Page 54 of Need You
“Does the equipment matter that much?”
“Let’s put it this way: What kind of sewing machine do you use in your line of work? Something from Walmart or an industrial machine with all the bells and whistles?”
“Okay, I get your point.”
“Now, I’m not expecting him to spend city funds on some fancy, super expensive kayak, but at least consult with me if I’m the guy racing the damn thing.”
“You want to win, don’t you?” She was laughing at him.
“I’m a competitive guy—nothing wrong with that.”
“Nope. But somehow I get the feeling that you and your brothers are over the top in that area.”
His mouth tipped up. “I’d say you’re right. It comes with the territory. We were raised in a family of daredevils.”
She shook her head with those sparkling blue eyes of hers as if to say,you’re nuts, you’re all nuts. God, she lit him up. He couldn’t help himself and just stared, noticing for the first time the length of her lashes and how they were as dark as her hair. And her lips. Man, he loved her lips. It took everything he had not to kiss her.
“You want more wine?” He tore his gaze away and topped off her glass just to keep his hands busy.
“Uh, not too much. I’m a lightweight. A couple of glasses of wine and, well, you don’t want to know.”
Hell yeah, he wanted to know. “Here”—he held the platter in front of her—“have more cheese and crackers. It’ll line your stomach, unless you want to get drunk.”
“No. I made enough of a fool of myself last night.”
“You really didn’t, Delaney. You had a rough confrontation with Robert, you worked on the pants to distract you from it, and lost track of the time. I’ve been there.”
“Because of an ex?”
That’s not what he had meant, but yeah. “Sure. You make pants, I skydive or BASE jump or parachute ski.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Pretty bad.” He didn’t usually talk about it, but he supposed if anyone could identify with a bad breakup, she could. “It’s been fifteen months, though. I’ve moved on ... she’s moved on. We’re all good.”
“Is that why you don’t date women in Glory Junction?”
“Let’s just say it was a very public breakup and I’m a very private person. But in general it’s really not a good idea. I already have so many ties to this town that everyone is up in my business. I’d like to keep my romantic life under wraps, until I’m in a serious relationship.”
“I gather she . . . the public breakup one . . . was serious.”
“I thought it was. She had different ideas.” Like taking the first plane out of here to Nashville.
“I’m sorry, Colt. I know how much that hurts.”
“So it was Robert’s idea to leave?” If so, the dude was a first-class idiot.
“Ultimately, I left him. But he was unhappy. In hindsight, I was too. By the end, we were little more than business partners.”
“You think you’ll try to reconcile?”
“No. Neither of us is interested in a reconciliation. It was over even before it was over. I wish things weren’t so contentious now, but I suppose that’s what happens when so much of our personal and professional lives are intertwined. What did this ex of yours do? Was she in law enforcement?”
That would’ve been so much easier. “She’s a singer. When her career hit the skids she came here to be a ski instructor with plans to quit the music business. We played around town, some shows in Tahoe, but it was for fun. With Josh in the army we needed someone at Garner Adventure to head up the ski program. She was planning to take the job. . . .”
“And?”
Colt paused, then said, “An indie film that no one expected to do anything suddenly became a box office hit. The movie’s score was hers, including the theme song, which got huge airplay. Her music career was resurrected overnight and she decided she wanted that more than she wanted ... It worked out for the best,” especially now that he knew what kind of person she was.
