Page 42 of Colt

That was a shitty apology if I ever heard one. He wasn’t sorry for his words or actions, only that I’d overheard him. And he didn’t even acknowledge the part that hurt the most. He told the others he didn’t like me. He was their VP, and his opinion held a lot of weight. I also couldn’t forget this was the second time he treated me like crap after sleeping with me.

“For the time being, I have to live here and you just treated me like Torch used to by talking shit about me. You know how long it took before I gathered enough courage to come back down here today and face any of them?”

He let out a heavy sigh and scrubbed his hand over his face. “You’re right, that was fucked up.”

That was better. It still wasn’t an apology, but from Colt, it was probably the best I would get. I let the silence fall between us for a bit longer just so he got the point that I still didn’t care for his behavior. I could be a bitch and not help him, but I couldn’t keep from asking, “Now, what’s this favor you need?"

He looked relieved we were moving on. “Earlier today, when I took off, it was to spend the day with my kids—Jett and Jasmine.”

What?His revelation completely floored me. But clearly, my attempt at avoiding anything Colt-related over the years had been effective.

“I can tell by the look on your face, you’re surprised.” He chuckled.

I nodded my head.

“Yeah. There are a lot of things you don’t know about me. I don’t talk about personal stuff to many.”

That was true. It seemed some things about Colt hadn’t changed from when he was twenty-four to thirty-one. When we’d hooked up seven years ago, he’d done everything to avoid talking about himself, and it didn’t appear to have anything to do with humility or shyness. There was a time I would have given anything to get to know him. Knowing how he felt about me now, I didn’t expect I would ever get that opportunity.

“Anyway, my ex-wife, Jenna, heard about you from one of the girls, and is demanding to meet you.”

Jenna. I remembered that name from the night I invited him and Fitz over for dinner. It made sense now why Fitz said Colt answered whenever Jenna called. She was the mother of his children.

No wonder he’d had his property patch ready for me so quickly. It’d been his ex’s. You didn’t have one made up unless you were dead serious about the woman you wanted to give it to—someone you wanted to commit your life to, forever. And I had a feeling Colt wouldn’t settle for just anyone. He had to have truly loved her. The gravity of knowing that was humbling. I still didn’t know much about Colt, or about how things ended with Jenna, but I was starting to understand some things about him.

“Um, why? We’re not actually together, couldn’t you explain that to her?” Surely, if he told her about our situation, she wouldn’t feel it necessary to concern herself with me.

“I don’t trust her. It’s a shitty thing to say, but it’s the truth. If she thought she could use it against me, she would. Finding out what Torch is up to and who’s behind Fitz’s murder is too important. We have to keep up with the illusion we are in a relationship.”

Just the mention of Fitz’s name was enough for my eyes to fill with tears again. Unable to speak without losing it, I nodded my head, letting Colt know I understood.

He paused with an expression on his face I’d never seen: Uncertainty. It hit me that I had the upper hand in this conversation, and he knew it and didn’t like it.

And it looked like he wanted to say something else, so I waited. “Ember, I’ve never brought a woman around my kids before,” he said, carefully choosing his words. “I never thought I would be in a situation where it was necessary.”

“You never planned on getting involved with someone again?” I didn’t understand that. Colt was a good-looking guy, and I saw the way women flocked to him during parties. Did he expect to be single for the rest of his life?

“Pretty much,” he said brusquely. “Look, we both know I’m not celibate. I enjoy fucking women. In fact, the more, the merrier.”

I scrunched up my nose, the mental image of that was not something I wanted in my head. He could be such a dick sometimes.

“Sorry,” he said with a laugh, but he didn’t look sorry at all. “But the truth is, I’ve sworn off relationships. I don’t want an old lady. I don’t need one.”

“That seems a bit extreme.”

I didn’t have the best track record with relationships either, but I couldn’t imagine closing myself off to the possibility of one in the future. His ex must have burned him bad.

“Well, finding out my wife was screwing someone else while I was off at work doesn’t make me eager to jump back into dating.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” As soon as the words left my lips, I knew it was the wrong thing to say.

His spine stiffened, and he narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t want or need your pity. I just want to know if you’ll meet her. There’s some other shit going on with our divorce and custody agreement. I’m worried she might make shit difficult if she doesn’t get her way with this. I can’t have anything mess up my time with my kids.” He was back to the distant Colt I was used to, but he seemed earnest.

I wanted to refuse his request, but I wouldn’t hurt his kids to spite him. I had no choice but to agree. It didn’t matter if the two of us had our own issues. I would never do anything that could mess up a father’s relationship with his children.

“Fine, I’ll do it—for your kids.” His body relaxed a bit when I agreed. “When does she want to meet up?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll work something out with her and let you know.”