“You okay?” Cole glanced at Ava as they drove.
“Yeah, why?”
“You’re quiet.”
“And that’s unusual?”
“Well, usually when you’re around me there’s quite a bit of moaning and screaming going on.”
She raised her eyebrows and adjusted herself in her seat so she could stare at his gloating face.
“You’re incredibly proud of yourself, aren’t you?”
His grin turned devilish. She knew she should smack him, but she really wanted to strip him instead.
Cole pulled into the parking spot next to her car in town.
Time to say goodbye.
Ava lingered outside the car, unsure how to end things. What was there to say?
Bear pulled on his leash in his attempt to reach Cole.
Cole ignored the dog, his eyes intent on Ava. Ava shivered at the predatory quality of Cole’s body language.
Would he kiss her goodbye? Lie to her and say he’d call? Beg her to pack it all up and go with him?
At this point, with this intense, burning pain in her gut, she might be tempted.
She had to break the spell he had over her before she did something stupid.
His hands were on her hips before she could think of a single thing to say. He pushed her against her car, his eyes never leaving hers.
And then he kissed her.
She wasn’t one for PDA, but at that moment, she would have allowed him to do anything he wanted to her.
A nagging voice in her mind told her this was inappropriate. Any public displays of affection were questionable with her role as kindergarten teacher in this very town. But with a guy who basically amounted to a few-nights-stand? Shameful. She’d never live it down.
She so didn’t care.
“Let’s take this upstairs.”
How did he manage to get any words out around his dancing, teasing tongue? He was a man of many talents.
Her heated body didn’t protest when he backed his way toward his entryway—holding her hostage against him.
At the bottom of the stairs that led up to his condo, Cole kicked the door to Main Street closed as soon as Bear trotted in. He whipped his shirt off in one smooth motion, then tugged at the base of hers.
“I need you.”
Oh, how she wished his words were true.
But she wanted to be needed for more than this.
She wanted to be needed for a partnership. For love. For a life. For commitment.
She wanted a man who would not only worship her body, but who would worship her mind. Her lifestyle. Her desires for a family, for a future.
His lips hovered over hers.
What had she been thinking? Had she been trying to convince herself that she cared for anything beyond having someone to worship her body?
Cole’s incredible skills had intoxicating, judgment-reducing effects on her.
Losing herself in his kiss, his touch, the ecstasy of being close to him—so easy.
But the tears gathering in her eyes and the back of her throat reminded her of the pain she’d be enduring.
He was going to Japan.
For an unspecified amount of time.
His company, his work, would always be his first love. He had given her his undivided attention while he was here, and she’d forever be grateful.
But she couldn’t ask him to change.
And she couldn’t accept being second.
“Why are you pulling away from me, Ava?”
“I’m not.” Not physically, anyway. She couldn’t. He had her pressed against the wall.
“Don’t you want me?”
He pressed himself to her, and she nearly gave in at the sensations he evoked.
“I do.”
He captured her kiss, swallowing her words before she could allow them to erupt. His hands held her cheeks, allowing no escape. High tide was coming quick, and if she didn’t get to solid ground, she’d be swept away and drown in his potency.
Drowning didn’t seem so bad.
His hands shifted to her waist. Her hips pushed into his, begging for something she knew she needed to say goodbye to.
He found her breasts, toying with them under her shirt. She pulled away long enough to whip the shirt off, tossing it onto the stairs. Anyone walking by could look into the door window and see what they were doing, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t stop.
She ignored Bear’s whimpering and allowed Cole to kiss her breasts, his mouth bringing her closer and closer to…
“Oh my god.”
She slithered down the wall, eager to have him kiss her on her lips. He was her oxygen, her only source of life.
She unbuttoned his pants, slipping her hand into his jeans as he groaned.
“Upstairs.” His word was a pant, a desperate plea, and she had never felt more powerful.
“Can’t. Stop. Now.”
He pulled her to a stand, lifted her into his arms, and jogged up the stairs. He clutched her tight as she bounced, and even that was erotic.
“Wait. Bear.”
“Bear. Stay.”
Ava marveled at how quickly Bear’s butt hit the ground when Cole gave his command. Ava hadn’t noticed him following them up the stairs, and as soon as Cole resumed kissing her neck on the way to his bed, she forgot to notice anything else.
Chapter Twelve
Cole stared at the contracts on his desk. He needed to get his mind off Ava and onto his work.
She hadn’t responded to his calls. Or his texts. Or his emails. Hell, he had a stack of unopened, “Return to Sender” stamped Hallmark cards on his desk as a blatant reminder that she wanted nothing more to do with him.
He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
She wasn’t an actress—her face might as well have been a billboard sign announcing every emotion she experienced.
They had a connection. A really fucking intense connection. More than an attraction.
When they said goodbye, he told her they’d make this work.
But how the hell would they make it work if she refused to respond or answer?
