Ten Reasons to Stay ((The Risky Hearts Duet) Book 1)

by Candace Knoebel

  I was stuffed before I could make it through half the menu. “I can’t,” I said as he held another bite out for me to try. “I’ll explode,” I continued, giggling. I leaned back and unbuttoned my pants for breathing room.

  “We can’t have that,” he said, plopping the piece into his mouth.

  “No, we can’t.”

  On the screen, Edward was fighting his fear of heights, trying to rescue his princess.

  “This is my favorite part,” I said, watching as Vivian laughed, waiting for the love of her life.

  “Isn’t it everyone’s?” Cole asked, stuffing another piece into his mouth.

  I studied him as he watched the movie. He was such a contrast of colors. His heart was a safe haven. I liked the softer side of him. Loved he could share it with me. How many people ever got to see the real him?

  “What?” he asked, a small smile hitching at the corner of his mouth.

  “You’re amazing,” I said, feeling my heart swell.

  His smile widened. “So are you.”

  I leaned over, kissing him, trying to show him how much he meant to me. How much being with him meant to me.

  He chuckled against my lips. “Same,” he said, picking up on what I was trying to say.

  I pulled back, staring into his eyes, grateful I got to spend such a special moment with him. With a sigh, I stood and started packing up all the boxes. He helped, and we soon had them placed inside his refrigerator.

  “I’ll be skipping eating out this week,” he said, laughing about all the food that was leftover. “I’ll take some in tomorrow to share with everyone.”

  I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

  By the time we made it to his bedroom, most of the candles were on the edge of burning out. He laid me down softly, the roses a new feeling against my skin. Lying next to me, he picked up a petal. Dragged it down the center of my belly. Over my thighs. Around my breasts. Took two petals, then covered my eyes with them before pulling me to the edge of the bed and pressing his lips to my center.

  It didn’t take long for me to scream out his name. He was a master with his tongue. Knew all the ways I wanted to be touched.

  Pulling the petals from my eyes, he rested inside me, kissing me slowly, the moment deepening around us. I felt a shift in the air. A seriousness come over us that wasn’t there before.

  We clung to each other as our bodies fell in rhythm with one another. Skin coated in sweat. Muscles shivering from the amount of emotion pouring from our pores. I’d never been held that way, like I was rare, fleeting, and he was desperately trying to keep me.

  When we were spent, I ran my hands through the petals, lifting them and then watching them fall. My phone buzzed from across the room. With a sigh, I got up and pulled it from my pants.

  It was from Jack.

  Come home, please.

  “Who is it?” Cole asked, his voice relaxed.

  I stiffened. “Jack. He wants me to come home.”

  A shadow crossed over Cole’s face. “But I thought Thursdays were ours.”

  “They are… but he’s my husband,” I said as I crawled back into bed. Though I didn’t want to go, it was the right thing to do. Maybe something had happened with Jack’s night.

  “Stay.”

  I kissed him. “Ten more minutes.”

  “No… stay,” he said, this time more serious.

  I put my forehead against the pillow. “Why?” I asked, knowing whatever reason he was about to give would put a dent in the moment.

  “Because you deserve better,” he said.

  “Think about how good we are together. How happy we’d be. Today…”

  “Cole, please. I can’t… I don’t know how to leave. I don’t know anything anymore. I don’t want to hurt you…”

  He pulled away from me. Sat up, one arm resting on his knee. “You already have, Corinne. Go… go to him like always. But one of these days, you’re going to have to choose, and you know it.”

  I felt like I’d been punched in the heart. “Cole, I’m sorry. I just…”

  The expression in his eyes shattered me. “You just keep taking his shit. Keep leaving. Yes. I’m well aware.”

  I stood, feeling like my insides were burning as I dressed. Fingers fumbling with the buttons. I hated that he was angry with me. Hated myself for making him that way.

  “Walk me out?” I asked, scared to face him.

