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“I’ll tell that to Yvonne Taylor next time I see her.” Colt winked and took a drink from his longneck.
“Hey! She was being handsy and rude and, honestly, who has the right to just walk up and start pawing all over you?”
Colt leaned over and kissed Jenna on the mouth. Quick but deep with just the slightest hint of tongue. “You do.”
“I—what?” Crap. She was on her third glass of wine and her brain was slow to catch up.
“You have the right to paw me anytime you like.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She smiled.
“Please do. And know that I start to get whiny when I feel I’m lacking attention.”
Jenna burst into laughter, mostly because Colt looked so serious.
“So, with all this shit—your mama, Yvonne, and everyone nosing their way into everyone else’s business—why do you stay?”
Colt’s question caught her off guard. Yes, there was a lot of stress that came with Diamond, but there was a lot of love too. The answer was simple. “It’s home. You can’t run from your home every time something gets hard.”
Colt’s jaw clenched. “Sure you can.”
Jenna stared at him for a long moment. “Yeah. I suppose you’re right. But I don’t think happiness can ever catch up to you if you keep moving around, never giving it a chance to set in.”
When Colt just looked at her, Jenna felt her heart speed up. “You ever think about settling down? Home, family, all that?”
She tried to sound easygoing, maybe put a more lighthearted spin on the conversation, but deep down she was truly curious.
Colt’s blue eyes burned into her like he was peeling back every piece of who she was and seeing straight to her soul. “Yes.”
Jenna took a deep breath and an even deeper swallow of wine. “What about the circuit?”
Colt shrugged. “I’d give it up.”
“What? You can’t just give up something you love.”
“I agree. But who said I loved the circuit?”
Jenna’s mouth hung open. “You just…you’ve worked so hard to get where you are.”
“Yeah. I have. And I got to where I wanted. Got what I wanted out of it. But no matter how many times I tried, Lily and Alex won’t leave Diamond.”
Jenna’s heart swelled. She knew Colt had offered to take in Lily and Alex, wanting them close. But just as much as he didn’t want to be in Diamond, they didn’t want to leave. “Are you considering staying in Diamond?”
“When something won’t work with you, sometimes you have to work with it.” His words reached across the room and settled over her ribs. That was Colt’s whole outlook on things. He adapted, the best way he knew how. “What about you? You want kids?”
“Oh, God, no,” Jenna blurted out.
Colt looked shocked. “But you love kids. You teach, for Christ’s sake.”
“Yes, I do. But being a mother is very different. I wouldn’t—I just don’t think I would be good at it.”
Colt frowned. Really frowned, like he was gearing up to yell. After a moment, his eyes softened and he reached out to tilt Jenna’s chin up, forcing her gaze on his.
“You are not Miranda Justice, do you hear me?” Jenna had to clench her teeth to keep her chin from quivering. “You. Are not. Your mother.”
She sat there, staring at the man she’d grown up with. The man who saved her from a childhood she could barely handle and offered her refuge. A man who made her feel like who she was and what she wanted was okay. The truth toiled through her brain clear as Colt’s baby blues.
I’m in love with Colt McCade.
