“I totally understand,” I tell her, wanting to sit on the counter, but not wanting to be rude. “I’m glad things have calmed down now. The start of a relationship is fun and exciting, but it’s also pretty scary not knowing where you stand with someone, not knowing if you will be good enough for them or not. It’s a vulnerable thing, to show your true self to someone, show them the best of you, and then have the possibility of them thinking that it’s not what they want, that it’s not good enough for them.” I pause, recalling how we’d made it to this point. “I guess that’s where the whole ‘everything happens for a reason’ comes in. The one who’s meant to stay, will.”
“Yeah, they will, and they’ll fight to be by your side,” Sandra adds. “I’m so happy Cohen found someone. We thought he’d be single, living the bachelor life, for the rest of his existence.”
I laugh at that. “I’m glad Cohen found me.”
Even if Dan is the one who made him come and talk to me. Let’s just pretend that never happened.
We finish making the salad, along with a pasta salad and mashed potatos, and leave them on the table, waiting for the meat to be ready. I thought it would be awkward meeting and talking with Sandra, but she’s lovely, and Kale is like an older version of Cohen, in looks and personality. It’s like looking into my future, one that I’m not complaining about. In fact, it’s like a dream.
“Are you okay?” Cohen asks when he comes inside, Arabella on his hip.
“What do you think I’m going to do to her?” Sandra asks, sounding offended. “I’m not going to chase away the only woman you’ve brought home since…”
His bitch of an ex Bianca?
Awkward.
Cohen sighs and hands Sandra her daughter. “I know you’re not going to chase her away. Jacinta isn’t really the biggest fan of meeting new people, so I’m just making sure she’s okay.”
“I’m fine,” I tell him, rising up on my toes to kiss him on the lips. “But thank you for asking.”
“You’re welcome,” he says, his intense stare softening on me.
For me.
It only does that for me.
How did I get so lucky? What is it about me that was made for him? I don’t know, but I’m not going to question it; I’m just going to embrace it.
We all sit down to eat, and I love watching Cohen interact with his family, especially his niece. I’ve never seen him with a child before, and I can’t help but be mesmerised. He’s so great with her, and I can tell he’s going to make an amazing father someday.
After dinner, I help Sandra clean up, while we drink some wine together. After we say our goodbyes, Cohen drives us back to his house, where we make love to each other all night long.
I couldn’t imagine a more perfect evening.
*****
“Fuck, you look sexy today,” Cohen whispers into my ear when he passes me at work. I’m wearing black pants with a black top and blazer, paired with my new nude heels that I’m in love with.
“Thank you,” I reply, winking at him. “Hopefully, you’ll be ripping these clothes off later.”
“I definitely will be,” he replies, lust-filled eyes roaming all over me.
“We have a problem.”
“What?” he asks, lifting his gaze.
I show him his schedule, pointing to a name on the list. “This woman. You’re seeing her today. Last time she was here, I believe you kissed her.”
“She kissed me—”
“Whatever,” I say, pursing my lips. “Don’t let her kiss you again.”
“Jacinta,” he starts in a gentle, calm tone. “I’m not going to let her touch me. We weren’t together back then.”
“I know,” I reply, sliding the schedule away. “You said you’ve been with her before though. She’s familiar with you, and I don’t know, it’s not a very nice feeling for me.”
AKA I’m jealous as fuck and don’t know how to deal with it very well.
“Do you trust me?” he asks, searching my eyes.
“Yes,” I say truthfully. “I do.”
“Okay then.” He squeezes my hand. “Then trust me. I’m not stupid enough to do anything to lose you, Jacinta. You know everything now, and I’m not going to go through your ‘cold shoulder, treating me like a nemesis’ shit again. Once is more than enough, thank you.”
I smirk. “I actually called you my nemesis in my head once. Good times.”
He sighs, but his expression becomes gentler as he watches me. “She will come in and go out without so much as touching me, okay? You have my word.”
