Page 91 of Fake it for Keeps

Frankie watched me pace, her expression troubled. “And Hallie? Does she feel the same way?”

“I don’t know. She ran this morning. Literally stripped and walked away from me.” I laughed without humor. “Although that might have been her trying to maintain control. She’s good at that.”

“Have you talked to her? Actually talked to her about where you both stand?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I told her a good fuck here and there was just a perk of the arrangement.”

“Colt!” Frankie looked appalled. “Why are you such a pig?”

“I was being defensive. She was trying to put up walls.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I handled it badly.”

“Ya think?” My sister glared at me in disappointment.

“But then she changed. Played it cool. Like she agreed with me. Like it was just sex and no big deal.” I met Frankie’s eyes. “Except I know it was a big deal. For both of us. I could feel it.”

“Maybe she’s scared too,” Frankie suggested. “Maybe she’s protecting herself the same way you are.” She smiled a little. “Maybe you’re both idiots who are in over your heads.”

The thought hadn’t occurred to me. I’d been so focused on my own feelings, my own fears, that I hadn’t stopped to consider Hallie might be going through the same thing.

“Shit,” I muttered.

“Yeah. Shit.” Frankie stood up and put a hand on my shoulder. “Listen, I know you need to see the contract through. I get it. The business comes first. But Colt? Maybe Hallie was right about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t sleep with her again.” She squeezed my shoulder. “If you’re already catching feelings after one night, what’s going to happen if you keep going? You’ll be in so deep you won’t be able to function when she leaves.”

She was right. I knew she was right.

Sex with Hallie had been incredible, but it had also cracked open the armor I’d kept around my heart. I’d kept it carefully locked away and now it was exposed again, vulnerable.

If I kept sleeping with her, kept letting her in, I’d be completely hers by July. And when we got divorced, it would destroy me.

“You’re right,” I said quietly.

Frankie nodded. “I know.”

“Yeah. No more sex. Keep it professional. Get through the wedding, get through the six months, and then...” I trailed off.

“And then let her go,” Frankie finished gently. “Like you’re supposed to.”

I nodded, but everything in me rebelled at the thought.

Let Hallie go? The woman who’d brought me tortellini for lunch and looked at me like I was more than just a paycheck? The woman who’d melted in my arms and said my name like a prayer? The woman who was currently under my skin in a way I couldn’t shake?

“Colt,” Frankie said, her voice worried. “You’re already in too deep, aren’t you?”

“Hell no,” I said, but I didn’t know if it was a lie or not.

Frankie pulled me into a hug, and I let her.

“We’ll figure it out,” she said into my shoulder. “Together. Like we always do.”

“What if there’s nothing to figure out? What if she leaves in July and that’s it?”

“Then you’ll survive. You survived Lauren. You’ll survive this too.”

Lauren had been different. That loss had been sudden, violent, beyond my control.

With Hallie, I’d be watching it happen in slow motion. Knowing it was coming. Unable to stop it.

And somehow, that felt worse.

Frankie pulled back and looked at me seriously. “Keep it professional from here on out. No more sleeping with her. No more blurring the lines. Just get through the wedding, do the six months, and protect your heart as much as you can.”

“Right. Professional.”

“Can you do that?”

“I’ll have to,” I said, trying to weld closed the cracks in my armor.