-old twins, his wife couldn’t have died all that long ago. The emotional scars were probably still very raw.
“If you want to get out of those wet clothes, I can probably find something dry for you to wear for the time being.” He seemed to realize how that might sound, because he put his hands up in the air. “I just mean that I have a spare bathrobe of mine you can wear while I throw your clothes through the wash.”
She couldn’t help herself. She smiled at him. And chuckled just a little bit. “I didn’t take it the wrong way and that would be fantastic. Dry clothes and coffee? I’m pretty certain at this point you’ve reached angel status in my book.”
He caught her stare for just a moment. “I can assure you I will never be accused of being an angel.”
A thrill of awareness skittered across her skin. A nervous laugh escaped because she hoped that she wasn’t giving away her body’s reaction to him. “I wouldn’t accuse you of that, but I do remember what a good person you are. I wouldn’t be here alone with you right now otherwise.”
She surprised herself with the comment as he fired off a wink. He motioned toward an adjacent room before disappearing there. He returned a few moments later with a big white plush bathrobe that had some fancy hotel’s name embroidered on the left-hand side.
Colton held out the robe. When she took it, their fingers grazed. Big mistake. More of that inconvenient attraction surged. She felt her cheeks flush as warmth traveled through her.
He cleared his throat and said, “I’ll go make that coffee now. You can change in here. I promise not to look.”
Again, those words shouldn’t cause her chest to deflate. She should be grateful, and she was, on some level, that she could trust him not to look when she changed. Was it wrong that she wanted him to at least consider it?
Now she really was being punchy.
Makena took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. Colton made a show of turning his back to her and walking toward the kitchen. Despite pain shooting through her with every movement, she slipped out of her clothes and into the bathrobe while seated on the couch. The wreck could’ve been a whole lot worse, she thought as she managed to slip out of her soaked clothing and then ball it all up along with her undergarments, careful to keep the last part tucked in the center of the wad of clothing.
“Do you still take your coffee with a little bit of sugar and cream?”
“Yes. How did you remember after all this time?”
He mumbled something about having a good memory. Was it wrong to hope that it was a bit more than that? That maybe she’d been somewhat special to Colton? Special enough for him to remember the little things about her, like the fact she took her coffee with cream and sugar?
Logic said yes, but her heart went the opposite route.