by BJ Harvey
“Wait, I’m confused. You have/had a woman? How did I not know this?” Abi says, scrunching up her face. “Jeez, a girl has a couple of babies at once, and she’s completely out of the loop.”
I chuckle and shake my head, stroking the head of my squirming baby niece Anna sitting in my lap. “More like she had me. Had being the operative word.”
“Exactly how it should be,” Ronnie says with a small smirk, also holding a baby—my other niece, Anya.
“It doesn’t matter now. It’s over. I fucked up. She doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”
“What did you do to Skye?” Ronnie asks, her voice sharp and knowing. I tilt my head. It seems my brothers communicate better than I do.
“I didn’t do anything. That’s the problem.”
Abi narrows her eyes. “Huh? I’m confused.”
I nod. “Yeah. One could say it’s taken a few weeks, a fair amount of alcohol, a lot of double shifts and a round of virtual golf to get some clarity. But it’s making sense now.”
“What is?” April asks.
“She was right to end things. She deserves more than what we had together.”
Faith’s head jerks back. “So just like that, you’re going to let her go? If she deserves more, then give her more. That’s how it works. You give, she gets, she gives, you get. It’s pretty simple, Co,” She sounds a little angry now.
I look her straight in the eye. “No. I’m not giving up. She was right to dump me, but that’s not to say I’m going down without a fight. Which is why I’m here.”
“Now you’ve got my attention,” Ronnie says, rubbing her hands together. April leans forward, her body language completely changed.
“I need your help.” I look around the room at my sisters—by blood and by marriage—before locking eyes with Abi. “You were right. I was an idiot when it came to Skye, but I’ve pulled my head out of my ass, and I need to do anything and everything to get her back.”
Abi nods, pride shining in her eyes. “You’ve got it, Co. Anything you want, anything you need, whatever it takes for you to be happy—if I’ve got it, it’s yours.”
“What’s the plan?”
“That’s where all of you come in. Apart from falling at her feet and begging for forgiveness, I’m at a bit of a loss.”
“You could kidnap her,” Ronnie says, earning everyone’s wide eyes.
“He wants her back, and he can’t do that from jail,” Faith says, shaking her head with a small grin.
Ronnie holds up her hands. “Hey, I didn’t say it was a good idea, but if needs must…”
“You need to do something big,” April says.
“Huge. I mean, he acted like more than a fuck buddy, yet when it came down to admitting he felt something for her, he froze up.”
“But shouldn’t Skye have given him a chance to realize he’d caught feelings too?” Abi says. “Cohen can be clueless when it comes to women, but surely not that clueless.”
“I am still here you know,” I grumble.
Abi waves me off. “Hush now. The grown-ups are talking.”
Everyone else in the room giggles, Abi’s eyes full of amusement as she arches a brow as if challenging me to argue.
I look down at Anna, pulling her in close and cradling her in my arms. “Don’t worry, baby girl. Your mama isn’t as scary as she likes to think she is.”
Abi gasps. “Take that back, Co. My children need to know I’m a woman of my word.”
I look up at my sister and smirk. “You can be anything you like, but we all know Cade is going to be as strong as jelly when it comes to these two girls.”
The rest of the room snickers, nodding their heads.
Abi huffs out a breath. “Well, at least I have Harry.”
“Oh, yep. Boys and their mamas, a bond forged in steel if their last name is Cook,” Faith says.
“Technically Harry is a Carsen, so…” I clarify.
Abi narrows her eyes. “Just quit while you’re ahead, Co.”
I hold my hand up in surrender.
“So back to Cohen’s big problem,” Ronnie says.
“It is rather big,” I say before I can stop myself. That earns me a groan from Faith, gagging noises from my sister, and rolled eyes from April and Dani.
“You boys are all the same. You do know us women aren’t as obsessed with dick size as you think we are,” April states.
“Although,” Dani says, a small smirk playing on her lips, “I’m definitely not complaining about my husband’s assets.”
I look up at the ceiling and groan. “Not what I needed to know about Zach.”
