by Smith, K. S.
“Well, you heard her, as much as I repulse you, it looks like there’s no other choice but to go on a date with me.” I rolled my eyes, ignoring him, and walked back into the reception towards the bar. Ordering a glass of wine and taking it back to the head table I sat down to rest. Luckily, Cole was grabbed by one of his little cousins and drug out onto the dance floor. I enjoyed watching the two of them, especially the ‘save me glances’ he shot my way every time the little girl made him spin her around in circles.
The reception hall was empty of almost all the guests when Cole finally made it back to his seat. Falling into his chair beside me, he lifted his beer towards his lips and took a long sip. “Well, it looks like the evening is wrapping up here, any chance you’re interested in joining me for a few drinks in my room after everyone clears out?”
“No, thank you, I’d rather not go through that again.”
He leaned his head to the side and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, what is it that you went through that was so bad the last time you had drinks in my room?”
“Umm, let’s see, we had amazing sex and then I never heard from you again. I think I’d rather spare myself the heartache and just go home and sleep in my own bed this time.”
He placed his hand on the back of my chair and leaned in, so he was eye level with me, the rage was back in his eyes “I’m not sure why you’re making me out to be the bad guy here, Reagan, you’re the one who disappeared. In the real world when someone sneaks out in the middle of the night that’s usually an indication that they don’t want a follow up call.” His words hit my chest like a ton of bricks and I took a sharp breath in as he continued, “You really need to get off of your high horse, if anything I should be the one who is pissed off at you, not the other way around. You’re the one who walked out on me, just remember that.” He stood up, grabbed his jacket off the back of my chair, and stormed out of the room. Shit. He was right, we could have avoided all of this had I stuck around, or even woke him up to say goodbye.
Theo and Teresa were supervising the collection of gifts as I made my way towards the exit. “You leaving, honey?” Teresa asked as she pulled me into a hug.
“Yes, I hope you don’t mind. I know there are still a few people left, but I’m exhausted and just want to get home and into bed.”
“Not at all,” she assured me, holding me at arm’s length, “you were such a huge help through all of this. We cannot thank you enough. Now, go home and get some rest.” She hugged me again, as did Theo. I grabbed my clutch and headed towards the door, passing the hotel bar on the way out. Cole was sitting at the bar drinking a beer by himself. I stopped and looked in towards him grabbing my phone and sending him a quick text.
I’M SORRY.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, looked at my text and set it down on the bar next to him, without response as he ran his hands through his hair. Perfect, you’ve done it again, Reagan. I thought to myself as my heart fell to the pit of my stomach. Trying to avoid the embarrassment of possibly being seen by him, I high tailed it to my car and headed home.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The weekend quickly passed and I was getting back into the swing of things at the office. I had put a huge dent in my inbox, when my assistant walked into my office and set a package on my desk. I opened the box and out fell a pair of sunglasses, a beach towel, and a bikini, along with a note.
Here are just a few things I’ve picked up at our resort. Consider going to the beach with Cole on your date. I know how much you love tanning, and the bikini is Brazilian cut, so he’ll have a perfect view of your ass. You can thank me later.
Love and miss you. -Mrs. Casey Conrad
I had to laugh, leave it up to Addison to send me a bikini that looked three sizes too small. I suppose it’s time I live up to my end of the deal, I thought. Closing my office door I pushed the speaker phone button and dialed Cole’s number. It rang twice, and then went to voicemail. “Did he just ignore me?” I asked myself, thinking out loud. Fine, if he won’t answer his cell, I’ll call his office. “Shit!” I didn’t have his office number, so I took to Google. I entered Colton Conrad, Tampa, FL into the search engine and an office number came up for Conrad Developers, LLC.
I dialed the number and a woman answered the phone, “Conrad Developers, this is Heather, how may I assist you?” Her voice was too perky.
“Hi, Heather, this is Reagan Larson. I’m looking to speak with Cole Conrad, if he’s available?”
