We made it back to my apartment an hour later, which was a good thing. My feet were starting to swell, and my hip was giving me more aches than it had in a while. I was ready for a long soak in the tub and curling up on the couch with a blanket and a show.
Colten seemed to feel the same. He had his shoes off and was headed into the kitchen like he was going to start dinner. I honestly didn’t care. If he cooked, that would save me from having to make any food or order out.
If he wanted to take on the cooking in our relationship, I wasn’t going to stop him.
“I think I’m going to take a bath,” I said as I moved to lean against the nearest counter. I slid my hands across the cool stone until I was far enough forward to take the pressure off my hips. My stomach felt weighed to the ground, but I didn’t care. My hip was hurting me.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Colten turn to face me but stop in his tracks. I could feel his gaze on me, and his expression looked startled. My skin warmed from his gaze, but it didn’t last long. A few seconds later, he turned back to the cupboard he’d been exploring.
Not sure what his look meant, and certain that I didn’t want to see it again, I pushed off the counter and stretched my arms over my head as I moved toward the master bedroom. “I’ll be out in thirty minutes at the minimum,” I called over my shoulder before shutting the door behind me.
I padded over to the bathtub and started the water. After plugging the tub, I added some bath salts. Then I went to my room to slip out of my clothes and gather a towel for when I was finished.
The water was perfect by the time I got back into the bathroom, so I slipped in gingerly. I was achy, but the temperature took a moment to get used to. I was submerged up to my tummy, but my baby bump was a few inches above the water line. I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. Soft instrumental music played from my phone.
I allowed my mind to clear as I focused on relaxing my body and listening to the music. Even though my mind started to wander into uncharted territory involving Colten and me, I instantly pushed those thoughts out. This wasn’t the time or place to psychoanalyze the looks he gave me or the way he stared at me like he appreciated the view.
The truth was, he was never going to see me like I wanted him to see me. He’d admitted that himself in no uncertain terms.
I shook my head in an effort to dispel the thoughts that were trying to weasel themselves into my head. I pinched my eyes shut, hoping that would help.
It didn’t.
Colten was in my head whether I wanted him there or not. I might as well charge him rent if he was never going to leave.
Groaning, I moved to sit up. I dried off my hand and grabbed my phone. It had only been ten minutes since I’d climbed into the tub, and I was no more relaxed than when I’d started.
Frustrated, I forced myself to sit there for a few more minutes before I declared this bath a mistake and pulled the plug. I placed my hands on either side of the tub and started to push myself up. But as I did, my foot slipped out from under me, and suddenly I came crashing down onto my bad hip.
I yelled out in pain. Black and white flashes of pain shot through my body and into my eyes. I pinched my eyes shut as I tried to stabilize my body. Thankfully, I didn’t land on my stomach, but I was worried.
“Naomi?” Colten’s panicked voice sounded from the other side of the bathroom.
I winced when I heard it. I hated that this had happened. I didn’t need him worrying about me. And I certainly didn’t need him coming into the bathroom when I was naked.
“I’m okay,” I wheezed out as I attempted to stand once more. Pain shot down my leg when I tried to apply pressure on my hip. This time, I lowered myself down safely and opened my eyes.
What was I going to do? I wanted to tell Colten that I was fine, and he could go about his business, but I doubted that I would be able to get out anytime soon. He was going to notice if an hour passed and I was still in the tub.
I could either ask him for help or die in a bathtub. I glanced around. Maybe dying wouldn’t be so bad.
My hand instinctively found its way to my stomach. My fingers rested on the bump. Maybe I could die in the tub, but I didn’t want that for my baby. I was sure the baby was fine, but it was probably best for me to get out.
“I need help,” I called out before I could stop myself.
I heard the doorknob turn and the sound of the latch disengaging. The door opened a few centimeters.
“Did you say you need help?” Colten’s voice was low, like he was worried he’d overstepped.
My hands went to my visible goods, and I glanced back at the door. “You can come in.”
The door swung open all the way, and Colten appeared with his hand clamped over his eyes. “I can come in?” he repeated.
“I tried to get out of the tub and slipped, hitting my hip on the tub. It hurts too much, and I can’t get out.” I felt like an idiot, sitting there in an empty tub, freezing my butt off while Colten felt his way along the wall as he walked closer.
“There’s a towel a few inches to your left. Grab it and throw it directly in front of you.”