  He was in pajama pants as he escorted me to the elevator. When the doors slid open, he kissed my forehead, the kiss cold and distant, and then turned away without a backward glance before I could say anything more.

  Jack was sitting at the table when I got home, a single candle lit in the middle.

  My stomach was sour as thoughts of Cole still pulsed through my mind.

  “Hi,” he said, surprisingly sober as he stood. “I thought maybe we could end the night together.”

  I forced a smile. “That’s lovely,” I said, noticing the flowers on the counter. They were tulips, bright yellow. “Let me grab a quick shower?”

  He swallowed thickly, but then nodded, tucking away whatever thoughts he wanted to say.

  A little bit later, I emerged in my robe. There was a small chocolate cake on the table with a white box beside it.

  My heart twisted. I didn’t want the gift to be for me. I was scared… guilt already building like tar in my veins.

  “Open it,” he said, pushing it toward me.

  My hands were shaking as I picked the small white box up. My heart let out a sigh once I saw what was inside. It was a bracelet, yes, but the charms were different. Two hearts—one with his birthstone and the other with mine.

  I felt weird putting it on, knowing there was another woman out there with a similar gift. Knowing he’d bought ours at the same time, from the same clerk, for the same reason.

  “Thank you,” I said, trying to act surprised even though I felt like I was cracking in two. I’d left Cole for this. Hurt him so I could receive an afterthought of a gift.

  “When I saw it, I just knew you’d love it,” he said, running his fingers over the chain.

  “It’s perfect.”

  “You hungry?” he asked, pushing the cake toward me.

  I felt deflated. Worn out and twisted up. “Not really, though it looks delicious.”

  “Me either,” he admitted. “I just thought… since you like sweets…”

  He was trying. I should try to.

  “I do… I just had a big dinner.”

  Awkwardness crept in along with the silence that seem to stretch into eternity.

  “You tired?” he asked, retreating from me.

  I nodded.

  “Me too…”

  We stood, headed to the bed, and then fell asleep, backs turned toward each other.

  Chapter 26

  Cole

  It was summer in New York.

  With the heat brought on a type of crazed madness in the industry. It was like the temperature fried everyone’s brains, making them more desperate and pliable.

  I lived for this season.

  Since the merge with Dennis, our company’s stock has nearly doubled in value. Business was booming, and with it came incentives for all our employees.

  It was a Saturday afternoon, and I’d set up a small company get-together at a local brewery for our top salesmen. They were going to get the works. A behind-the-scene tour. Free beer. A lounge at the end with entertainment where they could mingle until I gave them a heartwarming speech, encouraging them to keep up the excellent work.

  During the tour, I spent most of the time on my laptop reading reports and answering emails. I told myself it was because business came before pleasure, but the truth was I found it hard to be around Jack.

  Not because I felt bad, but because there was a hardness in his eyes as of late that I didn’t like. In the meetings, he’d question me in front of the others in an almost demeaning way. If he wanted to play the cocky, posses
sive game, then I at least wanted to know who I was dealing with. Who was lying beside Corinne each night. Lying to Corinne each day.

  I had one of my men investigate him, privately, and discovered who the other woman was. She was young. Thirty-one. Married to a man ten years older than her. She had two children with him. A young boy and a fourteen-year-old daughter. She had her young. Married young. Together, they ran a gelato shop on the other side of town.

  I also learned Jack was using his bonuses toward a second apartment where he and Jessica would meet on more than just Thursdays. Sometimes three to four times a week. It was their love nest, so to speak. It appeared that her husband knew, but didn’t care.

  I never told Corinne. It would do nothing but hurt her more. She had her rules, and she usually followed them to the nine. She never stayed over. Rarely spoke to me outside of Thursdays. But not Jack.

  And knowing that made it hard to even look at him.

  By the time the tour ended, everyone was rounded up in the lounge, their smiles more relaxed as they mingled. I loved seeing my workers converged as a group. Happy. Content. Getting along with one another.

