Page 69 of Need You
“What if you don’t have a collection?” He wasn’t quite sure what defined a collection, but he knew she hadn’t been able to design anything of substance lately.
She thought about it. “I’ll go to Los Angeles and try to design there. Maybe the change in scenery will spark something. I came here to lie low while Robert and I hashed out the details of our divorce. I guess you could call it running away.”
Colt watched her for a moment. “What were you afraid of ?”
“Failure mostly. I was the talent, but Robert was the business. Without his urging, I’d probably still be working for another designer and never would have had the confidence to go out on my own.”
“So what really happened between you two?” he asked.
The question seemed to startle her. “Like I said, we grew apart.”
“Call it a cop’s intuition, but I’d say there’s more to it.”
“You don’t believe people can grow apart?”
“Sure. But from what I’ve seen there’s usually something that happens, like an affair or a life-changing situation, to make two people realize that they don’t belong together.” For Chip and Hannah, it had been Chip’s newfound sobriety.
She was quiet for a long time, then finally said, “Yes, but it’s too personal to talk about.”
“Okay. Should we change the subject?”
She took a few sips of her wine. “I think we should delve intoyourpersonal life.”
“I’m an open book. What do you want to know?”
She snorted. “You’re closed tighter than a vault.”
“No, I’m not. To prove it, you want to know what I’m thinking right now?”
“What?”
“That despite all the reasons it would be a colossally bad idea, I want to sleep with you.”
She leaned toward him. “And why would it be a colossally bad idea?”
“Never a good idea to sleep with your neighbor, for one.”
“And two?” Her eyes sparkled with laughter.
“You already know two. I don’t mess with local women, not unless it’s serious.”
“How can you know if it’s serious if you don’t get involved in the first place?”
“Because you’re leaving to go back to Los Angeles. Therefore, it definitely won’t be serious.” He drained the rest of his beer.
“Most guys would like that. Sex with no commitment requirements.” She raised her brows in challenge.
“I’m not most guys.”
His phone buzzed and he fetched it out of his shorts’ pocket. “Shit, I’ve got to get this.” It was the office.
Colt got up, walked to the other side of the deck, and took the call. Lately, it had been one emergency after another. No rest for the weary, he told himself.
After he signed off with Jack, who was technically on call tonight, he took his glass into the kitchen. Delaney followed him in.
“What’s going on?”
“A little boy got separated from his family during an evening hike. They’ve been searching for him for the last couple of hours and finally decided to call in the authorities.”
“It’ll be dark in another twenty minutes,” she said.
“Yep. They should’ve called as soon as they noticed him missing but figured he couldn’t have gone far. It was a mistake.” Hopefully not a critical one. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Not at this point. We’ve got the volunteer search and rescue team coming in and a few dogs. We should be okay, but thanks for the offer.”
He wanted to kiss her but left, showing a great deal of restraint.
