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“No, no, no,” he rushes out, giving mom a warm smile. “It’s nothing like that at all. It’s just …” he lets out a soft sigh before looking back at mom. “I used to eat with dad every night and now that he’s gone …”
“You’re alone,” I whisper, finishing his sentence.
Colton’s gaze comes back to mine and he presses his lips into a firm line before finally nodding.
Mom sucks in a sharp gasp before flying across the room and enveloping him in her arms. “I’m so sorry, my sweet boy,” she says, holding him tight as his eyes widen in confusion. “I should have been more thoughtful. It must get so lonely in that big house by yourself.”
“It certainly has its moments.”
Mom pulls back and gives him some space to move before pulling out a chair at the table and offering it to him. “You can join us whenever you want, Colton. My table is your table.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Munroe. It’s awfully kind of you to take me in like this. I hope I’m not intruding.”
“No, not at all. I’m actually quite used to it,” mom says. “With Ocean having her four boys, my dinner table was always filled with hungry bodies. I’ve actually been struggling to remember to cook less each night now that it’s just me and Ocean.”
“I can imagine.”
“Yes, well Ocean …” Mom’s eyes flick to mine. “OCEAN! What are you doing? Don’t just stand there. Dish him up a plate. The poor boy must be starving.”
The poor boy? Oh, no. She’s got this all wrong. Colton Carrington is far from a poor boy. Wicked, lethal, dangerous, cocky, prick, sexy as sin. They’re all the kinds of words that I would use to describe him. Definitely not poor. Not to mention, he also wouldn’t know what starving would feel like. I bet he hasn’t missed a single meal in his life.
Colton looks back at me and his lips pull up into a grin, realizing he’s completely won my mother over with a sob story about being lonely in his big mansion. I don’t doubt it. He probably is lonely, but the loneliness didn’t start because his father died. It started way before that and I can guarantee that it doesn’t bother him as much as he’s putting on. If he was really that lonely, he could have called a million people who would have jumped at the chance to keep him company but instead, he chose to come here and have dinner with me and my mom.
He’s up to something. There has to be an ulterior motive that’s either going to embarrass or humiliate me, either way, I’m going to be ready for it. Though, there’s also a slight chance that he’s here hoping to screw my brains out.
As mom walks back around to her seat, I can’t help but flip him off and enjoy the way his brow shoots straight up. His eyes darken and just like that, it’s on.
How dare he play the lonely, broken billionaire and come in here and creep his way into my mother’s heart. That’s a twisted little game he’s playing. If he breaks her, there’ll be trouble.
“So, Colton,” Mom says, giving him a warm smile as I reluctantly grab a bowl and dish up a serving of pasta. “Tell me about yourself.”
“There’s honestly not a lot to know,” he says. “Mom and my sisters left when I was sixteen and never looked back so it’s been just me and dad ever since. Well, me, dad, and whatever gold-digger he was sleeping with.”
Mom’s lips pull into a tight, sympathetic line and she reaches across the table to squeeze his hand. “I can’t imagine how confusing and painful that would have been for a young boy. Do you keep in touch with them?”
He shakes his head. “Not really. You saw for yourself just how passionate they can be. Mom had originally taken me with her, but when dad came looking and I went with him, she turned her back on me too. She claims that I’m just like him.”
I shake my head as I walk back to the table with his dinner. “You’re nothing like your father,” I tell him. “It doesn’t take a genius to see that.”
He looks up and meets my eyes as I slide the bowl down on the table in front of him. “Are you sure about that?” he murmurs low. “Because honestly, I don’t know anymore.”
I nod, captivated by his eyes, and unable to look away. “Yeah,” I tell him, reaching out and dropping my hand to the back of his neck, curling my fingers into his dark hair. “You’re nothing like him. He was ruthless and cruel, and yes, often you can be that way too, but under all your layers, you have a heart buried in there and I see so much in it. You’ve protected me from the bullshit, dark world of Bellevue Springs every step of the way despite the way I’ve constantly pushed you away. You’re a good one, Colton, you just have to believe it.”
