The Consequence of Loving Colton (Consequence 1)

“Not sure.” Max reached for a Danish. “I think Colton said something about her living around here. Yoga instructor. Very flexible. Hell, I dated one of those once . . .” He sighed with a dreamy, faraway look. “Couldn’t move for days.” I thought he was going to stop talking but he didn’t take the hint when I pinched his thigh. “It was amazing the way her body was able to—”

“Max,” I snapped through clenched teeth. “Not now!”

“What?” He shrugged and leaned over to whisper, “It’s just a date because you made up a white lie about having a boyfriend. On second thought, to say what you did was lying would be like saying Grandma isn’t imagining what Reid looks like naked.” He shuddered and took a sip of water. “Your white lie grew into an elephant the size of Canis Majoris.”

Panic welled in my chest. What if he fell in love with her?

“That’s a star, by the way,” Max whispered.

“I know what Canis Majoris is,” I seethed.

“Well, you flunked astronomy, so—”

“Let’s not focus on that right now!” I tried to keep my voice even. Laughter bubbled out from the hall, and then Colton appeared.

With my worst nightmare.

Hah, spelled it right in my head!

Take that, Jenna “Ugly Face” Urtin!

Yes, her last name was Urtin.

How was I the girl who got passed over? At least my last name made sense!

Why couldn’t she be fat? And ugly? And tall. Not short. Guys liked short. No, I wanted her to be a candidate for the freaking WNBA. Instead, perfect height, perfect pretty brown hair, perfect braces-free smile. Damn her! I slammed my fist onto the table, gaining the attention of every person in the room.

“Milo!” Jenna exclaimed, her face erupting with joy.

“Jenna!” I said in an equally excited voice as I clenched the fork in my hand, ready to wield it as a weapon if need be. “So nice to see you!” I clenched the fork harder.

Max reached under the table and pried it from my death grip as Jenna walked around the chairs. Awkwardly I stood without my weapon, and pulled her in for a hug.

Oh, great. She smelled good too.

“You look amazing,” she gushed. “And, oh, my gosh, is this your fiancé?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to say it all. To blurt the lie out and just be finished with the whole masquerade.

And then I met Colton’s challenging glare.

So I put on my big boy pants and went ovaries to the wall. “Sure is! Max, meet my dear old friend Jenna.”

I was counting on Max being on my side.

Instead his eyes widened, his smile turned deadly, and he pulled her in for a long hug—the type that screams, I’d like to get to know you better. “Beautiful, great to meet you. Any friend of Milo’s is a friend of mine.”

“Yay,” I said weakly.

I was in hell.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

COLTON

Her expression? Priceless. I was glad that Jenna had ended up being a cool chick. Luckily she and Jason had a bit of a history, so when I asked her to come help me win over a girl and ruin Jason’s wedding?

She was all for it.

Apparently Jayne had burned a lot of bridges in her short life.

“This is so nice.” I laid it on thick. “So glad you two remember each other.” I winked at Milo.

Her hand reached for the knife.

Max removed every single piece of silverware within reaching distance, like she was a three-year-old ready to inflict self-harm. Though I’m pretty sure he was more concerned about her accidently impaling one of his boys.

“Jason?” Mrs. Caro called.

He and Jayne were the only ones who weren’t seated at the table.

Shit was going to hit the fan—and soon.

They stormed into the room. Jason smiling so wide I was afraid his face was going to freeze in place, and Jayne pouting like she’d just been told that her fur coat wasn’t real.

“Good, now everyone’s here.” Mrs. Caro looked around the table. “We’re so glad you could all join us for this”—she cleared her throat—“very joyous union.” She reached for her mimosa glass. “How about a salute to the happy couple?”

We lifted our glasses.

And showtime.

I almost felt bad for Jayne—almost being the key word.

“Actually,” Reid piped up, “I’d love to say a few words.”

All the color drained from Jayne’s face, leaving her a hideous pasty white, and then she flashed over to red. It was like watching a confused chameleon.

“Oh.” Mrs. Caro looked confused, but sat and let him take the floor.

“I’ve known Jayne since I was in high school.” He laughed softly. “She used to wear the funniest cat T-shirts. That girl had an obsession. One time during se—I mean during, uh, on set, she even meowed.” He coughed wildly.

Oh, my hell. Forget Jason, Reid is my new best friend.

“At any rate, it’s been such a joy to see her grow up over these past years. Jayne, I’m sorry we’ve grown apart, those monthly visits just got too hectic with my schedule, and now I feel bad that last month, when you called I wasn’t able to answer. I hope you can forgive me for not being there when you wanted to gush about your new sex—I mean, sorry, your new fiancé. But, hey, we’ll always have New York, right?” He chuckled and looked around the table to make sure what he’d said had actually had time to sink in. You could hear a pin drop in the room.