“One moment, while I check, please,” she put me on hold and classical music played into the phone. I leaned back in my chair as I waited. The music stopped and the perky voice was back on the phone with me, “I’m sorry Ms. Larson, Mr. Conrad is unavailable at the moment, may I take a message?”
“No thank you, I’ll just try again later.” And I hung up. Instantly I grabbed my phone and sent him a text.
GIVE ME A CALL WHEN YOU GET A MINUTE, PLEASE.
I hadn’t even set my phone down when it vibrated in my hand.
REALLY BUSY THIS WEEK, YOU’LL HAVE TO CALL MY ASSISTANT AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.
An appointment, was he out of his mind? I wasn’t one of his clients. Without thinking twice, I pulled up his office address; it was downtown, only three blocks away from my building. I grabbed my purse and stormed out of my office, past my assistant, as I yelled over my shoulder, “Call all of my afternoon appointments and reschedule I have to take care of something and I’m not sure how long I’ll be.”
I ripped through the lobby and down the street, towards his building. The elevators opened and I stepped out into a grand lobby. The receptionist greeted me before I even arrived at her desk, “Good afternoon, ma’am. Welcome to Conrad Developers, how may I assist you?” There was that way too perky voice.
“Heather?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. “I’m here to see Cole Conrad, would you let him know he has a visitor?”
Her eyes looked confused as she checked his calendar on her computer. “I’m sorry, I don’t see anything on his calendar, do you have an appointment?”
“No, but I’m sure he’ll see me, just let him know Reagan Larson is here, would you.”
She picked up her telephone and waited for an answer, “Hello, Mr. Conrad, you have someone here to see you.” She waited for his response, “well, no there is nothing on your calendar, but she says you’ll see her regardless…yes, her name is Ms. Larson…okay, I’ll send her back, thank you.” I smiled and walked past Heather as she shouted, “last door on your left!”
The office door was closed. I took a deep breath wondering what I was going to say when I walked in, but I guess it was a little late for that now wasn’t it. I turned the handle and opened the door. I stepped into a giant corner office with floor to ceiling windows. Cole was in his chair behind a grand mahogany desk that looked big enough to seat eight people, perfect, he was on the phone. I stood there as he peered into my eyes. Shit, why in the hell was I here, this was a mistake. He pointed to the chair in front of his desk, but I was too nervous to sit, so I placed my purse in the chair and walked to the window, looking out over the city.
After a few minutes he’d ended his phone call and cleared his throat to get my attention. “So, what brings you to my office?” I whipped around and walked towards his desk, placing both hands on top of it as I leaned over it and looked him square in the eyes. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, you’ve seen where it will get you,” he said in a deep voice.
I quickly stood and crossed my arms over my chest. “You want me to make an appointment to talk to you!” I exclaimed.
He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. He was the epitome of perfect. His crisp white button down shirt hugged his muscular frame just right, as his tie hung loosely around his neck paired with the top button of his undone collar. “Yes, I’m busy. Usually if someone needs to see me that is what they do, they call my assistant and make themselves an appointment.”
“Oh, so I’m just like the
rest of them, I need to make an appointment to see you? You know what, this was a mistake, I shouldn’t have even come here. I’m sorry I wasted your time.” I turned to walk towards the door when I heard hands slam against the desk. I quickly shot a glance over my shoulder at Cole. He was standing there running a hand through his hair.
“Damn it, Reagan, what do you want from me?”
I stood there stunned for a minute, since I hadn’t really even asked myself that question yet. “I…I’m not sure, I just thought, well, we told Addison we’d go out and I guess I just figured we should probably get it over with before they get back.” I stammered, practically tripping over my words.
“So that’s it, you just want to go on our date, so we can get it over with?”
“Well, no, that’s not what I meant.” I trailed off, walking back towards the window, letting a sigh escape my throat. His footsteps thumped across the hardwood floors as he made his way over to me. I could feel the heat from his body while I watched his shadow approach in the glare of the window. His hands rested on my shoulders and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I relaxed into his hands and leaned back onto his chest, his fingers tracing their way down my arms and now gripping my hips as he pulled me closer to him.