“Okay,” I say, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry this is even an issue.”
“You know I value your honesty. It’s much easier for me when you just tell me how you’re feeling.”
I smile, and he smiles back.
There it is folks, communication.
“We totally have this relationship stuff nailed,” I blurt out.
Cohen throws his head back and laughs, so I shush him, not wanting any of the lawyers to come out and ask what’s going on here. They’ve been watching us closely, and it seems like they’re looking for any reason to call us out on shit.
Jerks.
“Yeah, we do. It comes naturally to us, because we know there’s no replacing each other. You’re the only one for me, and I’m the only one for you.”
“You sound pretty confident there,” I tease, licking my lips. “You know I don’t believe that every person only has one soul mate.”
“I know, but you’ll never get the chance to find out if there’s anyone else who fits you as well as I do, so it’s not an issue,” he says, smirking. He’s in a dark blue shirt today, rolled up his wrists. He must spend a lot of money on clothes, because every time I see him it’s like he’s in something new.
“You’re a clothes whore, aren’t you?” I ask, giving him a once-over.
“What?” he asks, amusement flashing in his eyes. “Did you just say?”
“You know, everyone has a vice, and yours seems to be clothes. You’re a clothes whore. I called it.”
“And what’s your vice?”
I think about it. “Food. And makeup.”
He laughs again, leaning forward. “I can see that. I like to look good. And you’re so fucking cute right now, all I want to do is lean over this table, kiss you deeply until you forget your own name, then put my hand in your panties to see how wet you are. Then I want to lick my fingers so I can have your taste in my mouth to tide me over until I get to take you home after work and fuck you properly. Hmm… I think I want you to sit on my face tonight. Yes, that sounds like a good plan.”
I glance around the office with wide eyes, double-checking we’re alone. “Shhhh, you can’t say that here! Anyone can be listening!”
So much for being professional.
“No one is even here, Jacinta. Relax.”
“You relax.”
“Baby?”
“Yes?”
“I love you,” he says, then walks away, leaving me with a goofy smile on my face.
I love being in love.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cohen’s client comes in, but I’m okay with it. I trust him. When their meeting is over, he opens his door and winks at me as she storms out, not looking happy.
I have my line ready as he comes over to me.
“One unsatisfied client?”
“Very unsatisfied,” he replies, shaking his head at me. “She tried to touch me and I told her that I’m taken. I also said that if she wants a good lawyer, she can stay and behave appropriately, or she can go and find someone else.”
“What did she choose?”
“To stay,” he says, stretching his neck from side to side. “I’m good at what I do.”
“Not just a pretty face, huh?”
“You’re the pretty one in this relationship.” He smiles widely, showing off his dimple. “No, ‘pretty’ is too casual a word. Beautiful, stunning, amazing, phenomenal.” He pauses, tryi
ng to think of another term. “The sexiest woman I’ve laid eyes on.”
I roll my eyes at him, but inside my heart does a little flip. “Laying it on a little thick today, aren’t you, Cohen?”
“Just speaking the truth.”
“I want to kiss you so badly right now,” I say, staring at his full lips.
“Which is exactly why I’m going to get some work done,” he says, walking away. I track his movements, like a lion hunting its prey, until he’s out of sight, disappearing into his office.
Maybe Jason is right, not that I’ll ever admit that out loud.
I get back to work, forcing myself to concentrate. If I want to keep this job, I need to prove that I’m capable of a high standard of work, even with that sexy man being so close by. I’ve done it up until now, so I don’t know why today is such a struggle.
Must concentrate.
I can do this.
I push Cohen out of my head and focus on the task at hand.
*****
We make it a month with no incidents at work, so I assume my job is safe. Jason and the other lawyers treat me the same, and everything goes back to normal, just like Sadie said it would. I, for one, am grateful. I don’t want to have to find another job, and I get to spend more time with Cohen this way. I also truly enjoy the job, and don’t want to move.
I hate change.
