Men shouldn’t have lashes this fucking thick. It’s not fair.
I’m not sure if he’s aware how appetizing he looks when he stares at me like this, his broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his t-shirt beyond capacity. I need an inconspicuous breath to cool myself down.
“What time are we leaving, Audrey?”
SIX
Colt
AGREEING TO THE FAKE BOYFRIEND IDEA wasn’tmy intention when Addie entered my kitchen. Even wearing my clothes, hair wet, face pale, she looked fucking gorgeous.
I kept smirking under my nose the whole ride to the grocery store before she woke up. I’ve met a lot of women in my life, plenty stayed the night, but not one had the guts to order me around and make silly demands.
A refreshing change of pace.
I told myself I’d send her home the moment we finished eating, but... curiosity got the better of me. It always does, and a hundred messages from Conor and Cody demanding to know what happened the previous evening and telling me tolive a fucking littleonly fueled the fire. My brothers call me Detective Colt because I can’t let anything go until I know everything about it.
The longer I stared at her, the faster I was running out of reasons to not spend a week with her. I’m into her. There’s no denying that. She’s fun, wild, free... absolutely gorgeous. Taming her would prove a lot of fun and a lot of hard work, I bet.
She smacked the last nail to my coffin straight on the head when she mentioned an arranged marriage.
It was a done deal after that.
I want a wife and kids like nothing else in this world, but I want her willing. I’d never settle for an arranged marriage.
No one should be forced to spend their life with someone they don’t love.
Addie’s clearlynotinlove with that Grant character. I’ve witnessed real love first-hand six times now. That feeling can’t be fabricated, planned, or learned.
It just happens.
Sometimes it drops like a lightning bolt out of nowhere. Conor’s a prime example. He swears on his life he knew Vivienne was the one the moment he kissed her.
And they kissed within two minutes of meeting.
Other times, love takes longer to bloom, like with Logan and Cass or Cody and Blair. Things between them grew at a steady pace until they reached boiling point.
There’s no set timeline when it comes to feelings. No rules. My grandparents got married after ten days, and they’ve been together over sixty years.
I agreed to play Addie’s boyfriend for two more reasons. Twoselfishreasons. One: to get Cody and Conor off my back. I don’t need their nagging, and I don’t need the other four knowing how stupid and reckless I’m being every other Saturday.
The other reason... well, I’m curious what spending a week with Addie will be like. I’m game for whatever might happen. She’s funny, sweet, rude in an endearing, clueless way when she’s drunk. It’s cute. Mainly because she curses in British, and I don’t understand half the words.
And, obviously, she’s absolutely beautiful.
I wouldn’t mind exploring her naked body, but that’s off the table, so this trip might prove an interesting experiment.
Half a day to set our story straight isn’t much. Especially since, around ten in the evening, I’m leaving for my fortnightly meet-up and a night of racing.
Addie and I know nothing about each other. We’re strangers, so playing a couple might be problematic.
To top it off, I have no idea what I’m walking into, so we decided to spend the rest of the day playing twenty questions. Though I imagine it’ll be two hundred and twenty.
She went home to pack a bag and change out of my clothes but promised to drop by later so we could go through the basics. Meanwhile, I created yet another group chat for me Cody, and Conor, naming itThe Holy Trinity.
Me: If you breathe a word about my racing to anyone, you’ll regret being born.
Clutching the phone tightly in my palm, I grab a pen, jotting down a list of things Addie and I should probably know about each other. There isn’t much time, so it’s a blessing my go-to dress style is casually elegant and I’m not forced into a frenzied shopping spree.