  “Sir, whenever you’re ready,” Bianca said. She had her phone out, scrolling through the endless messages.

  I put my hand on her shoulder. “What are you doing?”

  Her forehead creased. “Sir?”

  “Cole,” I said, smiling at her. “Today, it’s just Cole.”

  She fidgeted. “Cole,” she said hesitantly.

  “You should be enjoying yourself,” I told her, letting go of her shoulder.

  “I am.” She went back to scrolling through her phone.

  “Bianca.”

  She glanced up.

  “Stop working and go enjoy yourself.”

  “But I just need to—”

  “That’s not a suggestion,” I said softly, still smiling.

  Appearing slightly uncomfortable, she glanced around the room. She worked with everyone there, but never talked to them outside of standard business. At least, that was what I assumed.

  I chuckled. “Here, how about you come with me? I’ll get you a drink, then you can relax and mingle.”

  “Okay,” she said, seeming unsure.

  I guided her to the bar. “What would you like?”

  “I guess a… a cider would do.” The phone was next to her on the bar. She kept glancing at it.

  The bartender smiled at her before pouring her a glass. A moment later, she was heading into the room, taking healthy sips from her drink.

  I was smiling to myself when I felt the heated burn from a stare across the room.

  Jack.

  He was standing in a small circle of men, talking, but his gaze was latched onto me. Hate burned in them, brought on only by the need to let it be known that she was his.

  I strolled to the stage, not worried about Jack and his need to stare. Men like him didn’t intimidate me. Not because I was sleeping with his wife, but because of the kind of man he was. He didn’t have any integrity.

  At least, not anymore.

  When I first met him, he was a promising businessman. He said all the right things. Dressed the part. Acted the part. And the way he spoke about his wife was endearing.

  Maybe my lines were blurred. Maybe he still was that same man, and I was the one who was bitter.

  Tucking the thoughts away, I stepped onto the stage and stood in front of the microphone. When I cleared my throat, the volume on the music lowered and everyone slowly gave me their full attention.

  “Thank you, everyone, for spending your Saturday here with me. I wanted to show some gratitude for all the hard work you’ve put into this summer season.

  “I know things have been hectic, but you’ve all kicked ass and taken names. If Dennis were here, in good fashion, he’d be saying his famous words—Work hard. Lie harder. Sell. Sell. Sell.”

  Everyone laughed at that, the atmosphere light.

  “I want you all to know that this company would be nothing without the dedication of its employees. As a thank you, I’d like for you all to have this gift from me.”

  I nodded to the workers from the bar. They’d been waiting for my cue to distribute the gifts I’d arranged. Once they stared moving around the room and passing them out, I continued.

  “This is the next iPhone, not yet released. I can’t have my best employees without the latest gadgets that keep them working hard for me, now can I?” I joked, my heart warming as the shock and excitement spread throughout the small room. “Now… enjoy the rest of your day. You can stay and hang out. Entertainment and catering are provided.”

  Leaving the stage, I shook hand after hand. Gave hugs. Accepted the offered gratitude. I made my way to the other side of the room, grabbed a beer for myself, and then found a small table near the back where I could watch everyone.

  Boxes were being opened. The phones were held up, being compared as a lively chatter filled the space around us. It took all my best strings being pulled to get those phones. Dennis’ eyes would have bulged at the numbers if he were here, but he wasn’t. He was enjoying himself in Italy, somewhere on a shore, feet in the water.

  After finishing my beer, I got up to get another, bumping into someone.

  “Excuse me,” I started to say, but then stopped when I realized it was Jack.

  There was a look in his eyes I’d only seen one other time in my life. When the husband of a woman I slept with confronted me in the street. I didn’t know she was married at the time, and the anger that had ripped through his eyes was that of a crazed man.

  “Jack,” I said neutrally, feeling him out.

