She scoffed, a sputter following, although not because she felt this was a laughing matter.
Braelyn couldn't believe she'd thrown her dreams away of joining the Air Force when Creed begged her to stay and start a life with him. She'd felt duped that she'd put her plans on hold while Creed straddled the fence, working side by side with his father. At least Colt still had Starlah around to try to build a life with her. It stung because, even with her possibly carrying his child, he'd still choose Starlah.
"What can I say, Brae? I love her."
"If you love her so much, then why risk losing her by screwing around?"
Colt asked himself that same question time and time again, and the answer was simple. He didn't think he was worth Starlah.
"Star's…" He looked up and smiled. "One of a kind."
"Oh God." Braelyn rolled her eyes while he sat googly-eyed.
She'd noticed how Logan and his family rallied around Starlah at the funeral, including the tall, burly, and extremely handsome gentleman who had slick, jet-black waves and a body that was damn near perfect.
"I'm serious. You know, sometimes I wonder what Star even saw in me, but anytime I doubted her love for me, I always went back to how we started. We were friends first, and I was one of the few who befriended her when the girls all thought she was gay." He laughed. "She's not. She just liked what boys liked, and she's damn good at it. That girl can build an engine better than I can."
"I hope she sees what I see in you," Brae confessed. She quickly covered her mouth, realizing that she'd spoken her feelings aloud.
"What did you say?"
"I'm saying… you're a nice guy when you're not being a butthole. You treated me like shit for years." She smiled and then nudged his shoulder. "You called me Snitchy Bitchy Brae."
"Did not," Colt lied, fighting the grin that eventually appeared. "Okay, I did, but you couldn't hold fucking water, Brae. Remember that time we snuck some tobacco and my father's pipe? You couldn't wait to tell who had it when he turned our living room upside down."
"Because you wouldn't let me try."
"I didn't know you really wanted to." He shrugged. "I thought you just wanted to ruin my plans."
"Like now?"
"I don't think that. It's just this is a whole baby. Then that fucking Swift is there."
He scoffed, then tucked his lips. Colt had no reason to be upset, but Swift had a presence that would unnerve the average man.
"I never took you for the jealous type."
"I'm not!" he fussed, his eyes forming into slits. "I just don't understand why Star's gone radio silent on me."
"Well, it has nothing to do with this baby since I haven't told a soul. I'd never do that, no matter what you think, because whether you believe it or not, we're friends, too."
Braelyn took his hand and held it, her eyes fastening onto his. That feeling he'd felt a few times over the years crept up when he took in Brae's smooth chocolate skin and her dark-brown, Bambi-like eyes.
"I tell you what. I'll get the money up, and as long as it's safe, we can do the DNA test before the baby is born. Heck, even if it ain't mine, I'll still help."
"You'd do that for me?"
Braelyn's eyes lit up as Colt cracked a smile. Before she knew it, she threw her arms around him, her stomach resting against his body. He held on to her, his eyes closed, and he smelled the lavender scent on her skin. Then her bone-straight hair, which had grown even more while pregnant, fell over her shoulders, with a huge part down the middle. When she went to pull away, he stopped her.
"What? I don't und?—"
Colt's lips crashed against hers. It was deep, intense, their tongues clashing against each other's before she shoved him back, panting.
"Colt, what was that?"
"I don't know."
He lifted his shoulders, but he knew. His eyes lowered, and he slid his hand again over her stomach when the baby kicked again. They both laughed. When he lifted his hand, she quickly covered it with hers.
