by Connie Cox
Family. She’d said it so easily. Did she even realize she’d included him?
Adrian waved his arms over his head and back down again while kicking his feet. “Daddy,” he said.
No awkward pauses tonight.
“Adrian is learning the butterfly stroke at the pool.” Cole helped himself to a serving of pizza.
“Daddy is teaching you?”
“It’s a difficult stroke but Adrian has it all figured out.” No man could be prouder of his son than Cole was of Adrian.
Sharing parenting responsibility would be easier if they lived close to each other.
Maybe he could find a house nearby? Or a duplex like the one Bella had shared with David? Would she prefer the neighborhood she’d grown up in or would she rather stay in this one?
Neither of them were the kind of people to live with someone else on a permanent basis without commitment. Those arrangements always ended acrimoniously and Cole could never let Adrian be caught in the middle.
Adrian held up his hand and Cole high-fived it, like they had been practicing. According to his teachers, Adrian had been making phenomenal progress. Cole’s heart swelled to hear he was part of it. Did Bella think he had been a good influence on his son? It was so hard to know what Bella thought. She hid herself so well. Would she ever trust him enough to let him see past that disciplined facade?
If only Bella loved him...
CHAPTER TWELVE
LAST night Bella had been stunned when Cole and Adrian had slapped hands. But tonight she was shocked. Delighted. Pleased. Jealous. And overwhelmed.
All because of Cole. He was so good for Adrian.
If only he was good for her, too. But that was a selfish thought, unworthy of a mother. Isabella focused on her son’s accomplishment and pushed her own needs out of her mind.
She’d heard and read of massive breakthroughs like Adrian was experiencing, but she’d never expected it to happen for her son.
Tonight Adrian had initiated the action and used it as a sign to communicate.
She had been trying to get him to use signs, symbols—anything to indicate yes or no—since he was born. Cole had come into their lives and within days had her son communicating beyond what years of therapy and home training had accomplished.
At Cole’s nod, Adrian left the table, put on oven mitts to reach into the oven and came back carrying a blackberry cobbler.
His glance skittered across her face, then across Cole’s.
Under control again, she grinned at both of them. “Another bribe? What’s this one for?”
While Cole dished up a helping of cobbler with a side of ice cream for her, Adrian rummaged in his backpack and produced a sheet of crumpled, slightly watermarked paper and shoved it next to her along with a pen.
Adrian touched her dessert bowl, urging her to take a bite as she had done so often for him in the past.
Automatically, she did.
“Very good,” she complimented sincerely.
“Adrian was hoping to enter the local special games swimming competition this coming Saturday.”
She really didn’t have the time to add another sport to her son’s busy schedule—not after Cole left them.
“Momma,” Adrian added, giving her that bright smile of his.
How could she say no to that?
“Two against one. Unfair odds, I’d say.” She looked from one to the other, so alike in so many ways. The swim meet was on Saturday. She could cut her hours at the office for the last part of the week and get Adrian to swim practice. Then, after the meet, she would have to break the news that she simply couldn’t schedule it in anymore. But Adrian would have his memories of Daddy and the time they had spent together. And that was worth all the hassle.
Like all the other times she should be saying no to Adrian and Cole, she said, “Fine,” and vowed to make it work for her son somehow.
Again, they high-fived as Isabella signed the required permission forms for the swimming competition.
Although she was beyond thrilled to see Adrian responding so well to Cole, nagging worry loomed. This would all be over as soon as Cole returned to New York.
“Headache?” Cole asked.
Isabella realized she’d been rubbing her temple. It was a gesture she was doing too often of late.
“Just rearranging my schedule in my mind for when you go back to New York.”
Her days would be rushed. And they would be back to searching her father’s medical journals for photos of Cole.
Isabella wasn’t only worried for her son. She was worried for herself as well. She had been so foolish to fall for Cole a second time in a lifetime. Hadn’t she learned her lesson the first time?
Grown-up Cole found his place in her heart just as easily as teenage Cole had fit there before. In fact, he was now a better fit, since he had wormed his way into his son’s heart, too.
Cole looked as if he wanted to say something, maybe reassure her that everything would be all right. But in the end he had nothing to say.
Instead, he volunteered to do the dishes but Isabella declined. Adrian had so few hours left to spend with his daddy, she didn’t want to take any away from him if she could help it.
Over the sound of the dishwasher’s churning she strained to hear them together. When Cole read to Adrian, his deep voice melted her inside. It wasn’t only the richness of his tone but the caring and concern that opened up all the places she’d closed off all those years ago.
They read the manga version of Call of the Wild twice through with nary a complaint from Cole about Adrian’s request for a repeat performance. He seemed to accept Adrian’s need for repetition as easily as he accepted Adrian’s other quirks.
Swim practice had tired Adrian sufficiently to send him to bed without coercion—another improvement she could attribute to Cole. But, then, Adrian seemed to do whatever Daddy told him to do, instead of giving her that adolescent pushback that had started around his thirteenth birthday.
