“NO!” Ally exclaimed. “We are not cancelling tomorrow night. I want you to go. I promise I will be fine here with Rosie and Ben.”
“I am not going without you Ally,” Cole shook his head vigorously. “I am not leaving your side unless I have to.”
“Then I will come with you,” Ally said indignantly. “Not sure what I will wear yet but we are doing this together. We are going to show Jason that he is never going to win.”
“Ally, you really don’t have to do this.” Cole replied, but couldn’t hide the pride he felt for her and her determination, inner strength and sheer bravery.
“Yes I do,” she said as she smiled and Cole felt happy for the first time in days. Her smile was everything to him but had been a rare sight recently.
“I love you so much,” he said as he softly brushed his lips against hers. “More than you could possibly imagine.”
“We can get through this,” Ally said looking into his eyes. “Together. As long as I have you, nothing else matters.”
“Together,” Cole repeated before his kissed her once again.
Chapter 23
Ally stood beneath the shower. The courage she felt the night before seemed to have waned considerably. What the hell am I doing? She asked herself again and again.
She was getting ready for the charity dinner with Cole and if she was honest, she was dreading it.
She had chosen one of her black dresses to wear. She just needed to sort out her hair and make-up and she would be good to go.
She stepped out from under the shower and wrapped a big white fluffy towel around her. She quickly brushed her teeth before she headed back into the bedroom.
“JESUS CHRIST!” Ally screamed with fright, when she opened the door and found Hannah and Caitlin sitting on the end of her bed. “You guys scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry,” Hannah said with a smile.
“What are you both doing here?” She asked as she pulled her towel tighter around her body.
“Well, a certain hot billionaire enlisted our help,” Caitlin replied with a big grin. They both stood up and Caitlin reached back and picked up a long black dress bag from the bed. “He sent us on a little mission today.”
She began to unzip the zipper on the front of the bag as she looked up at Ally with a big broad grin.
“And we did very well,” she continued. “Even if I do say so myself.”
She pulled the most stunning dress Ally had ever seen from the bag and held it up for Ally to have a proper look. It was ice blue taffeta with a goddess bust line so it would hang perfectly over her ever expanding bump. It was full length and had one sweeping strap up over the shoulder to offer her bust some support.
“OH MY GOD!” Ally exclaimed as the tears quickly began to pool in her eyes. She was speechless.
“Cole called us today and asked if we could go and find something for you to wear tonight,” Hannah explained. “He said he felt you could use a little cheering up. So we found this. We hope you like it.”
“It’s perfect,” she managed to say as the tears of joy trickled down her face.
“He has another little surprise of you,” Caitlin said with a big smile. She turned and looked towards the door and called out. “Okay you can come in now.”
“About bloody time,” Rob said as he burst through the door. “You bitches don’t half know how to run your mouths off and keep a diva waiting.”
Then he turned to Ally and smiled, then gave her a big hug. Ally was suddenly aware she was still wearing just a towel. But she was delighted to see Rob standing there. He had been so wonderful the morning of her wedding. She was thrilled to see him again.
“Baby girl,” he said in his usual overly dramatic tone. “Robbie is here to save the day. And fuck me, I am still buzzing. Your hottie of a hubby sent a private jet for me. I can’t wait to get home to tell all the bitches back in the salon, how fabulous I am.”
Ally laughed out loud and instantly felt better than she had in days.
She excused herself and headed into the wardrobe and grabbed her dressing gown before she returned to the bedroom where Rob was setting up his equipment ready for Ally to have her hair done.
Rob set to work on Ally’s hair as the girls stretched out on the bed and listened to all his crazy stories about his many sexual conquests.
When Rob was finished with Ally’s hair, Caitlin did her make-up before Hannah helped her get dressed. Starting with the new beautiful underwear they bought her, then finally she slipped into her stunning new dress.
It fit like a glove, as did the new shoes they had picked for her also.
“This must have cost you both a fortune,” Ally said as she stared into the full length mirror.
“It cost Cole a fortune,” Hannah replied.” He sent us, armed with Nick and his credit card. And told us not to come back empty handed.”
Ally’s heart beamed with pride. Cole was just the most perfect man in the world she could have ever hoped for. She went to her jewellery box, pulled out her heart shaped diamond Cole gave her the night before their wedding and slipped it around her neck. She then choose her diamond studs her grandparents had bought her, put them on and she was ready.
She emerged from the wardrobe to find Caitlin and Rob sitting patiently on the bed waiting to see her.
“LORDY!” Rob exclaimed dramatically. “Woman, I swear you could make a gay man hetero. I could so do the bold thing with you right now. Well accept for the fact that your hot and very rich husband is just down stairs and he would kick my skinny ass.”
“I don’t know how to thank you all,” Ally said as she looked at her two friends and this crazy man who was fast becoming her friend too. “I would have been completely lost without you all.”
“Well, you will never be without us,” Caitlin said as she walked to Ally and gave her a hug. “So you will never be lost.”
The three friends and Rob made their way down the stairs to a waiting Cole. He was standing in the living room staring out the window, lost in a world of his own.
