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“Hey!”He grinned as soon as he saw me.“How was the last day ofshooting?”

“They say it will win me anOscar.”

He fist pumped the air and slid out of his blazer, looseninghistie.

“Who isLouisa?”

He froze with his hand on his tie.His eyes slowly rose to meet mine.“I get the feeling I don’t need toanswerthat.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you stillseeher?”

He pulled the tie free and set it on top of his blazer, then unbuttoned his top two buttons.“Because I didn’t want to upset you?Because she doesn’tmatter?”

“When was the last time you sleptwithher?”

He took a deep breath and looked down as he shucked off his shoes.“I’m notexactlysure.”

“Give me aballpark.”

“Probably about ten months ago.Right after I ended my last arrangement butbeforeyou.”

Yeah, that jealousy exploded and multiplied.“So she’s the one you always gobackto?”

“That’s one way to look at it.”He crossed the room so he was standing directly in front of me.“It was sex and it was business.That’s it.I have zero feelingsforher.”

Not that I could comprehend that right then.“How would you feel if my mother suddenly appeared, threatened you away from dating me, and then when you refused, she told you I’d been slightly dishonest about my ex-lover that I still sawatwork?”

“What?”he barked.“Mymotherdid this?I’m going to kill her.”He started for the door.“I didn’t even know she was here.Grayson!”He yelled out theopendoor.

And then as if all my words sank in he turned.“Wait...did you say she threatened you?”He slammed the door closed again and was across the room in a flash.“What’sgoingon?”

I collapsed backward on the bed.“Where do I evenstart?”

“How about with thethreat?” He wasgrowlingnow.

I normally liked it when he took on that protective caveman vibe, but not today.Today it was a little exhausting consideringI’dspent the whole day inthatmode.

One caveperson atatime.

“She thinks I’m here to ruin Christina’s election chances.”Colt had a really nice carved wood ceiling.I’d stared up at it so many times over the last few months but hadn’t fully appreciated how easy it was to get lost in the designuntilnow.

Of course I was usually pretty turned on when I was looking up.So therewasthat.

“Why would shethinkthat?”

So I explained the whole thing.How I was connected to the McKinley’s, why she thought my family problems would give them a reason to use me, why she couldn’t take achance.

“I mean, I can see where she’s coming from but it’s clearly not true.We’ll just ignore her,” he said from beside me.When I turned my head to look at him he must have seen something in my eyes.“Shit.Whatelse?”

“You remember Ted telling everyone I ‘saved him’ back at that first dinner we had here?”Touching Colt was my favorite thing, so I rolled to my side and cuppedhisface.

“Yes?”

“Well there’s a story there.A story I thought nooneknew.”

“Oh.”His jaw snapped shut, the muscle flexing so hard I worried he’d break atooth.

“It’s probably time you heard it.Maybe it will help you understand my friendship with Ted.”God it hurt to dig up memories best left buried in the past where they belonged.“You already know I had a weird childhood but Ted’s was just as lonely.”I spent so many nights with Ted just for the company.In a way we formed our own little family.“Ted’s dad worked constantly and slept with everyone.It was creepy to be around him so we avoided him as much as possible.Ted’s mom was completely absent, usually at a party with my parents if she was in town.At some point Ted started drinking.I don’t really remember when.It all blurstogethernow.”