by Autumn Grey
Cora’s eyes twinkle, a dimple appearing on her cheek. “So, you and Cole are like Cinderella and the Prince, and your father was the stepmother?”
Cole’s lips twitch. “Yes.”
Cora bite her lip, seeming to contemplate something. “Did you love Daddy too?”
I nod. “Yes. Very much. I loved your Daddy and Cole, but very differently.”
Her eyebrows scrunch up. “How can you love two people differently? I thought there is only one kind of love.”
“It is possible to love people differently,” I try to explain and hope I don’t end up confusing her even more.
Cole mouths, “let me try” and I nod.
He scoops Joce up and over his lap and sits her next to Cora, and then he angles his body so that his entire focus is on the girls.
“For example. You love Joce and your mama. And you love your best friend, Lara or any of your friends at school.” He pauses and watches them intently to make sure they’re following his logic.
“So Mama loved Daddy the way I love Lara?”
Cole nods and Cora falls silent, mulling over the words. She seems satisfied for now, but I’m sure she will be back with more questions. Our story is complicated and probably confusing to Cora and Joce. Or maybe I’m underestimating their power of understanding.
Joce hasn’t spoken yet. She’s wearing a look I can’t read, which reminds me of Cole. It’s pretty worrying.
“Honey, do you have any questions?” I ask her.
She bites her bottom lip, stares at Cole for a long time. “You lived so far away. You never came to visit even after Mama’s father went away. Didn’t you want to be our father?”
Cole sucks a sharp breath, and starts to shake his head. His stare is fiery, darting between the two girls. “Nothing would have kept me away from you if I had known about you. Your mama wrote me a letter and told me about you. I didn’t open the letters on time. I regret that a lot, because I would have seen you sooner. I’m so sorry.” He pauses and kisses the top of their heads. “You two are my forever girls. Nothing will stop me from wanting you.”
Joce nods, her tiny shoulders slumping forward in relief, but then frowns again. “It’s kind of weird having two dads. What about Daddy? Does it mean he won’t be our daddy anymore?” Her lip quivers when she lifts her gaze to mine.
My chest hurts just seeing the panic on her face. “Oh God, no, baby. He will always be your papa as long as you want him to be. No one will ever take that away from you.”
She turns to Cole. “I love you too. Like really, really love you.”
Oh Joce, my baby girl.
I shake my head, smiling. Cole’s mouth is slightly parted. He looks a little stunned too. Cora, on the other hand, is just her happy self, climbing on her knees and playing with her father’s hair, which has grown considerably longer since he came back home.
“You want to know a secret too? I love you too. Like really, really love you and Cora.” He pulls Cora down for a kiss on the forehead and does the same with Joce. “You want to know something else. Josh is still your papa and he always will be. You have two papas who love you so much.”
Cora’s face lights up even more. “I can’t wait to tell Lara. She has two papas too, but both of them are alive. She and her little brother and mother now live with the new papa. But the old one visits them every two weeks.” She stops and takes in a huge breath. “So, is it okay to call you Daddy Cole?”
Cole grins. “You can call me anything you want.”
“Cool.” Cora hops off the couch to the floor. “Are you two going to get married? I’ve seen you kiss Mama. You love her, don’t you?”
Cole and I stare at each other, a look infused with hope, reconnection, lost and found love.
I shift my gaze to my daughters. “We haven’t spoken about that yet.”
Cora bounces on the soles of her feet. “Okay. Can we go now? We really need to finish the fort.”
“Sure,” I say.
She quickly hugs Cole, and then does the same to me. Then she dashes up the stairs. Joce stands up, leans forward and hugs her father, then kisses him on the cheek. After giving him a shy smile, she walks toward me with a huge grin, embraces me and kisses my cheek.
“I’m sad that Daddy is not here anymore. But I’m really happy that your prince came back. I’m happy Cole is here,” she says, before trailing after her sister.
And then I burst out in tears at her words. The couch sinks as Cole settles next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to him. He just holds me to his chest and rubs his palm on my back until my sobs turn to sniffles.
