The Bad Boy's Forever (The Bad Boy's Girl Book 3)

by Blair Holden

  How handy.

  I’m setting the table when Cole walks back in looking pretty ecstatic.

  “I still can’t believe you’re here, in my apartment.”

  I let go of the weirdness of seeing him with Lainey and Melissa, not wanting to waste any of our time together. Cole strides toward me and hauls me close to his chest, his big hands splaying out across my back. He ducks his head to meet mine and presses our foreheads together.

  “You know how I said I had some work things coming up that would make me really busy?”

  “Yeah?” he asks between soft pecks to my lips.

  “I’m here for a week.” I smile against his lips. “Can you believe that?”

  He pulls back, his face a picture of pure and sheer joy. “No way!” He grins and lifts me off the ground with the force of his hug. I laugh into his neck as he literally picks me up and carries me to the bed in his arms. I bounce on the mattress as he deposits me there, before pulling back.

  “How much time do we have?” He looks at my dress, his eyes going a shade darker.

  “Just a couple of hours before I need to get back to the hotel.”

  The questions I want to ask him are on the tip of my tongue and while I would love to know what’s going on with him and the mother-and-daughter pair down the hall, I’d rather not waste the precious time we have together on things that don’t really need much explanation.

  “That sounds perfect, not nearly enough time, but it’ll do.”

  ***

  I don’t know how it happens but I fall asleep in Cole’s arms, warm and content, without a worry in the world. He really is the best person to snuggle with, his arms wrapped around me so tightly, as if he’d never let me go. I don’t even remember when I fell asleep but I haven’t had such a restful sleep since…well, since I last slept in Cole’s arms.

  But I think it’s the wrong time to find my happy place because if my phone’s angry buzzing has anything to say, it’s that I messed up big time. It’s the second time today that I’ve had a literal rude awakening and I almost elbow Cole in the face, getting up to check the time.

  Oh no.

  “Crap!” I groan as I realize that if I don’t leave right this second, I’m going to miss Amy and Leila at the hotel. It’s Leila who’s calling, and I see several texts from her.

  Telling me that she’s covering for me right now, but if I’m not there in the next half hour, I’m on my own.

  Well, that’s oddly nice of her.

  “Crap, crap.”

  My dress is a crumpled heap on the ground and I quickly tug it on, already preparing to throw a jacket over it so that I don’t look like too much of a hot mess. I take a second to look at my reflection in the mirror and sure enough, my hair is wild and sticking out in every possible direction. I try to tame it with my hands but there’s nothing I’ll be able to do to my hair right now that could conceal the fact that someone’s had their wicked way with me.

  Messy bun it is.

  “Where’s the fire, Shortcake?” Cole rubs the sleep away from his eyes and sits up, flexing his arms in a way that makes me drool.

  “I overslept and now Leila thinks the world is falling apart, which in all honesty I do think is actually happening.”

  I’m quick to grab the things I need, happy that I’d had the foresight to transfer any important information and documents to my phone.

  If our client’s granddaughter’s dog is allergic to peanuts, then I’m going to know about it.

  “Aren’t we supposed to hate Leila?” he asks but damn it, I can’t concentrate on what he’s saying if he refuses to put on a shirt.

  “The very same,” I tell him, reapplying my lipstick and nearly stabbing myself in the eye while attempting to apply mascara. “But I think she’s grown a heart, or at least has a very expensive closet today, so maybe she’s feeling kind. But I need to leave, like right now or I might just be unemployed. I’d rather not be, you know, because I think my parents have a bet going on how long I can last in the real world before I go crawling back to Mommy and Daddy.”

  I feel like I can last at least a month.

  I’m hobbling all over the place, trying to get my heels on, trying to make sure I’ve not left out any piece of crucial clothing; I’d really love not to flash my boobs tonight. Cole gets dressed and hauls me close just as I’m about to scurry out the door with a quick love you. “Relax, I’ll drive you.” He kisses my neck. “Besides, you leaving like this makes me feel a little used.”

