"So how has everything been?"

My gaze slid over to my friend, her waist length cocoa-colored hair gleaming from where the afternoon sun was pouring in the front windows. Ally had shown up with her new baby, Tiana in tow and we had been catching up for the last hour. It had been a few months since the funeral and almost that long since we had had a chance to talk. Trent's little mini-me had been born the week before Dad passed and we had both been busy ever since. 

I reached out to touch the soft blonde curls on her daughter's head as she lay snuggled up in the baby sling Ally wore. "It's been okay. Some days are harder than others. But I've kept busy with all the renovations over here in the new addition and all the other parts of the business that Colt let's me handle."

Ally grinned mischievously and nodded to where Colt was training on the other side of the glass partition. "And Colt? Is he… handling your business?" she inquired with wagging, yet perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

"Don't start," I groaned, sparing a glance at my business partner with a certain longing that just refused to be tamed. He was a shirtless, tanned beast when he was training and it was nearly impossible not to stare. "Things with Colt are...tense."

"Intense?"

"No," I sighed. "Well maybe. We talk, we get along fine, we eat at least one meal together everyday but…"

"But?" Ally prodded as she fell into a swinging motion that kept her infant pacified for the moment. 

"But...he's not really handling anything with me. Not in the bedroom or otherwise. I'm not sure if it's me or him, but one of us is holding back." I paused to thumb through a stack of paint samples before returning my gaze to my oldest friend. "I just think I screwed everything up when I left the wake with Beau. Colt, understandably, wasn't happy about it. And I think that even more than finding me half naked in Beau's condo, Colt is upset because I turned to someone else besides him when everything fell apart. He can't seem to get past that part no matter how much we talk about it."

"Maybe it's because he's gotta look at Beau's smug face every time he sets foot in this gym," Ally suggested with another subtle nod to the other side where Colt and Beau stood toe-to-toe.

"Oh God," I groaned. "I should probably go see what that's all about."

"You already know," she chuckled as she gathered up Tiana's diaper bag and hooked it over her arm. "It's probably one of them challenging the other to a fight in your honor."

"Stop teasing me," I whined playfully. "You know I hate this."

"Oh yeah, I bet you do. I'd hate it too. Two sweaty hunks with their rippling abs just vying for your attention as they tear each other limb from limb."

"It's not like that," I scoffed. "Colt...he doesn't want me like that. Not anymore. I mean, let's face it, I had my shot with him and I blew it. Now he just looks at me like a friend."

Ally shot me another skeptical look before leaning in close to whisper, "Don't look now, but your 'friend' is on his way over here and it looks as though you may be headed toward one of those intense conversations you two seem to have a lot. You know, the ones where you end up all hot and bothered and Colt looks like he wants to tear your...Colt!" she called out to him when he stepped up behind me. "How have you been?"

"Not bad," he replied, bending past me to wrap a damp bicep around Ally's slender frame. "How's this baby doing? Damn, she really does look just like Trent."

We laughed but it was true. When her son Tristan was born, he had her mocha hair and lots of it. But Tiana was identical to Trent with her fair curly locks and dimples for days. Ally let Colt have a quick peek before giving us both an excuse about needing to pick Tristan up before Trent got off work. I didn't miss the way her eyebrows shot up when Colt stepped into my space and asked me if we could talk. But the next second, she was gone and I was alone in the partially renovated room with the one man I never could seem to get enough of.

"We need to talk," he grumbled cryptically as his eyes did a quick scan of my body.

I was wearing workout gear, a tank top and Capri leggings. My blonde waves were tucked into a haphazard ponytail sitting high on the crown on my head because it was too hot to let it touch my shoulders. Colt blinked down at me, his gaze darting from my lips to my eyes and suddenly I felt self-conscious. I reached up to smooth any stray hairs down, but Colt grabbed my hand first. "You look good today."

I scoffed and turned my back on him. His eye contact was way too intense and I didn't want him to see the blush I felt creeping up my neck. "I'm a mess. The air conditioning is still broken and I'm covered in drywall dust…" I paused when I sensed Colt's presence behind me. 

I immediately lost my train of thought when I felt his warm breath tickling the soft stray hairs along the nape of my neck. "Do I need to call them again?" he inquired with an irritable edge to his voice.

"No," I insisted, once again facing him fully and feeling dizzy at his nearness. "They promised to return tomorrow with the right part and stay until it was fixed."

Colt crossed his arms over his bare and impressive chest and I tried to hide the way I enjoyed seeing his muscles flex and cord with that movement. "Well let me know if they don't because I'd be happy to call them."

"I know," I nodded, touching his forearm lightly and noticing the way his eyes softened. "So what do we need to talk about? Should we go back to the office?" I motioned over my shoulder to my makeshift office on this side of the building. Colt had kept my father's office and had offered to share it with me but I wanted my own space to accompany all the other changes that were in the works. 

