Page 79 of One Little Lie
“So much it scares the shit out of me.”
“That’s the only kind of love worth risking heartache for, though, right?”
I stare at him for a moment. “You say that like you know from experience. Something you want to tell me?”
He forces a grin. “Nah, I’m leaving the touchy feely shit to you guys.”
Something tells me Colton is holding back, but I won’t push him. For now.
“Halt?”
“Yeah?”
“If you ever hurt her again, though, I will fucking kill you. You nearly destroyed her. Don’t do it again.”
Bile tickles the back of my throat. “Trust me, I’ve been punishing myself every day.”
He cocks his head to the side and lays a heavy hand on my shoulder. “I know that now, Halt. I’m sorry you’ve been hurting so much, and none of us saw it.”
A lump forms in my chest, and my eyes are as misty as his.
“I’m sorry I hurt you, Colton. I’m sorry we lied to you.”
“Nah,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder before standing. “If you’d told me back then, I probably would have thrown a tantrum. Worried you were taking my best friend away from me.”
“And now? You’re okay if we see where this goes?”
Colton stops in his tracks and turns to me, a serious expression on his face that’s so foreign to him. I misstep and have to catch myself.
“What do you mean ‘see where it goes’? Halt, you’ve been in love with her for over twenty years. There’s only one place this can go … with her becoming a Westbrook in name, too. If that’s not what you see, then you need to walk the fuck away right now.”
My eyes go wide as I wait for the panic to set in. Just yesterday, I thought I’d have to watch the best part of me start a relationship with my brother, and today he’s asking me to commit to her for life.
Is this the GG effect? Is she that fucking powerful?
“I’m not dicking around on this, Halton. If you have to stop and think about this, then maybe—”
“No. God, Colt, no. I just have whiplash. If I have the option to make her mine forever without tearing my family apart, then I’m never letting her go again.”
His goofy smile relaxes his face, and he barrels into me for a Westbrook special.
“Did you know I’m planning her bachelorette party? Jesus, now it’s going to be epic.” He pulls away from our embrace with a troubling chuckle.
“Colt, hold on, speedy. We haven’t even had a conversation about us, ah, dating.” I nearly choke on the words. How is this my fucking life? Two days ago, I thought I couldn’t have her. “Don’t go planning a wedding just yet.” But the thought has a smile so large sneaking its way across my face that Colton laughs.
“Yeah, this is going to be good, Halt. Real fucking good.”
The door bursts open, and Rylan comes flying through.
“I can’t take it out there for another minute.” Her hands are flapping wildly as she speaks, a sure sign she’s nervous. “The door was too heavy for me to hear anything through. What’s going on? Is anyone hurt?”
Colton and I both turn to her with matching grins, and her gaze ping pongs between us. He raises his eyebrow in my direction, and all feels right in my world for the first time in years.
“Yeah, sweetheart. For once, I truly believe everything is going to be just fine.”
“Fuck. This is going to take some getting used to. If you’re about to play tonsil hockey, can you at least wait until I drop you off?”
“Peter-freaking-Pan,” Rylan giggles, and I don’t hesitate to wrap her in a hug. The chains I’ve kept around my heart finally fall free, and it’s like taking my first breath all over again. The darkness I’ve carried is nowhere to be found, and I smile.
