“Think you could manage to kiss me without causing me undue pain?” she asked with a fluttering of her eyelashes.
He laughed. God, he was never going to live down that head-butt. In answer to her question, he pulled her closer. He held her gaze for a moment. Then her eyes moved to his mouth. He read the anticipation there. Here, she couldn’t hide things from him.
This kiss was tender. Slow. Deep. It made him want to start the car and drive away with her.
They parted and he held the side of her face for a lingering moment. Then she smiled and lifted her purse off the floor.
“Have fun tonight,” she said. “I’ll be by in the morning for our next session.”
He returned the smile. “Thanks. I hope your shift goes well.” His thoughts turned to Marshall’s conviction that Rebecca hadn’t been the one to slash Everly’s tires. Although he disagreed with his friend, he added, “Make sure you don’t go into the parking lot alone.”
She nodded and opened the door, granting entrance to a gust of wind. When she looked back at him, her hair blew around her face and her breath left her in a white plume. Her cheeks blossomed with color. She looked stunningly beautiful.
“See you,” she said.
He couldn’t respond. She closed the door and walked up to the side door of the house. He watched her until she went inside.
Then, even though he knew it made him extremely lame, he backed out of the driveway thinking that the rest of his day would pale in comparison to the time he’d spent with her.
* * *
Everly didn’t tell her grandpa about her unexpected role in Cole’s photo shoot. The odds of him ever seeing the actual advertisement in a magazine were slim, and she didn’t want word of her modeling stint to make its way to her father. Lord knew, he’d probably try to get her to take up modeling as a profession if he got wind of it. Then he’d insist on managing her and handling the accounts.
Yeah, right.
She spent some time catching up with Jonette, getting an update on her grandpa’s progress. Once the nurse left, she made some veggie pasta with turkey meatballs for a late lunch. So that she could talk with her grandpa, she ate in the family room while he sat in his recliner with his oxygen supply beside him.
When the timing felt right, she forked up a bite of meatball and asked, “So, has he asked you about your finances yet?”
His uncomfortable expression was all the answer she needed. He kept his gaze focused in the direction of the television and mumbled, “Now, don’t go readin’ into—”
She relaxed her clenched jaw. “Pee Paw,” she interrupted. “I didn’t ask to upset you. I just need to know what I’m up against here. I’ll remind you before I go to work that you can’t share those details with him. We have a deal, right? I won’t make a scene and bring up the past while he’s here so long as you don’t let him convince you to give him money or change any of your existing legal documents.”
“Yes, my girl,” he said.
He sounded so sad. It tugged at her. Setting her bowl aside, she walked over to him and squatted beside the chair, taking his cool hand in hers.
“Pee Paw, I’m sorry it’s come to this. I hope you don’t think I—”
“No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “It ain’t you. At least I done right in raisin’ you since your mama passed. Though Lord knows you all but raised yourself since well before then.”
“I wouldn’t be here if not for you,” she said quietly.
He met her gaze. When she saw moisture form, she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold onto her composure. Clearing her throat, she squeezed his hand and got to her feet.
“I have to get ready for work. Now, don’t watch TV the entire time I’m gone, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
She smiled over his resigned tone. Then she washed her dishes and changed for her shift at Prix Fixe.
Her father didn’t return before she left. That was fine with her. She didn’t need any confrontations or false politeness before work. Instead, she thought about Cole on the drive to the restaurant and throughout her shift.
He’d been so good about not pressing her to expound on the things she revealed about her father. Sure, she hadn’t said much, but she sensed his curiosity over the little that she had. He wanted to know more, but she wasn’t ready to share it. She could chalk that up to not wanting to go through the emotional drama that would naturally accompany such a conversation. It was a valid enough reason to avoid it.
But the truth was, she was worried that Cole would go running for the hills when he knew everything there was to know about her past. It’s what all of her other friends had done. Why should she expect him to be different?
