He mentioned acting, but I didn’t pay any attention because his hair’s too light. Maybe he’d be willing to dye it.
“Addie,” Colt prompts, reaching across the table to touch my hand. “You okay?”
“Better than I’ve been all week,” I admit, glancing at his warm fingers tracing my knuckles. The sensation makes me shudder. “Don’t worry about the wish. I think it’s a ten.”
“That would deem it impossible.”
“Okay, nine and a half.”
He leans back, taking his hand with him; the sudden loss is not pleasant. “Your number?”
“It’s yours, but you can’t call me for a week.”
“Why?”
“Call it a test window.”
He’s having a hard time biting back a smile. “You’re a smart little thing. Alright, a week it is.”
FOUR
Colt
IT’S AN ODD FEELING—my heartrate increasing when I spot Addie’s number among the others I got at the end of the dates. The guy handing over the cards looked me over as if wondering what the fuck it was about me that got me seventeen numbers.
My surname was probably the biggest factor. Most girls know who I am. Since taking over the management side of Nico’s empire, I added a dozen spots to our now-joint portfolio and made a name for myself. People no longer refer to me as Nico’s younger brother or right-hand man.
It’s my biggest win to date.
The money that comes with owning and managing close to thirty spots around Orange County is a bonus I don’t care much about. Sure, a big house, a penthouse in LA, five cars, and being able to buy all the luxuries my heart desires is nice, but there are things I want that money can’t buy.
At some point, material things lose their appeal.
“How did it go?” Cody asks when I join them downstairs. He snatches the cards from my hand, rising to his feet, ready to go somewhere else. “Which one are you calling first?”
“Not decided yet.”
“Did that girl you mentioned during break give you her number? Audrey, wasn’t it?”
Cody’s eyebrows bank together as he flicks through the cards. “Doesn’t look like it. Unless...” His eyes snap to mine. “Empty your pockets.”
He’s good, but not as good as me.
“You think I’m hiding it?” I flip my pockets inside out. Her number is already saved in my contacts underWish,card safely discarded. “She said I’m not the guy she’s looking for.”
If I tell them we’re going out next week—and we are because I will call her—they’ll poke, prod, try to help, and fuck things up for me.
Cody stares a moment longer before handing the numbers over. “You got sixteen, Colt. I expect you to ask out at least three.”
Three might be a stretch. I was so focused on Addie I didn’t pay attention to anyone else, constantly gawking over my shoulder to check on the pretty little Brit, then schooling myself not to jump ahead of the game.
There came a time during the online dating phase when my desperation to find someone reached an unhealthy level. It took months to learn connections like those my brothers share with their girls can’t be faked or forced. I jumped the gun too many times before I figured that out.
“Fine, but not tonight. I need a proper beer. All they serve upstairs is whiskey, vodka, and Bud Light.”
“Tortugo?” Conor suggests, then frowns, looking over my shoulder. “Well, you’re better thanhim. What the hell’s wrong with that girl?”
I spin around, my heart thumping faster as I spot Addie leaving the building on Wesley’s arm.