Even the flower delivery guy had been in touch. Ava had politely informed him after the first week of daily flower deliveries that she could no longer accept the arrangements. And then she refused to answer the door.
He had never seen his future in the eyes of a woman before. He didn’t want to see it in Ava, but there it was. Out of his control. And he wasn’t about to let it go without a damned fight.
He dialed her number again. Ava should be snuggled into bed at this hour in Healing Springs. He had been considerate this whole time, taking the time difference into account every time he called, but he was done being considerate.
The sweet tones of her voicemail recording mocked him. She’d never sleep through a call, and he knew she kept her phone next to her bed.
He dialed again.
His call went directly to voice mail.
He threw the phone onto his desk, scattering important papers that needed his approval.
They wanted him to commit to three years as an onsite consultant. The money was above and beyond his original bid, and would have him set for life. Ben would continue to manage their business in the United States.
He’d finally be fully out of his father’s overbearing shadow.
He’d attain goals he hadn’t even set.
So why the hesitation to sign?
He was a businessman before anything else. He had enjoyed playing around with the tools, loved getting his hands dirty on a worksite, and had convinced himself he could maybe make a life for himself back home, doing what he loved during the day and coming home to the woman he loved at night.
He laughed at himself as he picked up his pen.
He had outgrown foolish daydreams when he was eight.
Why the hell would he pass up this opportunity for a woman who wouldn’t even answer an email?
Cole Stanton sat up straight in his chair, tig
htened his tie, and scribbled his name on every last page.
***
Ava groaned as she watched Karly buzz around Ava’s apartment, carefully watering what remained of the plants Cole had sent. Most of the cut flowers had died away, but the blooming plants grew stronger every day. Clearly they mocked her for trying to tamper the love for Cole that refused to die a peaceful death.
Ava planned to block his number from coming through on her cell phone, but every time she tried, something stopped her.
Apparently she was more a glutton for punishment than she had realized. Every time his name popped up, her heart did a little dance. And then it shattered. Then the cycle repeated.
The whole process was becoming tedious.
As if on cue, her phone rang and his face—his gorgeous, sexy, dimpled face—appeared on her screen. She couldn’t decline the call, because then his face would go away. And she had sworn she would stop flipping through pictures of him. She was in recovery.
“Would you answer the damn phone? You know you want to talk to him.” Karly appeared in the doorway, hands on hips, exasperation reddening her cheeks.
“I wish I could fall and hit my head. Amnesia would be a welcome respite.” Ava sighed, but she resumed looking at her phone.
“Ava. If you don’t answer that phone, I’ll do it for you.”
“No!” Ava squealed and pulled the phone away as Karly made a mad dash to reach for the object of Ava’s frustration. “Don’t you dare.”
“Hmm, dare. Dare, huh?”
“Karly…”
“I dare you to call him back.”
Karly plopped herself down into a chair, putting her feet on the coffee table and folding her hands behind her head.
So sure of herself.
Ava refused to fall into the trap.
“Do you think I should go for the lavender flowered curtains or the blue?”
“Don’t you dare change the subject. I issued a dare. You know you can’t turn it down.”
“You’re getting really annoying with all this constant optimism, you know.”
“It’s my duty to keep you from wallowing in your misery.”
“I like my misery.”
“Yeah, okay.” Karly rolled her eyes. “Obviously the asshole cares deeply for you. Any sane man would have given up by now. You admit that the last day was the most amazing day of your life. Why not give this thing a shot?”
“Because I can’t. I can’t do it to him. We want different things. Majorly different things.”
“If you love each other, you’ll work it out.”
“You’re a love coach now?” Ava laughed. Her hard edge surprised her, but she was becoming battle weary. “He moved to Japan, Karly. Kind of hard to imagine that working out.”
“He’s there on business.”
“Business is his life.”
“I think you’re wrong.”
Ava arched a brow at her friend, then dug into an emergency box of chocolate she kept hidden in the drawer of her coffee table.
“You’re unbelievable.” Karly threw her hands in the air and jumped up from her chair.
The doorbell chimed, interrupting the brewing argument.
“Want me to get that?” Karly offered. Her tone was still on the caustic side, but Ava knew her intentions were golden.
Ava shook her head. She peeked out the side window, irritated when she saw an SUV parked in her driveway. She had no idea who was at her door, and if she were home alone, she’d probably have ignored the doorbell.
Instead, she whipped the door open, half expecting some other ridiculous gesture from that-man-whose-name-she-wouldn’t-mention.
“Tiana? What’s up?”
Tiana’s nostrils flared. Hands on hips, pink hair falling over one pierced eyebrow, Tiana looked as irritated as Ava felt at the intrusion.
“What on earth do you think you’re doing to my brother?”
Ava flinched. She hadn’t done a thing!
“Please come in.” Ava moved aside to allow the hurricane to sweep in, not wanting to give any more fodder to the ears outside. Though she loved Mrs. Reynolds and her other neighbors, she was getting tired of her life being the latest soap opera drama.