To avoid the tossing and turning of the night before, Isabella decided to stay up until she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer.
“Would you like to watch television?” the hostess in her made her ask, although she yearned for a quieter evening.
“Only if you want to. I’ve got some reading to do.”
“I’d rather read myself.” She had a huge stack of trade magazines piled next to her favorite chair and never had time to read them. If only she could keep her concentration on the pages in front of her instead of the man so close and yet so out of reach.
“I’m going to make myself a cup of hot tea. Want one?”
“No, thanks.”
As Isabella put the kettle on, she took her time observing Cole through the kitchen door. His glasses sat low on his nose as he frowned at a sheaf of documents. He made notes in the margins, chewing on his pen between comments.
In her mind’s eye, she saw the same man as a boy fifteen years earlier as he’d pored over his history lesson, trying to narrow the gap between his inner-city grade-school education and the expensive, intense learning environment of St. Michael’s. She couldn’t have put a name to her admiration. At least, not to that aspect of her admiration. She could have readily told anyone she admired Cole’s muscles, his brains, his sense of humor, and most of all she admired that he saw something hidden beneath her mousy exterior that he found both fascinating and sexy.
Now what did he see in her, beyond her son? Was there anything else to see?
As she settled in with her cup, Cole said, “Come and look at this.”
As if it were a nightly occurrence, Bella sat next to him and tucked her feet under her. He handed her a report and held her tea as she read it.
“What am I looking at?”
“Ernest’s vital signs before and after your therapy.” Cole ran his finger under some data. I thought you might like to see the effects of your session.”
How could she stop loving this man who understood how much it meant f
or her to know she made a difference? “I’m glad I could help.”
“Ernest is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. He’s terrified and asking for you. He wants you to observe the surgery. I know his request is unusual, but I told him I’d relay the message.”
“Can I? Can you arrange for me to observe?”
“Yes, I can do that.”
“Then, yes. Of course I will. Has he had any visitors at all?”
“Only the family whose daughter he saved, but they went back home days ago.”
“How sad to have no one.” If she was in the hospital, who would visit? David, for sure. He would bring Adrian as long as the problem wasn’t too traumatic. Her father would find a way. Her colleagues would drop by. Would Cole come? “I can’t imagine having no one to care about me.”
“It can be rough.” Sadness coated Cole’s voice.
Other than his grandmother, had he been all alone as he’d grieved and recovered from his family’s deaths?
“I’ll stop by before I head to my office,” she promised.
“Thanks.” He took the report from her and handed back her tea. “With Ernest’s surgery tomorrow afternoon, I may be running late getting home. Can you take care of Adrian’s schedule?”
As she reached out, she couldn’t resist touching him. The tingle went straight up her arm to her heart.
“I’ll just go back to the way it was.” That was what she would do with her whole life when he was gone. Go back to the way it had been.
“You’re one of those, aren’t you? One of those doctors whose care goes beyond the physical?”
“Of course. Why else practice medicine if not to make people feel better? And feeling better happens at a deeper lever than just the physical.” He leaned close, so close she could feel that special prickle on her skin only he could produce. “That’s why I find what you do so fascinating.”
“You find my work fascinating?” she said stupidly, mesmerized by the spark in his eyes.
He moved in close and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I find you fascinating.”
Was this what she wanted? One more fling with Cole before he was gone from her life?
Before she could decide, he sat up straight, moving away from her. “I have other paperwork to show you.”
As interesting as Bella found comparison charts, she didn’t find them romantic and she had a strong suspicion that Cole didn’t either. But they were the perfect excuse to put distance between them.
* * *
Cole had sensed—rather than seen—Bella pull back. He’d used all his willpower to play it casual but he wouldn’t spoil this moment by asking for more than she could give.
Commitment.
The word popped into his head like an accusation.
There was more to life together than love.
Could he do it? Could he commit?
He had to admit that sitting in Isabella’s den, with his feet propped on the hassock in front of him, and a beautiful woman who also happened to be the mother of his son within arm’s reach, Cole had never felt more content in his entire life.
The simple exchange of plans, coordinating schedules to take care of Adrian, sharing a traditional family dinner, filled Cole’s soul with wellness.
While he might never be a part of a traditional family again, the least he could do was provide for his son.
“I spent some time on the phone with my lawyers and accountants yesterday. I want to put my name on his birth certificate.”
He detested that stillness Bella projected when she shut him out. Before she could protest, he held up a hand to hold off whatever response she was about to deliver. “No strings. I just want to give him whatever protection I can.”
He could almost feel the thaw as Bella considered what he was offering.
“What kind of protection?”
“I’m a wealthy man, Bella.” He couldn’t hold back the pride in his voice when he confessed his success. “I can buy him whatever he needs. Being legally acknowledged as my son will make the
legalese easier for all of us.”