"Here is fine. I just wanted to talk to you about Beau."

"What about him?"

"He mentioned something about the two of you dating. I mean...is that true?"

"No," I laughed. "We talked about possibly going to lunch but that's it. I don't want to date him, Colt," I tried to reassure him.

Colt straightened up a bit and rolled his shoulders back. "He was just telling me…" he paused and shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. I just wanted to make sure."

I hoisted myself up onto a wooden box of construction supplies and leaned back on my flattened palms. "You seem kind of worked up about this, which is weird since…"

Colt stepped between my spread legs and peered down at me with a questioning look. "Why would it be weird for me to know who you might be going out with?"

I lowered my eyes and found myself staring right at those hard ridges of his abdominal muscles. With a quiet voice,I replied, "It's weird considering you haven't shown any interest in dating me yourself so I'm not sure why you'd even care."

Colt laughed, a deep hearty laugh that bounced around the near empty room. When I raised my gaze he was standing even closer, lowering his head so there was no more avoiding his intense eye contact. "Why would you think I don't want to date you?"

I shrugged and sighed. "You haven't asked me out. You don't even seem interested anymore. It's been all business between us for months. I mean, I know you're mad about what happened after the wake, but I really want us to move past it."

"I'm not holding anything against you, Corri. You were dealing with something heavy. Sure, I wish it hadn't happened but I'm not mad." I nearly gasped when his hands slid over the top of my thighs and moved to grip my hips. He was wedged in close to me, closer than we had been in months and damn, it felt so good. "And as far as us goes, I wanted to give you space, both of us space to grieve for Charlie and get on solid ground before jumping back into whatever it was we were trying to do before."

Finding my words proved difficult when Colt's thumbs were slipping under my tank top and brushing over the bare skin underneath. "I just wasn't sure if you still felt the same way about me after what I did."

"Those feelings won't just go away, butterfly. They're deep in my heart and no matter how mad I may be about any guy who's been in your orbit in the past, I know I'm the guy that's gonna be in your future, so nothing else matters. As long as you still want me, want to try this thing, then I'm ready to try. And as far as still wanting you…" His eyes coasted down my throat and over my chest. He dug his fingers into my hips a little tighter and let his mouth drop to my ear. "I'd love to show you how much I want you but I know how embarrassed you get with public displays of affection."

My mouth fell open into the shape of an o when I heard his little confession. And when he leaned into me more fully, I could feel it too. Again I felt that familiar hot blush climbing up my chest and ending on the tips of my ears. I couldn't answer him and something brave in me took over when I started pushing my hands up his forearms, pulled him close and whispered, "Then take me somewhere you can show me. Take me somewhere private, Colt."

His lips began skating along my cheek, working their way to my mouth when we heard, "Hey, Colt."

Colt squeezed his eyes closed and groaned quietly. "Not now, dude."

"But it's your phone. I thought maybe you might wanna take this call."

"I swear, Bailey, if you're just fucking with me…"

Beau held his hands up, one of them containing Colt's phone, which had started ringing again. Colt reached over and snatched it from his taped hand, looked at the screen and swore quietly under his breath. "I have to take this."

"See, I was right. It was important," Beau chuckled as Colt darted out of the room with his phone to his ear. "Shit, the dude didn't even say thank you."

"Wonder why?" I scoffed.

Beau hummed as he took in the sight of me, still perched on top of the wooden box with my legs spread slightly. When I attempted to jump down, he stepped in front of me and held me in place by my shoulders. "He still hates me. I was a good guy and it doesn't even matter. He's never gonna get over it."

I shoved Beau in his chest and scowled. "Of course he won't. Not when you're telling him that we're dating. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Beau's mouth fell open in surprise and then he commented, "I just told him I wanted to take you out. He's had plenty of time to ask you. It's not my fault you can't resist me."

I rolled my eyes at him and sighed. "We aren't going out. I agreed to a friendly lunch, maybe. But not dates or dating or anything serious."

"Why not?" he asked gently, his vulnerability making him look and sound like a boy instead of the cocky man he normally portrayed. 

I took his hands in mine and softened my tone. "Because we're just friends. You know that. You were an amazing friend to me when I was at my lowest point and I appreciate that, but we shouldn't try to make that something more than what it is."

"Friends?" he echoed, sounding like a dirty word falling from his lips. "Damn I should've taken you up on your offer when I had you at my condo, Corri. It would've been so good." His blue eyes went dark and I could practically see the naughty images he was conjuring up in his head. 

"Well I appreciate the fact that you didn't take me up on my offer because I was drunk off my ass and didn't know any better."

Beau cupped my cheek in his big hand and grinned salaciously. "But I still need to make up our first time to you. I could've done better and if you give me another chance…"

"No!" I laughed. "We will not be doing that again."

