Irresistibly Yours

by Lauren Layne

  Sports outfits?

  Penelope and Janie exchanged a tired look. Their mother wasn’t superficial—not quite. But Lydia Pope was definitely of the mind-set that a nice fuchsia lipstick could solve most of the world’s problems.

  “I’m pretty sure Cole cares about a lot more than Penelope’s looks,” Janie said gently.

  “Well, of course he does,” Lydia said, indignant. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t show off her legs. Maybe get a nice push-up bra…remind him of exactly what he kicked out of his bed.”

  “Mom, eeew,” Janie said.

  “Do you have a better idea?” Lydia asked.

  “As a matter of fact, yes,” Janie said, handing Penelope her beer back. “You’re going to act like nothing happened.”

  “Can’t,” Penelope said glumly. “I’m a horrible actress.”

  “Well, that’s true, dear. Which reminds me, would you mind if I put up a video of that time you played the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz and then chased your tail because you thought it was on fire?”

  “Mother,” Janie and Penelope said at the same time.

  “What? It’s cute! And you two have banned me from naked pictures. I need something to post on Facebook. My fans are counting on me.”

  “You know they’re friends, right. Not fans?”

  “Mine are both,” Lydia said stubbornly. “I have a following. They rely on me for entertainment.”

  “Did I say I was glad you came out to New York?” Penelope asked jokingly. “Because I changed my mind.”

  “Well, it’s either the lion video, or I could do the fourth-grade talent show, where you—”

  Penelope was saved from having to hear her mother recount a disastrous performance of Leader of the Pack by the buzzing of her intercom.

  “Yikes,” Janie said, glancing at the ancient-looking box making the noise. “They still make those?”

  “It’s an old building,” Penelope said, dragging herself off the couch. “I hope that’s the pizza.”

  Her mother made a dismayed noise. “Pizza. I thought we agreed that I’d make a lovely salad—”

  “Mom, I’m a vegetarian, and even I know salad’s not comfort food,” Janie said. “We ordered a pizza while you were in the bathroom curling your hair. Again.”

  “Hello?” Penelope asked, punching the button.

  “Penelope, sweetheart. How are you?”

  She frowned at the familiar voice. “Lincoln?”

  “Indeed. Can I come up?”

  “Who’s Lincoln?” Lydia asked Janie.

  “Dunno,” Janie said. “I hope we’re about to find out. He sounds sexy.”

  “You’re married,” Penelope shot over her shoulder to her sister. “Although, if you think he sounds sexy, watch this….”

  “Come on up,” she told Lincoln, buzzing him in.

  “Watch what?” Janie asked.

  “Wait for it,” Penelope said, going to the front door and standing on her toes to look through the peephole.

  She smiled in anticipation when she saw Lincoln’s painfully handsome face appear on the other side of the door. Why couldn’t she have fallen in love with this one? Handsome, and unlikely to bid farewell to a woman with a See you around, Pope.

  Penelope opened the door before he could knock, then stepped back to let her mother and sister take in the full impact of Lincoln Mathis’s good looks.

  “Wow,” Janie said.

  “Oh my,” their mother breathed.

  Penelope grinned. “Lincoln, meet my sister, Janie, and mother, Lydia.”

  Lincoln’s eyebrows lifted. “I would have thought them both your sisters.”

  Penelope rolled her eyes at the overused line, but Lydia put a hand over her chest and made a tittering, tinkling laugh that Penelope hadn’t heard…ever.

  “I didn’t realize you had family in town,” Lincoln said, going to shake both women’s hands. “Badly done of me to intrude like this.”

  “Oh, you’re not intruding,” Janie said in a breathy little voice.

  Penelope shut the door. “You’re not,” she confirmed for Lincoln. “They came out to offer moral support in the wake of your best friend being a total jerk.”

  Lincoln winced. “I figured it was something like that. Although he’s not returning any of our calls. Jake said his brother had been in an accident, but none of us can get details.”

