Even though J.Page’s phone call is in the back of my mind, I’m swept up in Colt as he takes Sebastian and me fishing the next day. Afterward, we barbecue hot dogs and s’mores over the fire at night. Then Sebastian falls asleep, and Colt and I lose ourselves in each other again, sinking into the hot tub, loving each other with our bodies even though neither of us says anything about love.

Maybe we don’t have to say those words. He has to know how I feel, just as surely as I know what’s in his heart. I’m surer than ever about our future now that I’ve seen how much he adores Sebastian and how easily we’ve fallen back into our summertime romance. We were meant to be together, and when I get back home, I’m going to make it happen by talking to my parents as the new step one.

I don’t tell him that yet, though. I just snuggle into his arms back in our bed as the night turns into morning.

When the time comes for Colt to drive us away from the cabin, I watch the little red haven with a porch recede in the car’s mirror. It’s the only time I get a pit in my stomach, as if we’re leaving our most perfect days and nights behind. But I’m sure I’m only imagining the worst, because once my family sees how Colt has changed, they’ll certainly give him a chance. They just have to.

After we return to Portland, Colt invites Sebastian and me to hang out in his suite for a while. Our son is rather unimpressed by all the grandeur, except for maybe the river view out the window. He keeps pointing at the Willamette and motioning with his hands.

“I think he’s trying to imitate how you cast out your fishing line into the water yesterday,” I say to Colt. “He already wants to be just like Daddy.”

I turn around to where Colt is standing behind us, and instead of seeing the usual smile on his face, there’s a melancholy tint to his gray-blue eyes. He’s got to be thinking of how he used to want his own dad around so he could imitate him.

Colt sees me watching him, then finally grins as if nothing is wrong. He opens his arms to take Sebastian from me. “Why don’t you give that Jacuzzi tub in my bathroom a try, Cookie? There’re a bunch of soaps and gels in there for your bathing pleasure.”

My belly twists and turns. “And where will you be?”

“Putting this little man down for his nap. I’ve been paying attention to his schedule, and the clock tells me it’s time for some zzz’s.” He looks down at Sebastian. “Right? Just check out these sleepy eyes.”

He’s right—Sebastian is fighting a nap, and the fact that Colt not only noticed, but that he remembered this little scheduling detail, warms me up. “Maybe I’ll take a long, long bath then.”

“And maybe you’ll get some company if it’s long enough.”

His cocky smile tugs at my sex drive as he turns around and takes Sebastian to the spare suite bedroom. We stealthily got the baby car seat there by smuggling it beneath the rest of Colt’s luggage. Of course, he and I came up here separately, with Colt wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses so he can remain incognito as “Darrin Hayward.”

With a light heart, I go into the master bedroom and its marble bathroom. Maybe soon I can try the rainforest shower, but that big bathtub is calling to me. I twist my hair into a high bun and pluck a fluffy hotel robe from the closet, although I might not need it right after my bath. Then I run the water and choose a silky blueberry and coconut scent from all the toiletries lined up on the counter. I flick on the TV embedded in the wall mirror to a junky reality show, then ultimately sink down into the bubbling, warm water, closing my eyes in pure rapture.

As I run my fingertips over my skin, I think of Colt and how his talented hands never fail to bring me to a shuddering climax. I think of those pictures we took the other night, and I slip my hand underneath the water, using my fingers to part the folds of my pussy and adjusting my body so that a stream of water from one of the jets hits me in the sweet spot. I wish Colt was the one touching me instead. Damn, even as I try to work myself into the kind of frenzy he so easily brings me to, I need him, and anything less just won’t satisfy me right now. Not with him in the same damned hotel suite.

With a sigh, I resign myself to waiting for him. I start to count the minutes until he can join me in here.

The show on the TV ends and another begins, and my eyelids start to get heavy. The water cools off and my skin begins to pucker. Maybe Sebastian is being stubborn about getting to sleep. Maybe Colt could use some help.

As I let the water out, I watch as it swirls down the drain. Maybe next time.

I dry off with a heavenly, thick towel, rub some lotion into my skin, then wrap myself in the big robe. As I’m shaking my hair out of its bun, I hear something outside in the main area of the suite. A door slamming. A female voice and laughter.

Huh.

I go to the bedroom door to open it a crack, and when I peek out, I see something that almost takes me down at the knees.

There’s a long, lean platinum blonde dressed in suede boots and a sexy gold crocheted dress whose hem ends where a guy’s imagination usually begins. Her straight, glossy hair rains down her back as she laughs and swans over to where Colt is shutting the other bedroom’s door behind him.

Holy shit, I would recognize this woman anywhere and everywhere—in movies, on billboards, in magazine ads…

“Surprise!” J.Page says as she holds out a bottle of champagne to Colt.

As he walks away from the bedroom, he passes her right by. He doesn’t even make a move to grab the bubbly—not the one in the bottle and not the one in the flirty dress either. “Keep your voice down, Page.”

“Why?” She smiles her magnetic smile and makes a show of looking around. Then she lowers her voice. “Do you have company in here, Colt? You bad, bad boy.”