That wasn’t giving Cole much credit, she decided as she put her coat on after her shift. He knew more about her past than most people did, yet he hadn’t done anything but treat her like a true friend. More than a friend in some areas, she silently added. And what was going to come of that?
She really didn’t know.
Everything was getting so entangled. She’d been prepared to work with Cole and keep the entire experience to herself. She didn’t know how to handle this new element of their relationship where he presented her as a romantic interest. He made her believe that he truly felt that way about her.
What if she was wrong? What if he was just a really good actor?
Even more importantly, what if she was right?
Ugh. Now she knew why she hadn’t ever been in a relationship.
“Ready to go?” Rowan asked.
He stepped into the doorway of the small coat room where the servers stored their things. After Everly’s tires were slashed, he’d started escorting all of the female servers to their cars whenever he was on site. If he wasn’t there, he had one of the other guys on the staff do so.
“Beyond ready. I’m exhausted,” she admitted. The long night on the couch followed by the photo shoot and a six-hour shift had her ready to drop. Her feet throbbed.
“Let’s get you out to your car, then,” he said, waving her ahead of him. “You did great tonight, Everly, just like always.”
“Thanks. Looks like the dinner crowd is still going strong even though it’s after ten. You’ve got to love the holidays.”
“You don’t have to tell me. I foresee holiday bonuses after this comin’ weekend.”
She smiled. “That sounds nice.”
“It should be. You all work your asses off. You deserve somethin’.”
They reached the back door leading out to the parking lot. She hadn’t been able to get a close spot due to the large crowd at the restaurant, so they headed toward the back of the lot. The air burned her lungs as she breathed in. The temperatures were falling below freezing again.
“Just might get that white Christmas,” Rowan said, looking around to scope out the shadows between the vehicles.
His voice sounded loud in the dark, quiet lot. Everly nodded. She caught sight of Champ and smiled.
“All tires fully inflated,” she said.
“Yeah. I don’t expect—”
They both turned when they heard a sound to the left. Rowan moved to block her view.
“What the hell? Sex in my parkin’ lot?” he barked.
Everly hunched her shoulders over his tone, even though it wasn’t directed at her. She pulled out her cell phone so she could text Cole that she was leaving even as Rowan looked at her.
“I’m fine,” she said. “The car’s twenty feet away and you can see me. Go and stop those godforsaken fornicators.”
Despite his obvious irritation, he grinned over her word choice. Then he cracked his knuckles. “Oh, I’ll stop ‘em, all right.”
She laughed and shook her head as she headed to her car. Composing her text, she decided to include some kind of reference to the parking lot sex. She was so absorbed that she didn’t notice the dark figure squatting near Champ’s trunk until it started to move.
“Watch out!” someone called at the s
ame time her peripheral vision caught the movement.
She instinctively brought up her arm to protect her head. Pain blasted through her forearm. Her phone went flying. She fell hard.
The last image she saw was Champ’s hood rising up to meet her.
Chapter 32
Cole almost called off his night out with the guys. They’d convinced him at the photo shoot that he needed to get out with them. It had been a while since he’d done so, and since Everly was working and his shoulder was feeling a lot better, he’d ultimately conceded. Marshall’s driver was going to collect everyone in a limo so they didn’t have to worry about their alcohol consumption. They planned on dining at a high-end sushi restaurant for dinner at seven, then hitting up a club or two.
There was a time when he’d lived for these kinds of evenings. Now, he thought about how nice it had been to share a simple meal and a couple of movies with Everly. What did it say that he would choose the second option in a heartbeat over the first if given the choice?
Since he didn’t have a choice, he decided that going out was better than sitting around the house by himself. He showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a black, long-sleeved T-shirt with three buttons at the collar. Unlike many of his teammates, he didn’t wear a lot of jewelry. His only accessory was his watch, a silver Audemars Piguet he’d bought the year before.
The limo arrived just as he pulled his leather jacket off the hanger in the coat closet. He granted the driver access and prepared to enjoy his evening.