He was dressed in a black tux and bow tie and had never looked more handsome than he did right in that moment.
He turned when he heard them coming down the stairs and when his eyes found Ally, they lit up like fireworks. A slow smile spread across his face, as pride poured from him at the sight of his beautiful wife.
He walked toward her and, taking her by the hand, pulled her into an embrace.
“You are beautiful, my gorgeous girl,” he said before he brushed his lips against hers.
“You look pretty sexy yourself,” she replied with a smile as their lips parted.
“Tonight, you will be the bell of the ball,” Cole said as he gave her a twirl then pulled her back into his arms. “And I will be the luckiest man in the room.”
“Well, you have your three little helpers here to thank for that,” Ally said glancing back to the trio standing next to the door.
“Indeed,” Cole said with a big grin. “You three have been amazing today. And thank you for putting the smile back on my girl’s face. It’s been missing for far too long.”
Ally turned and walked over to hug her friends and Rob once again. Then Hannah handed Ally her wrap and her clutch and kissed her once more.
Taking Cole by the arm, Ally allowed him to lead her out to the car where Nick was waiting for them both.
“You look very nice Ally,” Nick said as he held the door open for them. Ally leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed Nick on the cheek.
“Thank you for taking the girls shopping today,” she smiled up at him. “I am honestly very grateful to you all.”
“You are very welcome Ally,” he blushed.
Ally climbed into the car, followed closely by Cole. Moments later they were on their way to the dinner. Cole reached over and took her hand and squeezed it softly.
“Tonight is about you and me, my gorgeous girl,” Cole reassured her. “Let’s forget about everything else tonight, let it b
e just us and no one else, just for tonight.”
“Deal,” Ally said as she leaned in and kissed Cole.
When they reached the hotel, Ally was surprised by the amount of cars lined up with all the other guests.
When it was their turn to get out of the car, Cole took her by the hand and led her through the doors of the hotel and towards the grand ball room.
“Relax,” Cole whispered sensing Ally was feeling a little uncomfortable and out of her depth. “You are stunning and by far the most beautiful woman in the room, you belong here.”
Ally smiled up at Cole but said nothing.
“Ah Mr. Thomas,” a grey haired man exclaimed as he walked towards them, with a broad smile on his face. “I heard you were our guest speaker this evening, looking forward to a word of wisdom from the man of the hour.”
“I don’t know about that,” Cole laughed and to Ally surprised she could sense Cole’s nervousness. “Charles, allow me to introduce my beautiful wife, Ally.”
“A pleasure my dear,” he said with a smile as he shook Ally’s hand. “And may I say what a lucky man your husband is to have such a beauty on his arm.”
“Thank you,” Ally replied and could feel her cheeks blaze with embarrassment.
And that was how the next hour went. A continuous line of faces and names and Ally could barely keep up. One or two she recognised from the wedding. But for the most part, they were all strangers. Ally couldn’t help but notice the women were checking Cole out too and it made her smile that he was there with her. She even noticed one or two that were looking at her with just a hint of jealousy.
They all took their seats for dinner and as expected the food was as decadent as the beautiful surrounds of the ball room. Everything about the night screamed of class and money.
After dinner, it was Cole’s time to speak, he nervously cleared his throat and kissed Ally on the cheek before he made his way to podium.
It was the first time Ally had ever seen him so nervous. In fact, he had seemed a little distracted all evening. But as soon as he began to speak, she realised why he was so nervous.
“In 2012, one hundred and seventy six rapes where reported to the police in Ireland,” Cole began, his eyes met Ally’s and he nervously smiled before he continued. “Compare that approximately to the two thousand, two hundred and forty eight calls to the rape crisis centre during that same period.”
As Cole continued on with his address, you could hear a pin drop in the room. Ally listened to every word Cole had to say. He spoke from the heart and Ally knew what happened to her by Jason was pushing him hard to make his point be heard.
He talked for about twenty minute will great passion and many heart breaking statistics, then finished off with a plea for the dinner guests to dig deep into their pockets and help to keep providing a valuable service to the woman, children and even men that needed someone to hear their voices.
When he thanked everyone, the room erupted in applause with everyone on their feet.
He slowly made his way back to his seat and to Ally. When he reached her, he kissed her softly on the lips and looked into her eyes.
“You’re not mad, are you?” He asked nervously.
“Why would I be mad?” Ally asked surprised. “I am very proud of you. You spoke beautifully and with such passion. I really couldn’t be any prouder.”
Cole kissed her again as relief washed over him but before he could say another word, he was tackled by two older ladies who wanted to congratulate him on his wonderful speech.
Ally excused herself and headed for the ladies room. As she was fixing herself when she was done, she overheard two woman talking.
“Did you see Cole Thomas?” One asked and Ally froze inside the cubicle. “That man is all sorts of sexy.”
“The things I would do to that man are illegal,” the other replied. Ally had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. “I bet he is fucking great in the sack.”
“Did you see his wife?” the first once asked. “She is fucking gorgeous and she gets to go home with that hot ass every night, the bitch.”
“I talked to her briefly,” the second one replied. “She seem very nice actually, a little shy but quiet friendly.”