Ronnie laughs. “Now you’ll know he’s packing a big hose in those turnouts.”
“Lord help me,” I say to the roof.
“God can’t help you, baby brother,” Abi says. I slowly lower my head and lock eyes with my big sister. “But we can.”
The women nod, a plethora of soft, understanding eyes all focused on me.
Faith perches herself on the edge of her seat, leaning her elbow on the sofa. “Okay, in order to give you the right advice, we need to find out a bit more about what you did—”
“Or didn’t do,” Dani adds, getting a range of ‘mm-hmm’s in return.
I wince, but quickly swallow it down. Anything that’s easy isn’t worth fighting for, right?
“Do you want her back for the sex or for her?” April asks.
“I don’t feel right not having her in my life,” I reply honestly.
“Oooh, good answer,” Abi says. “My turn. What would you do differently if you could do it all over again?”
“Not miss what was right in front of my face the whole time.”
“Which was?” she presses.
“The other half of me.” I can count the times I’ve seen my sister surprised on one hand, but apparently, I’ve succeeded this time. “But how was I supposed to fight for something I didn’t know was mine to lose?”
Abi sighs, shaking her head at me. “You can’t say you didn’t know. You not seeing what was right in front of you—that everyone else could see as clear as day—is how you screwed up. It isn’t her job to put back together what you broke. Do you understand that?”
“Shit.”
My sister’s lips twitch. “Yeah, now you’re getting it.”
“So, how do I fix it?”
“You show her you want to fix it,” she states like it’s the easiest thing in the world.
“Since you’ve already said I’m clueless, do you want to give me some guidance here?”
Abi’s eyes soften. “You fight for her. You do something so monumentally big that she has absolutely no doubt in her mind she’s who you want, and you’ll do anything and everything to get her back.”
“If you manage to win her back, will you still keep it secret?” Ronnie says, tilting her head and quirking a brow. “Because no girl likes to be hidden away like a dirty secret.”
My lips twitch. “Dirty secrets can be fun. But Skye was the one to propose the sex for sex’s sake.”
They all groan and shake their heads, April looking over at me with a sympathetic gaze. “Cohen, do you really think a woman just goes around offering to sleep with someone just because? Yeah, women like sex just as much as men do, and yes, women can do friends with benefits just as well as men can. What neither a man or a woman can do, however, is resist catching feelings for the one they’re meant to be with. When you add physical intimacy on top of respect, care, and admiration—and it’s good—then any line you draw in the sand is bound to be blurred, broken, or catapulted over.”
“So I ask again, looking back, what would you do differently?” Abi asks. “Because you look like shit, baby brother, and by all accounts”—she looks to Dani then back to me—“you’ve been a grumpy ass everywhere and to everyone.”
Dani blushes, and when I quirk a brow her way, she shrugs. “My husband tells me everything.”
Abi nods. “And so does mine so I know he told you that m
ore often than not, one—or both parts—of a friends-with-benefits situation ends up falling for the other.”
“Especially when you drop everything to be there for her on Christmas Day, call your mother to supply food, and call her best friends to come visit just to help her feel better,” Faith says, shooting me an all-knowing look that makes me suspicious that it’s not her husband who’s updated her but the very woman I’m pining for.
“So,” Ronnie says, clapping her hands once, grabbing my attention, “what are you willing to do to win Miss Skye back?”
“That’s why I’m here.”
She tilts her head, her eyes roaming my face as she studies me. I meet her gaze straight on, not looking away until she nods and her lips curve up in apparent approval. “Okay, so let’s get brainstorming then. We have a girl to win over, and if you haven’t told her you love her yet with words, then you have to show her, so there’s absolutely no doubt in her mind that you’re willing to fight for her and continue to do so for the rest of your lives together.”
“Thank you, ’cause I think I’ve only got one chance at this. I may not get her back as a partner at work, but if that means I have her by my side in life, then that’s all I need.”
Ronnie, Faith, and Abi’s eyes all turn glassy. April, Dani, and I look at the three of them with varying levels of surprise, shock and amusement.