In the end, he was glad he decided to go. Their group consisted of mostly single guys, but a couple of married ones, like Marshall, also attended. Javier, Anton, and Billy were there, as were their teammates, Chris Kinney and Nicholas Ford.
The sushi was amazing. Cole had only recently developed a taste for the stuff. The rounds of sake that they downed along with the food gave him a nice buzz. He relaxed and caught up with his friends, signing a few autographs as people approached the table.
After dinner, they headed to one of their regular clubs. Marshall had called ahead and let them know they were coming, so they were shown up to the VIP section by the club’s manager as soon as they arrived. Cole ended up sitting in the back of a large, circular booth that encompassed the entire left side of the club’s top floor. They had a bird’s eye view of the downstairs bar, the large, thriving dance floor, and the DJ’s brightly lit stage. Special glass helped keep the blare of the music to a more reasonable level on the upper floor, so Cole wasn’t forced to scream every word or strain to hear his friends.
They started with a round of whiskey shots and ordered their drinks from the upstairs bartender. Then Marshall said, “Let’s hit the dance floor.”
“Not right now, man,” Cole said. “I’ll sit with the table this time around.”
“Come on, Cole,” Nick argued. “Didn’t you see the hot chicks down there?”
“He’s got his own hot chick,” Billy said with a grin. He elbowed Cole as he slid out of the booth behind the others. “Can’t say I blame him for sitting this one out.”
Nick looked between Billy and Cole as he stood beside the table. “What hot chick? I haven’t heard about any hot chicks.”
“That’s because it’s guys’ night out,” Cole responded. “No girl talk.”
He heard some of his teammates telling Nick about Everly as they walked away. The positive things they had to say made him smile, even if some of them were inappropriate.
Their drinks arrived while the guys were on the dance floor, so Cole sipped on his Jack and Coke and looked around the VIP area. There were a number of females looking his way. He saw a couple of them tossing back their drinks and imaged they’d approach the table before too long. Not even three months ago, he might have found it entertaining to invite one of them to join him for a dance or a drink. Now, he found himself comparing them to Everly.
What would she think of this place? he wondered. Would she find it fun? Boring? He was sure she’d never been inside a club before. Could she even dance?
There was still so much about her that he didn’t know.
“Here all alone?”
Since Cole had tipped his glass back to drink, he took his time with it and studied Rebecca over the rim. He supposed he shouldn’t be overly surprised to see her. This was the most popular club in town, after all. Had he ever brought her there? He couldn’t remember.
She looked as gorgeous as always, her hair and makeup perfectly done. Her clinging black top managed to display her breasts while remaining classy. It didn’t quite meet her jeans, revealing an eye-catching band of skin around her midsection that included a belly button piercing.
Beside her stood a tall male in his late twenties who looked like he had stepped off the cover of GQ. Judging by his clothes and shoes, he was made of money. His dark hair was cut very similarly to Cole’s. He stood looking between Rebecca and Cole with a puzzled expression on his face. When Cole lowered the glass, the man’s eyes widened.
“Sure seems that way,” Cole said, meeting Rebecca’s taunting gaze. “But being here alone sure as hell beats being here with you.”
Her nostrils flared. Her dark eyes snapped with insult.
“Jesus—you’re Cole Parker,” the man said. His eyes got even wider. His mouth wouldn’t close.
Cole spared him another glance. He knew a rabid fan when he saw one. Flashing a smile that showed all of his teeth, he extended his hand.
“Sure am. Nice to meet you.”
The man grasped his hand and pumped it. “Damn, I can’t believe this. I’m a huge fan. Do you know Rebecca?”
“We used to date,” Rebecca said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I broke it off earlier this year.”
“Holy shit—I’m dating a woman who used to date Cole Parker?”
Cole continued to smile, but he finally pulled his hand away from the other guy’s. “Yep. Good luck with that, by the way.” Giving him a man-to-man look, he added, “Seriously...more power to you.”
