Part 13 (2/2)
”Under normal circ.u.mstances that would be true, Colby,” Sterling said smoothly. ”But not with this. End of discussion.”
Colby looked at him as her anger flared. ”It's not the end of discussion. I don't need you or James being responsible for me.”
Sterling cast James a questioning look. ”Was she this difficult as a kid?”
James shook his head. ”No. She was an easygoing child who did what she was told. Personally, I get the impression she likes giving you a hard time, Hamilton.”
Colby didn't miss the grin the two men exchanged. Somehow, during the time they had been behind closed doors, they had done more than come to an understanding about her. It appeared they had also gained respect for one another.
”The key word is 'child,' which I am not anymore,” she said. Then she turned and walked out of the room, confident she had set both men straight. She would not be told what to do. The thought of James and Sterling working together and being responsible for her was enough to give her a headache. Dealing with James at times was bad enough. She refused to add Sterling to the equation. Things would never add up. It was time they realized that she could handle things on her own.
She hadn't set them straight at all, Colby discovered later. She glanced across the dinner table at James. ”I'm not moving in here with you and Cynthia. I have my own place, thank you very much,” she said.
”Colby, be reasonable,” James said, helping himself to more of his wife's candied yams. ”You heard what Hamilton said. Your apartment building is probably swarming with reporters.”
”I am being reasonable, James. Reporters or no reporters, I see no reason why I can't stay in my own apartment.”
”I do,” Sterling said when he saw that James wasn't getting anywhere with his sister. ”Until the frenzy of our engagement wears off, you'll receive a lot of attention. You saw the reporters at the airport, Colby. The decent ones will probably leave you alone after a while, but the others, the relentless ones, will be ill-mannered and lacking any kind of scruples. At least living here will provide you with the security of a gated community.”
Colby frowned. She was used to coming and going whenever she wanted. ”But you can't expect me to be kept locked away behind some gate twenty-four hours a day. I have a job, Sterling. I took a week's leave to go to California but I have to return to my cla.s.sroom on Monday.”
”I don't think you should return to work.”
Colby looked away from the intensity of Sterling's gaze and returned to eating her food. ”I'm going back to work.” She looked back up at him. ”The school is secured so there shouldn't be any problem.”
”And I'm going to make sure of it. Mac will be here first thing in the morning.”
She lifted a brow. ”Who's Mac?”
”The man who handles my security.”
Colby released a deep sigh. She thought James and Sterling were getting worked up for nothing.
Cynthia, forever a diplomat, smoothly s.h.i.+fted the conversation when she said, ”Sterling, Colby mentioned you wanted a small wedding.”
Sterling took a sip of his iced tea. If it was left up to him they would fly to Las Vegas, but Colby had insisted on having a wedding. So he had agreed to a small, simple one. ”Yes, I want it small, simple and private, exactly three weeks from tomorrow.”
After dinner, Sterling urged Colby to call her landlord to make sure there was not any activity at her apartment.
”Reporters are all over the place,” Mrs. Foster informed her in an agitated voice. ”And it's annoying the other tenants. I think it would be a good idea if you were to stay someplace else for a few days until this blows over. I'm sorry.”
Colby hung up the phone feeling sorry, too. She hadn't actually expected this degree of media mania.
”I still can't stay here,” she said after telling the group of her conversation with Mrs. Foster. ”You and Cynthia need your privacy. I'll check into a hotel for tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow things will be better.”
Sterling shook his head, knowing they wouldn't. ”You can stay with me tonight,” he said.
”No, she can't,” James said with righteous indignation. ”It wouldn't be proper.”
Sterling frowned. He was beginning not to like that one particular word. ”Look, Wingate, Colby and I have practically spent the last four days together anyway, so what's one more day? I'm only going to be there tonight. I'll be leaving tomorrow and won't return until a couple of days before the wedding. The condo my attorney was able to find for me here is completely secured, and with Mac overseeing everything, Colby will be safe.”
”Fine. She can stay there beginning tomorrow-after you leave-but she'll not stay there with you tonight,” James said.
Colby rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. ”All right, all right. I'll stay here tonight and then tomorrow I'll move into Sterling's condo temporarily while he's gone, until things get back to normal.”
Both men looked pleased with her decision.
Later, Colby walked Sterling out to the car when he was ready to leave. ”Will you be returning to California?”
”Yes. I have some business I need to take care of there. Then I plan on spending a few days in Texas visiting my friend, Jake Madaris. When I leave Texas, I'll be returning here.”
Colby nodded. ”Call and let me know in advance when you're coming back so I can move out of your condo.”
Sterling nodded. ”It seems so far everyone is buying our story and that's good.”
At the moment Colby didn't want to think about the real reason they were getting married. She loved him and no matter what he thought, she had no plans to ever leave his life. After their marriage she intended on proving to him that he did need a wife and that their child did need a mother.
”Will you miss me?” she impulsively asked.
Sterling was mildly surprised by her question. He thought about it for a moment and knew that although he didn't want to miss her, he would. He would miss her feistiness, her perky personality and her straightforward approach to things. But most of all, he would miss her scent, her taste and the feel of her in his arms. In the four days they had spent together, he had gotten used to having her around. ”Yes, Colby, I'm going to miss you. Will you miss me?”
She looked up at him. A grin tugged at her lips. ”No, not really.”
Sterling tipped his head back and laughed. Once again it occurred to him that he had laughed more in the past four days than at any other time in his entire life.
”I want to kiss you,” he said, bringing her closer to him. Deep down he knew he should back away. Things weren't going as he'd originally planned. His relations.h.i.+p with Colby was to be all business and nothing more. But whenever he was around her, business was the last thing on his mind.
”I want you to kiss me, too, but I know for a fact James and Cynthia are at the window watching us.”
Sterling smiled. ”Let them watch. They would expect us to kiss goodbye, wouldn't they?”
”I suppose so,” Colby said.
Sterling lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss, to his way of thinking, was just as sweet as all the others had been, only too brief. Way too brief.
Afterward, he hugged her to him, knowing he would indeed miss her and that very thought bothered him.
It bothered him a lot.
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