Page 58 of No Apologies
“Oh my God!” She hissed.
“Ow.” He rubbed his bicep.
“What the hell was that?” Skylar gaped at him, “That was Rachel right? My assistant that freaks out whenever a man walks into the same room as her? That was her, smiling and blushing at your brother like a schoolgirl with a crush? I’m not the only one that saw that right?”
“Uh, yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair, “I’m still trying to figure out if that was really my brother though because that’s the first I’ve ever seen of a kinder, gentler Remington Bomar in my entire life.”
“She didn’t stammer at all after he came into the room. How weird is that?” Skylar gaped.
“I don’t know what the fuck just happened.” He admitted.
“I don’t either but I’m worried. I don’t want your brother anywhere near that girl. She has enough problems. She doesn’t need a guy like him sniffing around her.”
“He’s my brother so I should probably defend him. I mean, if she isn’t stammering then he must not make her nervous right? But it’s still Remy so…”
“I know.” Skylar squeezed his arm again and then sighed, “We’ve got to keep an eye on them but first things first, what do we need to do in here?”
Colt frowned at the reminder of the mess they were standing in, “Right now we’re in a holding pattern. I called the building super and let him know what had happened. Rachel said the deputies were on their way but if she told them my shop was involved I think it’s safe to say they’ll take their sweet ass time getting down here. While we wait, I’ll get you my insurance agent’s information. I already called and told him you’d be phoning. We’ll get this cleaned up and go from there.”
Skylar tilted her head, “Why would I call your insurance agent?”
“Because I’m paying for this.”
He groaned when he saw her lips thin. He knew that look. He’d been expecting it since the moment she walked into the shop. She was gearing up for a fight. He’d known that phone call earlier had gone too smoothly. She hadn’t caught on to what he already knew which meant he was going to have to lay it out for her.
This was his fault.
“No. You’re not.”
“Yes. I am.”
“Please explain to me why you would pay for the damage done to my salon.”
“I told you earlier, they were aiming for me. It’s my shop they targeted. From the looks of it, yours was just collateral damage. So yeah, it’s my insurance that’s going to cover it.”
Skylar paused and stared at him for a long moment, “What do you mean targeted your shop? This was probably just some random kids getting into trouble. Wasn’t it?”
He adored that she could be so naïve. Her first thought was that a group of teenagers had decided to go a step further than toilet papering and this had been the result. It never would have occurred to her that this damage was the result of a premeditated plan by grown ass men to cause trouble for him because she didn’t live with the same dark shadows that he did.
And he hated that he was going to have to show her his now.
“No. It wasn’t kids.”
“How do you know that?” Her hands went to her hips.
“Because they left a message for me at my shop.”
“What kind of message?”
“Nothing that bears repeating.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, “Look, somebody’s not too happy with me but this has nothing to do with you and…”
“Nothing to do with me?” Her eyebrows winged up, “Colt, we’re standing in the wreckage of my salon. I think it definitely has something to do with me.”
“Sky…”
“No. Don’tSkyme like that. I’m not being ridiculous and you’re not going to get away with shutting me out. Not this time.” She poked a finger in his chest, “I want to know what’s going on and I want to know right now. Whatever this is, whatever you think happened, we’ll deal with it together.”
That word,together, made the ache in his chest come back full force and he fought a wince because he couldn’t have it, “Sky...”