Colten was quick to obey. When he found the towel, he chucked it in my direction. It hit the wall and landed on my body. I quickly shook it out and tucked it around myself as best I could.
“You can look now,” I said, turning my attention back to Colten.
He hesitated but then slowly lowered his hand. His eyes remained clamped shut as he tipped his face toward me. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m covered.”
He peeked through one eye, and then both were open. He glanced down at me and then up to the ceiling. He blushed. I couldn’t help but smile until his gaze drifted back down to mine.
“What do you need me to do?” he asked as he moved closer to the tub.
I hated how warm my body felt when Colten’s gaze ran over me. I wondered if he was experiencing the same thing—then shook that thought from my head. That was wrong on so many levels.
“Just help me out of the tub,” I said softly. I didn’t have the strength to get out of the tub, and I certainly didn’t have the strength to fight the attraction I felt for Colten. It was too exhausting to ignore, and when I was this tired, my inhibitions were zero.
There was a chemistry between us that I couldn’t ignore anymore. I would endure it until he left, and then I wouldn’t worry about it. It would be a distant memory as Walker and I moved forward with our life and our baby.
“Is the baby okay?” Colten asked, his gaze resting on my stomach.
I nodded, hating the way his voice softened when he talked about the baby. Or the way he looked at me like I was fragile. I wanted Walker to care about me that much. The fear that he wouldn’t was real and tangible. I was afraid I would compare Walker to Colten now that I knew what it was like to have someone who openly cared about me.
Needing to redirect my thoughts, I focused on Colten and what he’d asked me. “I think it’s fine. I landed on my hip, and I’m not getting any cramping.” I shivered. “I’m just cold.”
That spurred Colten into action. Suddenly, he was in front of me, bending down into the tub. He tucked an arm under my knees, and the other one he wrapped around my back. I wanted to tell him that he could just help me balance so I could step out of the tub, but I was airborne before I could gather my thoughts enough to protest.
He tucked me in next to his chest. I could feel the warmth of his body as it pressed against mine. His heart was pounding against my arm, and I was going to choose to believe that it was because of physical exertion instead of anything else.
After all, he saw me as his best friend’s little sister, and thinking of me as anything else was, and I quote, “weird.” So, these feelings of attraction had to be one-sided.
I was an idiot for allowing these thoughts to bloom into full-blown ridiculousness.
Needing to keep my thoughts clear, I clung tightly to my towel as he carried me from the bathroom to the bedroom. I was fairly certain my derriere was hanging out, and I prayed that he hadn’t looked in the mirror as we walked by. Thankfully, he zeroed in on my bed. When he got to the edge, he leaned forward, and I braced myself for him to let me down. Just as he stepped forward, suddenly, I was falling to the bed—along with Colten.
We landed on the bed together, Colten bracing himself above me. His chest was centimeters from mine and rested on my fisted hands as I clung to my towel. His gaze met mine as he stared down at me.
Time slowed to a halt. All I could see was Colten. All I could hear was our breath and the pounding of my heart. All I could feel was his body pressed against mine, warming me at every point of contact.
“Are you okay?” he asked as his gaze roamed my face.
It stopped for a moment on my lips, and I wondered if that had been intentional or if I had an injury there. Out of instinct, I bit my lower lip in an effort to conceal it.
“I think so,” I whispered, fairly certain that I wasn’t going to be able to talk louder than this. It wasn’t only because he was on top of me, but also because my heart was thrumming now. My desire for Colten was growing stronger than I wanted to admit.
Yet with him this close, that desire was hard to ignore.
His gaze returned to mine, and I felt his fingers reach up to brush aside my hair. I pulled my gaze from him, hoping to gather my strength enough to pull away, but when I looked at him again, that will disappeared.
His gaze had turned serious, and I could feel a want in the background. A want that was as palpable as the room around me. A want that had me curious to know more. Even though I knew I shouldn’t want more.
And then he was moving. He lowered his head down until our lips were almost touching. My breath caught in my throat as I waited for him to close the distance.
I wanted to kiss Colten.
But it never came. Instead, he stopped and pulled back. There was turmoil in his gaze.
His jaw clenched as he held my gaze, and then a moment later, he was gone. He pushed himself off of me and disappeared from view.
“I’ll be in the living room,” he said as he pulled the door shut. The sound of the latch engaging echoed in the room.
