by Goda, Julia
My heart melted at his words and I kissed him as tears were yet again running down my cheeks.
“No more crying, baby. I can’t stand it when you cry,” he murmured against my lips.
“But these are good tears,” I argued.
“Doesn’t matter. No more tears for at least three weeks. You can cry again when you walk toward me on our wedding day.”
“So bossy and arrogant.”
“That’s right. And don’t pretend you don’t like it.” Before I could argue, Cole slammed his mouth back down on mine and effectively shut me up. When he pulled back he searched my eyes. “You okay now?”
“More than okay.” I touched his lower lip with the tip of my finger. “Thank you for coming after me and setting my head straight. I was having some trouble putting it all into perspective.”
“Anytime and anything for you, baby. Never forget that.” We kissed for a while longer until Max cleared his throat loudly, making me giggle and Cole growl.
“Let’s get you home,” he whispered against my lips, then gave me a gentle slap on my behind and guided me towards the car.
Chapter 18
Cole
Lying in our bed with Lizzy’s dead weight snuggled into me, the events of the day ran though my head over and over again. It all worked out in the end, but for a few hours there I hadn’t been sure if Liz would believe me or if she was too hurt to even listen. Courtney’s games and lies could have taken away everything I now lived for. Instead of being happily engaged to the woman I love, I could be lying in this bed alone, worrying about her, knowing I might never get a chance at happiness again. The guilt of causing Liz pain still churned in my stomach. Guilt at having been a complete and total moron this past decade, at not claiming what was mine, but instead screwing around and hurting both Liz and myself by denying us happiness together, at building a life together. If I had gone after what I wanted years ago, none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have hooked up with Courtney at all. Or anyone for that matter. Liz would have been my one and only and I would have been hers. And to top it off, I went and almost blew it all to shit when she was finally mine by letting my past interfere with my present and both our futures.
Guilt.
It’s a terrible thing.
I would move heaven and earth to make up for my mistakes, for failing to protect the little girl I had fallen for when I had first laid eyes on her when I was twelve years old and she was ten, the girl who became the most beautiful woman inside and out and was now my lover, who held my heart and my soul, who had the power to break me. Today I realized that that kind of power went both ways. Unbeknownst to myself, I had almost used that power.
Fucking hell!
That look on her face…I hadn’t been joking when I told Liz I would never forget it. It would haunt me for the rest of my life. Being responsible for causing Lizzy’s eyes to go dead, no matter for how long, for making her look like her whole world had just crumpled around her and she would never find her way back out of the ruins, would haunt me for the rest of my life.
And her tears.
God! Those awful and devastating tears.
Thinking about it now made my heart ache for her. From now on, she wouldn’t be shedding any more tears if I could help it. Unless they were happy tears, like when I asked her to marry me. Or when I slid my ring on her finger. Those tears I could definitely live with. From now on, I would make it my mission to save my girl from any more sorrow.
Only smooth sailing from here on out.
Before we had gone home, I had told Max that I wanted this issue resolved before Liz and I got married. Nothing would interfere with giving my girl my name and making her officially mine. I had decided that after that, we would start making babies and building a family right away. I didn’t want or need anything or anyone to hinder our happily ever after.
Max had ensured me he would start digging right away. He had enlisted his hacker buddy’s help and they were both going to find out who helped Courtney in her efforts to destroy our lives and would dig up any dirt they could find on both Courtney and her unknown partner. Once we figured out who that was, I would take pleasure in turning the tables and destroying their lives, making sure they would never touch ours again. At some point, Liz would need an opportunity to get her licks in with Courtney. I think she needed to have an outlet to vent her frustration and anger, and what better way to overcome those emotions than directing them at the person who had caused them? I would stand at the sidelines and happily cheer her on when she took on Courtney.
My face spread into a grin at thinking how sexy she would look when she got her power back by kicking Courtney’s ass, under my careful watch, of course. My future wife was hot always, but she was something else when she was riled up. I was definitely looking forward to that.
My future wife.
The sound of that made me put today’s troubles out of my mind. Instead, I thought about her face when she got a first glimpse of the ring I put on her finger as soon as we got home. I had bought her a ring after our first weekend together and had kept it in my nightstand since then, not wanting to overwhelm her after how she had reacted to me wanting to buy us a house. I wouldn’t have waited much longer, was impatient to put a ring on her finger so that everyone would see she was taken. It might make me a Neanderthal, but I didn’t really give a shit. Having my ring on her finger would scare at least a few of those asswipes who wanted what was mine off from making a play for her, and in turn would make me ending up with assault charges less certain. Showing her the ring and then later, sliding it on her finger, had given me peace, had made my heart settle and a feeling of rightness spread in my gut.
“When did you get this?” she had asked.
“Does it matter?”
“No, not really. But I’m curious as to how long you’ve had this for. What, you’ve had this sitting in your nightstand, waiting for the right moment to give this to me for the whole not even two months we’ve been together?”
My lips had twitched, but I’d stayed silent and watched as her eyes grew wide.