  Penelope studied Lincoln. Saw the concern for his friend that wasn’t quite disguised by Lincoln’s ever-present smile.

  “His brother’s okay,” she said, even though it wasn’t her news to tell. “He’s banged up and has a broken leg, but it could have been much worse.”

  Lincoln breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thanks for telling me. I don’t know why that fool thinks he has to keep secrets….”

  Penelope smiled gently. “Right. Because you’re an open book, hmm?”

  Lincoln’s head snapped back just slightly, and his blue eyes went guarded as he studied her.

  Yup. Lincoln Mathis definitely had secrets. Ones that were far darker than Cole being overprotective of his brother.

  She inwardly sighed. Men and their secrets.

  Janie and her mother were still staring at Lincoln.

  “You came to check on your friend?” Janie said. “Now that is a legit bromance.”

  He winked at Janie. “Actually, my concern is more for his brother and Penelope. As far as I’m concerned, Cole is being a moron.”

  “That’s true,” Penelope muttered.

  He turned to face her, his eyes gentling. “What happened?”

  She shrugged. “The usual dude thing. He pushed me away when I got too close.”

  “Idiot.”

  She gave a weak smile. “Totally.”

  “Have you figured out your plan yet?”

  “Nuh-uh,” Janie said, stepping forward. “Penelope is not the one who needs a plan. He’s the one who messed up.”

  “I know that, pet,” Lincoln replied smoothly. “But Cole is…well, a guy. If we want him to come to his senses, we’re going to have to tread carefully. Handle this exactly right, you know?”

  “What are you thinking?” Penelope’s mother asked, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Lincoln a suspicious look.

  Penelope smiled. Apparently even Lincoln’s good looks weren’t enough to hold off the fierceness of a mother cub for her wounded cub.

  Lincoln never took his eyes off Penelope. “Well, it all depends on Penelope.”

  Her smile slipped at the uncharacteristic seriousness in his gaze. “What do you mean, it depends on me?”

  “It’s simple, love. Before we go even a step forward, I need to know one thing. Do you love him enough to want him back, even though he’s been a complete fool?”

  Penelope sucked in a breath, the bluntness of the question taking her breath away just slightly.

  On one hand, her chest literally ached every time she remembered how much it had hurt when he pushed her away. To remember the flatness of his eyes, and the ease with which he could throw away everything they had had, the second life got a little bit difficult.

  On the other hand…

  A montage of Cole flitted through her mind. Him buying her that damn Mets cap. The way he’d die for his brother. The way he loved his job but would never let it rule his life the way Evan had.

  The way he’d looked at her as though she were everything.

  The way he’d wanted her just the way she was. The way he’d seen what nobody else had seen.

  He’d seen her.

  He’d wanted her.

  And though the stubborn ass might not be ready to admit it, he cared for her. She was positive.

  “Yeah,” she said quietly. “Of course I love him enough to want him back.”

  “Excellent,” Lincoln said with a wide smile that had her mother and sister sighing all over again as he shrugged out of his suit jacket. “So, here’s how I’m thinking we play it…”

  Chapter 28

&nb
sp; THREE WEEKS LATER

  “Hey, hold the door, please!”

  Cole half jogged the last couple of steps to the elevator door just as a hand slid between the closing doors, triggering the sensors so that the door opened again.

  “Thanks,” he said as he stepped into the elevator. His smile froze halfway to formation when he saw who’d held the door for him.

  “Hey, Cole!”

  “Penelope.” He forced his smile to completion, if only to match her casual happiness. It’s what they did now. An awful lot of forced. At least on his part.

  It had been nearly a month since the day of Bobby’s accident. Three and a half long weeks since he’d last kissed her. Held her.

  It would have been easier if she’d given him the cold shoulder. If she’d gone all icy-cool and distant. It’s what every other woman he knew would have done.

  But Penelope wasn’t every other woman.

  He didn’t know if it was because they had to work together, or if it was because she was just ridiculously decent, but she was every bit as friendly to him now as she’d been since the very first day she’d met him.

  Of course, there were slight differences.