“What do you want, Reagan, I’m not a mind reader, you’ve got to tell me?”
I took in a deep breath, it was now or never, if I waited I might chicken out. “You,” I whispered, relieved that I’d finally said it. His hands left my hips and he walked away. Crap, I knew this was a mistake, I shouldn’t have admitted anything. And then I heard his office door close, followed by the twist of the lock and before I knew it he was behind me again.
I turned around and looked up into those golden eyes. They looked as if they were smiling back at me. I lifted my trembling hands up to caress both sides of his face. “I want you, Cole. I’ve wanted you from the minute you touched me in the bar the night of Addison’s bachelorette party.” I pushed him back onto his chair and climbed on top of his lap, straddling him as I entwined my fingers into his hair. His eyes darkened and I grazed my tongue along the side of his jaw. “Is this ok?” I whispered into his ear, tugging his earlobe with my teeth. He moaned into my neck and I took that as a yes. A smile spread across my face as I continued to work my way from one side of his jaw to the other. Kissing his neck, I loosened his tie enough to slip it over his head. His hands had pulled my blouse out of my slacks and he had laced his arms up my back and over my shoulders.
I couldn’t take it anymore, I wanted, no, needed to taste his mouth. I pulled his face closer to mine and pressed my lips to his as hard as I could. One of his arms wrapped around my waist. His other hand grabbed a fistful of my hair and tilted my head back, so he could control the intensity of our kiss. His lips ravaged mine like he’d been waiting his entire life to taste them, it was intoxicating. I could hardly catch my breath when he slipped his tongue into my mouth. And just as my hands were working their way down each button of his shirt, there was a knock on the door.
“Colton, are you in there?” We both froze. Where had I heard that voice before?
“Shit, it’s my mom.”
“Oh.My.Gosh.” I jumped off of his lap and tried to straighten my clothes, I was tucking my blouse back into my pants faster than he pulled it out. I ran over to the window to try and see my reflection, bad idea, my hair was all over the place and my lips were swollen and bright red.
“Where’s my tie?” he whispered, so no one would hear us. I ran back over to his chair and looked around and spotted it on the ground. I picked it up and handed it to him. He slipped the tie over his neck and began to tighten it.
“I cannot believe your mother is on the other side of the door. This is going to be so embarrassing.” I bemoaned, adjusting every part of me that seemed out of place.
Cole grabbed the sides of my face. “Baby, calm down, we’ll just tell her you were here for a meeting.” He kissed my lips and I felt light headed. How could this man make me feel so many different things in such a short amount of time? He left me standing there as he opened the door and greeted his mother. “Mom, I wasn’t expecting you, today,” he said pulling her tiny frame into a hug. “Oh, I know, sweetie, but I was in the neighborhood and since your father and I are leaving tomorrow I thought I’d come by one last time.” She clasped his hand as she walked further into his office. “I was thinking you could come over for dinner tonight… Oh, Reagan, I didn’t realize you were in here.” She said with a grin on her face. “How are you, darling?”
I walked over to her and she wrapped me in a hug, squeezing me extra tight. “I’m well, and yourself?”
“Oh just wonderful, I was just asking Cole if he’d like to join me and his father for dinner this evening, we’d love to have you come along as well, if you aren’t busy.” I looked to Cole in a panic, I wasn’t sure what to say.
He smiled at me and nodded his head. “I’d love to join you for dinner, assuming Cole will be attending, that is?” We both looked to him.
He smiled and said, “Of course.”
“Perfect, then we’ll see the two of you tonight, let’s say 7p.m. Oh, and Cole, be sure to clean up before you leave your office,” she said walking towards the door, “you’ve got lipstick all over your collar.” And with that she disappeared down the hallway.
I instantly turned bright red and sunk into the chair next to me. Cole was leaning against the wall. “Busted,” laughing, he sauntered towards the chair I was sitting in. Reaching for my hands he pulled me out of the chair and into his arms. “Just so you know, tonight doesn’t count as our date.”
