Chapter 3

CHAPTER

THREE

Ten hours after the minister—aka, Kendrick "Blaze" Foster, who'd gotten himself ordained through multiple channels on the Internet just to be sure—pronounced them husband and wife, Theo and Eva were still beaming at each other.

Everyone could almost tangibly feel the protectiveness Theo felt toward Eva. And from what Colton had heard about her ex, Theo had every reason to feel that way. Eva seemed to bask in it, as happy to relax into Theo's protection as he was to provide it. It was like the two were connected—an invisible string joining them, causing them to orbit around each other.

Colton wasn't one to wax poetic—he'd always been much better with action than words—but he could appreciate the bond between the newly married couple.

He'd seen that bond his whole life between his mother and father. Yeah, they'd sometimes fought passionately, but that tie between them had never once been severed.

Colton leaned his elbow against the cocktail table and watched the bride and groom as they danced—laughing and chatting with the people around them, but their eyes constantly remeeting each other's.

That connection was what he wanted. Not the empty, hollow interlude of a hundred different nights with a hundred different women.

Not that he'd ever really lived that way, despite the trappings his wealth and fame afforded him. But even a hundred nights with a dozen different women didn't hold much appeal.

He wanted something real .

"You're not dancing?" Lincoln Bollinger, his and Bear's cousin, came over to stand with Colton at the cocktail table. "Theo and Eva specifically chose this location so that everyone could dance the night away."

The wedding had been in Oak Creek this afternoon, followed by a small reception just for the bride and groom's family. Then the party had moved here to Jackson, at the base of the Tetons.

"Just taking a break. Not as young as I used to be. Do you dance, Linc?"

He couldn't recall if he'd ever seen the other man on the dance floor. Although surely if he'd seen Lincoln Bollinger, prodigious savant, out cutting a rug, Colton would remember.

Lincoln tilted his head, watching everyone on the dance floor, as if he were solving a complex equation.

Complex equation was pretty much how Lincoln saw everything.

"Their movements and steps are in time to the music. Music, at its rhythmic core, is a series of mathematical formulas. Given that, yes, I can dance."

Colton had no doubt that was true. Hell, he could see Linc's eyes moving and knew the other man's giant brain was calculating speed, trajectory, angles of the dancers out on the floor…not unlike what Colton did when he was researching and performing a stunt.

"You going to go out there and put your academic knowledge of the physics of dancing to use, Linc?"

"No."

Colton slapped the other man good-naturedly on the back. "Afraid your calculations will be wrong?"

Lincoln scoffed. "Of course not. But I'm also aware that dancing and my inside voice may not meld together well. "

Inside voice . It was the term the Bollinger brothers had created for Lincoln as kids when their cousin sometimes didn't realize that what he was saying was coming across as jarring or offensive.

Even as a child, Lincoln had been a genius with most anything to do with facts, data, or computers. But with people…not so much. So, telling Lincoln to use his inside voice had become code for letting him know that other people were finding his words or actions unsettling.

"I'm sure you'd do fine, man. Your other cousins are out there. They'll stomp on your toes if you get out of hand."

"They could just tell me. They wouldn't need to apply contact force to my foot."

Colton looked over at Lincoln with one eyebrow raised. "Didn't mean it literally, Linc."

The man nodded, not offended, taking in the data. "Right. Missed that cue. I'll consider the dancing. Why aren't you out there? You're normally in the center of the crowd."

Colton rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't exactly sure why he wasn't out there.It wasn't tomorrow's snowboarding stunt that had him over here like a wallflower. Everything was ready. He, his dad, and Tony had gone over all of it again this morning before the wedding. Every detail was accounted for.

And all his friends were out there on the dance floor. Everyone was having fun. It was usually what Colton enjoyed most.

The wedding had been wonderful. The delight on his parents' faces as they saw all their closest Linear Tactical friends—some who had moved away from Oak Creek years ago—had been a joy to see.

But perhaps the most meaningful element of the wedding for everyone had been seeing Dorian Lindstrom stand up next to his son as Theo's best man. The emotion in Dorian's eyes as he'd looked at his son, his wife, his daughters…everyone had been caught up in it.

Dorian and Ray Lindstrom weren't here for this reception. They still had enemies that would hunt them down if they discovered Ray was alive. So, they kept to areas where they could control entrance and exit options.

Even at the wedding itself, some of the former Linear and Zodiac Tactical team members hadn't attended, offering instead to provide security outside with Oak Creek's sheriff, Callum Webb. Having people Dorian and Ray could trust watching their backs had enabled them to enjoy their son's wedding.

