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My heart squeezes and so do my eyes. I don’t answer. I am not going to answer.
“I know you’re in there,” he says. “I feel you there. I’m not leaving until I see you.”
Anger comes at me hard and fast. I open the door and step into the hallway. “Why are you here?” I demand, and he is bigger than life right now, handsome, his hair rumpled like he’s been running his fingers through it. Like he’s been fretting.
“That’s obvious, isn’t it?” he says. “I’m here for you.”
“I told you I didn’t want you here. I told you! Why would you come here, when that is the one thing I’ve asked of you? And now? Tonight, after what happened?”
“That’s exactly why I had to come,” he says. “I wasn’t going to let you feel what you felt. I needed you to see me, to know that I don’t feel anything you’re thinking I feel about what just happened.”
“Hi. Who is this?”
At the sound of my mother’s voice, I cringe. I turn to find her approaching, shoving her long brown hair from her face. “I’m Lori’s mother, Evelyn Havens.” She extends her hand to Cole.
“I’m Cole Brooks,” he says. “Lori’s—”
“Her boss,” my mother says. “Yes. And you really are just too good looking for the sake of the female population. My, my. Come inside. I’ll make coffee.”
“He can’t stay,” I say quickly.
“I’d love some coffee,” Cole counters, his eyes on me.
“Oh, good,” my mother says, opening the door. “I can’t wait to chat and hear about your work.”
She enters the apartment and I step closer to Cole. “Do not say a word about us.”
There is a flicker of emotion I cannot name in his expression, before it becomes unreadable. “Of course not, Lori,” he says tightly. “I will continue to wait for the day that you decide we’re worthy of that acknowledgement.”
I think I just hurt him. I don’t want to hurt him, but I can’t make that right. Already he’s stepping around me, and into the apartment.
I squeeze my eyes shut just thinking of the Goodwill Emporium Cole has just entered. I dread the look in his eyes, but he and my mother are already talking. I have to go in. I join them inside and shut the door to find Cole sitting at our kitchen table that is so small, while he is so big that he looks like he’s sitting at a kiddie table.
“I have this delicious chocolate creamer,” my mother says, grabbing it from the fridge. “Would you like some?”
Cole’s eyes meet mine, dark and still unreadable. “I’d love some,” he replies.
He hates sugary coffee but my mother hands him the bottle and he pours it in the steaming cup in front of him. “You, honey?” my mother asks, setting another cup of coffee in front of the empty seat next to Cole, which is obviously meant for me.
“Yes,” I say, moving to sit down as my mother does the same, effectively sandwiching me between her and Cole, the wall the table is against directly in front of me.
The minute I’m in the chair, Cole’s leg is pressed to mine, and heat radiates up my thighs, straight to my sex. My gaze shoots to his, and he knows what I feel. I see it in the arrogant glint in his eyes. “Lori tells me you’re a nurse,” he says, glancing at my mother.
“All my adult life,” my mother says. “It’s a crazy, satisfying job.” My mother doesn’t linger on her. She turns a question on Cole. “How long have you been practicing law?”
“You might as well say my entire life,” Cole says. “My father started talking to me about case law when I was in diapers.”
My mother smiles. “He must be proud of you; both of your parents must be proud.”
Cole’s expression doesn’t change, but I feel the flex of his leg against mine.
“Do they live here in New York City?” my mother asks.
“They’re gone, mom,” I say, trying to rescue Cole. “His father right around the same time as Dad.”
“Well then,” she adds, studying Cole a long moment, “you and my daughter have much in common. I’m sure that helps you work well together.”
“Indeed,” Cole says, his eyes meeting mine. “It does. We do.” Seconds tick by, seeming to hang in the air, with no words spoken until Cole breaks the connection. “I should go,” he says, giving my mother a nod. “Thank you for the coffee and the visit, Mrs. Havens.”