Cohen heads to the gym after work, while I go straight home. When I see a car parked out the front of my house—Dan’s car, to be exact—I go on alert. What the fuck is he even doing here? I told him I’d call the cops if he came around me again, yet here he is. Fuming, I get out of my car, storm inside, then come to a standstill as I see him sitting on my couch. He’s not alone. Sadie, who must’ve let him in, is sitting there looking like she’d rather be anywhere else, and there’s also another woman with him. She has short dark hair, brown eyes and a wide mouth. Beautiful, but not classically so.
“What are you doing here, Dan?” I ask, looking to Sadie, who shrugs.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she says to me, sounding apologetic. “He wouldn’t leave, just kept knocking, and I felt sorry for him.”
“And who is this?” I ask to the woman, who is keeping silent.
“I just wanted to talk to you,” Dan says, acting like I’m being the unreasonable one. “We never got to sit down and have a proper conversation, Jacinta. And this is Bianca.”
I do a double take. “As in Cohen’s ex-girlfriend?”
What the actual fuck is she doing here?
I look to Dan. What’s this game he’s playing? “What do you want? And why is she here?”
“I want you to listen to her so she can tell you what Cohen is really like. I thought I could just let you go, but I can’t have it on my conscience that you’re with that man.”
“As opposed to being with you?” I ask, eyes going wide as a saucer. I turn to Sadie, who’s cringing. “The fuck?”
“I didn’t know this was Cohen’s ex-girlfriend. She’s pregnant, I couldn’t let her just stand out there all day.”
“You’re going to get us killed one day,” I tell her in exasperation. Then I look to Dan and purse my lips. “Or kidnapped or something.”
“This is who Cohen chose as my replacement?” Bianca says, smirking. “Downgrade much?”
My head snaps to her. The bitch needs to go back to being silent. I look down at her stomach. The retort of ‘Oh, so you kept that one’ is on my lips, but I can’t say it. I’m not an ugly person, and I’m not going to let her turn me into one.
“Why are you even here?” I ask her. “Why don’t you both just leave?”
I pull out my phone and send Cohen a quick text. He needs to be here. I can handle Dan, will probably just call the cops, but I don’t know why she is here.
“Cohen upgraded, actually,” Sadie tells Bianca, giving her a once-over and a look that simply says ‘You ain’t shit.’
I love my best friend.
“Sit down, please,” Dan says to me, and I comply, just so I can get him to leave sooner.
“You have three minutes.”
“Cohen isn’t going to be a long-term thing. I am. Why don’t you give me another chance? I won’t fuck up again, I promise. Bianca here will tell you all about him. He’s not the man for you, Jacinta. You deserve better.”
I think Dan needs a shrink. “I see.”
He looks relieved, like he actually thinks his words have an impact on me.
“So, you found his ex and brought her here hoping she could persuade me to leave Cohen and be with you instead?”
“I just came because I wanted to see who my replacement was,” Bianca adds, pissing me off further.
She’s pregnant, you can’t hit her.
Plus, I have more class than that. Speaking of being pregnant, I wonder who the father is.
I look at Sadie, wondering what the hell I’m meant to do here. These people are just here because they don’t like the fact that Cohen and I are happy; they just want us to be as miserable as them. They can try and shit-stir all they want, but it’s not going to work. I don’t know how Cohen is going to take the fact that the woman who broke his heart and trust in females is here, sitting on my couch, carrying another man’s baby, when she so easily got rid of theirs. This can’t be easy for him. It pisses me off that she has history with him, and therefore, in a way, a certain hold on him and his emotions. She doesn’t deserve that. She deserves nothing.
I don’t know what Dan thought he could accomplish from bringing her here, but besides the restraining order I’m going to slap on his ass, it definitely didn’t have the desired effect. I just hate him even more now. He’s proving what a creep he really is, while Bianca being here just blows my mind. Who just comes over to their ex’s new girl’s house and sits on the couch like it’s normal?
