Best Friends Forever

“That was outrage? Whew, we’re gonna have to work on that. Might wanna tone down the pouting level before you try and toss that rage out there.” He bent over and picked up his toolbox, then adjusted his belt. “Now, what are you so fired up about?”

“You!” I stormed. “You got all huffy with me over what I said on the phone. Where do you get off getting your feelings hurt over a one-night stand?”

“What if it wasn’t a one-night stand?” he asked, stepping closer and looking down at me. “What if I want something more?”

“Wh-what?” I backed up a few steps. It never even crossed my mind that he would ever want something more. Not with me, his best friend’s little sister.

“What are you talking about? I hadn’t seen you in ten years until yesterday. I live in Chicago. I came down here for work, I ended up having to stay here and we had a really nice evening and all, and oh my gosh the sex was incredible, but that’s… that’s gotta be it, right?”

“That’s it?” Colt repeated, moving closer to me. For just a second, I thought about stumbling back out of the way again. Realistically it didn’t matter if it wasn’t. We lived in two different worlds so it had to be.

“Yeah, that’s it,” I tried to say defiantly, but the words came out in a choked whisper, betraying the feelings I was working so hard to keep hidden.

His gloved hand traced a line from my elbow up to my shoulder, coming to rest behind my neck. The smell of old leather and the scratchiness of the stitching against my skin sent shivers racing through me. Colt gently pulled me closer and I followed eagerly, our lips meeting once again.

Unlike our frenzied, heated kisses from the night before—heck, from just an hour before—this one was slow, carrying the heavy weight of intention. There was meaning behind this one, and it made warning bells go off in the back of my mind. Fortunately, the feel of Colt’s hard chest beneath my hand all but silenced that warning.

I kissed him back, thrilled by both the intensity of such a new feeling and at the same time, the familiarity I felt with Colt. He was right. Being with him was somehow like coming home, even if he’d never really been mine in the first place. This was where I belonged, but then again, I had no place here.

Our lips parted slowly, feeling a whole lot more like a first kiss than the hundredth, but the increasingly familiar feeling of wanting him on top of me made me stop.

“I can’t do this, I have to go,” I whispered, breaking the kiss and putting some distance between us. I couldn’t meet his eye, knowing that it would only take a single look at him to make me change my mind. “I can call for a car to take me to the airport.”

“No honey, let me go take a look at it,” he answered, looking a little too lost for my liking. “Remy and I can give it a go, there’s no need to go calling for the cavalry.”

I could see a barrier going between us. I told myself it was for the best. He didn’t really want this. It was the thrill of the chase, the excitement of the forbidden fruit. He would come to his senses and I didn’t want to be in any deeper then I already was when that happened.

I waited in the house and tried to start working on my article while he and his foreman headed out to putter around with my

car. I couldn’t get my thoughts together for some reason, though. Every sound, every flickering movement made me remember another story, another time I’d been sitting at this very kitchen counter.

I looked up suddenly when I heard the front door open, and Colt and the older man walked through. Remy looked down and shook his head sadly, while Coly shuffled his foot.

“I have to ask you a question,” he began, finally meeting my eye. “Did you have a transmission when you started down here?”

“Of course I did... Why?” My heartbeat quickened, and my breath caught in anticipation.

“Because it doesn’t look like you have one now. Whatever’s left of it, there’s a belt and a good bit of screws missing. A few pieces might even be scattered between here and Oklahoma.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you have to get a new transmission, and you’re not gonna find a place around here that has one in stock. They’ll have to order it, I’m sure.” Even though this sounded like the perfect ploy—convince the damsel in distress that she’d have to stay a little longer while the part gets ordered—Colt did look truly sympathetic.

I must have looked crestfallen, because he walked over and took my hand, giving it a little squeeze. “I promise will get it up and running as soon as we can, just let me make a call into town and see what they can do for us. In the meantime, you can stay here.”

“I can’t,” I said desperately reminding myself I need to create distance before I get more attached. I searched for excuses.

“I’ve got to get back. Diana’s gonna kill me if I don’t get this article turned in, it’s already behind and it’s sort of my last shot at getting a cover. If I don’t produce something worthy soon, there just won’t be any reason to keep me on the staff.”

Remy excused himself and headed out the door at the mention of my work troubles, but Colt only smiled.

“I’m sure we can make them see reason, Sugar. Cars break down, it happens. But in the meantime, I can order the part from Carl while you get to work. Use my office, shut the door, and just buzz down if you need anything. Okay?”

I must have nodded in my panicked state, clinging to anything that sounded like a reasonable plan. I gathered up my things and followed Colt upstairs to a spacious office that made my cubicle at the magazine look like a janitor’s closet.

“Here you go. Just let Mrs. Claire know if you need anything, she’ll know how to call me if I need to come up here. I’ll just pop into town and get this taken care of.” He kissed my forehead, as if it was something we’d done every time we said goodbye for a minute. For that minute, I had a flash of what my life could be like with a husband who kissed me goodbye when he headed out. And I liked it.

Stop it, and get to work! I hissed at myself as he shut the door behind him.