  “Used?” I chuckle. “Love ‘em and leave ‘em isn’t my style, remember.”

  “Nope, I definitely feel like your sidepiece with you rushing out like that. But that’s okay, as soon as you’re done with your work thing, I’m bringing you straight home and you’re not leaving my bed, at all.”

  “Or,” I turn toward him, “we could make use of the hotel room we’ve got all to ourselves, order room service, and wait for it…run a bath.” I say excitedly.

  “You’ve planned this well, haven’t you, Shortcake?” His eyes light up and I’m tempted to risk unemployment if it means that…

  “Cole!” There’s soft-but-determined banging on the door and then a little voice yells out, “You have to take me to ballet class!”

  Lainey keeps on pounding at the door with her little fists; I can almost picture the determined expression on her adorable face.

  Cole groans. “I’ll drop you off at the hotel first and then take Lainey to her class. Her mom usually picks her up.”

  “Do I want to know why you’re driving your neighbor’s kid around?”

  He winces. “You saw that, huh?”

  “That, is a five-year-old girl, and of course I saw her, or well she saw me, sprawled on my butt. I’m happy I didn’t traumatize the kid by flashing her my nether regions.”

  “Speaking of nether regions…” His hands start wandering again, even amid my phone’s constant buzzing and the tap tap tap on his door.

  “Oh no, you don’t. You have a child out there waiting for you, I have an angry and determined, fire-breathing New Yorker trying to kill my phone, so let’s keep the canoodling for another time.”

  “Okay, I’ll time our liaison for high impact and zero public indecency.”

  “That’s all I ask, Cole, all I ask.”

  Chapter Seven: My Confidence Shrivels up Like a Prune

  I make it to the hotel with minutes to spare, nearly jumping out the car and definitely teaching a young, impressionable child all the wrong things about road safety. I’d heard Lainey ask Cole if, “the weird lady is okay,” and I’m not sure what he said. I’d been too busy clutching on to my heels for dear life and running around the lobby like a crazy person.

  Of course Leila gave me the wrong time.

  Of course I actually had more than enough time to get there.

  I stew over this during our dinner with representatives from the makeup brand we’re covering. Amy takes the lead and Leila and I only occasionally get to offer our input, so I find myself tuning out more so than ever. It’s been such a strange day and were it not for the post-dinner coffee holding me up, I’m afraid I would have collapsed and slobbered on the Chanel-clad shoulder of my newest work acquaintance. Then where would we be with this particular work trip?

  I try not to dwell on it too much as we say our goodbyes until the big event.

  First official adult task of the day? Completed, and I only sweated a teeny-tiny bit through it.

  Thank God for breathable fabric.

  “So, you two,” Amy turns to us once our guests have dropped us back off at the hotel and we’ve waved to their car, “I don’t know what’s going on or why you seem so chipper but,” she comes close and it’s as if she’s peering right into our very souls, “mess this up for me and you’ll be out on your asses on the concrete before you can pencil in any of your personal massages. Got it?”

  I gulp. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Beside me, Leila is nodding her head vigorously. Amy�
��s menacing glare turns into a smile. “Good job today. I expect more of the same the next couple of days.”

  With that she waltzes away as if she hasn’t just scared the living daylights out of me.

  “What do you think gave us away?” I ask Leila, without moving an inch, as if Amy would turn around any second, fists flying, and fire me from my first-ever big-girl job.

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe it was the fact that you nearly glared a hole in my face during dinner,” she hisses.

  “Jeez, really? I thought it was when you ‘accidentally’ switched Amy’s gluten-free pizza with mine and made her think I wanted her to have a particularly horrible time in the toilet.”

  She shrugs. “It made things interesting.”

  “Well, you could at least thank me for the dress.” I stare at the navy, knee-length dress that has an extremely deep v-neckline that had one of the representatives staring at her cleavage all through dinner.

  Yup, the scrappy piece of silk cost me nearly a grand.