I place my hands on his chest and push away from him. “I’m such a mess, aren’t I?” I try to smile but it feels like a grimace.
He nods, smiling. “You actually look really cute. A cute mess.”
I chuckle and sit up. “Thank you for being here. You are so good with the girls. You are a natural”
He shakes his head. “I’m always afraid that I might be doing the wrong thing. You and the girls are patient with me, so thank you.” He pulls me to him and kisses my forehead, and then tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
I bite my lip and look away. After Cole left, I never thought, even for a second, he would come back home.
I’m really happy that your prince came back. Joce’s words give me confidence and I lift my face.
Cole cups my jaw and tugs it gently to face him. “What is it?”
I clear my throat. “I thought I’d never see this day. You sitting here next to me, or Cora and Joce finally getting to know who you are. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you hated me or didn’t want anything to do with me.”
Cole leans forward, his gaze holding mine captive. “I could never hate you. I said those words in a moment of anger, but it wasn’t true. I will always regret not opening those letters. It was stupid of me. There is something my dad said to me a few weeks ago. Something that Josh said. Things worked out the way they did for a reason. You were there for Josh when he needed you the most. He was there for you and the girls when you needed someone to lean on, and I’m thankful for that.” He shrugs. “Life is never meant to be easy.”
He is right. Life is never meant to be easy, otherwise, there wouldn’t be any challenges to face.
I lift his hand to my lips and kiss his palm. “Tell me about New York, your tattoos, everything.” I trace the ‘Silver lining’ tattoo and lift my eyes to his. “I can’t believe you did this one. How did you even get the image?”
He grins. “I took a photo from your doodle book. I had no idea why I did that. I just know that every time I looked at the photo, it gave me courage. I had it tattooed on my skin after I left prison.”
I sit across from him as he fills me in on the years we were apart. By the time he is done, I feel gratitude and respect for this man. He hasn’t let anything stand in the way of his dreams, he even didn’t let the lack of money to finance his education pull him down.
Finally I ask what has been simmering in the back of my mind. “You said that you are not leaving. What will that do to your internship program at Lawrence & Barnes?” I don’t want him to give up his dreams just to take care of us.
“I’ll finish it in my dad’s firm. I just have a couple of months left, then I’ll be done and after that, take the exams to get my licence. So you see, I’m not leaving. Ever. You and our daughters are my dream.” He grips my shoulders and kisses me softly, before pulling back.
“I’m glad. I’m sorry for everything that happened.”
He shakes his head. “I am sorry for believing that you’d hurt me intentionally and for ignoring those letters. Forgive me?”
“How about we forgive each other?” We laugh and fall silent.
I purse my lips. “I was thinking about something. Josh’s birthday is coming up on May ninth and I wanted to check with you first. We could invite a few friends and your parents, and have a get together in his honor? How does that sound?”
<
br /> He stares down at me, tears gleaming in his eyes. “I think that’s a brilliant idea. Josh would love that.” I take in a deep breath. “Tate and Simon were supposed to fly in in a week or so for a visit. I will ask him if it is possible for them to postpone the trip until the birthday.”
“That would be great,” I say, climbing on his lap and settling in for a kiss. I figure that, if I want to take this a step further, I should be the one to make the next move. He already told me what he wanted and I need to show him we are on the same page. “Maybe we should put the girls to bed and continue this later?”
He groans, shifting lower on the couch to take in my weight and then grips the back of my head. He pulls me down, taking my mouth in a hot searing kiss before rolling his hips.
I lean back and grin at him, feeling his erection rubbing between my legs. “Batman doesn’t need a take-off countdown, does he?”
He smirks. “I’m always hard for you. He’s like a soldier, ready at all times. A goddamn fine soldier.”
I laugh and kiss his mouth one more time before climbing off him. “Let’s go herd the girls to bed. I have some plans for Batman.”
“Shit. I love your kind of dirty talk,” he flashes me a teasing smile and then reaches out and spanks me on my rear, grinning up at me. “The soldier has been anxiously waiting to play.”