Someone who isn’t normal, that’s who.
“I think the two of you need to leave,” I announce, standing up.
“I think I’ll wait for Cohen to arrive,” Bianca says, smiling evilly. She looks at Dan. “What do you say, Dan?”
Luckily for me, there’s a bang on the door, and Sadie jumps up to get it. When she walks back into the room with Cohen, I feel nothing but relief.
“What the fuck?” he exclaims, looking from Dan to Bianca. He speaks directly to her when he asks, “What on earth are you doing here?”
I see his eyes flash when he sees her stomach, his mouth tightening. Yeah, that one had to hurt. He pulls my back against his chest and squeezes my hand, reassuring me that everything is going to be all right.
“Dan found me,” she says, standing up and walking over to us. “Said you’re going to hurt the woman he loves, so I thought it would be interesting to see what all the fuss is about. You look good, Cohen.”
I grit my teeth. This woman has no shame, and I’m seriously questioning Cohen’s taste now. What does that say about me? Dammit!
“Well,” Sadie announces, pointing to the direction of her room. “I’m just going to go over there. Call me if you need backup.”
I watch her leave, jealous that she gets to do so.
Bianca puts her hands on her stomach. “I’m having a baby girl.”
She is such a fucking bitch.
I can’t deal.
I dig my nails into my palm, turning to look at Cohen. With a completely blank expression, he says, “Both of you leave, now. Do not fucking show up at my woman’s house again.”
Dan stands, now looking nervous. “Cohen—”
Cohen lets go of me, walks up to Dan and grabs him by the throat. “Jacinta is mine. Do not fucking come near her again, do you understand me? Do whatever the fuck you want with Bianca, but Jacinta? You stay the fuck away from her.”
He lets Dan go, who stumbles back, clasping his throat with both hands. One last longing look at me, then he goes, taking Bianca with him.
Good fucking riddance.
*****
“How are you feeling?” I ask Cohen a
s we slide beneath the sheets naked.
“I don’t understand why she came here,” he says, pulling me against him. “It hurt to see her pregnant, when she didn’t keep my son or daughter.”
I swallow hard as I listen to the pain in his voice.
“I don’t want to see the two of them ever again,” he admits, kissing the top of my head. “They need to let us be. I don’t give a fuck if they don’t like seeing us happy, they need to stay away from us.”
“I’m going to file a police report tomorrow,” I say. “A restraining order against Dan. I think he’s nuts. I don’t want to take a chance.”
“Yeah, I think that’s best,” he agrees, sighing. “Can’t believe I was friends with him.”
“Can’t believe I dated him.”
“Okay, you win,” he replies, sounding amused. “Or lose, depending on how you look at it.”
“I win, because it’s me in bed with you right now, loved and cherished, and happier than I’ve ever been in my life. They’re only bitter because they don’t have this.”
“Fuck them,” he whispers into my ear, nibbling on the lobe. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything. Everything worked out how it was supposed to, you know? I was made to love you, Jacinta. No one is going to take that away from me.”
His words, spoken so sincerely, kill me.
How I love this man.
I glance up at him, then kiss him.
Deeply.
We’re solid.
They can try to break us up, but they will fail.
Together, Cohen and I will never lose.
We’re unbreakable.
Epilogue
Five Years Later
Cohen kisses my stomach, and everyone in the room says a collective “Aww.”
I smile at him, seeing the love in his eyes for our unborn son. He’s going to be such a wonderful father. After we got married last year, I went off the pill. I didn’t think I’d get pregnant so soon, but two months after, I was carrying his child. We couldn’t have been happier.
“Can I get you anything?” he asks me, kissing my lips this time. “Water, juice… Anything?”
It’s my baby shower, and Cohen insisted on being here, so it’s more like a party than anything, with all our friends and family here, all spoiling the baby with gifts. We are so blessed. Sadie and Chad arrive, hand in hand, Chad carrying a sack full of gifts in the other.
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