  I wonder if I could get some waitressing gigs because I know my dad’s going to make me pay dearly for this expenditure.

  “Oh yes,” she attempts, “It did just the trick. You know the blonde guy? He cornered me when I went to freshen up and said he’d love to take me out for lunch tomorrow and agreed to give me an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of their factory, which wasn’t on the card before. I think Amy just might have a workgasm when I tell her. Isn’t that nice?”

  Well played, Leila, well played.

  I just don’t think I have it in me to be as cutthroat as she is, to go after things the same way that she does. Maybe I lack the passion and drive, or maybe I’m just in the wrong industry, but the idea that I need to have my boobs hanging out to get ahead doesn’t sit well with me. I’m not judging Leila, more power to her for taking control of the game and for letting men know who’s the boss. But the more I stick with her, the more I realize that this just isn’t my thing.

  I think my reaction disappoints her. “Congrats! I’m sure Amy will love that; now, if you’ll excuse me, I have someone I need to get to.”

  I leave her behind and giddily make my way to the elevator. Cole should be here any moment now and if the list that I was busy making during my work dinner has anything to say about it, we’re going to have one heck of a night.

  Who says I can’t do sexy?

  ***

  He isn’t here.

  I look at the clock, then look at the door and repeat the cycle. I’ve been waiting for him for over an hour and it’s past midnight now. I’m not sure just how long I’ll be able to fight my drooping eyelids so I try calling him again; it goes straight to voicemail and my texts remain unanswered. Worry starts to gnaw at me.

  What if something happened to him? I decide to wait a little while longer, but I’m already pulling up the Uber app and my fingers are seconds away from booking one. It’s then that my phone finally buzzes with an incoming call from him.

  “Are you okay?” Worry has me in knots, making it difficult to breathe.

  Cole exhales. “Shortcake, I’m so sorry. I was on my way to the hotel but…”

  I realize that there’s a lot of background noise on his end and I start wondering where he could possibly be.

  “But what? Are you hurt?” I’m already up, ready to put a jacket over my pajamas and be out the door in case he needs me.

  “It’s Lainey, I’m with her and Mel at the hospital.”

  It takes me a second to realize that Mel is Melissa from earlier and then I’m just confused.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Melissa’s car is at the mechanics,” he tells me and it’s difficult to make out his words considering he’s probably calling from a busy emergency room. “Lainey’s been throwing up and she passed out from dehydration. Mel came to me just as I was about to leave asking for a ride to the hospital.”

  “Oh.”

  It’s apparent that I’m unaware of this part of his life, the part where he’s almost family to a single mother and her daughter and that he goes out of his way to take care of them. I’m not sure how such a dynamic came to be, but now’s obviously not the time to ask questions.

  “I’m sure they’ll need you there.”

  He sighs. “I guess, Mel’s a mess. She gets really panicked when Lainey gets ill, so I just…I need to make sure they’re okay.”

  I don’t ask him why he feels that he needs to be there for two people he didn’t even know until a little over a month ago.

  “Sure, I understand. Do what you have to do, I’ll be here waiting.”

  He groans. “Tessie, I feel horrible. You know I’d be with you in a heartbeat if I could.”

  “I do.” It’s the truth. Do I feel a little hurt? Sure. Do I blame Cole for trying to be a good person? Not really. Besides, seeing how good he is with that little girl does a lot of things to my insides, lots of wonderful things.

  “I’ve told the reception to let you up in case you can make it.” Stifling a yawn, I get into bed and curl up into a ball, missing Cole’s warmth.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  ***

  For the second day in a row, I wake up in Cole’s arms, and it’s probably better than waking up on Christmas Day. He’s still fast asleep when I open my eyes but sure enough, he’s lying beneath me, his chest rising and falling at a steady pace as his arms tighten around me. I don’t try to move, taking a few minutes that morning to relish being this close to him. Once these few days are gone, I won’t be seeing him for a while, and the thought makes me immeasurably sad. I trace his features with the tips of my fingers, my touch gentle so that I don’t wake him up. He looks exhausted, the poor thing, and I’m not sure when he came in last night. I really do need to find out how he ended up as a manny, male nanny, get it?