  She didn’t meet his eyes anymore. Sure, she came close—he was sure other people didn’t notice the way her eyes would sort of stop just shy of his when they were talking to each other in a meeting.

  But he noticed. He felt it.

  She also didn’t touch him. Not ever.

  She’d playfully sock Lincoln in the arm, or give Jake a high five, but she steered clear of Cole.

  But she still greeted him every morning. Still popped into his office unexpectedly, even invited him to lunch a couple of times. Or, like now, she was chatting on about their upcoming meeting with the Web team as though nothing had happened between them.

  As though they hadn’t been lovers. As though he hadn’t ruthlessly dumped her on a Manhattan sidewalk outside a fucking hospital.

  “Cole?”

  “Yeah.”

  She gave him a confused smile. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

  “Sorry,” he said, clearing his throat. “Guess I was distracted.”

  She nodded, understanding as ever. “How are things? Bobby’s still on the mend?”

  Damn it, Tiny, stop being so goddamn sweet after I treated you like garbage.

  “Yeah, he’s good,” Cole replied. “Bruises have faded almost completely. The cast holds him up some, but he’s gotten the hang of crutches. And turns out his new lady love has been quite the doting little nurse.”

  Penelope smiled. “Carly?”

  “Yeah. She’s sweet.”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to suggest that Penelope should meet her sometime, but of course she wouldn’t.

  And whose fault is that, fuckwad? Cole barely flinched as his subconscious scolded him. He’d grown used to it.

  The elevator opened on their floor and Cole stepped aside so Penelope could exit first.

  They walked side by side toward their respective offices, together, but not.

  The separation made every part of Cole hurt, and he didn’t have the faintest clue what to do about it.

  “Hey, Penelope.”

  She paused as she unlocked her office door and looked up. “Hmm?”

  I miss you. I want you back. I’m so fucking sorry.

  “Do you think you could email me those mock-ups you’re working on? They’re better than mine, so I’m thinking we should just submit yours at the meeting today.”

  “Sure thing.” She flashed him another easy smile and went into her office, shutting the door quietly behind her.

  Cole stood there for several seconds, staring at her door, wanting to walk in but not knowing what to say.

  Lincoln appeared at his side, chewing one of his disgusting power bars. “This is getting pathetic, dude.”

  “Shut up,” Cole growled, half walking, half marching toward his own office.

  Lincoln, being Lincoln, didn’t take the hint and fell into step beside him. “Nobody blames you that you screwed it up. I mean, we all expected it.”

  “Oh, good, another pep talk,” Cole said. He tried to shut his office door in Lincoln’s face, but his friend pushed it open again and made himself comfortable in Cole’s guest chair as Cole pulled his laptop out of his bag.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Lincoln asked.

  “Nope,” Cole said, snapping his laptop into its docking station. “Didn’t want to talk about it yesterday. Or the day before. Or last week. Don’t want to talk about it now.”

  “No problem, man, I totally get it,” Lincoln said. “I don’t like to talk about my women issues either.”

  “Thank you,” Cole said, settling in his chair and taking a sip of his coffee.

  “Except…”

  Christ.

  “I don’t really have any woman issues,” Lincoln said. “So…”

  “Yeah, how is that?” Cole asked, narrowing his eyes at the other man. “You’ve dated five times the number of women I have—”

  “More like ten,” Lincoln interrupted.

  “—And yet you don’t have a single bitter ex, and I’ve never seen you so much as the tiniest bit tripped up by anything female.”

  Lincoln spread his hands out to his sides. “Eat it up, Sharpe. This is a gift.”

  “Whatever,” Cole muttered as he clicked open his email.

  Lincoln leaned forward. “Give me a hint. Was it because she finally admitted that I was the better kisser? Was it the fact that you think burgers count as dinner? Dude, you didn’t cheat, did you?”

  “I didn’t cheat,” Cole ground out. “And why do you assume it was my fault?”

  “Wasn’t it?”