When the man looked uncertainly at Rebecca, she clenched her jaw. Her gaze could have set tinder to flame.
“You have some nerve speaking negatively about me when you’re dating a psychopath,” she said.
Cole’s back teeth snapped together. He drew in a deep breath as his temper fired.
“Oh, hell no,” boomed Javier’s loud voice. “She ain’t talkin’ ‘bout my little red hot mama, is she?”
Rebecca’s date watched Cole’s teammates surround the booth. “Jesus! Are you Javier Rios? Marshall Grant? Billy Devereaux!”
“Yeah, she’s talking about Everly,” Cole said, not looking away from Rebecca.
“Uh-uh,” Javier said, wagging a finger in her face. “You don’t talk ‘bout her that way. Ever. In fact, my friend Griffin is ‘bout to show you to the door.”
“I don’t think so,” Rebecca huffed.
Javier quirked an eyebrow. “Yo, Griff!”
The enormous male standing by the doors to the VIP section made his way over to their table. “‘Sup, Javy?”
“Would you see that these two don’t bother us anymore?”
“Sho’ ‘nuf.”
Rebecca’s jaw dropped as her arm was encircled by a meaty grip. When she tried to pull away, the bouncer shook his head at her. He held her date in an equally firm grip.
“Wait—can I get your autographs?” the man asked. “I won’t ever see her again, I swear!”
None of them bothered to respond. Cole grinned as his teammates joined him in the booth.
“Thanks, man,” he said to Javier. “I owe you a drink.”
His friend waved that off. “We all have crazy exes, man. Ironic that she’s callin’ your girl the loco one.”
“You’re telling me.”
Cole was on this third drink as ten o’clock rolled around. He had his phone in front of him on the table in anticipation of Everly’s text that she was done with work and heading home. It was more than a little ridiculous how much he w
as looking forward to it. Christ, it was just a text.
Still, he found himself checking the time on his phone every thirty seconds as ten o’clock came and went. He knew she wouldn’t walk out the door exactly on the hour, so he killed time talking to his friends until ten-fifteen.
Any minute now...
By ten-thirty, he began to grow concerned. Had Rowan asked her to work overtime? The restaurant had been really busy, Everly had said. That was great to hear, but Cole didn’t appreciate it keeping Everly out working even more than she already did.
By ten-forty-five, his anxiety reached an uncomfortable level. He picked up his phone and texted, Working late?
Maybe she’d forgotten to text him, he thought. She’d had a long day. Although he’d feel pathetic if she’d forgotten, it was understandable.
When he got no response for ten minutes, he finally broke down and called her cell. It rang five times and then went to voicemail. He clicked off without leaving a message.
“Everything all right?” Marshall asked.
Cole tried to shake the feeling plaguing him. “Sure, man.”
But when his cell rang two minutes later and he saw Wyatt’s number on the Caller ID, Cole’s heart plummeted into his stomach.
Tapping the accept button, he plugged his left ear and held his phone to his right. “Wy? Is something wrong?”
“Cole, where are you?” his brother asked.
Although it was Wyatt’s usual calm tone, Cole’s chest seized with fear. “I’m at the club—Nightscape. What’s wrong?”
“Meet me out front in five minutes.”
“Jesus, Wyatt...what the hell is going on?” Cole lifted the phone briefly from his mouth and gave Marshall a light push, saying, “Guys, let me out.”
“Everly was attacked in the Prix Fixe parking lot. She’s on her way to the hospital.”
Cole’s phone fell to the table with a clatter. He scrambled to pick it back up with shaking hands. The call had disconnected. Wyatt’s words ran through his head. Vaguely, he realized that no one had moved.
“Get out of the way, guys,” he shouted above the music. “Everly’s on the way to the hospital.”
The XOXO New Adult Collection: 16 Full Length New Adult Stories Page 49