“Are you crying, Barbie?” I ask, my lips twitching.
“Shut up, Co. It’s hormones. They come over me when I’m watching damn puppy commercials on TV. Your brother thinks it’s hilarious,” she huffs, wiping her eyes.
Abi sniffs. “I blame the babies. They’ve turned me into a sook.”
To her credit, Faith just shrugs. “I blame your brother. He knocked me up, and now I want everyone else to be as happy as I am.”
“I love her. Part of me thinks there’s always been something more there,” I say, all humor now gone.
Abi’s eyes soften. “That’s because your subconscious knew before your dick, brain, and heart caught up. Now we’ve just got to make sure Skye knows too.”
I nod, determined to do absolutely everything necessary to make it happen. “Right. So tell me what you think of this…” I say, before proceeding to tell them my idea. Half an hour and a few suggestions later, my plan is set in motion.
But to pull this off, there’s one person I need in my corner. My only hope is that he’s willing to help; otherwise it’ll all fall apart.
On the drive home from my sister’s place, I bring up Dion’s details in my phone and call the number.
“Well, well, well,” he says by way of hello. “We’ve moved on to actual phone calls now. I was beginning to like our covert text messages. But sorry to say, she’s not here. She’s having dinner at the Rossi’s.”
“Hey. Well, that’s good. This kind of warrants a phone call because I need you.”
“Oooh, boy. Now don’t get me wrong, if you swung my way and I wasn’t head over heels for my Italian hunk of love, I’d be all over that.”
That makes me snort. I can definitely see why Dion and Skye are best friends.
“Um, that’s good…” I reply slowly.
“I can’t help you kidnap my Skye. She’d never forgive me and, sorry to say, I like her more than you,” he says, humor filling his voice.
I chuckle. “Yeah, but I love her just as much—if not more—than you do.”
Dion gasps down the phone. “Oh. My. God.”
I smile, giving him time to get over his apparent shock.
“Please tell me you’re gonna win our girl back? I love her to death, but she’s not fooling anyone. She’s miserable without you.”
“That makes two of us. To carry out the world’s biggest grovel, I’m going to need some help. That’s where you come in.”
“If it means seeing a smile on her face and that sparkle back in her eyes, I’ll do anything you want.”
Then I proceed to explain my plan and exactly where Dion comes in to play. When he gets over his excitement, we end the call with a promise to keep in touch to ensure everything I need him to do for me is carried out perfectly. With that part organized, there’s just one thing left.
And if it means begging the woman I love for another chance—on my knees, if that’s what it takes—then so be it. Skye Rossi said she deserves a man who’s ready to love her now.
She’s about to find out just how much she means to me and exactly what I’m prepared to do to make sure she—and everyone else—knows it.
25
Skye
It’s early Thursday afternoon, and I’m enjoying a rare day off. I’m now working as a floating EMT for the department. This means I work wherever I’m needed, and since I’m trying to distract myself as much as I can, this has meant working multiple shifts in a row. My plan for the day is to laze on the couch until Princess Penny gets home from school, then we’re going to walk to the park and feed the ducks.
It’s fair to say it’s been so much harder than I thought not to think about Cohen. I miss him so damn much that it’s affecting every part of my life. I spent three days alternating between sulking, second-guessing the play I had to make, and lamenting the loss of how free I felt whenever I was with him. Cohen let me be myself and I didn’t have to hide anything.
Vinnie even offered me his twenty-year-old scotch one night and—drunk as a skunk—I ended up confessing everything, including the admission that I’ve probably been in love with Cohen Cook for longer than just the last two months—maybe even since the day we first met.
I was never just the “little Rossi sister” to Cohen; he treated me as an equal in every possible way.
Then Christmas Day happened, and the rest—as they say—is history.
