Hours later, gritty-eyed with fatigue, Cole sat in the chair next to Rocki, watching as she slowly came out of the drugged haze. He had to admit, he hadn’t exactly expected this sort of thing to happen—here he was sitting with a woman he’d dated exactly twice. She’d need somebody with her for twenty-four hours after surgery, and he had every intention of it being him...although he hadn’t been sure how to approach that.
She’d solved the dilemma by giving him a sidelong look while he was filling out the paperwork for her. “Is it going to be, like, really awkward if I ask you to just put yourself down as the contact for now? You’re here, and I don’t think you plan on going anywhere...”
She’d been right.
She’d come through the surgery fine, and the doctor had given Cole the standard spiel...with a mistake Cole hadn’t bothered to correct. “Your wife will need to follow up with us in a couple of weeks. The nurse will go over all of that when she wakes up, but make sure she calls us if there’s any trouble.”
She’s not my wife
. Cole could have corrected him easily enough. But he hadn’t seen the point. She wasn’t his wife, but she already meant something. He suspected she could come to mean
everything
...and he was just fine with that.
“Okay...any questions, Ms. Monroe?”
Rocki smiled tiredly. “No.” She just wanted to go home, to her bed, and sleep. For a week.
“Well, then. If you can just bring the car up...” The nurse looked at Cole, her brows arched.
“Sure thing.” He bent over and pressed his lips to Rocki’s head. As he slipped out of the room, she closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the chair. Sleep was calling her name once more, but she wasn’t going to sleep any more, not until she was at home. In her bed.
Out in the hall, there was a harsh, loud bang. Startled, she jumped. Her right hand smacked against the bedside table. Pain streaked through her. “Oh,
shit
,” she whispered.
“Oh, dear...” The nurse rushed over to her side. “Are you okay?”
Rocki nodded, swallowing the tears. “Sorry. I’m just a little jumpy.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw the look on the nurse’s face. Knowledge. “I understand. Would you...well, you might want to consider speaking with somebody about what happened. After you’ve rested a bit, of course.”
Rocki grimaced. She’d done that bit before. Although this time, she hadn’t cowered. Hadn’t hidden. Staring at her broken hand, she said, “Yes. After I’ve rested.”
She didn’t know if she’d do it or not. It was a problem that would have to wait until another day. She wasn’t dealing with anything more complicated today than how to tell Cole where she lived...without drooling. That was problematic enough.
So pale and exhausted. The look on her face only made him that much more furious. Cole had used the few minutes it had taken to drive his car up to call Clayton, although there was little he could be told yet. Except she had broken Dwayne Carpenter’s nose and given him a concussion when she drove that bottle into his head.
Not enough, though...still not enough.
He stroked a hand down her hair as he opened the door for her. The nurse smiled at him. “She’s going to want to sleep a lot today...that’s probably not a bad thing. Make sure she takes the pain medicine.”
“I will.” He nodded as he held a hand out for Rocki, letting her steady herself as she stood up. She swayed a little and he waited as she rested her head on his shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Stupid drugs make me loopy.” She eased away and slid into the car, pausing there and heaving out a breath.
“I think you’re entitled to a little loopiness, baby.” He caught her uninjured left hand in his and glanced at the nurse. “We’re good here.”
She smiled at him and turned away, pushing the wheelchair toward the hospital. He focused once more on Rocki, waiting for her to swing her legs into the car.
“Cole.”
He tensed at the sound of that voice.
Shit
. He’d been ignoring the phone calls all night. Turning around, he met Mara’s icy blue eyes. “Hello, Mara.”
She shifted her eyes to look past him. When Rocki went to tug her hand away, though, he squeezed her fingers gently. And wouldn’t let go.
“So you are here. I had a call from a friend who said she saw you.” Mara stared at him, something hard and cold lurking in the depths of her gaze. “Why
are
you here?”
“Right now, I’m getting ready to take Rocki home.” He glanced down at Rocki and smiled. “I need to close the door, sweetheart.”
“Sweetheart?” Mara gaped at him. “
Sweetheart
?”