“Oh no?” I asked, grinning as I draped my arms around his neck.
“No, technically my mother invited you, so I still get to take you out after this.”
“I suppose we’ll see about that,” I whispered as I wiggled my way out of arms and over to my purse. I grabbed my bag and headed for the door as he followed me past the lobby towards the elevator banks. I stood there with him inches behind me as I awaited the elevator.
Upon its arrival, I stepped in and he grabbed the doors before they could close. “Text me your address and I’ll swing by and pick you up at 6:45.” I nodded and waved goodbye as the doors closed between us. Great, I thought. I’ve got three hours to find an outfit.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Perfect.” I complimented myself as I modeled my outfit in the mirror. I’d swung by my favorite boutique in Hyde Park and grabbed a little black dress that clung flawlessly to my curves. My six inch black stilettos made my legs look longer than they were. I was thrilled I’d be that much closer to Cole’s face, thanks to the heels. I glanced down at my watch and it was 6:43p.m., just enough time to finish off my makeup with bright red lipstick as the doorbell rang.
“Coming!” I hollered, running across the hardwood floors towards the front door. Pulling the curtains aside, I saw Cole standing on my front porch. “SON OF A ….. ugh,” I yelled way too loud.
He must have heard me through the door because his instant reply was, “What’s wrong?” I leaned against the door with a loud thud. “Reagan, what’s wrong, open the door.”
“I can’t,” I said, frustrated.
“Why not?” I looked out the window again. Yep, he was still standing there in a light blue oxford with the sleeves rolled up his forearms, khaki shorts, boat shoes, and a pair of aviators. Even the top two buttons of his shirt were undone. He looked too good to be true and I looked like an overdressed idiot.
“Can you just give me five minutes?” I asked, hitting my head against the door.
“No, open up. We’re going to be late. We need to go.” I didn’t want to open the door out of pure embarrassment, but I did anyway, looking anywhere but in his eyes when I did. “Oh, wow…” He stammered, caught off guard.
“I know, I look like an idiot.” I grumbled, hanging my head.
He stepped closer towards me and lifted my chin with his finger. “You look beautiful. A little over dre
ssed for dinner, but nonetheless, absolutely stunning.”
I flushed at his comment, but groaned at the fact that I had gone all out and here he was casual as ever. “Come in while I change.” I turned on my heels and stormed off to my bedroom, unzipping my dress in the process. Heavy footsteps thumped down the hallway entering my bedroom just as I’d stepped out of my dress. I was standing there, frozen in surprise, in nothing but a black lace matching bra and panty set and my stilettos, watching Cole’s reflection in my full length mirror. He approached me, his eyes running over my body, taking every inch in as he slowly moved closer towards me, placing both of his strong hands on my bare hips, like he was trying to keep me from disappearing. “Out there, what you were wearing, that was stunning, but this, you, right here, just like this, damn babe, there are no words for this.” He leaned in and kissed my neck, his hands tightening on my hips, pulling my backside against his crotch.
My knees went weak and I had to focus on keeping myself from toppling over. He trailed light kisses from my neck to my bare shoulder, his right hand made its way over my belly, slipping a finger underneath the top of my lace panties. I moaned as my head fell back onto his shoulder. “As much as I’d love to continue this, we’ve got to get to dinner with your parents.” I said, almost out of breath, grabbing his hand and returning it back to my waist.
A throaty laugh escaped his lips and he released his grip on my hips pushing me towards the closet. “If you intend on getting out of here without me removing the rest of your clothes I suggest you get your ass dressed, because my willpower is almost gone.”
I smiled at him and ran into my closet laughing. I grabbed a sundress and threw it on, then exchanged my six inch heels for a pair of wedge sandals. Grabbing a matching clutch, I switched my necessities over from my purse. Leaving the closet, I skipped over to him and took his hand. “You ready, Mr. Conrad?”