Swoon: A Brother's Best Friend Standalone

“How long were you with her?”

“Almost five years, on and off. I hung in there much longer than I should have, in retrospect, because I’d met her right before the band took off on our first world tour—as the opener for Red Card Riot, as a matter of fact. I think I liked knowing, for certain, she’d gotten with me before I’d become ‘Colin from 22 Goats.’ That went a long way with me. Whatever else drove me to the brink of madness with that woman, I always knew she wasn’t in it for the money or fame.”

Well, I wouldn’t be with you for the money or fame, I think. I couldn’t care less about that. But what I say is, “So, you got a piercing on your dick to keep things from being boring as shit to her?”

He laughs. “Yeah, I suppose so. That wasn’t my first foray into trying to spice things up for her. But in the end, the piercing, along with all my other attempts, weren’t enough because I wasn’t enough.”

“For her,” I say. “You’re more than enough, Colin. Just not for her.”

He kisses the top of my head. “You’re very sweet. Sorry I went into such detail.”

“I asked, remember?” My heart is thrumming as I dare to ask the thing I’ve been dying to know this whole time. “So, do you think you’ll get back together with her at some point, or . . .?”

“No. We’re done. If she asked me to take her back, I’d say no.”

I sigh with relief, even though I know full well I don’t have a shot in hell of being with Colin, long-term. It doesn’t matter, though. Lying here naked with him, it’s still a lovely thing to confirm he’s not lying next to me, wishing I could be her.

“Enough about my ex,” Colin whispers. “Let’s not talk about anyone else either of us has ever fucked the rest of this week, okay? This whole week is about you and me. Nobody else even exists.”

“Sounds amazing. Although I should warn you it’s going to be difficult for me not to fangirl if I get to meet Seth Rockford this week.”

Colin chuckles. “Sorry to break it to you, but he’s a massive douchebag.”

“What? Noooo!”

“Yep. Gary Flynn, my director, secretly warned me about Seth. Told me not to believe a word out of his mouth.”

“But when everyone asked you about Seth Rockford at the rehearsal dinner, you said he was a ‘prince’ when you met him! You said he’s ‘every bit as cool as he seems in all his movies’!”

“You think I’m gonna tell the truth and risk someone posting what I said, only a week before I’m set to shoot my first movie with the guy? I didn’t know your brother’s groomsmen all that well. And I didn’t know Kennedy’s bridesmaids at all. I’m not gonna risk fucking up this movie for myself. It’s a dream come true.”

“I’m so happy for you. And for me. I can’t wait to watch you and see, firsthand, how movies are made.”

“I meant it when I said I’m excited you’re gonna be there with me, Ames. I think your presence on-set will go a long way toward helping me relax in what’s surely going to be a stressful situation.” Without warning, he turns me onto my side like I’m a rag doll and positions my backside against his front. “Okay. Time to sleep, my little puppet. All this talk about the movie makes me realize I want to do some last-minute prep on my scenes tomorrow, which means I’d better get some sleep.”

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.