Cole didn’t look at her, just waited for Rocki to ease her legs into the car. “You good?”
“I was better about ninety seconds ago.” She groaned and rested her head against the back of the seat.
“Me, too.” He shut the door and looked back at Mara. “Goodbye, Mara.”
She caught up with him before he’d rounded the front of his car, her nails digging into his arm. He really,
really
hated it when she did that. He’d thrown his coat into the back seat when he’d brought the car up and other than his sweater, nothing separated his skin from those acrylics she loved she much. Stopping in his tracks, he looked down at her hand and then looked back up at her. “I’m getting tired of telling you that I don’t care to have you digging your claws into me, Mara. Let go. Now.”
“Why are you
here
with
her
?” Mara snarled, and she just squeezed tighter.
“I’m taking her home. She had surgery and she needs to be at home...not sitting here listening to you have a tantrum.” Out of patience, he twisted his arm out of her grasp.
She tottered on her heels and slammed a hand against the car. “She had surgery and called
you
to pick her up? That’s fucking pathetic.”
“No.” He smiled at her. “She didn’t call me. I was there when she got hurt because we’re seeing each other.”
“Seeing...” She shook her head. “
Seeing
each other? You’re
seeing
her?
Her
?”
Mara turned her head and shot Rocki an ugly look through the windshield. “You left
me
for that cow?”
Fury twisted inside him, but he didn’t let it show. Continuing his way around the car, Cole opened the door. “No, Mara. I left you because I don’t love you...I don’t even
know
you. Rocki had nothing to do with it.”
“So you just suddenly started dating her right after you broke up with me?” Venom colored her voice, thick and heavy, just as it froze her eyes, just as it made her pretty face seem cold, almost alien. “You want me to think you’re actually
interested
in her?”
“I don’t care what you think,” Cole said tiredly. “But interested doesn’t even touch on what I feel for her. It doesn’t even come close.”
He slid into the car and shut the door. Mara continued to stand there, glaring at him. When she didn’t move, he sighed and put the car into reverse. “Well, that was fun.”
“Wasn’t it?” Rocki had her eyes closed. “It was my fault, ya know.”
“No. Hell, no, it wasn’t. Apparently one of her friends saw me and called her, told her I was here, but it wasn’t
your
fault.” He gave her a dark look as he did a three-point turn in the broad drive. A quick glance in the mirror showed him that Mara was still there. Still glaring at them.
“Sure it is. I was just thinking earlier than I couldn’t handle any more problems today—that I
wouldn’t
. So what do we get? Problems.” She reached over and covered his hand with hers. “You know...I think I’m pretty interested in you, too, handsome.”
He twined their fingers. “That’s good. Because I’m thinking I want to keep you around for a while. A long while.”
“Hmmm. We’re rushing things again, aren’t we?”
“Damn straight.”
For most of the day, thanks to the painkillers, Rocki slept like the dead.
That was just fine with Cole. Between the insistent calls from Mara—he ignored those—and his own rather demanding calls to Clayton, he figured the last thing she needed was his aggravation waking her up. It didn’t seem much of anything would wake her, though.
But the day was wearing on and Mara’s calls were getting more insistent. When the texts started coming, he groaned. “Wonder if Rocki’s a drinker,” he muttered as he nabbed his iPhone and read the little bubble on the screen.
Baby, we need to talk. Please call me.
He deleted it on the way into Rocki’s kitchen. And, oh yes...there was alcohol. Spying the bottle of Patron, he wondered if she’d be pissed. He ignored it and just mixed himself a Jack and Coke.
He had managed exactly three swallows when the next message came.
Cole, you’re being childish ignoring me like this. Either call me or I’m coming over there. I do know where that woman lives.
“Aww, shit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What?” Shooting the sky a look, he demanded, “Just
what
did either of us do to deserve this?”
The he dialed her number. This was ending. Now. The last damn thing she wanted to do was hassle a damn
lawyer
.
“I’ve had it,” he snapped the second she answered. “You hear me, Mara? I’ve had it. You and me, we are over.”
