Page 98 of One Little Kiss

“I’ve never been so tired in my life,” I admit.

He crosses the room, lifts my legs, then sits, placing them in his lap. An involuntary moan escapes when he uses his knuckles to knead the arches of my feet.

“I would tell you to skip tonight with the girls, but Julia’s here, and she terrifies me.”

Anxiety fills my stomach with acid. “I don’t know any of these people, Colton.”

“I know. And I know this is your version of a nightmare, but they’ll take care of you. They’ll make sure you have fun. I really lucked out in the sister-in-law department, and it’s a bonus that they all get along so well.”

I stopped caring a long time ago whether or not people liked me, but it’s different with this group of women. What if I don’t fit in? What if I’m the outlier that ruins this Brady Bunch vibe they all have going on?

“Stop,” Colton commands. My nether regions respond to him like a Pavlovian response. “All the self-doubt invading your head, knock it off. Trust me, remember? I wouldn’t feed you to the wolves. The only one that’s going to eat you alive is me.”

And now I need to change my panties.

Colton glances down at his watch. Lexi will be here in about thirty minutes. My insides quiver with need until he says the dreaded words, “We need to talk.”

I immediately sit upright. I don’t realize I’m wringing my wrist until Colton pulls my hand away. “Trust me,” he repeats. “I spoke to Preston. We need to talk about your dad and our next steps. Pres spoke to our PR people, and they think we should move fast and intentionally.”

“What does that mean? And what are PR people? I thought that was for celebrities.”

He gives an impish grin, and my eyes close in embarrassment. The Westbrooks are celebrities in their own right. Obviously, they have PR people.

“It’s going to put you out of your comfort zone temporarily. Next Steps, that’s our in-house PR firm, thinks it’s the best approach.”

Sweat trickles down my spine, and I wipe my clammy hands on my legs. “What is it?”

“You’ll never be alone in any of this. I’ll be by your side every step of the way, CC. Remember that. Next Steps is putting together a press release now. Then they’ll set up some interviews. One with a gossip rag, as upstanding a one as they can get, one with a lifestyle magazine, and two with celebrity bloggers. Each will take less than twenty minutes, and Tilly will be on hand to intervene if questions are out of line.”

“I don’t understand. Interviews with you?”

“Us, Winnie. And some photos. You, me, and Weston as a family. A united front. We’ll also offer the first ever public photo of all the Westbrooks, blood, and by choice, together. That was actually Ashton’s idea, and he’s hidden from the public since his attack. Halton, who has severe social anxiety, signed off on it because we’ll do the picture ahead of time. Just family and a photographer.”

“Why would they open themselves up like that? It must be incredibly painful for them both.”

“Part of it, I think, is Ashton’s way of atoning for not stopping a nemesis when he had the chance, and Halton is learning to manage his anxiety. This will be a controlled environment, so he’s happy to do it. It’s what we do, Winnie. It’s the only way we know. There’s a threat to our family, so we come together. We build a fortress, so the threat can’t reach us.”

“But how will this help? Who’s going to be interested in me?”

His eyes soften, and he cups my face. “Everyone is going to be interested, CC. They want to know the woman who took down the infamous playboy. I was always front facing in our family. What can I say? I liked the attention, and it kept it off my brothers.” He smirks, but the way he says it tells me there’s more to it. “Now that Ashton proved those women suing me were lying, the press is searching for their next big story.”

“You let the world believe you were this obnoxious playboy to protect your brothers.”

He shrugs. “It wasn’t hurting anyone, but yes. I saw Halton’s reactions growing up. He hid it well, but he was my big brother. I looked up to him in many ways, but he changed when we were in public. I could see physical pain in his glassy gaze, so I started acting up. Drawing the attention away from him as much as I could.”

“And they had no idea,” I whisper, taking his hand in mine.

“There was no need for them to.”

Oh, Colton. How can your family misread you so drastically?

“Um, when would this happen?”

“Day after tomorrow. Then we’ll file a countersuit to have Jason’s parental rights stripped, and if you agree, we’ll start the adoption process immediately.”

My head spins and I feel lightheaded. “Wh-What adoption process?”

“For Wes. He’ll legally be ours, and he’ll be a Westbrook. Uh,” he rubs a hand through his hair, “that’s assuming you want to take my last name when we’re married?”