Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

He threw the metal handle in a nearby trash can. “I have to run to the mainland for more supplies. I’ll be back later.” He brushed past me, grabbed a clipboard from behind my shoulder, and slammed the door behind him.

What just happened? I shook my head and fumbled with the doorknob to follow Cole. Something was bothering him—that I could tell. As annoyed as I was, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to figure out what was upsetting him. Maybe he just needed to talk about it. I chased him down the sidewalk. He was several paces ahead of me.

“You want me to go with you? I can ride with, help you load up the cart? Maybe we could grab lunch. I’m starving.” I smiled, trying to sort through his mood and find the guy who had flirted with me this morning about a sneak peek fashion show.

Cole didn’t slow down. He climbed into his truck and started the ignition. “No, I don’t have time to play around, Kaitlyn. Just go to the beach or pool or something.” He slammed the door, and I stared in disbelief as he careened the truck onto Gulf Boulevard.

“That little shit,” I uttered the words into the Padre breeze.

I stormed into the office, banging the door behind me. My beautifully color-coordinated spreadsheets stared me in the face. I had just spent six hours organizing his numbers and making forecasts, and he treated me like that. He couldn’t spare thirty seconds to attempt basic manners? I shoved all the reports into the top drawer of the desk and marched into the afternoon heat. I was done helping him today.

I didn’t want to lie out at the pool or on the beach, and I didn’t want Cole to treat me like some kind of child that had gotten underfoot. He didn’t see me that way last night—at least it didn’t feel like he did. All I felt when he looked at me and kissed me was that, without him, I would probably lose all ability to breathe in and breathe out. I just didn’t realize how true that was until I saw him spin out of the Dunes’s parking lot. I was in deep—Texas-size deep.

18

Cole

How was I supposed to tell Kaitlyn I had an email from her brother? That the world we thought we lived in together was filled with consequences. There was a good chance I was going to lose my best friend when he got home.

And what came with that? What else did I lose because I couldn’t resist what I shouldn’t want? The Sinclair family? The only people who had accepted me like a son. I’d done an amazing job repaying them. I’d fucked their precious Kaitlyn every way I could come up with.

Welcome home, brother. I’ve defiled your sister.

I hit my hand on the steering wheel.

That’s exactly what he’d think. He knew my reputation. He knew I’d slept my way through college.

But this? I had no one to blame but myself. Yeah she thought I was a dick right now, but that was my thing. I shut down. It was better than blowing up at her. She hadn’t figured that out yet.

Ryan had apologized for being out of touch, but he had been out in the field. I didn’t think I could feel this guilty. I was a grown man. I should be able to sleep with the woman I wanted to be with. But everything about this situation went against the code I stood for.

Ryan hoped to be home in two months. I wrote a few lines back. I hadn’t mentioned Kaitlyn. Maybe that’s why the guilt felt stronger. I was breaking code and lying. Fuck.

I looked down when my phone rang. It was Amber.

“Hey. What’s going on? Grayson ok?”

“Yeah. Yeah. He’s good. Where are you? You sound like you’re in your truck.”

I crossed over the bridge. “Headed to the hardware store on the mainland. Are you sure everything is ok with Grayson?”

“Well, actually I was hoping we could talk.”

I slowed the truck at a stoplight. “Amber. What is it?”

“Maybe it would be better if we met in person. Grab some drinks or something.”

“Can’t we do it over the phone?” I asked.

I wasn’t interested in spending any time with her.

“Come on, Cole. Less than an hour. I promise. It’s important for Grayson that we can work these things out. Don’t you think?”

“Of course that’s important. You know he means everything to me.”

“Ok good. So. Peabody’s?”

I looked at the clock on the dash. “I’ll text you when I’m headed back over to the island.”