I groaned as I hauled myself out of my truck. I trudged up the stairs to my loft apartment and headed straight for the bathroom. It was late and I knew I needed a shower, but I was too much of a coward to face Corri. This wouldn't go over well with her.

I asked her to wait up for me and the look she gave me? Fuck, I'd been dying to see that look for years now. Her eyes were bright and excited. She nibbled her lower lip and I could feel she was anxious for me to return. Hell, I had been dying to get back to her.

And I must have revealed that Katrina when I took Kash home because she did everything in her power to keep me from my girl. Now it had been hours and how could Corri think anything but the worst of me?

I slumped over the small sink, scrubbing my face and brushing my teeth. As I moved toward my bed, I stepped out of my jeans and whipped my shirt over my head. I was completely exhausted. 

Tomorrow I would have to convince Corri that staying at Katrina's was the last thing I wanted. All I could do was cringe when I thought about how Corri would handle it. Things between those two were already so volatile. Corri had every right to resent her and Corri seemed to bring out the worst in Katrina.

Like tonight, Katrina had let Kash stay overnight with me dozens of times, but suddenly now it was a problem? More than likely, it was Katrina's possessive side coming out. It was the one I'd seen many times before like when we would take Kash somewhere together and another woman would take interest. Her proverbial claws would come out, warding off anyone who dared to give an indication she wanted me.

I was the only one to blame because I never stopped it in the past. I wasn't looking for anything romantic with anyone and so it didn't bother me that Katrina used herself as a buffer. 

But now it was different. I did want something romantic with Corri. Hell, I wanted it all. And Katrina was the one person who could keep us apart.

I fell into bed, my body crumpling from exhaustion. As I stretched out, I felt a soft, warm body beside me. Like a magnet, Corri slid over and burrowed her face into my neck. "Mmm, Colt…" she hummed, causing my whole body to respond. 

I pulled her tighter against me, hooking my fingers behind her knee and wrapping an arm around her back. I sighed deeply, breathing for what felt like the first time since I was with her last. "Yeah, it's me, baby. Sorry I'm late."

Corri immediately stiffened in my arms as though she had remembered something from earlier. She rolled away from and switched on the nightstand lamp, bathing the room in a soft, white light. When she rolled back onto her back, I could see her phone in her hands. 

"It's 4:30am, Colt. Where the hell have you been?"

Her tone was so icy I would've sworn I felt the chills from the other side of the bed. "I'm sorry…" I began as I reached for her.

She jumped up from the bed and stood facing me. It was then that I saw she was wearing a red cotton teddy, nothing overtly sexy as the hem brushed the tops of her thighs, but obviously something she didn't wear to bed when she slept alone. Meaning she wore it for me. Fuck!

"You asked me to wait up for you," she accused, eerily calm.

"I did, but…"

She cut me off, her voice raised slightly. "Why? Just to stand me up? Make me look like a fool. Oh my God! I'm so stupid." Her voice trailed off and I could feel myself losing her. When she gathered her hands in her hair and expelled a frustrated breath, I braced myself for the worst.

"Oh fuck this," she groaned softly before turning on her heel and heading for the door.

"Stop!" I called out, bounding off the bed and throwing myself between her and the door. "You have to let me explain what happened."

Corri slammed her fists to her hips and glared up at me. "I don't have to do anything and you mostly certainly won't make me."

When she tried to maneuver around me, I lifted her off her feet and carried her back to my bed. She struggled in my arms until I dropped her back onto my mattress. "Just let me tell you why I'm late."

"You were gone all night! And I don't need you to explain it. I'm not a fool, Colt. I know how these things work."

"What things?" I panted, straddling her outstretched legs so I wouldn't have to chase her again.

"You never responded to my text messages," she growled, showing me her phone with a list of unread texts to me. "You smell like cheap perfume and the scratches on your neck tell me anything else I need to know."

I blinked down at her, realizing how bad this all looked. Corri's expression fell when I didn't respond and in a moment, it turned to rage. "Get off me," she struggled, wriggling and kicking under me until I gripped her wrists and pinned them down. 

"My phone died," I grumbled while trying to wrangle her. I reached beside me to retrieve the dead phone on the nightstand that I hadn't even bothered to plug in yet. I showed her the black screen and pressed buttons to indicate it had no power.

"Were you with Katrina?" she accused, her eyes narrowing sharply.

"Yes, but…" 

"Get off me!" Corri demanded again.

"I wasn't there for her! I stayed for Kash. I'm sorry I let you down." She continued to struggle in my arms until I mentioned his name. Breathing heavily, she stared up at me, so I took it as a sign to continue. "I thought he was asleep, but Katrina had been drinking and we were arguing. Kash found us like that and got upset. I went to lie down on the floor next to his bed, but I guess I dozed off and that's when my phone died."