“Shit,” the first one groaned. “She couldn’t even be a bitch so I could hate her.”
Ally struggled to stop herself from laughing out loud.
“You ready?” The second asked as Ally heard her snap her clutch bag shut.
“Yeah,” the second replied and they left.
Ally stepped out of the cubicle and with a laugh she made her way to the sink to wash her hands. She was just about to open the door when it opened and a woman hurried in and bumped into Ally. Her face fell the moment she saw Ally.
“I am so sorry,” the woman said and Ally recognised the voice as woman number one. “I forgot my wrap.”
Ally just smiled and turned back, picked the wrap up off the vanity unit and handed it to the woman.
“I didn’t know you were in there,” she said to Ally turning bright red with embarrassment.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ally said with a friendly smile as she walked past the woman. But then she stopped and turned back to the woman, unable to resist it. She added “Oh and you are right. Cole is awesome in the sack.”
Without saying another word, she left the stunned woman standing in the ladies room and began to make her way back to Cole still laughing to herself.
She just reached the door of the ball room when she heard her name being called out. She froze with fright for a moment but as she finally found the courage to turn around she saw Nick rushing towards her. And fear turned into panic when she saw the expression on his face.
“Nick,” Ally said as her heart began to race fast. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Where is Mr. Thomas?” He asked as he reached her.
“He is inside,” Ally said her eyes not leaving Nick. “What is it Nick? What has happened? Oh God is Ben okay?”
“Ben is fine,” Nick reassured her. “But I need to talk to Mr. Thomas.”
“I’ll take you to him,” Ally said and quickly turned and led Nick towards the table she and Cole were sitting at.
Cole turned and smiled when he saw Ally coming towards him. But his smile faded when he saw Nick and the expression on his face.
“What’s happened?” Cole asked when they reached them.
“It’s Nathan, sir,” Nick said and quickly shot a glance toward Ally. Ally could feel the blood drain from her face. She knew this was bad. And she held her breathe. “Mr. Thomas, Nathan has been shot.”
Chapter 24
“Did they say how bad it was?” Cole asked for the fifth time as they drove at speed to the hospital. The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach getting bigger and bigger.
He knew this was all his fault. He should have just taken care of Jason himself when he had the chance all those months ago. This was bigger than he ever thought it would be.
He knew Jason was a threat, but this dangerous he hadn’t expected. He glanced over at Ally sitting next to him in the car and the thought hit him like a ton of bricks. Jason had a gun. He was still out there somewhere and he was armed.
When they reached the emergency room, they found a very tearful Caitlin with Hannah and Sid. When Ally saw Caitlin, her stomach heaved. She didn’t know what to think.
“How is he?” Cole asked when they reached the others.
Caitlin looked up with her two red puffy eyes and when she saw Ally and Cole she began to cry again.
“We aren’t sure yet,” Sid said when he realised Caitlin wasn’t able to reply.
“Do you know what happened?” Cole asked almost holding his breath, praying he was wrong about Jason.
“His friend said they were getting into the car and some guy jumped them,” Sid explained. “He said he was looking for the car. Nathan fought him and the guy pulled a gun.”
“Oh my god!” Ally gasped.
&nb
sp; “Where is the guy he was with?” Cole asked feeling a little bit sicker with each passing moment. He knew this was not a coincidence. This was Jason, so that made this all his fault. He looked down at Caitlin as she sobbed and he felt like a complete bastard.
“He is talking to the police now,” Sid replied. Cole nodded and sat down next to Caitlin. He reached for her hand.
“Caitlin,” he said in a gentle voice. “I have known Nathan for longer than I can even remember. He was always getting himself into scraps of one kind or another. He is the toughest cookie I have ever seen. I know he will be okay. He has to be.”
“Thank you,” Caitlin smiled through her tears up at Cole. “And then I am going to kill him. Why didn’t he just give the asshole the stupid car? Nothing is worth your life.”
Cole looked up at Ally and knew without a doubt that she was worth him giving up his life for. But he never expected Nathan to do that. How was he ever going to make this right?
Cole looked up at Ally and something in his face told her, he was hiding something. Her heart sank into her stomach. But she breathed deeply and walked over and sat down next to Caitlin as Cole stood up. Her eyes met Cole’s briefly and the look she had in her eyes told Cole, she knew.
“Caits,” Ally said trying her hardest to smile. “You have to have a little faith. Nathan is a strong guy. And no news is good news, while they aren’t out here giving us bad news there is still hope for him.”
As if on cue, a doctor dressed in green scrubs emerged from the double doors and called out Nathan’s name. Caitlin squeezed Ally’s hand tighter as Cole called to the doctor to say it was them.
“Are you Nathan Anderson’s family?” The doctor asked.
“Yes,” Cole replied and shook the doctor’s outstretched hand.
“Well as you probably know, Nathan was in an incident earlier this evening,” the doctor began. “During the incident Nathan received a gunshot wound to the shoulder, shattering his collar bone. We took him to surgery to remove the bullet and repair the collarbone. He is going to need a lot of rehab but in time, he will make a full recovery.”
One Last Chance Page 16