Page 70 of Overtime
THIRTY-SEVEN
Joss
I wait nervouslyon the counter as I hear a car pull up in the distance. I’ve kind of broken into the man’s home with Violet’s spare key, waiting for him half naked with cupcakes like some sort of unhinged stalker, and suddenly this all seems like a very bad idea. Because I don’t know what the fuck romantic is. Things Violet and Ben would be wildly amused by might be less than stellar in Colt’s eyes. Even if it should be hot. Especially when it’s been a long day for him.
When the door opens and he makes his way into the house, turning on the overhead lights, I make myself known.
“Surprise!”
He jumps back, his hand on his heart but it’s the second voice that makes me jump off the counter.
“Holy shit!” Another male voice shouts, one not that dissimilar to Colt’s.
That’s when I realize there’s a second person trailing behind him. One who has the same sandy blond hair and blue eyes and is about an inch shorter than him. And right now, I’m thanking my lucky stars that I opted to wear the robe instead of just sitting here naked. I pull it tighter around me, covering my cleavage but that won’t help the fact that my nipples are still showing through the thin fabric, and this robe barely covers the tops of my thighs.
“Holy hell, Joss. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Well, I meant it to be a good surprise. I didn’t realize you’d have company.” I rub my hand over my heart where it’s still beating a mile a minute, and he stares at me for a second.
“You know her? Thank fuck. I thought maybe you just had these kinds of women show up for you.” The younger guy’s eyes flick over me with subtle interest before they return to Colt.
“No, well I mean it’s happened before but—”
“It’s happened before?” I interrupt because I don’t like the idea of naked women waiting for him. That’s a new surprise fact because I thought I was all right with the idea of Colt and other women in theory. Turns out, no. Absolutely not okay with it.
“That’s why I have the security system.” He gives me a meaningful look.
“Oh.”
“So is this your girlfriend then? You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend.”
I see Colt’s face go blank and his brain is struggling to catch up because he doesn’t know how to define this.
“A good friend.” I offer Colt some cover.
“Averygood friend by the looks of it.” The younger guy smirks as he looks at me.
“Cody!” Colt barks.
“Sorry, fuck. I’m just saying none of my friends wait for me looking like that.”
I suddenly realize who he is, now that Colt has said his name. Everything falls into place.
“I didn’t know your brother was coming, or I would have stayed at Violet’s. I just wanted to surprise you. I have cupcakes!”
“Cupcakes?” Colt walks toward me.
“Yeah, I have these ones if you won and these ones if you lost.” I point to them as he looks over the two sets of cupcakes. “See? Fuck bitches. Get money. Because Erickson is a bitch and you make twice as much as him, get it? Anyway sorry the icing looks terrible. I had to do it myself because the woman at the bakery told me she wouldn’t make obscene cupcakes. I also didn’t have a contingency plan for a tie. But it’s the thought that counts right?”
Colt’s face contorts and his lips quiver before a loud laugh rumbles through him, and he pulls me to him and kisses me. He smells like soap still from his last shower and the stubble on his jaw scratches against my skin as I kiss him back.
“You’re the best.” He grins at me when he finally pulls back to look at me and the cupcakes again.
“Are you going to introduce me?” I raise an eyebrow and look back at his brother.
“Joss, this is Cody, my younger brother. Cody, this is Joss.”
“Joss?” Cody’s eyes light with recognition.