"I couldn't leave him upset like that, Corri. And when I woke up, Katrina was lying beside me." I paused and sat up, moving my hand toward the marks on my neck I hadn't felt before. "This happened when I told her to leave me alone."

Corri pushed herself up with her flattened palms pressed to the mattress behind her. "She made a pass at you?"

I nodded. "One I was in no way planning to entertain. She's so threatened by you being here." I reached down to cup Corri's face, my gaze drifting to her mouth. "How could I want anyone else when I've got you waiting for me at home? And wearing this no less? Man, I'd have to be an idiot to pass this up," I grinned, moving my hand to the flimsy strap, lowering it just a fraction so I could press a kiss to her bare shoulder. Her skin like silk under my lips, I refrained from going farther. I climbed off of her and moved to sit beside her instead. "So that's what happened. If you don't believe me, I totally understand. But you need to know I wanted to be with you."

Corri glanced at the door and I could feel the tension in her body even now. I thought she believed me but maybe she didn't want to. We sat shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip until she slid her palm over to rest on top of mine. I flipped it over and laced our fingers together, bringing the back of her hand to my mouth so I could kiss her skin. "Do you forgive me?" I whispered against the back of her hand.

She nodded slowly, still not making eye contact with me. "But if there's ever a time when you don't want this...don't want me...you have to tell me because…"

I shifted my body over hers in an instant, lowering my mouth until my lips hovered above hers. "That will never happen," I murmured with my eyes closed. "You don't just stop wanting someone after having been in love with them for ten years."

"Colt," she gasped. 

I scooted down her body and lifted the red fabric off of her until I could see the smoothness of her stomach. I brushed my lips across her skin a few times before settling my cheek against it. I held her tightly in my arms before I peered up at her. "I'll always want you, butterfly. I want you so badly right now that it's killing me. But we have time. And right now I just wanna hold you until we both crash because I'm so tired."

She nodded slowly and then reached over to snap off the bedside lamp. "Good night," she whispered into the darkness.

I can't even say if I replied or not. In my mind I did, but my body was already succumbing to much needed sleep. I let the feelings of her fingers carding through my hair lull me to sleep as I tried to ignore the way her soft skin and delicate scent had me wanting more.

For now, with her hands on me and my arms locked around her waist, we were perfect. And this was all I needed.

"So you went to all this trouble...just to bring me to the duck pond?" My father groused as I took to pushing him along the concrete path that encircled the small pond.

"Oh, Dad. You like it here. Remember bringing me here when I was little?"

"Of course I remember. My mind is still intact. It just seems like a lot of work."

"Having the nursing home put you in their van to transport you wasn't that big of a deal," I explained gently. "I just wanted you to enjoy this beautiful day."

He nodded as his eyes scanned the area, no doubt seeing the kids chasing each other and people playing tennis on the nearby courts. It really was pretty out and I did want him to enjoy the weather, but that wasn't the only reason for our impromptu excursion. I stopped dad's wheelchair next to a set of benches and sat where he could see me. "I always loved it when you brought me here," I told him, momentarily flashing back to my graduation day when Colt had last taken me here. "And I wanted you to have a nice day in the sun with the wind in your face."

My father smiled and touched my cheek with his rough fingers. "It is nice. I swear, it's a wonderful surprise. I'm sorry I'm so grumpy." 

"Are you in too much pain? We could head back…"

"No," he insisted quickly. "Let's keep walking."

I nodded and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before we continued on. "I hope you don't mind, but I have another surprise for you," I told my father, trying to contain my excitement.

My father groaned as we neared the pavillion. "Now what?"

I pressed on until we were under the covering and I had parked him at one of the concrete picnic tables. A red checkered tablecloth adorned the flat surface and there was a small basket of fruit, meat and cheeses along with a bottle of wine. "I thought maybe you'd enjoy this little picnic I put together."

"Wow, honey. This is so nice. You know we could have just gotten some cheeseburgers or something. You didn't have to do all this," he beamed up at me.

"I know," I nodded. "But I thought you two might enjoy this more."

"Us two...who?" he asked, bewildered.

"Charlie?"

We both turned to find a woman approaching, a woman that I had recognized as our neighbor, Mandy. She smiled tentatively, brushing her hands down the front of her dress as she approached us. "Hi," I smiled, holding out my hands for a hug.

Mandy glanced at Dad nervously before stepping into my embrace. "Corri! Wow, you look so grown up."

"What is this?" Dad growled. "You did this?" he accused, focusing solely on me.

"Corri told me you were sick and wondered if I would be interested in meeting with you," Mandy explained to my very cross-looking father. "I hope you don't mind."

His eyes bounced between us and I could see he felt very ganged up on in that moment. "I'm dying, Mandy. I can't...I don't want you to have to deal with this."

