Page 2 of One Little Kiss

“Whatever, Colty. Just take your damn hands off my wife.”

“You sure you want to marry this asshole?” I whisper to Rylan, but then raise my voice for Halton’s benefit. “You’re not his wife yet. You can still run.”

I huff out a painful gasp when the jerk elbows me in the kidney. “Hands off.”

“Jesus, Halt. I was only joking.” Rubbing my now sore side, I release Rylan.

“Let’s get this over with. We still have stuff to do.” Rylan has softened him, but willingly social, he’s not.

“Well, maybe you should have given everyone a little more warning that you wanted to get married in Mexico. A month really isn’t much notice. I can’t even find a night for Rylan’s bachelorette party.” I pout. As her best friend, I’ve been planning her bachelorette for years.

“Colty,” Rylan sighs. “We told you, we aren’t doing the parties. Neither of us wanted one, but we’ll do a Jack and Jill party on the island. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

If she didn’t look so happy, I’d fight her on this. But seeing them together makes my chest beat an uneasy rhythm that screams happiness and forever. We’ll ignore the slight pang of longing I also get whenever I watch them too closely. I’m not relationship material, Peter Pan and all.

“Don’t roll your eyes, Colton. This is what she wants. Family, the beach, and the great Mayan Ruins.”

Halton’s stern tone drags me from my thoughts.Eesh. He thinks I rolled my eyes because of the party. Well, good. Let him believe that. It’s easier than explaining the yearning I don’t want to acknowledge that sits just below the surface.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’ll be great. Okay, let’s get everyone on board with your instructions. I have to head out soon to get ready for the meeting in Boston.”

“You doing okay with it?” Halt asks, suddenly all business.

“Yeah. I have this proposal. I know it inside out and upside down, but …”

“But Macomb is still fucking around.”

My shoulders tense thinking about it. He hit the nail on the head. “I just don’t understand why Ash hasn’t taken him down yet.”

Macomb is our arch-nemesis in the business world. He’s a snake in the grass, and Ash has everything he needs to put the guy in prison, but he’s dragging his heels and none of us knows why. My best guess is it has something to do with Macomb’s missing daughter, and Ash has been through so much, none of us dare push him on it.

“We have to do something soon,” Halton agrees. “The losses aren’t happening as frequently, but we can’t afford to keep absorbing them when they do. Since Macomb lost his inside man, he hasn’t been able to hit us as hard, and we all know what happens when people get desperate.”

“Things turn personal,” I mutter. A chill goes up my spine thinking about how easily Macomb paid off a trusted WB advisor’s significant other. He fed Macomb information that nearly crippled part of our company for months before we caught him.

Rylan and I nod because it’s something we’ve both heard ad nauseam for the last two years.

“Do you really think he’d come after one of you with all that Ash has on him?” she asks, alarm showing in the frown lines that rarely appear on her sun-kissed face. Fall in Vermont looks good on her.

“Sorry,” Halt mumbles, recognizing he went off on a tangent again. “With Macomb, it’s best to prepare for everything. But we’ll handle it. We always do. Let’s get this show on the road, huh?”

Rylan places a hand on his bicep, and I watch Halton’s demeanor change. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just the tiniest bit envious of what they have together. Glancing around, I notice all the guys have it. Everyone besides Ash and I, but even he’s calmer with Sadie on one side and Tate on the other.Two tiny bookends protecting our protector.

I zone out as Halt and Rylan gather the adults and give them the itinerary for Mexico. When the family meeting ends, I hug everyone, grab my suitcase, and head to Boston to pitch The WB marketing vertical to the Fenway Sports Group.

* * *

“How did it go?” There’s no mistaking the smile in Halton’s voice, even as the ocean breeze attempts to muffle the sound.

“It couldn’t have gone any better, Halt. Seriously, I killed it. Ask Mason if you don’t believe me. He’s probably three bloody Marys in celebrating.”

“Nah, I trust you, Colton. That’s great. You’re at the airport now?”

He has no idea how much his trust means. Sometimes I think my brothers expect me to fail.

“Yeah, I’m heading to the VIP suite to work on the pre …”

“Colt?”