  “I want you to back off.” His lips were tight. Fists in white-knuckled balls at his sides.

  “Excuse me?” I glanced around, making sure no one was watching. The last thing I needed was rumors spreading around the office. Around the city.

  He lowered his voice. “You heard me. I want you to end it with Corinne.”

  My chest expanded with rolling waves of heat. I’d known this day would eventually come, but here… now? “Not here,” I said, and then I nodded toward the empty room off to the left.

  He followed behind.

  Once inside, I shut the door.

  “I knew it was you. Always missing Thursdays. Always staring at my wife.”

  “Jack, this isn’t the best place—”

  “I don’t give a flying fuck about where we are. She’s my wife, do you understand? Back the fuck off.”

  Every vile thought I had about him spread through my veins. My jaw went tight, heart picking up in pace. I wasn’t about to take orders from him. Not for a single fucking moment.

  “I could do that,” I said, invading his space, Corinne’s tears over him the fuel to my fire. “Or… I could tell her about that quaint little apartment you and Jessica share uptown.” I rubbed my chin in thought, getting off on the subtle shock widening his eyes. “I wonder how she would take that news…” I continued, stepping even closer. “Those nights when you tell her I’ve kept you late at the office, but you’re really uptown with her.”

  His irises went black with hate.

  “You see… this can only go one of two ways, Jack. You can either be the man Corinne deserves and stop fucking other people so she can have the life she genuinely wants with you, or you can leave her for good… because what you’re doing to her right now… it isn’t fair. It isn’t what she wants.”

  He stepped up. A couple of inches shorter than me, but no less bulky. “How the fuck do you know what my wife wants?”

  I smirked, not caring if it goaded him. “You’d be surprised how much I know about Corinne.”

  His fist lifted. Reared back as his chest heaved in and out.

  “Go ahead,” I said, testing him. “Though I don’t think it would benefit you in the long run.”

  It took a shaky, angered moment, but then he dropped his fist.

  “I won’t stop seeing her,” I said, lips pressed tight. “Not unless it
’s what Corinne wants. This isn’t about you. It isn’t about me. It’s about her. You’ve put her through hell just by forcing your marriage into this situation. You can’t take it back now that she’s found someone who makes her happy the way Jessica makes you happy.”

  His gaze skittered away, the air thick between us. A moment later, he was smirking at me. It was a sickening, twisted smirk. Full of bitter rage.

  My stomach twisted in discomfort.

  “You’re right, Cole. It is about what Corinne wants. All I have to do is tell her that I don’t want the open marriage anymore, and this will all be over. She’ll stop seeing you, and she’ll be in my bed every night, waiting for me. Not you. Because at the end of the day, she’s faithful to me. When I call, she comes. But you already know that, don’t you?”

  My stomach was sloshing his words around. But I refused to hear him. To cave. “But you won’t, will you? You can’t give Jessica up,” I said, calling his bluff despite the warning bells signaling in my head.

  When a man wanted to win at something, he’d stop at nothing.

  Jack would stop at nothing.

  “Who knows? I guess you’ll have to wait and see,” Jack said. Exiting the space, he milled back into the crowd, smiling and talking as if nothing had just happened.

  I went to the bar. Asked for a shot of whiskey. I knew Corinne. She was faithful. If he asked, she would stop.

  And I’d have to let her go.

  Chapter 27

  Corinne

  With the summer brought change in our household.

  I didn’t tell Jack I’d applied for a job at a home goods store. I didn’t tell him because I was scared he’d stop me from going to the interview. I needed to know I could do something for myself. On my own.

  When I received the call that I had been hired, I felt like I could float away. I loved the idea of being around all the pieces that brought a home together. The chance to build ideas for future projects I’d one day have. It was a start in the right direction. A chance to build up a portfolio with ideas using all the latest pieces.

  That night, I decided to cook Jack’s favorite meal for dinner, hoping to warm him up before I confessed everything.