I’ve read every single text he sent me, listened to the voicemail messages where he’s apologized, and begged me to talk about things when I was ready. Then his messages turned into simple updates about his day, from telling me my brothers were giving him a wide berth, to his relief that Corey was working as his partner until I came back. Until I came back. I love hearing him say that, like he knows it’s a foregone conclusion we’ll be together again soon. It gives me hope that this forced separation will be shorter than I expect.
Although I am disappointed he hasn’t taken more drastic measures. Would it have hurt him to stalk me even a little bit? Or beat down Dion and Vin’s door demanding to see me then hoist me over his shoulder caveman-style? Maybe hold me captive as his sex slave and screw me into submission? A girl can only dream, right?
My plans to be a couch potato for the day change when Dion comes home early from work and demands I get up, make myself look hot, and be ready to leave in twenty minutes.
“Even I can’t work miracles that quickly, D,” I moan.
“Believe me,” he says, looking me up and down, “you look cute even in those ripped sweatpants and ratty hoodie, but you’re going to want to look as hot as you can.”
I narrow my eyes on my best friend, trying to get a read on whatever he’s got planned, but his face is a blank mask. “What’s going on, D?”
“Please trust me, my Skye. I desperately want to see you smile again—and for you to stop moping on my couch—and in order to make that happen, I made a deal with the devil. That means you need to fluff your hair up, sex-kitten those big eyes of yours, and make sure any red-blooded straight man—hell, gay man too—walks into a damn wall when they catch sight of you.”
“D, please tell me where we’re going.”
“Nope. Just do as I say, and I won’t have to be an accomplice to kidnapping. I look good in anything, but I’m not sure Vin would be happy with weekly conjugals.”
My mouth drops open. “Dion! What on earth does that mean?”
“Get. Dressed. Skye. And all will be revealed.”
Twenty-three minutes later, I’m sitting behind the wheel of Cohen’s car, which I walked out of Dion and Vinnie’s brownstone to find parked by the sidewalk. The Camaro—his baby�
�the one he doesn’t let anyone drive. Dion just handed me the keys and told me to hop in.
Shock? That’s one emotion.
Surprise? That’s what I feel when Dion subsequently admits Cohen has been checking up on me every few days for the past two and a half weeks, ever since I ended things and dumped him as a work partner, bed buddy, and best friend all at the same time.
And lastly, I’m paralyzed by fear—not for whatever Cohen is up to. No, I’m terrified of turning the key and starting the engine, because if I move the car, then I risk putting even the smallest of scratches on it, then I’ll ruin whatever Cohen’s got planned.
And by God, do I want to find out exactly what that is, except I have absolutely no idea where I’m supposed to be going.
I turn to the passenger seat where Dion is leaning back against the leather interior, looking straight at me, a half-smirk curving his lips.
“You’re totally shitting yourself, aren’t you?” he says.
“Am not,” I say, white-knuckling the steering wheel.
“Then why haven’t you turned the car on yet?”
I let go of the breath I’m holding with a loud huff. “He doesn’t let anyone drive his baby. He said so himself. I’m just… I can’t believe he just gave you the keys and said I could drive it. Are you sure you didn’t steal it in some weird retaliation for him breaking my heart? Because—granted—that would be a new level of wicked, even for you, but I don’t think I’m that spiteful.”
Dion rolls his eyes. “And yet, here you are,” he says, sweeping his arm out. “But no, I did not steal it. Glad to see you hold me in such high regard.” His lips tip up into a wry smile.
I turn to look at one of the few people outside of my family who know me through and through. The other one owns this car. “Why would he give me the keys to his pride and joy? I don’t get it.”
Dion reaches over and covers my hand. “Today, your job is to just do what you’re told—”
I shoot him a what-the-fuck look.
“Yes, I know that’ll be extremely hard for you, but believe me when I say that man has something to prove. Step one of that is to let you drive his car. So how about we get on with doing that?” He quirks his brow and nods to the ignition. “I know for a fact you can drive stick. Need I remind you of the time when we borrowed Gio’s car when we were fourteen and practiced up and down the road until we stopped bunny hopping and crunching the gears like bad vocals at a heavy metal concert.”