Page 65 of Puck King
I smiled. “I’m here to see a friend.”
“Me too.” He tapped the buzzer three times.
“Morse code?” I was trying to be cool, but he had pushed the button for Alison’s apartment. This could be my way in.
A wry smile crept across his face. “My code.” The paper bag that he was holding between his fingers slipped, but I caught it before it hit the ground.
“Let me give you a hand.” I took one of the coffee cups from his hand.
“Thanks, man.” Travis adjusted his slouchy wool cap and leather jacket.
Our feet echoed through the hallway as we trudged up the four flights of stairs to Alison and Hollie’s apartment, number seventeen. I was in peak cardiovascular condition, but as we reached the floor, my heart was pounding. I could hear my phone pinging with text messages as we walked up to Alison’s door. The rapid-fire text style told me it was Everleigh so I didn’t bother checking. I had more important things to think about.
“Hello handsome.” Hollie opened the door and lunged at Travis to do who knows what, until her eyes met mine. She froze. “What the hell is he doing here?”
“He carried the croissants.”
I held up the bag with two fingers and shook it. “Travis needed a hand.”
Hollie’s eyes tracked between Travis and me and I cleared my throat. “I’m here to see Alison. I need to talk to her.”
Hollie pulled Travis into her apartment and blocked the doorway with her body. I hated how desperate I sounded, but… I was.
Hollie narrowed her eyes. “If Alison wants to talk to you, she’ll call you. But she’s not here, and I’ll never tell you, or anyone in your family, where she is.”
“Please, Hollie.” I stuck my boot in the doorway before she could slam it in my face. “There’s been a big misunderstanding. I promise I’ll leave Alison alone after I talk to her. I just have to hear it from her.”
“Give me one second, babe.” Hollie turned to speak to Travis and then stepped out into the hallway alone. “Hearwhatfrom Alison?” She pulled her sweater tightly around her body and stared me down.
“I need to hear that…” Shit, this was harder than I thought. What did I need to know? I took a deep breath. “I just need Alison to know that it was real for me. And I need to know that what we had was real for her, too.”
“Real?” Hollie furrowed her brow. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“She didn’t tell you about the agreement?”
Hollie tilted her head and seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “What agreement, Colton? The contract that your sister breached? Or…” She tapped her lips with her finger and then pointed at me. “Or forcing Ali to choose between getting paid out for the breached contract and losing it all?”
“Wait, what?” I was confused.
“What agreement were you talking about?” Hollie’s body seemed to soften and she let go of the death grip on her sweater. I saw my chance.
“Hollie. I love Alison.” It seemed as though Alison hadn’t told Hollie about the fake girlfriend agreement. “And I can tell you some things about our relationship that might change your mind about me.” It was clear that Hollie didn’t think too highly of me.
“You love her?” Her voice was quiet.
“I do.”
Hollie opened the door. “Come in, Colton. I want you to tell me everything. And then I’ll decide if you’re worthy of the most amazing woman in the world.”
Thirty
Alison
After Hollie had goneto bed, I’d packed a bag and got on the first train out of the city. Telling her that we had lost our contract with the team was excruciating. The King Corporation had the finest lawyers in the country, and mine – well, they couldn’t even handle a divorce settlement. I had wanted to tell Hollie about the fake relationship deal, but couldn’t risk it. I hated to ruin her night, especially when she was so excited about her date with Travis. In classic Hollie fashion, she took the news incredibly well – after threatening to put Nair in Everleigh’s shampoo bottle the next time she saw her at spin class, that is.
Now, sitting in my childhood bedroom, I hugged a feather pillow to my chest. Stuart and my father were out in the barn and I could hear my mom clanging around in the kitchen below. It had been two days since I’d left the frenetic energy of the city, and my heart was still racing. But I had a pocket full of money and the farm was safe, at least for now. I’d been going back and forth over which King I hated more, Colton or Everleigh.
My phone sat on the tallboy dresser, face down on the chipped paint. I was tempted to turn it on, to see if Colton had any explanation for lying to me about Brittany, but I didn’t. I needed space. I had already gotten over a cheating husband, and knew that in time I would get over a fake relationship that should’ve stayed that way – fake.
