"It's noted."
He holds out his hand to her, entirely unruffled. "Anthony Rossi."
"I know," she says, shaking it. "We all do."
He glances at me. I give him a look that says:yes, they know everything. Welcome to my life.
He gives me a look back that says:I'll deal with you later.
The night is everything.
Dinner is at the big table with me and Anthony and Holly and Justin and Marco and the five girls, plus Chloe's Tyler who drove up from Denver, and Madison's Ty who flew in from wherever Ty is perpetually emerging from, and Lily's Ethan who arrived with a bottle of something remarkable and the calm of a man who is used to Lily's life being eventful. Because Lily’s life is always chaotic and Ethan is her peace in the storm.
The table is loud and warm and full of overlapping conversations and Holly keeps reaching over to squeeze my hand and Justin and Anthony have a conversation at the end of the table that looks serious and comfortable in equal measure, the ease of two people who know each other well enough that they don't need to perform it.
Colt appears at some point, invited by no one and welcomed by everyone, and spends twenty minutes telling the group chat contingent about the day I nearly walked into the bear enclosure, which earns him a look from Anthony and a lot of delight from the girls.
"He redirected her with one look," Colt says, with the energy of someone telling the best story. "One look and she stopped."
"I stopped because it was the right call," I say.
"She stopped because of the look," Colt says, to the table.
"Colt," Anthony says.
Colt becomes very interested in his bread roll.
The table loses it entirely.
Even Anthony is smiling.
I decide I love Colt.
Late. Very late. After the dinner and the dancing that Holly introduced by sheer force of will and the second bottle ofMarco's remarkable wine and the moment on the dance floor where Anthony put both hands on my waist and moved like a man who doesn't do this often and knows exactly what he's doing when he does.
The girls are in their suites, the sounds of laughter carrying faintly down the corridor. Holly and Justin have disappeared. The resort is quiet except for the night staff and the fire still going in the main lounge.
We're in the small library, just the two of us. Where it started, in a way, where he held my hand for half an hour and told me I was unguarded, not reckless. Where he spanked me. There's a symmetry to ending here that I feel but don't say.
He's got his bourbon. I've got the last of the wine. The fire is doing what it does.
"Amber said yes," I say.
"She's part of your people." He says it simply. "Helping you helps her."
"They like you," I say. “My people.”
"Madison's still deciding."
"Madison's always still deciding. That's how she shows she cares."
"Then I'm honored." He picks up his bourbon. "The piece did well today."
"It's still going."
"It'll go further." He says it with the flat certainty he uses for things he's already calculated. "That editor who emailed, make sure you call her Monday."
"I was planning to."