And that, in turn, had made it more special for everyone. The Lindstrom family had been through enough over the years. They deserved this one day of peace and joy, and they had gotten it.

So…

Great wedding? Check.

Stunt ready? Check.

Here with friends he knew and loved? Check.

Fantastic food and free-flowing alcohol where all he had to do was make it upstairs when he was ready to end the evening? Check.

Not that he was drinking heavily the night before a stunt. It wasn't scheduled until tomorrow afternoon, but he was not going to be recovering from a fucking hangover as he faced one of the biggest challenges of his life.

But still, Lincoln had asked an understandable question. Why was Colton not participating in the festivities?

He looked over at Lincoln and shook his head. "Yeah, normally I love to be in the center of the action—whether that's a party or otherwise. Honestly, I'm not sure what my issue is."

"Oh." Lincoln nodded solemnly. "I thought it was because Ella is managing the desserts rather than dancing."

"Ella?" Colton glanced around to get a look at her sweet face. Had he even seen her today? She hadn't been one of the bridesmaids, but he knew she was here.

"Ella O'Conner."

"Yeah, I know who you're talking about, Linc. I've known Ella since we were in diapers. What about her?"

"I just thought maybe you were waiting for her to go out and dance before you went out on the floor. "

"Why do you say that?" Colton forced himself to be patient. Lincoln wasn't being a tease—the man only dealt in strict logic, not conversational nuances.

"Because she's had a huge crush on you for years."

He couldn't have been more surprised if Lincoln had reached over and slapped him. " What ?"

Ella had never done or said anything that would suggest even a hint of being interested. Lincoln had to be mistaken.

"Yes." Lincoln straightened his tie, still looking out at the dance floor, still calculating movements, his words almost secondary. "Evidently, a ‘giant-ass' one, according to Lilah. I heard her tell Becky that the best thing that could happen to Ella would be to get into your pants."

" What ?" he repeated, almost double-checking that his jaw hadn't hit the floor.

Lincoln turned to him, nodding solemnly once again. "Just so you know, Lilah's statement doesn't mean Ella would want to literally fit inside your pants with you. It's a euphemism for sex."

Jesus Christ. "Yeah, I caught that. Thanks."

He tried to wrap his head around the fact that sweet Ella O'Conner had a crush on him. For a long time ?

He played their interactions over the years in his mind. He got to Oak Creek as often as he could and always loved seeing everyone there—including Ella. She was witty and kind, authentic and fun.

A good friend. Someone he enjoyed talking to. But only in the furthest recesses of his mind had he let himself even think about the possibility of more than that. Despite his attraction, he hadn't wanted to jeopardize any camaraderie he had with Ella.

And hadn't thought she was interested at all.

How had he not known about this crush? Because he certainly would've acted on it if he'd known. Wouldn't have been able to stop himself.

Even now, he had to shift and try to low-key adjust himself as he got turned on at the thought. He would've made a move on Ella years ago if he'd known she was interested.

"So, you're waiting for her?" Lincoln asked. "That's who you're waiting on to go dance and enjoy yourself?"

"No." Colton was still trying to spot Ella. "I had no idea she thought of me that way."

Lincoln muttered a curse. "I shouldn't have said anything, should I? My damned lack of inside voice."

Ella chose that moment to come out of some sort of back room next to a member of the hotel staff who was carrying a tray of delicious-looking treats. Her gaze didn't stop floating from serving table to serving table as she took in everything around her.

She said something to another staff member, smiling gently. The other woman rushed off to do Ella's bidding. Ella walked with purpose to a second table where the wedding cake had been before the bride and groom cut it.

She looked the way she always did: efficient, friendly, and… adorable .

Her brown hair was pulled back into a chic ponytail, and her blue dress and short heels allowed her to move freely as she worked.

And those curves… Colton's fingers itched to run along her skin—to get her out of that functional yet appropriate attire. Now that he'd started thinking about her that way, he wasn't sure he was ever going to be able to stop.

As if she could feel his thoughts, Ella glanced up at him and their eyes met. He watched as those green eyes widened, then her face turned a bright red, before she looked away.

Hell, if that wasn't proof that Lincoln was correct.

"She does have a crush on me." He couldn't keep the wonder out of his voice.

The other man nearly sagged in relief. "Okay, good. So, I didn't say anything wrong?"

"The opposite, Linc. You said something very, very right."

And there was no way in hell Colton wasn't going to act on it.