Page 53 of Soldier Cowboy
Yet.
Maybe her father had ripped her from her life out of love and not control the way she’d initially believed.
A love he didn’t easily show.
“When will you come home?”
“I… I think my father was right. I might actually have to move.”
“You love that condo! Don’t let Dan do this to you. I thought we agreed you couldn’t let him win.”
“I’m not winning when I’m a prisoner in my home. When I don’t have any real peace of mind. When I won’t even go swimming because he might see me. When my family and friends fear for my life. Here, I feel like I’m on a vacation in the countryside. You should see it.”
“Hey, let’s not forget that place is temporary. Whether or not you sell the condo, you can’t stay there.”
“Oh, I know. But listen. There are horses and cattle here, and a cute dog named Beer. There’s a lake I’m probably going to swim in, and you know how long it’s been since I went swimming. And the people. They’re the best.”
“Okay, I’m going to let the dog named Beer go for now. I just hope you’re aware that sooner or later, you are going to have to get back to work.”
“I’ve been thinking maybe it’s time to end the show. I’m just tired.”
“Are you tired of beingsuccessful?”
When she put it that way…
“No. Of course not. But this isn’t at all how Iwantedto be successful.”
“Cry me a river, Jen. We can’t all doexactlywhat we want, or I would be Chris Hemsworth’s personal assistant.”
“You’re right, I know. The money has been nice and actually making a living as an investigative journalist impressed my dad. But I only make enough to pay my bills with most of it being my ridiculous rent.”
The subject of rent in California was another one they exhausted before they finally hung up and promised to check in again later.
Now, Jennifer applied one last wave of mascara over her eyelashes and red color to her lips. She stood back and admired her efforts. Not too bad for a girl who didn’t normally wear makeup.
“Jennifer! Aren’t you ready yet?” Colton pounded on the bathroom door, startling her. “We’re going to be late.”
“We are not going to be late. By my calculations, I still have…um, five seconds.”
“Five, four, three…”
“Stop it!”
She took one last look in the mirror, fluffed her hair, and licked her lips. There.
“Two, one. Blast off. Open this door right now or I go to this wedding without you.”
He knew where to hit below the belt. No way was she going to wait inside this cottage while outside everyone was having fun. Not to mention that his entire family would wonder how she could miss this monumental event.
She threw open the door.
Oh my. She shouldn’t have been surprised but Colton looked incredible in black tie and matching black western hat. She’d been with him when he picked it up, but he hadn’t even tried it on. He’d shaved, too, and was clean-cut again.
She stared…and stared…and stared some more. It took her a minute to realize he was also staring as his gaze raked down her body and back up again. A little open-mouthed, actually.Oh God. She’d overdone it with the gown. One of the worst things any wedding guest could do was to outshine the bride. In her quest to be the spiciest thing since Hot Cheetos for Colton’s sake, she might have overshot. But surely not because Bonnie Lee was so preternaturally beautiful no one could even hope to compare. And blue was not anywhere near white. Or yellow.
She glanced down at her dress, feeling a wave of insecurity hit her. “Is this okay? It’s royal blue, not even close to white. I know that’s a huge no-no. But maybe…I don’t know…”
Colton swallowed, then held up both palms. “No, no. You’re fine, you’reperfect.”