“You have, haven’t you?” she asked in an astonished whisper. I had stayed silent and kept looking at her.
“You’re crazy, you know that?”
That’s when I had broken my silence. “Baby, I keep telling you. I’ve been yours since you first laid eyes on me, which in return means that you’ve been mine since then, too. It might have taken me a while to get my head out of my ass, but I know what I want and what I want is you and me, together forever, raising our babies in this house. And I want that as soon as possible.”
Lizzy’s lips were twitching. “It might have taken you a while?” she asked, teasing me, her eyes glittering.
“Yeah.” She shook her head. Then, “You want babies as soon as possible?” The mirth had left her expression and I saw trepidation creep in. Deciding to cut off her panic attack or massive fit—I wasn’t quite sure which to expect—before it had a chance to hit her, I gently but firmly grabbed her face with both my hands and vowed, “I will love you forever and I know you feel the same for me. You and I will be the best parents any child could ever wish for. We both had shitty cards dealt to us in the parent department, so we know exactly how not to be. You will be the most compassionate and understanding and caring mother any woman could dream of being, and I will be the most supportive father. We’ll both be there for our children, always, I have no doubt about that.” I searched her face. The trepidation was less, but it wasn’t gone completely. So I kept talking, “And you know what else?”
“What?” she asked when I didn’t go on.
“I can’t wait to see you heavy with our first child. You take my breath away always, as soon as I so much as think about you, but to imagine you pregnant with our baby…I can’t imagine anything more beautiful.”
The tears had come again then. The happy kind that made her eyes glitter with joy and excitement and love. That’s when I had pulled the ring out of its
box.
“When did you get this?” she went back to her original question.
I grinned at her. Of course she wouldn’t let this go. “A while ago,” I replied as I started to slide the ring on her finger.
“How long a while ago?” I chuckled at her persistence.
“After our weekend at the cottage,” I said quietly while looking into her eyes. They grew big and round at my words, making me chuckle again. I lifted her hand and laid a kiss on the ring that was now decorating her third finger while my eyes stayed glued to hers. Her face grew even softer at my gesture.
“You knew then?” she whispered in amazement.
“I’ve known all my life, Liz. I’ve just been too stubborn to admit it.” Her tears started running down her face in earnest then and I leaned in to kiss them away.
“It’s beautiful, Cole,” she breathed when she looked down at her hand in mine, at the vintage piece of jewelry sitting on her third finger. I knew it would look perfect on her. I couldn’t resist and played with the bottom of her ring, assuring myself that this was really happening.
“Beautiful,” I agreed, but I wasn’t looking at the ring. I was looking at her. I started kissing her with purpose then and proceeded to show her how beautiful I exactly thought she was to me.
Feeling her warm body pressed to mine, listening to her soft breathing, exhausted after our long love making session, knowing this would be my future until I died, I fell into a contented and deep sleep.
The next morning I got up at the crack of dawn. I couldn’t skip out on work again, but before I had to leave, Lizzy needed to be filled in on the Courtney situation and what I had Max do to resolve the issue once and for all.
No more secrets.
I walked into the bedroom with a coffee for each of us and placed them on my nightstand before I slid back under the blankets. I softly kissed and touched her very sensitive back until she started stirring and grumbling. Smiling to myself at her morning grouchiness, I gently coaxed her from sleep.
“Baby, wake up.”
“Sleepy. Very sleepy,” she mumbled into her pillow. My fiancée was adorable. I kept at her.
“Liz, honey, I need you to wake up. Coffee’s ready.” That got her attention. She slightly lifted her head and turned it in my direction, eyes still resistant to open fully.
“Coffee?” she asked hopefully.
“Yeah, baby. It’s right here.” I kissed her nose, then her forehead, then sat up to reach for her mug and held it close enough for her to smell its aroma. Her eyes slowly opened, then focused on the cup, and her hand reached out while she started sitting up enough to take a sip.
“I should agree to marry you more often if this is the treatment I get.”
Very funny.
“Sorry to disappoint you, baby, but I only intend to get married once. To you. So you agreeing last night means I will never ask that question again. Though, I wouldn’t mind you saying ‘yes’ to me without a fight or argument more often.”
“I don’t argue.” I raised my eyebrows at that ridiculous statement. “Much,” she amended. I chuckled and reached for my own coffee.
“Why are we up so early?”
“I’ve got to go to work soon. No way I can skip out again today,” I stopped when I saw Lizzy’s lips turning into a pout. I couldn’t resist kissing them. “I wish I could stay in bed with you for the rest of my life, but unfortunately, we’ve got important things to do today.”
“Yeah? What is that?”
“You have to start planning a destination wedding. Decide where you want to go and make a list of people you want to invite. I’ll give you Sam’s number and she’ll help you with the arrangements.”
Liz smiled a bright smile at me. “I like that plan.”
“Good. I’ll get in touch with Max today to see where he’s at with the Courtney situation. But before I do that I need to fill you in on exactly what has been going on and what we’re planning on doing. I’ve learned my lesson. No more secrets that can lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary hurt and disappointment.”