As if her thoughts drifted, her eyes went vague and her smile wistful. “Much of what he needs can’t be bought.”
“Am I right in thinking Adrian might never live on his own?”
“Not the way he is right now.” Her shoulders bowed as if in defeat.
“I can make arrangements for his care past our lifetimes.”
The brightness in her smile, the dampness in her eyes and the hope that radiated from her whole being gave purpose to all the work behind his financial success.
“You can do that, Cole? How to care for Adrian his whole lifetime has been my major worry since he was diagnosed.”
“Yes, I can do that. I’ve already checked into several options. I’d like you to meet with my advisors and see what direction we want to head toward.”
“Meet? In New Orleans?”
“It will be easier to fly you to New York than to fly a whole team of people to New Orleans.”
“Adrian is afraid of airplanes.”
“And so is his mother?” Cole guessed. How could someone in this day and age be afraid to fly?
She gave him a sheepish grin. “They’re big and noisy. How they stay up in the air defies reason to me.”
“Then maybe it would be easier to bring them to you.”
“Just like that?” She snapped her fingers. “You’ll make arrangements for all these professionals to jaunt down to New Orleans for a couple of hours to lay out their plans for me?”
“Don’t you get it, Bella? I’d do anything for my son.” And for you.
“Again, thank you.” She rose from her chair. “And now, before you start offering me the moon and the stars, I’m going to bed.”
To bed. His mind filled with images of her naked, her head thrown back with all that glorious hair tumbling around her, shouting his name as she reached the peak of ecstasy.
If it could only be so once again.
He thought again of the ring he planned to offer her as soon as he could promise her a stable and secure future in New Orleans with it.
What would her answer be?
“I think I’ll go for a walk. With Ernest’s surgery tomorrow, I want to have a clear head. And thank you again for agreeing to observe the surgery. That will make all the difference with his anxiety levels.”
The walk didn’t help. Neither did the cold shower.
He tried to think of the stars, of the moon, but all he could think of was Bella, looking at him like he’d hung the heavens just for her.
If only he could be that man...
* * *
Isabella stood before the guest bedroom door, raised her hand to knock, then put it down again.
The red silk of her new nightgown swirled around her thighs as she paced back and forth before his door.
This was it. Once she entered that room, there was no going back. As a fully grown woman knowing exactly what she was doing, she would be giving her heart to Cole, holding nothing back, and with no guarantee he would ever love her the way she loved him.
If she didn’t knock, she would never know. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.
Cole. This was what she wanted. This was who she wanted.
And she was woman enough to go after her heart’s desire. Three sharp, quick raps.
He opened his bedroom door and looked her up and down. “Bella?”
“Cole?” She echoed his tone.
“Say no.” He growled it as if he issued a dare or a challenge.
“Yes.” She pushed him backward into the room and closed the door behind them.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” She ran her finger around the waistband of his boxer shorts. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Show me.”
Wanting to touch all of him at once, she ran her hand along his bare chest, letting her palms barely graze his sensitive nipples.
He sucked in air, a reaction that gave
her all the confidence she needed to keep going.
As she ran her hands lower and lower, her own internal heat flamed hotter and hotter.
“You’ve got magic in those hands, lady.” His voice was heavy and sultry.
“Watch what these hands can do.” She tugged his shorts down, feeling the strength and hardness of his muscles as she pushed the material lower and lower.
He stepped out of them then pulled her up to return the favor, brushing the straps of her nightgown off her shoulders, coasting his hands along her arms, circling each nipple with a long, strong finger until she ached for his touch.
His mouth followed his hands as he adored her with his kisses.
“I’m falling,” she gasped. “Catch me.”
In one move she was on the bed, looking up into Cole’s eyes. Those eyes. How could eyes so dark flash like that?
“Fill me, Cole,” she begged. “I ache for you.”
“Here?” He ran a teasing finger across her most sensitive spot, making her squirm.
“Yes.”
“Tell me what you want, Bella.” He made quick work with the protection.
She barely gave him time to finish before she ran her fingernail down his chest. “I want you. All of you with nothing held back.”
She arched toward him. “Do you want me?”
“More than I can say.”
She traced a line down the length of him. “Then take me.”
She was so ready for him. They fit together as if they were made for each other.
Isabella couldn’t keep from moving, pulsing her hips into his. “Now, Cole. Now.”
He met her stroke for stroke. Primal and intense, he rocked into her over and over again, bringing waves and waves of pleasure crashing through her.
She buried her head in his neck to stifle her screams as he let go of his own control and joined her in climax. His growl, escaping from deep down inside, seemed to spur her on and on until tears ran down her face.
Finally, lying side by side, they both gasped for air as their heartbeats fought for steadiness. Her face glowing with radiance, with pleasure, with pure female release, he had never seen anything as soul-stirring.
He kissed the dampness of her tears off her cheek, brushed her hair from her face, ran his fingertips down the silk of her arm and thought his heart would burst from the emotions expanding inside.