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She reeled back as if he’d slapped her. And the truth was, he might as well have for the pain his “offer” had just sent through her.
“I can’t believe you just said that.”
“Jesus, A
“You’re an asshole. That’s what’s wrong.” The curse felt strange on her tongue, but there was no other word for Cole, for the way he was behaving, for what he was implying. “But you know what the really amazing thing is?” Steam all but blew out of her ears. “Not that you just treated me like a whore. But that you don’t even seem to realize you’ve done it.”
An instant later, cool calm came over her, sealing her cells from Cole’s heat. And from the pain. She should never have taken a risk with Cole, should never have let him take her to the edge, should never have jumped off while holding his hand.
She’d never make that mistake again.
Never.
In a perfectly rational voice, she said, “I understand if you’d like to see your grandmother this morning. I’ll wait in the car, and when you’re done we can go get a divorce.” She put the key back in the ignition and waited for him to pull on to the road.
The air grew heavy and still as the seconds ticked down in silence. She wouldn’t let herself notice the bright blue sky, the jackrabbit ru
“I’m sorry, A
She forced herself to shrug as if she didn’t care either way. “Okay.”
It wasn’t, of course. How could it be? But she absolutely refused to break down in Cole’s car. At least not until he went into the hospital to see his grandmother and she was alone, with enough time to repair the damage before he returned.
“No, it isn’t.”
His words were soft and so genuine that they almost scaled the walls around her heart before she could halt their progress.
“You’re right. I’m an asshole. The biggest one on the planet. And I hope one day you’ll forgive me for saying what I said. Especially when I’ve never, not for one second, thought of you that way.” He bit off a curse. “I know that your forgiveness will probably be a long time coming, but my grandmother can’t wait for that.”
She had to close her eyes and tighten her hands into fists if she was to have a prayer of resisting the plea she knew was coming.
“I’ll do anything, grovel any way you want me to, if you’ll just come see my grandmother with me this morning. Please, A
It was his last sentence that broke her.
“I’ll go,” she said. “And then I want a divorce.”
Chapter Eight
“You’re even prettier than I thought you’d be.” A
Thinking that Cole was anything but little—everywhere—A
No! She was only faking this meeting for his grandmother’s sake and then they were going to get an immediate divorce. What was wrong with her, dreaming of children that looked like Cole’s grandmother?
“We have a surprise for you, Grandma.”
He reached for A
“We’re married.”
His grandmother’s eyes flashed. “Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”
A
“We didn’t plan it. But we just couldn’t wait another day, Grandma.”
His grandmother’s intelligent eyes moved from his face to hers. “Are you pregnant, A
A
“What she means,” Cole said quickly, “is that we both wanted to make our union legal before we started our family.”
A
At least, that’s what she tried to convince herself.
Because the alternative—that she wouldn’t have been able to resist him, no matter what
—wasn’t something she wanted to believe about herself.
“Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
A
His grandmother’s eyes narrowed slightly, but then she smiled. “I want to hear everything. How did you meet? When did you know that you were meant to be together forever?”
A
“I saw her across a crowded room.”
Well, that much was true. A
“She had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. The same blue-green as the ocean.”
A
“But so much prettier. I knew right then and there that I wanted to marry her.”
Cole's grandmother sighed with pleasure. “How lovely.”
A
“Our first kiss sealed the deal.”
His grandmother raised an eyebrow. “Is that so, A
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to deny it, but not wanting to confirm it either, A
Especially, she thought with a flush she couldn’t contain, when her wrists and ankles had been bound and he’d been driving her wild with more pleasure than she’d ever thought she could feel.
“Tell me about yourself, honey.”
A
“Isn’t that perfect, Grandma?”
There was no helping it. A
“That’s right, honey, he needs someone to give him hell. Women have been coddling him for too long, giving him everything he wants. You tell him.”
A
His grandmother’s smile nearly broke her heart. “I wish I could see Cole surrounded by little girls.” A
And in that moment, as Cole’s mouth tightened in pain, as sorrow filled his eyes, it didn’t matter what he’d said to her in the car. It didn’t matter that he’d lied to her every moment since they’d met.
All that mattered was comforting him.
She brushed his jaw with the fingertips of her free hand and he turned into it just enough that she could feel the pressure of his cheek against her palm.
“I’ll take care of him for you.”
The promise left her lips before she could stop it, before she’d even known it was on its way.