Cole is holding my hand so I should feel like the winner here, but Kara gets in one more dig.
“Are we still on for coffee on Monday?”
“Yeah.”
There’s that ugly feeling again. My emotions war and I can’t tell what bothers me more, the thought that she might tell him about my plan to be Ellie’s surrogate or the idea that Kara and Cole are spending time together, and she’s obviously got a thing for him. I watch as Kara makes her way toward her table, hips swaying in her tight red dress. She’s got a nice ass. Bitch.
Cole places his hand on my lower back, which is just skin due to the backless nature of my dress, to lead me into the ballroom.
With his warm hand on my flesh, his mouth lowers to my ear, “Have I told you, you look absolutely gorgeous tonight?” His words give me butterflies, but I refuse to be distracted by his sweet gesture. I already know that Kara and Cole have a work relationship. She’s a fertility specialist and Cole works with high-risk pregnancies, sometimes referred to him by her. He knows I know this. Asking him anything about their working relationship will likely open up the conversation of why I was at the fertility clinic, one I have avoided and Cole has not directly asked about, so I have to use a different tactic.
I stop moving and turn to Cole.
“So, coffee on Monday, huh?”
Cole lifts his low-ball glass to his lips, taking a long sip. I’m sure it’s just coincidence that he chose that moment to take a drink, but it’s hard not to read into. Maybe he’s concocting an excuse, trying to cover up their secret workplace romance.
Cole lowers the glass until it’s by his hip. My eyes catch on the way his long fingers grip the glass, then flick back up to his because I need to stay focused. I can’t let Cole’s sexy glass grip distract me. Cole’s free hand slides to my hip, pulling me closer. His voice lowers as he looks straight into my eyes.
“Brooke, ask me what you want to ask me.”
“Have you and Kara slept together?”
“Yes.”
I don’t know why it surprises me that he’s so forthcoming. That’s one thing I know for certain about Cole, he’s always honest with me. So, why does it feel like I just got punched in the gut? I feel like I already knew the answer, but I was hoping I was wrong. Hoping I could erase the visuals in my head of them together, knowing it never actually happened. But it did happen.
“We had a romantic relationship in the past. We’re just friends now. That’s all.”
I think I growl. Or maybe that’s my stomach. The champagne is doing funny things to my body, I need sustenance. The look on my face must match my grumpy stomach.
“How can you be mad about a woman I slept with years before I even met you?”
“I’m not mad.” Not mad, just jealous, whispers a voice from somewhere in the deep dark place where feelings live. Feelings that have been resurfacing since I’ve met Cole.
“Everyone has a past.” He says it softly as his face searches mine, and I know he’s talking about more than just previous lovers. He wants me to let him in, tell him more about my family. But there’s no way I can do that right now.
“Yeah, but you see her every day and get coffee, I don’t do any of that with guys I’ve slept with.”
“The coffee is a group thing.”
“Like an orgy?” I’m ridiculous but I just can’t help myself. Emotionally stable Brooke has left the building.
Cole takes another drink of his cocktail. And rightly so, he doesn’t give a response to my absurd question.
“How long were you together?”
“I don’t know, like a year. I don’t even know if you could call it dating. We were just fucking. It was during a time where all I was doing was working and I didn’t have time for anything more. She fulfilled a need.”
I don’t like the way Cole said fucking. It sounds dirty, and hot, like what we’re doing. Are we just fucking? I don’t even know now. We went on a date. We’re here at the gala together. We sleep together practically every night. Would he consider us friends with benefits? That would normally be fine with me, but I’m not feeling normal. Everything with Cole feels magnified and it’s hard to tell if I’m just emotional because of the hormones or if there’s something else going on. Something dangerous to my heart.
“Does she know it’s over? She was practically humping your leg.”
“Can we discuss this later? We should sit down for dinner.” He looks annoyed and I should have just dropped it but my jealous side pushes on.
“No. I want to talk about it now.”
Cole sighs. “Brooke, we were together for a year. It’s been two years since we were anything more than friends.”