“Baby...please.”
“You didn’t hear me. That’s fine, I’ll say it again. I want to make sure this is absolutely clear. We are over. It doesn’t matter if you’ve thought about it. It doesn’t matter if you realize where we went wrong. It doesn’t matter if you’re sorry. Nothing matters. We are over. Do you understand that?
There was a long pause, and he wondered, if maybe, just maybe, she had gotten the point this time. But Cole should have known better. Just like always, Mara only saw what she wanted to see. Mara only heard what Mara wanted to hear.
“Cole, listen...when I say I’ve thought about things, I really mean it. I thought about it a lot. I wasn’t fair to you. I had been neglecting you while dealing with everything with the store and you felt lonely. You went someplace where you could get the attention you needed. That’s what all of this was about. I can forgive you. It’s okay.”
He closed his eyes. “How magnanimous of you. That’s great. We’re still over. Now, will you stop calling me?”
“How can you be like this? We were together for years. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” Her voice was husky soft. “Don’t I mean anything to you?”
Shit.
“Mara, can we just not go there?”
“See? You do still care. That’s why you don’t want to talk about this. You still love me.”
“No.” The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. Yeah, they had been together for a while, had some good memories during those years. Although he didn’t love her anymore, those years did matter to him. But Cole knew Mara—if she thought, for even an instant, that they might have a chance, she’d keep hounding him. “Mara, I don’t love you. I’m sorry. I don’t know when it happened, but I don’t think there’s been any love between us for quite a while. And once you get past your wounded pride, I think you’re going to realize that you don’t love me either.”
“This is about her, isn’t it? That bitch. Were you cheating on me with her?” Mara snarled.
Aw, hell. “No. I didn’t start seeing her until the week after I broke it off with you.”
“A week. Wow. You waited a week. You dump your fiancée, and now you’re shacking it up with that cow. You fucking bastard—”
“That’s enough. You will not talk about her like that.”
“Why not?” Mara laughed. “Seriously, Cole. I would’ve thought you had better taste. She must give a really good blow job or something. But that’s okay. You’ll get bored with her sooner or later. You’ll get over this freakish fluke and you’ll want me back. Maybe, if you’re lucky, I’ll take you back.
If
, and that’s a really big if, baby. I hope for your sake it’s
sooner
rather than
later
. That bitch doesn’t deserve somebody like you. Don’t make me wait too long.”
“Yeah, you keep holding your breath on that, Mara. Here’s something to chew on—this isn’t a fluke. I think I’m falling in love with her. Do us both a favor, don’t call again.” With anger pulsing inside him, he ended the call and tossed the phone down. He bent over the counter, his fists braced on it.
He had known that wouldn’t be fun. He’d been right.
I think I’m falling in love with her...
Eyes closed, Rocki leaned against the arched entryway that separated the hallway from her kitchen. The brick felt rough against her bare arms, too rough, but she welcomed it. It reminded her she was awake. And fairly clearheaded. So what she had just heard wasn’t just a narcotic-induced hallucination, right?
All these years...a smile curled her lips. She had spent years wondering whether anybody could ever make her heart roll over in her chest again. And it had just happened.
Pushing off the wall, she took one slow step. Then another. Her legs wobbled a little at first but then steadied, and by the time she was halfway across the kitchen, she felt almost normal. Except for the stupid brace thing on her arm, and the pain throbbing there. And of course, her heart was racing. She was also shaking something awful. But it was that exciting kind of shaking—the sort of shakes you got right before you got on a roller coaster. Terrified and excited, all rolled into one.
Then Cole lifted his head. She stilled as he turned around, his whiskey-gold eyes meeting hers.
Catching her lip between her teeth, she stared at him. Fire burned in his gaze. Fire, need...and worry. Then he blinked, and everything disappeared, hidden behind a cool, blank mask. “Hey there.”
Hmmm. So that’s how he was going to play it. Cool and calm, hoping she hadn’t heard? Not likely. “That was an interesting phone call.”
“Ahh...you heard?”
“I did.”
“How much?”