I make a soft sound of agreement, and Colin pulls me even closer into him.
For several minutes, I revel in the warmth of his embrace. The smoothness of his fancy sheets beneath me. As his breathing slowly becomes rhythmic against my back, I think about my amazing night. The glamour of Laila’s party. The famous faces I met, all of whom were so nice to me. That was probably due to the fact that Violet was introducing me around, more than anything. Violet’s a big cheese, being the wife of Dax Morgan and the little sister of Reed Rivers. Not to mention, she’s close friends with one of the biggest stars in the world, Aloha Carmichael, and runs a popular charity lots of stars scramble to support.
But, still, whether or not everyone’s graciousness toward me had anything to do with me, and everything to do with Violet, it still felt incredible having so many famous, high-profile people treat me like I belonged at that party. Like they were sincerely excited to meet me.
And what about the absolute best part of the party? Namely, the tortured look on Colin’s face when I started flirting with Kendrick! Ha! I thought the top of Colin’s head was going to pop right off! I was genuinely attracted to Kendrick and figured he’d be a fantastic Plan B, if I could swing it. But I can’t deny I’m beyond elated my Plan A worked out, instead.
My brain tries to recall the image of Colin’s face as he stared at Kendrick and me talking, but my actual memories are beginning to get scrambled up with images from a dreamscape, as my mind begins slipping away. Try as I might to stay awake and continue reveling in every amazing moment of the best night of my life, I simply can’t remain conscious.
I feel my breathing slowing down and matching Colin’s behind me. I feel my body surrendering to total relaxation and my limbs turning heavy, yet light as a feather. Until, finally, I feel myself drifting away into the most blissful sleep of my life.
Nineteen
Amy
I smell bacon.
I open my eyes and confirm, much to my thrill, I’m lying naked in Colin’s bed, rather than in my pajamas in his guest room across the hall. Which means the best night of my life wasn’t a dream! It happened! I’m really here!
Giggling to myself, I roll out of bed, throw on a pair of undies and a T-shirt from Colin’s drawer, and pad happily into Colin’s kitchen, lured by the scents and sounds of breakfast cooking.
And there he is. Colin Beretta. The hunky sex god who rocked my world last night and made all my fantasies come true. Colin is dressed in nothing but gray sweatpants, lean muscles, and ink this morning, while standing at his stovetop, stirring something in a pan. And the sight of him sends a whole new round of fireflies coursing through me.
“Good morning,” I say, entering the kitchen.
“Good morning,” Colin replies. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“I’m starving. Last night was a workout.” I peek over his tattooed forearm at the food he’s preparing. “That looks yummy. I didn’t know you can cook.”
“I’m a Beretta.” He tells me about the meal he’s preparing—a pesto-veggie frittata—and offers to make me a coffee on his fancy machine.
“That’s a coffee maker?” I say, as Colin gets to work on my requested drink. “It looks like a robot.”
“It’s top of the line, from Italy,” he says. “A total indulgence on my part. But, hey, I never know what to do with my money. I’ve got the house of my dreams. Three cars. I’ve paid off my mom’s mortgage and bought her a car. I’ve also bought both my sisters cars—which is all they’ll accept from me. So, why not buy stupid stuff like the world’s most ridiculous coffee maker for myself and everyone I love for Christmas?” He hands me my drink and, not surprisingly, it’s incredible. Which is what I tell him.
“It’s as good as any cappuccino you can get in Italy,” he says proudly.
“It sure is.”
“You went through there during the tour?”
I nod. “Rome. My time in Italy was way too brief. I’d love to go back one day.” I lean my hip against the kitchen counter. “Can I help you?”
“Nope. Just relax.”
“I can do that.” I take a sip of my cappuccino and let my mind wander.
“What are you thinking?” he asks after a moment.
“Huh?”
“You’re scowling.”
“I am?”
“Like this.” He pulls a face.
“Oh. I didn’t realize that.”
“What were you thinking?”
“Nothing much.”
Colin stops what he’s doing and stares me down. “Okay, let’s set some ground rules for this week. You’re gonna have to speak your mind around me, Amy. If you’re worried about saying or doing the wrong thing all the time, that’s going to get in the way of me being able to deliver everything you’ve asked for this week. Sex doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s best when two people are super comfortable with each other, across the board. Not just in bed. It’s best when there’s trust.”
“I trust you.”
“Okay, great. I trust you, too. So, tell me what you were thinking about when you scowled.”
My heartrate increases. “Just that . . . if you’re serious about not knowing what to do with all your money, you could give a nice chunk of it to charity every year.”
“I already do that.”
I sigh with relief. “I’m so glad to hear that. What charities and causes do you donate to the most?”
“Well, you know Violet runs a cancer charity, right? For kids with cancer and their families?”
I nod. “She told me about it at the wedding. It sounds incredible. She’s my hero.”
“Yeah, she’s passionate about it. So, of course, I give Violet’s organization a big, fat check every year. Plus, Reed throws a few charity galas at his house each year and all three of us Goats always go to those events and wind up donating a small fortune. Plus, we perform at several charity concerts every year. Sometimes, we’ll donate ‘lunch with a Goat’ or whatever to an auction. That kind of thing usually raises a pretty penny.”
“Oh, wow. All that sounds amazing. I’m so glad you guys do all that stuff. I believe those who have the most in life have a duty to give back—to look out for those in need.”
“I believe that, too.” But he looks unsure. He returns to the food in the pan, looking deep in thought. Eventually, he says, “Dax and Fish do more of that stuff than I do, to be honest. I’m happy to give, when asked. But I’m not leading the charge on that stuff.”
“No?”
Colin shifts his weight. “You know what? I’m gonna take this conversation as a sign I should be doing more. I’ll call my manager after breakfast and tell him to send me a list of some good charities I should consider helping, if I can.”
“Oh. I wasn’t trying to guilt you into—”
“I know you weren’t.”
“It sounds like you do a lot.”
“Not really, considering what’s sitting in my bank account. I’ve been feeling like I’m not doing enough with my money and platform for a while now. This conversation is only confirming something I was already feeling, deep down.” He flashes me a crooked smile that reminds me of the ones he used to flash me when we were neighbors. “Thanks for speaking your mind. I want you to keep doing that with me, okay? No matter what.”