Chapter 271
“She likes… manly men?” he asked.
I snorted. “Definitely.” That part, at least, was true.
Colt nodded and fell silent again, seemingly mulling over what I’d just said. We rounded the far end of the loop, where the trees thinned a little and you could see a slice of sky overhead. I looked at him, and his expression had seemed to brighten.
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll keep trying.”
“Good.” I ducked under a low branch. “And for what it’s worth, once she gets out of her own way, she can be…” I considered what honest, accurate, and non-alarming descriptor to use here, then went on, “When she cares about someone, she’s very, um, focused.”
Colt looked like he found that encouraging. I felt a little bad again, so I stopped walking and touched his arm.
“But Colt,” I said, “I do want to warn you about Vivian.”
He stared at me.
“She can be cruel and selfish. I won’t sugarcoat it. So if you’re not interested in a woman like that, you should leave.”
Colt was quiet for a long moment, considering my words. Then, smiling faintly, he said, “I like to think that everyone has good qualities, so long as you know where to look.”
“Fair enough.” I dropped my hand and we continued walking in silence.
After a little while, we came out of the trees and back onto the field, the house sitting at the far end of it in the afternoon light. I was about to part ways with Colt when I noticed a figure standing near the garden gate with his arms folded.
Dominic.
Even from here, I could see that his eyes were dark with that familiar tinge of jealousy and his jaw was set hard. He walked over
before we reached him.
“Where were you?” he barked.
“Well, hello to you too.”
He waited. I sighed and gestured over my shoulder. “We walked along the trail.”
“Together?”
“Clearly.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. Colt glanced between us and said nothing, which was the smartest choice in this situation.
“What were you talking about?” Dominic asked then.
“I am allowed to have private discussions, you know,” I said curtly.
He opened his mouth.
“And before you say whatever you’re about to say,” I went on, “I want you to think about whether you actually want to have this conversation in front of our new recruit.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened. He looked at Colt briefly, then back at me, and said nothing.
I said nothing more and walked past him toward the house. Behind me, I heard Colt say something to Dominic in a low voice, and Dominic gave a one-word answer that I couldn’t make out. By the time I reached the back door, I could hear Dominic’s footsteps following me.
1/2
+30 Bonus
I was halfway up the stairs when he caught up.
“Ellie ”
I kept walking. “I’m going to study.”
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“You can ask me while I walk.”
He fell into step behind me, and I could hear the slight softening in his tone as he said, “Tonight. Come out with me.”
I stopped at the top of the stairs and turned around. He stopped a step below me, nearly at eye level with me.
“Out where?” I asked.
“Anywhere. Dinner, maybe. I haven’t decided yet.” He shrugged, and for a moment, just a moment, he almost looked… guilty. Like he actually realized that what he’d just done in the garden, and all of the jealousy, was wrong. “Just the two of us.”
“I can’t tonight,” I said, perhaps a little too quickly. “I have studying to catch up on. There’s a practical exam next week and I haven’t started on the prep material yet, so-”
“It’s Friday night,” he cut me off. His mouth twitched slightly like he had seen right through my lies and was trying not to
smile. I fell silent.
Before I could come up with another excuse, he nodded, seemingly coming to the conclusion that tonight was happening, whether I wanted it to or not.
“Be ready by eight,” he said, then turned and jogged back down the steps.
2/2
+30 Bonus
