The Consequence of Loving Colton

“So we’re flies now?” I asked.

“And boom!” He slammed his hands together again. “Not only are you trapped all over again, but you feel guilty that you even tried to escape.”

Something happened in that moment, as if a light were suddenly turned on in my brain. I looked around at Jason and Reid, and an expression of awe marked their faces, as if we’d just experienced greatness but were unable to describe how or when it had happened.

It was official. Max was a certified genius.

“So.” Max cleared his throat. “You ready, spider? Ready to get out of that web and become a free man? Just think, I’m not the fly, I’m not the fly. Come on, repeat after me, ‘I’m not the fly.’ ”

Jason whispered, “I’m not the fly.”

“Again.”

“He likes metaphors, huh?” I asked Reid.

“You have no idea.” He rolled his eyes.

“Again!” Max shouted. “Let me hear you!”

“I’m not the fly!” Jason’s voice could have shattered windows.

“Good.” Max slammed him on the back. “Good work here, boys. Good work. I feel like we made progress. Now, stick to the plan, and we’ll be toasting our success tonight. Hands in.”

He held his hand out. With a curse I put mine on top, Jason followed, and finally Reid.

“Feel pain, no Jayne!”

“Feel pain, no Jayne!” we shouted, and lifted our hands into the air. A rush hit me like we’d just won the Super Bowl or something. We’d save Jason, and then . . .

Then I was going to kiss my girl.

But not until I’d served her a bit of jealousy—after all, it was so much more fun kissing her when she was pissed as hell.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

MILO

I took a seat in the dining room and grimaced as the smell of food wafted into my nostrils. I had been able to shower without Max’s help—though he did try to walk in on me a few times just to be sure I hadn’t passed out. I put my foot down when he tried helping me apply makeup because, he said, my eyeliner needed to be darker and my perfume wasn’t strong enough.

It had been three hours since I’d woken up, and I still wasn’t feeling better, especially if my reaction to the smell of food was any indication.

Gross.

“Eat,” Max said from behind me. “Eat so you don’t puke your little lady guts out later this afternoon.”

“I can’t believe I used to think you were hot,” I grumbled.

“Still hot.” Max took a seat. “Still your best friend.” He held up a croissant. “Now eat.”

I took a bite.

“Chew.”

I chewed twice.

“And swallow.”

With a gulp, I chased the croissant down with a cup of coffee and slowly took another bite.

“So, we’re going to kill Jayne.”

Coffee spewed out of my mouth onto the plate in front of me. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Nothing. I just love keeping you on your toes. Hey.” He touched my cross necklace. “This is nice . . . Think if we tie a bit of garlic around it and stuff it down her wedding dress she’ll melt?”

I had opened my mouth to respond when Max suddenly stood and held out his hand. “Reid, meet my best friend and lover.”

I rolled my eyes and held out my hand. “Milo.”

“Nice to meet you, Milo.” The guy’s grin screamed movie star as he held my hand in his, then kissed my knuckles.

“Never gets old.” Max sighed.

“Huh?” I shook the fog from my head. The guy was gorgeous.

“He’s like that Twilight vampire guy, the one with sparkles. I swear he says hello and women’s clothes, they fall right off. Amazing, really.”

“He’s lying.” Reid winked.

I heard a thud and turned around. “Grandma! Grandma, are you okay?”

“It’s his eyes,” Max said from behind me. “Magic powers.”

“Ma’am.” Reid rushed to Grandma’s side. “Are you okay?”

“Heaven.” Tears pooled in her eyes as she reached up and caressed his face. “I’ve died, haven’t I? I just . . . I never fathomed it would feel so real.” Her hands moved down his chest, and dipped into his pants. Holy crap! Someone needed to get Grams away from the young man before she took advantage of him in a bad-touch way.

“That’s enough,” Max grumbled, pulling a laughing Reid away. “Sit and behave before you give her a stroke.”

Shrugging, Reid took a seat next to me and Max. I helped Grandma to her feet and set her down toward the opposite end of the table so she couldn’t attack Max’s brother.

“Where is everyone?” I looked around at the empty seats. Weddings were always stressful; people rarely had time to eat, so my mom had decided to do a wedding brunch instead of just putting out snacks.

“Oh.” Max reached for his mimosa. “Jason should be right down and Colton had to go pick up Jenna.”

“J-Jenna.” Paper bag, I needed a paper bag. It couldn’t be the same Jenna. Could it? No. I was being silly. Ridiculous, really. I clenched the glass so hard my hand shook.

“One more squeeze and I think you may shatter it,” Max said, his voice laced with approval. “Come on, give it a go, I wanna see if you could actually do it.”

“Max.” I released the glass and placed my hands demurely in my lap. “This Jenna, is she an old friend?” Guys talked, right? So Max, being a guy, would know.