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He didn’t respond right away. He just kept swaying with me, his hands steady as he moved us side to side. I’d spoken a little bitterly, sure, but it was the truth.

“It’s hard for me to explain, Ellie,” he said quietly. “Please don’t do this to me.”

“Well, you’re the one slow dancing with me and defending my honor by getting into bar fights,” I shot back. “Sorry if I’m a little confused.”

He leaned his forehead against mine, locking eyes with me.

“I lost you once already, El. If I lose you again, I won’t make it out alive this time.”

The song ended just as the last words left his mouth. He kissed my forehead, then turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by people swaying to the music, completely unaware of what had just happened.

I was stunned. I couldn’t think straight .

When reality caught back up with me, I chased after Colt, spotting him pushing through the entrance doors of the bar. Cassie, Molly, and Jace watched in silence as I passed them, my pace quickening.

I burst outside.

It was pouring rain.

Squinting in the downpour, I could barely see ten feet in front of me.

“Dammit, Colt,” I muttered. “Where did you go?”

Off in the distance, I saw the haze of truck lights coming to life. Marching closer to the source of light, I recognized Colt’s truck.

As he backed out, I stepped in front of the truck. Blocking him, I threw my hands up in the air.

Colt put the truck in park and jumped out.

“What the hell are you doing, Ellie?” he asked, marching towards me, his voice barely audible above the pounding rain.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I said, a little louder this time.

“I’m trying to go home.”

“I’m sorry, but you don’t get to make that kind of confession to me and just walk away. That’s not how life works.”

“Crazy how you’re scolding me about walking away, because that’s exactly what you did two years ago,” he said, stepping closer.

“I had to leave, Colt. I felt trapped in this town, and I had no one to turn to.”

“You had me!” he said, holding his arms out.

“How was I supposed to know? It wasn’t like you were open about your feelings for me. You weren’t then, and you still aren’t now. One second, you’re slow dancing with me in a bar, and the next, you’re running from me. You haven’t been straightforward with me about your feelings, well, ever really.”

We were both drenched, the rain unrelenting. Colt’s white shirt was see-through, the muscles in his torso flexing and the vein in his neck coming to life.

“You wanna know the truth, El? The truth is, when you left, it broke something deep inside of me. I’ve thought about you every single day since that night.

Not a single day has gone by that I didn’t think about picking up the phone and calling to check on you.

But everyone in town always talked about how much you loved your new life, so I decided to let you go.

To let you live your life in Dallas with no regrets—even if it meant losing the one person in my life who has ever made my heart skip a beat by just walking into the room.

It was always you Ellie. And it will always be you, no matter what,” he said, pausing as he ran his hand through his hair. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Colt…” I was stunned.

“How did you get here?” he asked, ignoring the huge confession bomb he’d just detonated.

“Molly drove us. Why?”

“Get in the truck, I’m taking you home.”

“I’m not ready to go home,” I argued.

“You are not going back into that bar drenched from the rain. There’s not much left for a man’s imagination now that you’re soaked, and I don’t feel like getting into another bar fight tonight. Besides, we’re not done talking about this.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Colt. I’m a grown-ass woman. ”

“Ellie.”

“Colt,” I said, standing my ground.

“Get. In. The. Truck.”

I didn’t respond. I just crossed my arms, ready for battle.

“Fine. The hard way it is,” Colt said, coming towards me as the rain continued pouring down around us.

Before I realized what he was doing, he slung me over his shoulder, marched towards the passenger side of the truck, and launched me into the seat.

“You can’t kidnap me!” I argued, as he hopped into the driver’s seat.

“I think I just did.”

Colt put the truck in drive, leaving the parking lot of The Twisted Spur in record time.

I sat there, too mad to speak. The longer we drove in silence, the faster my emotions swirled inside of me. It felt like fire was going to start coming out of my ears.

When we pulled onto the dirt road that led to the ranch, Colt decided to end the stand-off.

“El, I’m sorry,” he said, looking over at me, putting the truck in park. His voice gentler now.

“For what?” I asked stilled pissed off because he’d kidnapped me—kind of.

“For putting all that on you back there. I should’ve told you how I felt all along, instead of keeping it in and throwing it all on you like that. And I’m sorry for chickening out that night after Maggie’s. You deserve better than that.”

I stayed silent, replaying Colt’s apology a couple more times in my head .

“What can I do to fix this, El?” he asked, his eyes filled with regret.

I don’t know what came over me. Somebody must’ve been controlling my body, because a second later, I was on Colt’s lap, pressing my lips against his.

I wasn’t sure how this was going to fix anything, but I didn’t care. It felt like the right thing to do. I wanted Colt so badly, and something told me that no matter how hard he was fighting it, he wanted me too.

He pushed his hands under my shirt, the heat from his skin on my back, warming me, driving away the cold from the rain.

Our lips crashed together as he pulled me closer. His hands traveled higher up my back, stopping at the base of my bra.

Colt changed the trajectory of his lips from my face to my neck, trailing kisses down and across my collar bone. Goosebumps appeared all over my body.

“Don’t stop, Colt, please .”

He granted my wish, planting kisses down to my chest, my shirt exposing the top of my breasts. As Colt began to kiss them, a moan escaped my lips.

“Colt.”

“Dammit, Ellie,” Colt whispered against my skin. I was sure this night could only end one way. But after a few moments, he leaned back against the seat, trying to catch his breath, stopping the traction we had going.

“I want more than anything for this night to never end, Ellie, believe me, but I want to take you on a proper date at least once before we go any further,” he said .

Damn. If Colt was anything, he was a gentleman, the exact opposite of what I wanted him to be right now.

I pulled back, catching my breath.

“Break the rules, just this once,” I said, trying to persuade him.

“You deserve it all, El. The flowers, the kind gestures, laughs over a fancy dinner. That’s what I want to give you—first.”

I climbed off his lap and dropped into the seat beside him, huffing in frustration.

“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms with a playful scowl.

“Does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore?” Colt asked nervously.

“I’m not mad at you anymore, don’t worry.”

A relieved smile spread across his face. Colt drove the short distance to the guesthouse while I sat silently in the passenger seat, wondering—for the hundredth time—why the universe seemed to hate me.

When we pulled into the driveway, Colt hopped out and opened my door, offering his hand to help me down.

“Be ready tomorrow night at eight,” he said.

As I walked away, I turned back to look at him over my shoulder. “It’s a date,” I said, winking.

“It’s a date,” he echoed, shaking his head with a laugh.