I shake my head, laughing. The girls are ready and tucked in their own beds forty-five minutes later.
Cole takes my hand when we hit the hallway and pulls me inside my room. As soon as the door shuts behind us, his hands are all over me, tearing at my clothes and his lips kissing my mouth, neck, anywhere he can reach. His hands fumble with the button of my shorts while mine hurriedly undo the belt of his pants. When it’s undone, I push them down, then hook my fingers around the waistband of his black boxer shorts, and yank them down. Heat spreads inside me and my heart races as I take in his erection, his need for me. The sound of our heavy breathing fills the room and I want nothing more than to rip the shirt off his chest, press my body flush to his. His fingers push the shorts down my legs impatiently. I lift my legs and untangle the shorts from my feet, kicking them to the side. Our shirts join the pile on the floor next. We stand back staring at each other, chests heaving.
Then we’re moving forward again, pulled toward each other like two neutron stars heading for a collision. Unstoppable. Our bodies collide and everything around us explodes in a flurry of insatiable fingers and hungry lips. Breathless moans and deep groans. Something tangles around my legs and I stumble back, but Cole’s arm bands around my waist and pulls me back to him. He kisses me, drinking me in. I gasp when his hands squeeze my breasts and my mouth parts. His tongue moves past my lips and inside my mouth, tasting me. I whimper, he groans, rolling his hips with his erection trapped between us, hot and ready. He scoops me up, strides to the bed and lays me down. My flaming body hits the cool sheets and I gasp again, welcoming the cooling effect. Cole’s hard body is on mine, covering me with his heat, his mouth is on my neck, kissing and licking and nipping. Sucking as if he can’t stop himself from tasting me. His thigh probes between mine and my legs fall open, welcoming him home.
I grip his hair in my hands, arching my body, too greedy for more. I try to push him off me but he is too heavy. I gently pull the locks of hair and he moans. I tug it again and his head leaves my neck, his eyes, so dark and stormy, collide with mine. Now that half of his weight is not on me, I untangle my fingers and lift up on my elbows, then press forward until he is no longer lying on me. I give his chest a little shove. Understanding dawns in his eyes and he falls onto his back.
Sitting up, I put a hand on his chest, and the ring on my left hand glints against the room’s lighting. Taking a deep breath, I pull it off my finger, lean forward and open the night stand drawer. I lay it inside and with another deep breath, slide it shut. I turn back to focus on Cole, noticing the way his eyes soften as his eyes lower to my hand.
He doesn’t say anything, just takes my hand and kisses the faint scars on my wrist. I swing a leg over his body, straddle his thighs, and then take him in my hands. A hiss passes between his teeth, veins popping in his neck and his fingers digging into the skin on my hips.
“Fuck. I want my cock inside your pussy. Now.”
“Patience,” I tell him.
He lifts his hands and signs, “Fuck patience.” He grabs my waist and flips us around. I’m flat on my back in two seconds and he’s pushing inside me.
He stops and takes deep breaths. “Jesus, Nor. You are so wet and tight,” his voice is hoarse and the words heavy on his tongue. He thrusts forward, burying himself to the hilt. Wrapping his hands around me, he holds me to him tightly as I do the same, ramming inside me with abandon, his face buried in my neck. And I close my eyes tight, letting my emotions take over as I give myself back to Cole all over again. And when we finally come, we rise together, riding on the wave and then falling into a blissful surrender.
COLE TOOK THE GIRLS TO the carnival earlier today. When they came back a few hours ago, Cora was scowling and sending daggers in her father’s direction. She stomped upstairs and slammed her door shut. Apparently, Cole glared at a few boys from Cora’s class which ended up scaring them away. Cora had initially bragged to her classmates and told them that her new daddy was taking her and Joce to the carnival, so she was extremely eager to introduce Cole to her friends. When I asked Cole about it, his jaw tightened and a vein throbbed viciously as he told me the boys were looking at his daughters inappropriately. I pointed out that the kids were only nine years old.