I was frozen for the better part of five minutes. All I could do was breathe in and out as the memory of Colten so close to me—so close to kissing me—replayed in my mind. Had he meant to do that? What did it mean?
I groaned as I let go of my towel and draped my arm over my eyes. I’d officially gone crazy.
What was worse was that I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted him to kiss me so bad. The feelings inside of me were impossible to ignore. Yet I feared that I was the one who had roped him into almost kissing me. What if he could feel my attraction to him and that had caused him to act?
What if he really had no intention of seeing me as anyone other than Jackson’s little sister, and yet, here I was, drawing him in and making him act in ways he never would have.
I was such a fool.
My leg ached, but I was gaining my strength back as I hobbled around my room to dress. The last thing I needed was to have Colten come back in to check on me and find me lying there, not moving. He’d think I was crazy. I’d had enough of these encounters with him to know that if I continued down this path, I was going to be crazy.
I slipped on a pair of pajamas and then hobbled back into the bathroom. I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. I needed to look as ho-hum as possible if I was going to keep Colten at a distance.
Once I was dressed, I made my way out to the living room. Colten was finishing up dinner, so I headed to the recliner in the corner to put up my feet.
My body was achy and tired as I lowered myself down into the chair. If Colten knew that I was out of my room, he didn’t acknowledge me. His focus was on the food in front of him, which I was grateful for. I needed space from his intense gaze and the feelings that emerged every time he looked at me.
The smell of garlic toast and marinara sauce filled the air, and my mouth began to water. I was ready to eat when he set a plate on the side table next to me and then went back to get his own. I dug in, savoring the taste of tomatoes and herbs on my tongue.
I must have either been extremely hungry or Colten was a master chef, because this was the best meal I’d had in a long time.
It was probably a bit of both.
We finished eating and I set my plate down next to me. Colten stood and grabbed my plate and headed into the kitchen. I watched him unload the dishwasher and move around the kitchen as he cleaned up.
It was strange. Walker never took the initiative to clean up the house. He would always do it once I nagged him enough, though.
Was this normal, or was Colten an anomaly? Did most men help out around the house? Was Walker the strange one?
I felt so confused, and I hated it. Comparing Colten to Walker made my stomach twist. Why didn’t things make sense anymore? Why was it so hard for me to read Colten and make a decision?
I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. I needed to sleep. Sleep would help me think better. It would push these spiraling thoughts out of my head, and I could focus.
The sound of Colten moving around in the kitchen stopped, and I peeked through the slit of one eye to see what he was doing. He looked lost in thought as he stared out the kitchen window. Then he shook his head and glanced in my direction.
I quickly closed my eye, hoping he hadn’t caught me staring.
“I’m going to bed,” he said as he headed over to the couch.
I nodded. He had the right idea. Sleep and space would give us both a break from whatever had happened. “Okay,” I said as I pushed myself out of the chair. Just as I hobbled past him, he reached out and grabbed my hand gently.
“Are you okay?” His voice was deep as he slowly brought his gaze up to mine.
In reality, no, I wasn’t. Not only because my hip hurt, but because I was completely confused as to what I wanted from Walker. From Colten.
I wished my life was simpler. That I was happier.
But I was far away from that becoming a reality.
“I’ll be okay,” I whispered, hating that my skin was reacting from Colten’s touch. My hand was warm, and little zaps of electricity were pulsing up my arm. I wanted to lean in. I wanted more than what he was giving me.
He studied me for a moment and then dropped his hand. He lay back on the couch and rested his hands behind his head, closing his eyes.
I studied him for a moment, wondering if he was going to continue. I sighed and made my way to the hallway.
“Good night, Naomi.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Good night, Colten.”
He didn’t move. Instead, his lips tipped up into a smile. “Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
As much as I wanted to fight it, I smiled back. “You, too.”
Once I was in my room, I shut the door and let my breath out. Then I made my way over to the bed and braced myself as I pushed my feet against the bed frame so I could lift my body onto the mattress.
I snuggled under the covers and closed my eyes, allowing my body to slip into the warmth and softness of the mattress. My mind swirled, but I pushed those thoughts and fears down.
I’d worry about them tomorrow. For now, I was going to sleep. And hopefully, if I was lucky, I would not dream about Colten.
But I’d never been a particularly lucky person. I braced myself for Colten’s inevitable invasion of my thoughts until tomorrow morning.
Wonderful.