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“And your ex…?”
Yes. Let’s talk about her ex. That was much better than talking about her newly found stalker tendencies. And maybe when they were done talking about her ex, they could go through all her old photos after that poor decision to get a mullet and post them on social media for people to laugh at. That might be a good idea. She sighed. “He didn’t want to come anyway. I mean, he thought the trip was wasteful.”
His gaze softened and he took another step toward her. “When did you break things off?”
Remi swallowed, her throat dry and scratchy. Why did he have to ask that? She was done with all this painful talk. “Want to fire up the old Final Fantasy game? Should we give it a whirl before dinner?”
He put his hand on her shoulder and tingles erupted over her skin. “You’re deflecting.”
Yes, she was. “Because I don’t want to talk about Tavon.”
“Wait…Tavon? As in Tavon Harrison? The guy who carried around a briefcase in high school?”
Oh, dear. She had forgotten they’d all gone to high school together. She couldn’t take it back now. And Colton would know she was lying if she said no. She plopped down on the couch. “Yeah.”
“Seriously? You were going to marry Tavon? The same guy who petitioned to change the name of the chess club to the Pawn-zi Scheme?”
“Stop.”
Colton flinched and sat next to her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make fun of him. I just never in a million years pictured you with a guy like him.”
“And who did you picture me with?” The words flew out before she could assess them. If she had thought about it, those words never would have left her mouth. The last thing she wanted to hear was Colton saying who she should date, because she knew it wouldn’t be him.
“I don’t know. Not Tavon. But please forgive me. I’m being insensitive. You’ve just gone through a hard time. And you broke up with Tavon…” He let the statement hang in the air.
“Two days ago…” She took a quick peek at Colton, who was staring at her. “When I walked out of our wedding.”
Colton whistled and sat back. “Geesh, Remi. What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at home healing from all this?”
Emotion rose in her throat. In all honesty she hadn’t even allowed herself to think about it yet. All she knew was that she didn’t love Tavon and thinking about Colton made her happy, but she’d never in this lifetime say those words out loud. “It’s complicated.”
He assessed her, his shoulders falling. “I’m sorry. I’m being such a jerk. Come here.” He reached out and pulled her into his arms. His warm, strong arms. Her throat grew dry as her emotions heightened. She snuggled into his shoulder and closed her eyes so she wouldn’t start crying. If she gathered up all her imagination, she could pretend he was holding her because he loved her, and not because she’d just done something dumb like leave her fiancé at the altar.
“I’ll stop asking about Tavon. We can get him off your mind tonight. We can rent something super scary, like old times. And I’ll even pick up some Twizzlers.”
Blinking back tears, she pulled away and grinned. “You know exactly how to make me feel better.”
He kissed the top of her forehead. It felt like one of those spontaneous things that just happened, but it made Remi’s heart completely stop. It was things like that that had made her fall for Colton in the first place. The way he so impulsively cared for her, like it wasn’t something he could even control.
“Of course,” he said lightly. “We’ve been friends forever.”
She stiffened. Right. Friends. That was what they were. That was what they’d always been. Even when he did little things like kiss her forehead, they were still just friends. And she had no idea how to change that.
CHAPTER6
Colton’s phone chimed and he pulled it out of his pocket. Remi shifted on the couch as if she wanted to give him privacy to read his text. She was always thoughtful like that. He knew too many people who would blatantly crane their necks to get the scoop on what you were up to. Especially now, with his fame. It was refreshing to not have to worry about that with Remi.
Get Liz from her room and meet me in the lobby. I want the paparazzi to see you leaving the resort together.
Colton held in a sigh, but he sent an okay text back. His father was annoying him, but he had agreed to do this stunt. He had no idea he’d meet up with Remi and Brooke. All he had to do was get through this meal without stabbing himself in the throat with his fork, and he could have some fun with Remi. And maybe, if Brooke was scared during the film, she might cling to him. Heh. Choosing a horror flick had its side benefits.
He stood and brushed off his shorts. They were still sandy from the beach. “I’d better change. Dad wants me to meet him and Liz. I’ll text you when we get back. I’m looking forward to tonight’s movie.”
Remi nodded and hopped off the couch. “Me, too. Tavon didn’t like scary movies. I haven’t seen a good one in forever.”
“You mean, you haven’t seen The Silent Footsteps yet?”
“No. But the trailer looked amazing.”