“Okay.” I could tell that she wasn’t looking forward to listening to me reiterate the details of Courtney’s actions, but she agreed that she needed to know everything to avoid further confusion and misconceptions. So I told her about every single encounter I had with Courtney after I had told her to lose my number.
Every word that was spoken, every unwanted and unwelcomed touch, every threat.
How I hired Max to get rid of her, what he said to scare her away and what exactly had happened yesterday morning.
Every hurtful and ugly detail.
Then I went on telling her that I had asked Max to dig deep and find anything he could on Courtney, anything we could use to throw back at her, and if he couldn’t find anything, to make stuff up. That I wanted her life ruined. I also wanted the life ruined of the person who helped her, who took the photos of us, and who must have kept an eye out to make sure the timing yesterday morning was as perfect as it was.
“Are you sure all that is really necessary?”
“Absolutely. I will not have anything or anyone trying to take you away from me ever again. Getting rid of Courtney in a way that she is going to stay gone is absolutely necessary. I underestimated her once. That’s not gonna happen again.”
“Okay. I’m just as pissed as you are, if not more. Courtney has been a pain in my ass since she knew I existed. I have no idea why she always had it out for me, but believe me, she has not made my life easy until the day I left that town. She needs to learn her lesson. Definitely. But destroying her life? I think that’s going a bit far.”
“Baby, after everything she’s done, do you really think she is going to give up? That stunt she pulled took a lot of thought, not to say time and determination. She’s like a dog with a bone. She won’t stop until she gets what she wants. Crazy bitch still believes that I will come around and make a life with her. She chose this path and went after the woman I love. Now she has to suffer the consequences.” No way was I going to back down. The time for mercy was gone. “I love you, baby. We’re building a future together and nobody is going to interfere with that. I won’t let them. Anyone who tries will have to live with the consequences.”
Liz was studying me with an assessing look on her face. She was clearly working through something in her head. Then she came to a decision and nodded. “Okay, I see you have to do this. And if I’m being honest with myself, I love you even more for wanting to protect our future so fiercely. I’ll support you in your plan, but I want to be in the loop. I want to know what Max finds and what you’re planning on doing so I know what to expect. Don’t keep me in the dark. And just saying, if she approaches me, I will kick her ass, if you’re around or not.”
I pulled her into my side and kissed her temple in gratitude.
“Thank you, baby. You have my permission to kick her ass if the opportunity arises, but please try and do it when I’m with you.” I said on a squeeze, “I want to watch.”
She giggled. “Of course, you do. Kinky bastard. I’ll do my best to get you first row tickets to the showdown at O.K. Corral.” Her eyes were smiling at me over the rim of her coffee mug as she took another sip. I burst out laughing then kissed her on the forehead while still trying to control my hilarity and murmured, “God, I love you.”
It was time for me to take a shower and get a move on if I didn’t want to be late for work. Sam had rescheduled all my meetings for today, starting with the first one right at seven.
“Care for company?” Liz asked me, anticipation and playful seduction clear in her voice. Another reason why she was so absolutely perfect for me. She didn’t take herself too seriously, always made me laugh. My sexy, playful, fiery, and stubborn as hell soon-to-be wife would keep me on my toes for the rest of my life.
I couldn’t wait.
“It’s gotta be a quick in and out for me, baby. I’m already running behind. You sure you’re up to it?” I teased her over my shoul
der, my eyes hot on her as I got rid of my pajama pants on the way to the bathroom to give her a show I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist. Cocky, but true. Sure enough, my pants hadn’t completely hit the floor before I heard her throwing back the covers. The quick footsteps of her naked feet as they patted on the hardwood floor after me betrayed her eagerness. I smiled to myself. My greedy little minx. What I didn’t expect was her jumping me. Literally.
“I can do quick. Question is, can you?” She asked as she nibbled on my neck after jumping on my back and having wound her arms and legs around me. Her unexpected impact made me stumble toward the shower, laughing. “Oh, Liz, you have no idea.” That started an interesting competition that I swore to myself would be repeated at other locations throughout the house.
I was stepping out of the elevator when my phone rang. I checked the display. Max. I answered on the second ring.
“Max,” I greeted.
“Cole. Got some interesting news. Derrick dug deep and found something you’ll both want to know immediately. It shines some light on why that bitch has gone off the rails and is after Lizzy the way she is. It’s a shocker, but this whole thing isn’t really about your irresistible hotness or your money. At least not completely. We need a meet. By that I mean you, Lizzy, Derrick, and me. Today.”
“All right. We’ll have to meet at lunch. Meet me at my office at noon. I’ll get Liz to join us here.”
“Good.” Dead air. I was impatient to know what this Derrick guy had found. It sounded like Courtney’s issues went deeper than just plain jealousy or crazy possessiveness. I called Liz right away to let her know Max had some news for us already and needed to see the both of us.
“That was quick,” she said, surprise in her voice.