Nothing like self-defeating behavior. He knew he should remove it, it was only a matter of time before someone saw him without gloves and noticed the ring, but he couldn’t help himself.
He mocked himself with a snort. He sure was a sorry son-of-a-bitch. Here he sat pining for her while she was in New York, laughing all the way to the bank.
So could you—cash it.
Colton pulled the check from his pocket, where it’d been for the past two weeks. And that was another foolish thing, carrying around a million-dollar cashier’s check. Never mind the risk, but it was a constant reminder of her real motives for marrying him. The check had been delivered by a personal courier, accompanied by a note. The impersonal words had sliced through him and burned into his heart like a brand.
Sorry for the delay, paperwork for the trust had to be finalized. Best of luck with your future.
If that wasn’t ‘Have a nice life.’ he didn’t know what was. She hadn’t even signed her name. The icing on the cake would’ve been the annulment papers—where the hell were those?
He had just raised his beer to drain the bottle when Joel walked in. Colton swallowed then smiled as best he could, knowing it was anything but welcoming, especially when all he wanted to do was scowl. “Got any more of those?” Joel asked.
He motioned toward the kitchen without bothering to get up. “Bring two.”
Joel handed Colton a bottle on his return, then sat on the couch and propped his feet on the coffee table. He examined the label on his bottle and commented, “Been a long couple weeks.”
“Yep.”
“You’ve certainly been working long hours.”
Colton lifted a shoulder. “There’s a lot to do.”
“Not that much. Marty and Neil have started asking Britt if there’s anything she needs done, just for something to do because you get to everything before they can.” When Colton cast him a sharp glance, Joel added, “You realize you haven’t had a vacation since last year?”
He tapped the check rhythmically against his thigh. “Don’t need one.”
Joel chuckled. “You’ve been in a mood lately, something wrong?”
“Nope.”
“Marty said they’d handle things if you want to take few days off…in case there’s anything you need to take care of?”
Colton’s hand stilled. “What’s that mean?” he asked suspiciously.
His friend held up a placating hand. “Nothing. Just thought you’d like some time away.”
Colton resumed tapping. “I’m fine.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you took a few days…”
Oh, so that’s how it is. Colton finally smiled, ruefully. “Okay, fine, so I’ve been a bear.”
“Understatement,” Joel muttered under his breath.
“Sorry.”
Joel took a drink as he shrugged. “No big deal, I’ve been there myself.”
Colton gave him a sideways, measuring glance, then shifted his attention back to the top of the coffee table. The only noise for almost a full minute was the faint tick of the clock, the occasional swallow of beer, and Colton’s absent tap, tap, tap of the check.
“What’s that?” Joel asked.
He stopped abruptly. Narrowed his eyes in consideration. Why the hell not? So what if she hadn’t told them—she hadn’t told him not to tell them. Joel’s “…in case there’s anything you need to take care of?” echoed in his head. Maybe she had told them?
No better time than the present to put his secretive wife to the test. He handed the check to Joel and watched his reaction.
Joel’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of zeros. What is this?”