Honestly. How can a child that age stare inappropriately?
Obviously not amused with my question, Cole crossed his arms on his broad chest and scowled at me.
I laugh under my breath. I really pity Cora and Joce’s future boyfriends.
This evening we’re having a get-together at my house in honor of Josh. I prepared the rooftop terrace for this occasion earlier today but it started to rain, and I ended up moving everything back inside the house.
Cole mentioned that Simon and Tate arrived last night from New York. They are staying at Cole’s house and they will be here soon. Elon left for school earlier this morning. She has mid-term tests and she was so nervous about that. She still hasn’t opened up to me about the reason she’s been spending more time at home than in her apartment. Elise will drop by later as well.
Megs squints up at me, tears running down her face. “Where’s that man of yours? He needs to finish cutting these onions. He survived prison. He can survive this.”
I gape at my best friend. “Oh my gosh. Megs! What’s wrong with you?”
“What? It’s true.” She drops the knife and rushes to the sink to wash her hands. “Damn it. Little shits sucking my eyeballs.”
I laugh. “Cole went to take a shower after working on the play house on the terrace.” Pain tugs in my chest, just thinking of Josh. But this is a happy day. A day to celebrate his life. “You’d better be done soon. The snacks should be ready before everyone arrives.”
She rolls her eyes. “Let’s order Chinese. Anyway, what’s the deal between you and Cole? Someone saw him dragging your ass to his house. Are you guys playing the Tarzan-Jane thing? That’s kinky. Tell me it’s true, though. I’m living vicariously through you. My divorce is wringing me dry so I only have you to entertain me. Did he toss you on his bed? Did he let you play with his magic stick? I bet his dick is like Batman.”
My cheeks are on fire. “What?”
“You know, all scowling and demanding like Batman. I bet it sprang up and said—” she clears her throat and screws up her face into one meant to portray intimidation. “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” She winks. “I bet his penis showed you what it’s made of.”
“Oh. My. God. Only you can make that quote sound dirty.”
She laughs, picks up the knife again, and attacks the onions brutally.
Megs’ heart has always belonged to Simon. Whe
n Cole left town, Simon packed up and followed him. That kind of friendship is quite rare. I completely admire the kinship.
“Cole won’t be going back to New York to finish his internship. He has already worked things out with his dad so he will continue interning at BH Architects.” I sigh, my thoughts on Cole. I smile, feeling happy. Peaceful. “Sometimes he is stubborn and possessive—”
“So he hasn’t changed a lot in the past nine years. Dude, Cole is the man.”
“—and I wouldn’t change him for the world.” I finish the sentence.
The doorbell rings. Cora yells she’ll open the door. My heart does this wonderful thing in my chest, pumping faster and faster. Before I can turn around, I feel him, our connection crackling in the air. His arm circles my waist and he kisses my neck. My heart slows down its erratic beating. It’s like his presence and his touch are the only things that can race and calm my heart. Simultaneously.
“Dude, let up. It’s my turn.”
I look over my shoulder to see Simon, grinning wide. I spin around and throw myself at him and he catches me, hugging me tight. I pull away grinning, lift my gaze and see a tall hot guy walk into the kitchen. He’s really hot, like GQ cover model hot. He flashes me an easy smile that has most likely won awards for the best smile, displaying a row of straight white teeth and deep groves on the side of his mouth.
“Eleanor? It’s really good to finally meet you,” The hunk signs without preamble.
Oh, this is the Tate. “It is great to finally, officially meet you, Tate,” I sign, extending my hand toward him in greeting.
“Any family of Cole’s is mine as well.” He ignores my hand and wraps me in a hug, then takes a step back. “How are you and the twins doing?”
“Great, thank you for asking.”
“I bet they are great,” Simon says and I look at him, grinning wide at me. He winces when Megs smacks his arm and scolds him.
After the introductions are over, I finish up cooking, while Simon and Megs do this kind of awkward dance filled with unforgotten memories and missed opportunities. I hope Simon comes to his senses and sweeps her off her feet. They are so good for each other.