  Cole sighed and gave up the pretense of getting any work done while Lincoln was still talking at him. “Yes.”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Lincoln said. “And that’s actually good news.”

  Cole gave him a look. Nothing about him and Penelope acting like strangers was good news.

  “No, it is,” Lincoln insisted. “If you’re the one who screwed up, the ball’s in your court. You’ve got a chance to fix things.”

  Cole looked away.

  “Sharpe. You do want to fix things?”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Sure, sure,” Lincoln said with an exaggerated nod. “I’m sure it’s very complicated. Explain?”

  Cole fiddled with his computer mouse. Was there any good way to tell your guy friend that you’ve flipped out? That you’ve realized loving someone was hard, and weren’t sure your heart could handle the rough parts?

  The moment he’d heard Bobby had been in an accident, Cole’s whole life had stopped and then tilted upside down. What would happen if he allowed himself to love someone else as much as he loved Bobby?

  “Still waiting,” Lincoln whispered.

  “The thing is, Mathis,” Cole said slowly. “Everyone acts like the moment you realize you’re in love is the big gotcha moment. But there’s actually a moment after that…the one where you realize you could lose the person you love.”

  Lincoln said nothing, and Cole glanced up, surprised by his friend’s uncharacteristic quietness.

  Lincoln had gone rigid, his eyes completely vacant. He looked a bit like someone had stabbed him in the chest.

  Cole frowned in concern. “Hey. You okay?”

  Lincoln shook his head slightly, and Cole watched as his eyes refocused, his mind obviously coming back from whatever dark place he’d just gone to.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Lincoln’s voice had none of its usual energy as he stood up abruptly. “But, I get it. The whole loving and losing someone thing. It’s a big risk. No lectures here.”

  “Wait, Mathis. Hey! Lincoln!” Cole called after his friend, but Lincoln was already gone.

  “What was that about?” Cole muttered. He thought about going after his friend, but instinct told him Lincoln had nothing to say on the matter, at lea
st not yet.

  Plus, maybe now they could come to an understanding.

  Let sleeping dogs lie when the dogs involved women.

  Or something.

  Cole had finally turned his attention to his in-box when Cassidy called. After they greeted each other, there was a pause. Then Cassidy said, “You didn’t hear this from me.”

  “Okay?”

  There was another pause, longer this time, and Cole rolled his eyes. “Cassidy, right now I’m not hearing anything.”

  “Todd Kolb is in the office today.”

  “Well, shit, Cassidy,” Cole said. “Does the NSA know? Should we call the CIA?”

  Todd Kolb was a prissy, fussy type who was a bigwig of a major sporting goods store that frequently advertised in Oxford. Todd tended to think that being one of their biggest accounts entitled him to hanging out in the office whenever he felt like it. The guy could be an awkward clinger, but he was harmless.

  “Yeah, well…you heard that his uncle just bought the New York Rangers?”

  “What kind of senior sports editor would I be if I didn’t know that?”

  “Co–sports editor,” Cassidy corrected. “Which is sort of why I’m calling—”

  “As opposed to taking the fifteen-second walk to my office?”

  “Yeah, well, didn’t really want to be within firing range when I told you this….”

  Cole’s eyes narrowed. “Told me what?”

  “Todd Kolb’s taking Penelope to the Rangers game tonight. And a late dinner afterward. It would seem they’re kind of…dating.”

  Cole’s ears rang.

  “Come again?”

  “Nope. I’m not repeating it. Didn’t even want to say it the first time. Just…damn it, Cole, get it together.”

  The line went dead in Cole’s ear and he slowly put the phone back.

  Let her go, he told himself.

  Penelope deserved happiness, and if happiness came in the arms of another man—

  “Nope. Not gonna happen.” Cole stood so quickly his chair flipped backward, but he didn’t pause to right it.

  He had a woman to win back.

  Chapter 29

  Cole made it as far as Penelope’s office before he realized he didn’t have a plan.

  Which would have been fine had he paused before opening the door, but nope—he’d gone flinging the door open without a single thought as to what he was going to say or do.