"Come on, Corri." A lesser woman could easily be broken down by Beau Bailey. He had a sexy confidence about him that most considered cocky, but I knew underneath he could be a sweet guy. I looked into those beautiful hazel eyes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"While I appreciate your enthusiasm to relive the night you de-virginized me, that's somewhere we never need to visit again. Ever. And you shouldn't feel guilty, regardless of what Colt says. You didn't hurt me or take advantage of me. It just shouldn't have happened."

Beau grabbed his chest painfully and groaned loudly. "Damn you sure know how to kill a man's ego, Armstrong. That was brutal."

"I'm sorry," I chuckled. And I meant it. Even though he was joking, I could see how my words affected him. Beau was never lacking when it came to female attention. I'd seen his affect on women and knew I was in the minority when it came to resisting him. I finally hopped down from my spot on the box so I could start shutting off lights and closing down the gym. This was the one night of the week we closed early and Colt and I almost always would go to dinner together afterwards. But as Beau and I walked through the space, I hadn't seen Colt anywhere and I was beginning to wonder if he had already left.

"So…" Beau began with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder, his disarming smile in full effect while rocking on the balls of his feet. "Looks like Colt ditched you. Do you need a ride home?"

I glanced around at the now empty gym and shrugged. "I...uh...I'm not sure."

Beau cupped my elbow and grinned. "Dinner?"

I shivered when I felt Colt sidle up beside me, his big hand gripping the back of my neck in the most natural, comfortable way. "Hey," he growled while pressing his lips to my temple. "I'm sorry but I need to go take care of something."

I nodded, unable to hide my disappointment. "Oh okay. I'll just catch a ride with Beau then."

Colt gaze darted between Beau and I and I didn't miss the way his jaw ticked. 

"Unless you want me to come with you?" I offered shyly, hoping he'd say yes. We had unfinished business and I was anxious to be alone with him.

Colt only hesitated for a moment before slinging his arm around my neck and tugging me into his side. "Maybe next time, Bailey," Colt smirked at a disappointed Beau. 

Beau's mouth hung open for a moment before he recovered. "Yeah, maybe."

I watched him leave and then turned to Colt. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. But we need to go."

"Go where?"

"I have to go pick up Kash."

I couldn't help but notice how tense Colt was as we drove to Katrina's aunt's house. He explained that Katrina was supposed to have returned hours ago because her aunt had to work a shift at the hospital, but she had been unable to get a hold of her errant niece. Colt seemed stressed and it didn't seem to just be about rushing to get his son. 

Finally he told me, "Maria said Katrina has been gone a lot."

"Gone?" I echoed. "New boyfriend?"

He sighed deeply. "Maybe. But the real problem is that she's partying...all the time. And leaving Kash with her aunt or her friends instead of asking me for help."

"Because of me?" I asked sadly.

Colt reached over and laced his fingers through mine. I glanced over at him as he lifted our joined hands and pressed his lips to my fingertips. "I don't care if it is about you. She knows I'll take him anytime I can. She just doesn't want to hear me bitch about her partying. But I  hate to think of him being left with strangers." He paused and groaned loudly. "Why can't she put him first? I hate this."

I leaned over and rested my head against his shoulder as we pulled into Maria's driveway. "Maybe you need to step up and take him more."

"Yeah but I need to give him his own space and in order to do that...I'd need to move."

His words caused a sense of dread low in my belly. The last thing I wanted was for Colt to move out. He shot me a serious look before jumping out of his truck and dashing up the porch stairs to gather Kash into his arms. As I watched them hugging and smiling at each other, all I could think of was how I could help Colt keep his son in his life. And selfishly I wanted to keep Colt close to me, especially when we both agreed to try to work on us.

When Colt carried Kash to the truck and hoisted him into the backseat, I turned around to greet him. Kash's little face lit up when he saw me. "Hi, Corri!" he beamed. "I didn't know you'd be here!"

Colt grinned at me as he buckled his son into his carseat. "Of course Corri's here. She'd never miss a chance to see you, buddy."

"Really?" he gasped.

I reached back to squeeze his bouncing knee. "You bet! And I thought maybe we'd stop for pizza on the way home."

"And video games too?" he inquired excitedly. 

Colt slid into the front seat beside me and leaned in close to me. He took my chin in his hand and bit down on his lower lip. "You think you're cute, don't you? Ganging up on me with my son so you two can get your way?"

"Pizza!" Kash declared from the backseat. 

I shrugged before leaning forward to press my lips to Colt's in a chaste kiss. "Sorry but it's two against one so...you're out-voted."

Colt gave me a lusty sigh that let me know he was just as frustrated as I was. I nearly burst out laughing when he rolled his eyes. "Fine. Pizza and video games it is."

I turned back to give Kash a high five and I didn't miss the huge grin on Colt's face. Now I was more determined than ever to see them both happy and I'd do whatever it took to make that happen.

...

A/N: so I didn't lie...it's looking up for these two. At least they're moving in the right direction. Wonder what Corri's next move will be? 🤔