Jace removed the oversize pot from the rack and anchored it in the sand next to their lounge chairs. Ignoring the chairs, he took the time to spread out a large terry cloth bath sheet they’d found in town today, hoping for a romantic setting in the sand, a more intimate place to sit, eat, and watch the moonrise. Maybe like a midnight picnic? Anything to soothe the tension he’d formed between them. Jace dropped down on the towel, anchoring his arms around his knees, dropping his head between his shoulders. Why had he insisted Colt make those calls?

He warred with himself, completely uncertain if this was the right move to force Colt to call his dad. He liked things so much better when he’d had the hangover this morning. His head hurt too bad to fight with his heart. Now, as the battle raged between the smart thing to do versus what his emotional needs were, Jace scrubbed a hand down over his face and through his hair. Each minute that ticked by made him more desperate, convincing him this hadn’t been a good idea to push Colt into settling his past life.

What if Colt didn’t come outside? What if he worked out whatever caused him to leave in the first place? Colt could have taken off straight from the phone call, without so much as even a goodbye. Surely to God Colt wouldn’t do something like that… again. No, he wouldn’t, not after the day they’d shared.

Colt had easily held his hand today, accepted and gave quick pecks. Those things didn’t go unnoticed. Jace had been surprised they were already out around town as a couple. After the newness of the touches wore off, Jace realized Colt made conscience choices to do those things, and he was proud of him trying. It couldn’t have been easy to hide yourself all your life, and then just put who you really were out there, but Colt had in order to prove he was serious about their pairing. Right? At least that’s the conclusion he’d come to while they were shopping today.

Jace sighed, pushing himself to his feet, and walked to the end of the surf, standing with his feet at the water’s edge. He stared out at the night. Could he handle another Colt Michaels heartbreak? He wasn’t so certain he could. He actually knew he couldn’t.

Somewhere in the back of Jace’s mind, he felt Colt’s approach way before he ever heard him walking up. Relief staggered. He closed his eyes and said a simple prayer, asking God to please not let this be a goodbye. He was already so in tune to Colt, he felt his presence before Colt reached him. Jace gave an inward groan, pushing his inner negativity away. He needed to hope for the best, and he dropped his hands into the pockets of his shorts. Colt came to stand beside him, mimicking his stance. They were close, but not touching, and both looked out into the night, watching the lure of the ocean.

“It’s so calming out here,” Colt said after a minute. His mind was clearly elsewhere, and Jace didn’t look over at him. He just waited to hear what Colt had to say.

“I called my dad, and I called Maryia,” Colt said and inclined his head toward Jace. He still wouldn’t look at Colt; he just stood there, waiting.

“My father’s not happy, but he’ll get over it. He needs the allowance I give him. And Maryia… well, I should know something tomorrow, but I think she’ll bend. You shouldn’t be mentioned.” That caught Jace’s attention, and he turned his head in question, unsure whether he’d heard correctly.

“Oh right, you were drunk.” Jace rolled his eyes at Colt’s comment and got a chuckle from Colt. “I told you she found my stash of your pictures. I had this collection of articles and pictures, and she found it. She had your name and threatened to expose you. Said she would ruin you, start rumors about you being a child molester. I couldn’t risk her hurting you. That’s how it all started with us getting engaged.” Jace stared at Colt for several moments, and then nodded. He didn’t remember that from the night before. For about the twentieth time today, Jace had wished he’d been in his right mind to remember everything between them last night.

“I wouldn’t recover from something like that, no matter how big a lie it was. Parents wouldn’t ever trust their kids with me again,” Jace said quietly.

“I know. It’s why everything went down the way it did,” Colt said. They were both back to staring out into the ocean.

“So where does this leave you?” The magnitude of the situation settled on Jace. If Colt had truly taken care of his life, then everything sounded good, he guessed. Maybe. Jace wasn’t sure.

“It leaves me right here with you, but you keep giving off this vibe that I might not be welcomed. Jace, am I welcomed here?” Colt asked, without looking at him.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I just…” He turned completely toward Colt.

“No, I get it. Look, either Maryia’s going to expose us or take the money. My gut says she’s gonna take the money. I think she has the fame she needed to boost herself up, especially if she’s the bride left at the altar. She’ll use that pity and work it to her advantage. My dad’s a non-factor anymore. He destroyed us once, but he can’t touch us anymore. Besides, apparently he’s getting married to one of Maryia’s friends.” That caused Jace’s jaw to drop. He was dumbfounded, and he could only stare at Colt.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much how I felt about it.”

Jace shook his head. “Unbelievable, Colt. And this is the man who beat the shit out of you?”

“Yeah, I don’t like to think about that. Except he’s apparently still thinking he can kick my ass again if need be. My only defense for what I did ten years ago is that I was scared for both of us. He had such a tight grip on me back then. I knew he’d come after you and hurt you. I couldn’t let that happen. He’s such a bad man. I had those same feelings when Maryia attacked you. It just paralyzed me. It took me a solid ten months to realize I held the cards to my life.” Colt ran his fingers through his hair.

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