Page 43 of Irreconcilable Attractions (Westwend Boys #1)

Yet, somehow, the universe was hellbent on letting me fester because every opportunity to pull Colton away early was squashed.

One of his favorite coffee vendors had opened a booth at the market, so we’d spent nearly thirty minutes there as he chatted over the merits for different types of beans in certain lattes.

Mrs. Lambert had stopped us near a salsa booth, her magnified eyes pleading as she asked Colton and I to help her read the labels so she didn’t pick out one too spicy.

And just when I’d thought we’d be able to sneak away, we were stopped again by Ellie, of all people.

She held us captive till we both agreed to a time to come over for dinner since I’d yet to do that since moving in.

By the time we were in the car, my earlier frustration had boiled up again. When we rolled up into the driveway, Colton rounded the car to collect our purchases, and I made my way to the front door feeling like I was on the verge of bursting.

I’d just unlocked it when alarm bells went off in my head at the unnaturally cold sensation in my hand as it gripped the knob. Explosive pain burst through my palm a moment later and I yelped, yanking my hand into my chest in reflex.

“What’s wrong?!” Colton was beside me in an instant, depositing our stuff on the walkway.

“I think I just burned my hand on the door knob. Fucking fuck!” I hissed, gingerly opening my fist to inspect my palm.

The skin was red and angry, some spots looking like they were already beginning to swell.

Colton’s hand wrapped around the back of my own, doing his own inspection as I seethed internally.

What else could possibly go wrong? Was there some witch I’d royally pissed off recently who’d put a curse on me?

“Shit, let’s get you under cold water.” Green eyes met mine, the sympathy in them doing nothing to quell the embers of irritation inside me.

Using his shirt to grip the knob, Colton led me inside before ushering me to the kitchen sink, and quickly flipped on the cold water.

After checking the temperature first, he gently moved my hand under the stream.

Relief was almost immediate, my shoulders dropping slightly in response.

Closing my eyes, I tried to let the anger melt away with the pain.

“I really need to fix the awning over the door.” Colton muttered. “Or change the door handle. Every summer I’ve owned this house I’ve nearly melted my own hands off because, come August, the sun shines directly on that damn knob for most of the day.”

I gritted my teeth, the reminder of where we were in the year making my blood boil again.

“I’ll get it fixed, promise.” Colton continued, completely oblivious to the battle raging inside me.

“Don’t do it on my behalf. After all, I’m supposed to be leaving at the end of the month.” So much for an adult conversation.

Colton startled, probably given my petulant tone and looked up from my hand. “Leaving?”

His voice was laced with hurt, the single word causing tension to seep out of me. I swallowed thickly. “We agreed I’d be gone by the end of the summer.”

“Is that what you want? I thought…” He trailed off, those green eyes bouncing all over my face.

We stood there a moment, the silence hanging heavy between us as I waited to see if he’d finish, but when he didn’t, I lowered my gaze to where my hand was partially obscured by the waterfall over it. “To be honest, I haven’t even been looking for a place.”

“There usually aren’t many on the market in the summer, anyway.” His words were said so gently, but the way his hand trembled under mine gave away how affected he was, giving me the courage to finally say what was on my mind.

“I don’t want to move out.”

After a moment of silence, I raised my head, locking eyes with Colton’s. He stared at me, blinking rapidly as he—I imagined—tried to run through all the scenarios that sentence could take us. I couldn’t help the affection that bloomed in my chest as I waited for him.

“Okay.” Colton said a few seconds later. That was it?

“Okay?” I asked, my face mirroring his confusion from minutes before.

He nodded then shrugged a bit. “I don’t want you to move out either. I thought we had come to that conclusion already.”

I couldn’t help chuckling at his matter-of-fact tone. “No, we agreed I shouldn’t move into a smaller house. There was no conversation about you letting me live here indefinitely.”

Colton’s face morphed, the look he gave me feeling weighted. It had all my laughter dying as my mouth went dry.

“You could, you know… Live here indefinitely. If that’s what you wanted.” His eyes locked onto mine, so much intention behind them it took my breath away.

My heart slammed against my sternum as I tried to steady my breathing. I licked my lips. “I don’t want to just be your roommate anymore.”

“Me either.”

“Then what are we doing, Colton? What are we?”

For a moment, silence hung between us and all I could hear was the sound of my own erratic heart rate and the hissing of the rushing water. Colton’s eyes danced back and forth before his signature lazy grin spread slowly across his lips .

“How does boyfriends sound?”

Something swelled in my chest, laughter bursting from me before I surged forward to press a hard kiss against Colton’s lips. He chuckled before pulling back far too quickly.

“Is that a yes?” He asked teasingly.

“Of course it’s a yes!” I laughed again, a sudden lightness taking over as I watched his face split into a stunning smile. It hit me then.

I was in love with Colton. My boyfriend.