I watched as Mandy lowered herself on the bench next to dad's wheelchair. "I know what I'm getting into. Corri told me everything. And frankly I'm pissed that you didn't share this with me. I'm a big girl, Charlie. I could have decided for myself if I wanted to continue being in your life. But you breaking up with me didn't give me that option."

My father sighed deeply and nodded. "I just never wanted to be a burden to you."

She clasped his hands in hers and held them close to her face. "It's never a burden to love someone."

I stood there awkwardly watching their private moment until they both looked over at me. "I'll just...be over here," I mentioned toward the parking lot. "Colt is waiting for me."

"Corri!" Dad hollered as I flounced away. I spun around to face him, smiling when he winked at me and blew me a kiss.

"Just let us know when you're ready to go back!" I called out, but they were already wrapped up in each other, too engrossed in their conversation to notice me.

I bounded through the small grassy area until I found myself in front of Colt. He held open his arms and I took all the warmth he had to offer me. "You did such a good thing here, butterfly. Your dad looks so happy."

He turned me sideways so we could both see them, tipping back plastic glasses of wine and laughing like no time had ever gone by. I peered up at Colt, no doubt with hearts in my own eyes. "Thank you for helping me with this. You know Mandy didn't even hesitate when I told her about Dad. She never gave a second thought to  seeing him again. I asked her if she had a boyfriend, you know, met someone else since they had been apart. But she said no one compared to Charlie. And it didn't matter how long she looked, she knew she would never find anyone like him."

Colt peered down at me and grinned widely. He skimmed his hands over my cheeks and hair and held me close. "That's how I felt about you. There was no one like you, Corri. Never."

Colt tugged on my arm and lifted me to sit on the back of his tailgate. He clambered up beside me and pulled me against him. After a brief silence, I glanced up at him. "Didn't you ever date?"

The question hung between us and I nearly took it back when I realized that I wasn't sure if I really wanted to hear the answer. 

"Oh sure," he shrugged. "Mandy set me up with her daughter, but…"

"But?" I prompted, suddenly desperate to know more.

"She just wasn't…" he trailed off with a faraway look in his eyes.

After a moment, he gazed down at me with a blush to his cheeks. "Come on, Corri. You don't want to hear this."

"You liked her?" I prodded.

He shook his head. "She was pretty. Sweet too. But she never stood a chance."

"Why?"

"Nobody could compare. I was thinking about you all the time. In my mind, they didn't hold a candle to you. And it wasn't fair to them. So I normally went on a date or two each year, mostly to keep Mandy and Charlie happy, but that was it. My heart was in Seattle with you, butterfly. And there was no getting around it."

His words hit hard. He had put his life on hold and basically stopped living it because of me. Now I was back and all the old feelings were still there. Hell, they were stronger than ever if I was being totally honest with myself. And maybe it was time to start over. Colt deserved to be let off the hook for the stupid things he had done in the past. None of it was done to hurt me. Just like I had never left to hurt him. Somehow I had convinced myself that it was too hard to be around him. So I ran to Seattle. And he never moved on.

And I never did either.

"Did you date much? I mean other than Chase?" Colt scowled as he asked me.

"No," I sighed. "When Chase and I broke up, I realized a few weeks after he was gone that I didn't even miss him. I mean, sure it was nice to have someone to eat with or watch a movie, but our lives were so separate. We didn't sleep over or ever even consider moving in together. We were just...companions I guess. I didn't feel for him what I felt for you, Colt."

"And what was that?" he mused as he rubbed his hands up and down my bare arms.

"I didn't need him. I didn't wake up every morning just excited to see his face. I didn't go to bed every night just counting the hours until I saw him again. I didn't feel that pounding in my chest the first time seeing him after a long absence."

"And you felt all that with me?" Colt sighed.

"No. I feel it. Now. Yesterday. Everyday since I've been home. I tried to ignore it. I didn't want to still be this hung up on you, but I am. So my answer is yes."

"Yes?" he echoed.

"You asked me for another shot at this...this thing, whatever it is between us. So I'm saying yes. But we have to go slow…"

Colt's face brightened like the sun when he processed what I had said. He pressed me back until I was lying under him in the bed of his truck. "Slow is fine, baby. Slow works for me," he gushed between the kisses he pressed all over my face and neck. "Anything you want, I swear."

"Colt!" I squealed. "We're in public!"

Colt lifted his head and looked around before returning his attention to me. "No one's paying attention to us."

"Is my dad okay? Does he look really tired?"

Colt pulled me up, his arms winding around to hold me tightly as he maneuvered me to sit between his legs. "Look for yourself."

I watched them interacting and noticing how comfortable they seemed together. When my dad pulled Mandy into his arms, she nuzzled his neck and I could nearly make out the sound of his laughter from where I sat. My dad was happy for the moment. And I knew it wouldn't last long, because time was working against us, but we had today and that was all we could ask for.