He’s across the room from her now. “How did you—?”

“Get in here? Oh, honey, I didn’t learn to flirt like a sex demon with hotel personnel for no good reason. And let’s just say a big ol’ tip to the management wasn’t exactly a bad idea either. I told him I was coming up here to surprise you, and he agreed that I would be a wonderful gift indeed.”

My palms start to sweat, my chest going tight. What the hell is happening?

“How did you even know where I was?” Colt asks from between his teeth.

J.Page makes herself at home by putting down the champagne bottle on the coffee table and running her hands down her sides. She sidles toward Colt and lowers her voice to a purr. “How did I find out where you were? Please—amateur hour. Remember how we share an agent? I finally got Murray to tell me where you ended up when you skipped town. And props to you, my dear—if I didn’t know any better, I’d be very touched by this redemption story you’ve concocted.” She comes to stand in front of him with a pout. “I can see the headlines now when the studio is ready for you to come out of hiding for the movie premieres: Naughty Boy Spends Time with Mommy After Engaging in Hothead Barfights.”

“This isn’t just a redemption story,” he says tightly.

“Whatever. It’s only too bad Mommy lives near Portland. Yikes. I can’t stand hippies, and this town is littered with them. Is there a law here that says its citizens can shower only once a month or something?” She looks up at him with that pout, then tugs at his tee shirt. “Now why don’t you make my trip worthwhile, Colt baby?”

He backs away from her and walks off. “What’s with you, Page?”

She follows him. “Colt, you should be grateful I came here to rescue you from such a dump.”

She goes for his tee shirt again, and it’s one time too many. Anger flares inside of me. I don’t give a shit who she is or if every man who breathes wants to get into her panties—she’s clearly moving in on Colt, and I push open the door.

When she spots me, her famously blue eyes widen. In person, she’s far more stunning and radiant than on screen—her skin is smooth and flawless, her lips pink and bee-stung, her breasts perky in that tight dress, her legs going on forever.

First she looks at my hair, which feels like a red and brown mess compared to her shiny, luscious blond locks. Then her gaze travels down my length, and she makes a face like she sees a homeless person who accidentally wandered into the suite.

She glances at Colt, and he turns to me. When she laughs, his gaze goes hard.

“Oh, my,” she says. “Colt, honey, didn’t anyone tell you that a movie star’s redemption arc doesn’t have to include taking in charity cases?”

Whoa. She’s clearly whip-smart—and savvy enough to hide this bitchy side from the general public.

“Fuck off with that,” Colt says.

She lifts her hands up, then backtracks from him, casually picking up the champagne and moving toward the dining area with it. Her hips swivel under her dress, and with every step she takes, I feel like she’s crushing me into the ground under her heels. She’s gorgeous. She’s sharp. She has it all. Next to her, I’m such an ugly duckling. So why is Colt still looking at me as if he doesn’t give a crap about her at all? It’s clear that J.Page is into him, so why would he choose me, the girl in an oversized robe with a few pounds still clinging to her from having a child?

“Where’re your champagne flutes?” J.Page says over her shoulder. “We’ll only need two after you get rid of…” She jerks her chin back at me. “That.”

Colt’s gaze flickers with anger. I shake my head at him, motioning to the other bedroom where Sebastian is. I’m willing to go in there while he deals with J.Page. I don’t want him to ruin his career by snubbing her.

With a sick feeling in my stomach, I start to walk to the other door. Everything I ever feared back when Colt asked me to come to LA to be with him is coming true. I knew women would be all over him, especially women like this one. To see it happen right in front of me is a nightmare.

“Colt, darling,” she says, planting a hand on her hip, demanding his attention. She looks him up and down with a clear appetite, as if I’m not even there. “You blew me off in Vegas, so let’s make up for a little lost time now, huh?”

“Leave,” he says.

I stop in my tracks. I want to tell him that I can handle her bitchiness, but he’s turning to face her, his body tense.

J.Page laughs a little. “Excuse me?”

“I told you to leave. You weren’t invited here in the first place.”

When she looks at me again, it’s clear that her pride has been wounded. I’m sure no one ever turns her, the goddess of the screen, down because they’d rather be with a charity case in a robe. This must be a first.

“Colt,” she says as if he’s making the biggest mistake of his life. “I forgive you, okay? Here—let’s just drink this chilled bottle of Veuve Clicquot Yellowboam Ostrich Limited, and—”

“Out.”

She stares at him for a moment in pure disbelief. She glances at me again and narrows her eyes. A fast burn seems to roll over her, and she bares her teeth at me, then throws the champagne against the marble wall. The bottle shatters. She marches toward Colt, pointing at him.

“You ungrateful son of a bitch!” she yells. “We’ll see who kicks who out!”

As J.Page storms into the foyer, I hear Sebastian start to cry behind the door. I take one last look at Colt, who’s staring at the floor with his hands braced on his hips. The front door slams, and he keeps looking down, seething. Sebastian’s cries get louder, so I go to my son, my heart numb with confusion. I take my baby out of his car seat and hold him close as his cries subside.

God, I only wish I could make what just happened outside this room disappear as easily as my baby’s tears.