  I shower and get dressed but Cole doesn’t move an inch. If it weren’t for his breathing, I’d be concerned. Still, I order breakfast hoping that the smell of coffee and promise of waffles will wake him up, but even as I’m drowning my waffles in chocolate syrup, he doesn’t budge. Oh God, he may like playing house with the neighbor, but I’m not a huge fan of my comatose boyfriend. In a few hours I’ll have to start getting my princess makeover for tonight’s event, and that’s another day wasted. I guess we won’t be sightseeing much then.

  I’m drowning in self-pity when there’s a knock on the door, which couldn’t possibly be room service unless I’ve ordered some chocolate chip pancakes to further add to my pity party. But of course the day can only get better because it’s Leila standing there, all ready and dressed for the day in her slinky sweater dress while I mope around in sweats.

  “Hey,” she says smugly, “had a fun night?” She peers around me to where Cole’s still fast asleep. “So your boyfriend’s kinda hot. Too bad you still can’t get any action.”

  “You know, another person who doesn’t have to work with you for several upcoming months would just say it straight to your face that you don’t really have any concept of personal space.”

  “Sadly for you, you do have to work with me, so I would suggest that you don’t form any strong opinions just yet. I can get better or worse depending on how I feel. Anyway, I’m not here to chitchat. Just wanted to tell you that your boyfriend accidentally stumbled into my room last night. I must have left it open for room service. You should thank your lucky stars that I didn’t scream the house down.”

  Okay then.

  “Just wanted to let you know that he seems like one of those bad boys who don’t really settle for nice girls like you. How’d you even end up together?”

  I grit my teeth. “Don’t you have a lunch to get to?”

  “Geez, you’re so sensitive. I wonder how you deal with the whole long-distance thing when your boyfriend looks like that.”

  “I managed. Now did you want something else, or I can shut the door in your face?”

  “Nope, I’m g
ood…”

  She doesn’t even get to finish her sentence before I do that, slam the door in her face.

  When you come all this way for your man and he’s too tired to even kiss you goodnight? Yeah, today’s not the day, Leila.

  ***

  When Cole wakes up, I’m just coming back from a walk around the nearby area. The concierge had told me that there were good stores around, so I went out and shopped my little heart out. I’m lugging around bags of designer things that I probably don’t need when a pair of strong arms come to my rescue.

  “What did you do? Empty the store, Shortcake?” Cole jokes and helps me carry my things.

  “I had some time to kill. Besides, Leila the witch has the exact same dress as the one I brought to wear. I don’t know what voodoo magic she’s got a hold of but she scares me, honestly.”

  “Yeah,” Cole rubs the back of his neck looking uncomfortable, “I kind of ran into her yesterday.”

  “She obviously brought it up.” I roll my eyes. “How’d you get the rooms mixed up?”

  I notice that he’s showered and changed back into his old clothes. Unlike yesterday, there aren’t any signs of exhaustion on his face and he looks happy and relaxed.

  My Cole.

  “I think by the time I got to your hotel, I was sleepwalking.”

  “Cole!” I chide, “You shouldn’t even have been driving in that condition.”

  “I know, I’m sorry, that was stupid. But I hated that you were waiting for me, that it was your first time visiting me and I stood you up.”

  He pulls me close to his chest and I fall easily into his arms, letting him comfort me and telling him that it’s okay, that I understand.

  I’m confused, but I understand.

  “At least you’re up now. I was starting to wonder if I needed to steal a pair of someone’s stinky socks to get you up.”

  He frowns. “Wow, can’t believe I was out for that long. You should’ve just woken me up; I hate that this is becoming a pattern with us.”

  I shrug. “I like that you can relax around me. You never did mention that when you’re not studying, you’re busy taking really good care of your neighbors.”