Tiana paced the room, nodding slightly to an amused Karly.
“I saw you two together. You were happy. Why aren’t you answering him now?”
“Did he send you here?”
“Are you crazy?”
Ava nodded her head and sunk into the couch.
Tiana hovered over her. Ava had forgotten how tall Tiana was, and how intimidating when angry.
“Answer me. Why are you messing with my brother’s head?”
“I’m not messing with any part of him.” Oh, but how she wished she could. “He left on business, remember?”
“Of course I remember. But why are you doing this to him?”
Waves of emotion rushed through Ava. She refused to shed another tear. Especially with an audience.
“I’m not doing anything to him. We said our goodbyes. It’s over. And trust me, it’s better this way.”
Ava bent forward to straighten piles of junk mail, magazines, and other papers that had mounted there. Anything to distract her from Tiana’s wrath.
“Better for who? Don’t you care about his feelings at all?”
“Tiana, do you always get this involved with your brother’s relationships? I seem to remember you wanting to be left out of things before.”
“I guess I only get involved with the ones he falls in love with!”
Ava’s eyes widened. She dropped the pile of magazines she had been holding.
“That’s not true.” Ava’s voice emerged as a tiny squeak born of self-denial and regret. Karly, suddenly remembering to be a good friend, sat beside her and rubbed her back. A tear slipped past Ava’s defenses and landed on a magazine.
“Of course it’s true. And if you bothered to read his letters, you’d know this.”
Anger warred with pain. Letters. Yes, Ava had written a letter expressing her feelings for Cole four years ago. Tiana had personally delivered it. He admitted to reading it, but told her not to follow him anyway. Not to transfer schools. Not to be with him.
So why should she care if he really was professing his love for her?
“What are you thinking, Ava?” Karly’s voice penetrated the fog of the past.
Ava sat up, stronger now.
“You know what, Tiana? I don’t care what was in those stupid letters, just like he never cared what I said in my letter to him before. Maybe now he’ll understand how it feels to be rejected when you pour your heart out.”
Tiana’s breath hitched and her knuckles covered her lips. Suddenly unable to look at Ava, she turned away, shoulders slumping.
“You get it now?” Ava practically shouted to the interfering woman—once a friend, now a painful reminder.
“He didn’t read your letter.”
“What?” Surely Ava had heard wrong. “What did you say?”
Tiana turned around, her shoulders now squared, her chin high in the air.
“He didn’t read your letter.”
“Yes he did. He told me.”
“No, he got the note you left on his door telling him to pick you up that night. He never read your other letter because I never gave it to him.”
Ava leapt to her feet, nearly stepping on Bear and sending a flurry of loose papers to the floor.
“Say that again.” Ava didn’t recognize the threat in her voice. This wasn’t her, but a demon that had possessed her.
“I didn’t give him your letter. I couldn’t.”
“What are you talking about? You offered!”
“I offered because I didn’t want him to know how you felt. I admit—I was jealous. You were home for the summer and I missed you. You spent all of your free time with him. I couldn’t stand it. You had gone off to college, and I was so excited for you to be back. I wasn’t going anywhere in my life, so I guess I kind of
wanted to live through you. I never imagined you’d end up with my brother and that he’d hog so much of your time.”
Tears streamed over Ava’s cheeks like a waterfall over high rocks. Bile rose in her esophagus, threatening to erupt.
“And when I went to you that night, crying, heartbroken at his rejection? Why didn’t you tell me then?”
“Dammit, Ava. You have no idea how ashamed I was. That’s why I haven’t been able to contact you since then. I’ve lived with this lie for all this time. It’s been killing me.”
“Killing you? Really?” Ava stepped around the coffee table, her fingernails cutting into her palms as she clenched her fist. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?”
“No. I didn’t come here for that. I came here to help you guys fix things.”
“There’s nothing to fix, so I guess you can go now.”
“Ava,” Karly’s voice was cautious.
Ava put her hand up to ward off the interference.
“We’re done here. Aren’t we, Tiana?”
“No. Not quite. You need to hear me. You don’t have to forgive me for what I did, but you have to know that Cole loved you then and loves you now.”
Ava closed her eyes and steadied her breath.
“Did he tell you that?”
“He didn’t have to.” Tiana stepped closer. “I’ve known that pig-headed man my whole life. I’ve seen him with many women. Prettier women—no offense. Rich women. Women who could pose on the cover of a men’s magazine.”
Ava cocked her head in her best do-you-have-a-point expression. She didn’t want to hear about the legions of women Cole had slept with!
“He’s never looked at another woman the way he looks at you. He’s never spent so much effort pursuing someone. And he’s never been as ill-tempered and miserable as he’s been since you left.”
Tiana’s face softened into a smile. A truce of sorts.
“He should have told you all of this himself. Before he left.”
“I don’t think I’d enjoy hearing about his other women from him.” Ava rubbed her arms.
Stay (Healing Springs, Book 2) Page 13
