Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“What are you doing here?”
She watched as he visibly blew out a long breath, then clenched and unclenched his fists in an obvious effort to control his temper over finding her with Evan. She didn’t make it easy for him, instead waiting for an answer.
“I need to talk to you,” he said at last.
Erin wondered if Kelly had been in touch with him already.
Evan stepped away from Erin. “Are we all finished?” he asked.
“Yes, I think we covered everything.”
Evan nodded. “Then I’ll go and let you two talk.”
Cole’s jaw worked back and forth, but he said nothing.
A part of her had expected Evan to get into an argument with Cole, but surprisingly, her boss didn’t bait him.
“Take care of yourself. Don’t come back until you’re ready.” He turned to Erin and kissed her cheek.
Cole growled, but Erin ignored him. So much for Evan not provoking, she thought wryly.
“Thanks for being so understanding,” she said, walking him to the door.
She waited until Evan had left before turning to face Cole. Hands behind her back, she leaned against the now-closed front door.
He stared back, his eyes warm, his lips almost turning upward in a smile. Not Cole’s normally deep, serious, unapproachable look. No, tonight it was Erin going for unapproachable, and she prayed she succeeded.
“Are we really going to do this awkward thing?” He gestured back and forth between them. “I mean, I can stand here and stare at you all night, but you’re supposed to be resting.”
She frowned. “How would you know?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I spoke to your lawyer on the way here.” No hint of a smile this time.
“Oh.” She swallowed hard. “Maybe sitting down is a good idea.”
“Nervous?” he asked, following her back to the family room.
Erin settled into her normal place on the sofa. Cole didn’t take the chair everyone else usually did. Instead, he sat beside her. So close his thigh touched hers. She shut her eyes and forced air into her lungs. Big mistake, since his musky, masculine scent overwhelmed her, making her want to crawl into his arms, bury her face in his neck, and drink him in.
“I asked if you were nervous.” He stretched his arm along the back of the sofa, too close to her neck. Her skin tingled at the whisper of sensation he effortlessly evoked.
“Why would I be?” Her voice sounded rough to her own ears.
“Your lawyer called me about custody agreements, visitation, and child support.” The words rumbled out of him on a low growl.
“I thought we should finalize things quickly before you go undercover again.”
He nodded as if he understood, but those warm eyes of his were boring into hers, and now she was nervous.
“What makes you think I’m going back under? How would you know what I plan when you won’t take my calls? Answer my texts? When you wouldn’t see me in the hospital after you were nearly killed?” he asked, the tension suddenly radiating from him in waves.
“Are you saying you’re not?” she asked.
“I’m the one asking questions. How would you know what I’m doing? What I want?”
“I wouldn’t.” She swallowed hard. “But I thought I did. You told me when the threat was over, you were leaving. Well? The threat was over. I was just making a clean break.” She folded her arms across her chest.
“What if that’s not what I want?” He reached out, grasped her around the waist, and pulled her onto his lap.
She blinked, stunned. “This isn’t a good idea.”
“Hear me out.”
“Not while I’m sitting on your lap.”
“Trust me.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it once more. “Talk, and make it quick.” Before she started squirming against him.
“I’m not leaving you, our baby, or Serendipity.” He pushed her hair off her shoulder, kissing the sensitive skin of her neck. She shivered but was determined to remain in control.
“You have a job.”
“I quit.”
She straightened her shoulders. “I . . . you . . . what?”
“I quit. Went to the city and did it in person.”
Erin’s eyes opened wide. “Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
She shook her head, afraid to think, to breathe, and lose the moment or find out she was dreaming. “Maybe it’s obvious to you, but to me, this has come out of left field.”
He placed his hand beneath her chin and turned her face toward him. “I love you, Erin. It’s that complicated . . . and that simple.”
A wave of dizziness assaulted her. “You love me. Enough to quit your job and settle in Serendipity.” She wondered if she’d imagined hearing the words she’d dreamed of but never believed Cole would say.
* * *
Cole nodded. He loved Erin enough to do all that and more but he knew a simple yes wasn’t enough for this bright woman. “I love you, yes. I also love the fact that you fought for me. For us. That you opened my eyes to what I was missing and to what I needed.”