Another Chance at Love (Another Series Book 1)

by Suzanne Sweeney

  Cole pulls me to the side. “Excuse us, please Kim.”

  “Kenny, sweetheart, I know you’re trying to help, but I’m just not comfortable spending that kind of money right now.”

  “You really don’t understand, do you?” I ask.

  “Understand what?”

  “Cole, Adam is your boss and he knows what you earn. I know you don’t like to spend money on yourself, but this is one time when you’re kind of obligated to make a grand gesture. A thousand dollar bag would be extravagant. A three hundred dollar bag is not.”

  His eyes grow wide. “Are you kidding? They make thousand dollar diaper bags?”

  “No joke. Come on, I’ll show you.”

  I grab him by the arm and lead him back to the counter. “I’m sorry Kim. I have one more bag I’d like to look at before we decide. Do you carry any Prada diaper bags?”

  “Of course.” She packs away the Marc Jacobs bags and leads us to another counter. After fumbling through her key ring, she locates the one that opens the case and she removes a black bag not all that different from the ones we were considering. “This bag retails for one thousand two hundred and forty dollars. It’s on sale today for forty percent off, also.” Kim retrieves a calculator, plugs in a few numbers, and returns with the final price. “That brings the price all the way down to seven hundred forty four dollars. It’s a great price.”

  Cole looks at Kim, then to me, and back to Kim again. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  Cole shakes his head. “Oh, shit – you are serious.”

  “Sir?”

  I apologize to poor Kim. “I’m sorry. We’ll take the larger black Marc Jacobs bag. Cole, please give Kim your credit card.”

  He pulls out his wallet and reluctantly hands her his American Express card. We follow Kim back over to the Marc Jacobs counter and wait patiently while she wraps up the bag and completes the sale. Handing him the receipt, she thanks him and smiles kindly.

  The store is still relatively empty as we make our way through. There are more employees than customers, and most of them are busily taking down the signs from their big Fourth of July sales, which have now officially ended.

  As we weave our way through displays, we find ourselves right in front of the lingerie department where there doesn’t seem to be any employees. The Fourth of July sale signs are still proudly advertising buy one, get one free.

  So I grab Cole by the arm and drag him over to the intimate apparel where I find my favorite designer bras and panties. The thought of a BOGO sale on these gems is just too good to pass up.

  Cole looks profoundly out of place, so much so that it is both comical and adorable at the same time. This big hulking man dutifully follows me as I wander through displays filled with satin, silk, and lace. He looks like a bull in a china shop, but moves with a gentle ease.

  I know we’re on the clock, so I quickly select a baby blue lace bra and hold it up for inspection. “What do you think?” I ask.

  “Honestly, I’m not crazy about it.” He appraises his immediate surroundings and reaches for a black Chantilly lace demi bra. “How about this, instead?”

  I hold them up side by side, trying to decide. The black one is unlined and the blue one has some padding, which frankly I could use. “Mind if I try a few of them on?” I open the drawer with my bra size and select several options in a variety of colors and styles.

  He checks his watch and quickly agrees, “Sure. Lead the way.”

  Still with no employees in sight, I lead Cole to the rear of the department where the fitting room is well hidden behind displays and counters. There are a few chairs stationed right outside the door, mostly for husbands and boyfriends to patiently wait.

  I take a few steps into the fitting room and I hear footsteps behind me. Turning around, I find Cole following me into the restricted Women Only fitting room. “Excuse me. What are you doing?”

  “I thought you might need a second opinion,” he explains with a wolfish grin. “No one stopped me.”

  Cole is six feet, four inches tall. He may not have been spotted going in, but he’ll surely get caught coming out. “Let’s not invite trouble. Go sit outside. I’ll be fine.”

  “Nope. If I’m buying my girlfriend a new bra, I want to make sure I’m getting my money’s worth.”

  “Oh, really? You’re buying, huh?”

  He nods. “Yup.”

  “Five minutes ago, you were complaining about the cost of Emmy’s diaper bag. Now all of a sudden, you’re willing to spend a couple hundred dollars on some bras and panties.”

  “Hell yeah, I am.”

  “Fine, but don’t get any ideas. No funny business. I’m not in the mood to get arrested today.” I quickly usher Cole to the last stall intended for handicapped shoppers. It has a large louvered door that reaches to the floor and a tufted leather bench against the wall. I close and lock the door as Cole settles in on the bench.

  “Okay, mister man – which one first?”

  He looks through the assortment I have spread out on the bench and selects the black demi bra. Once I have it on, I stand in front of the mirror for inspection. “I don’t know about this one,” I announce. “What do you think?”

  He grins. “I already told you, I like it. Can we go now?”

  “No! I have three more to try on.” I turn around and stand in front of him. “Can you unhook me, please?”

  With one hand, he unsnaps the bra and sits back.

  “Wow, nothing?”

  Cole looks confused. “Huh?”

  “No groping? No massaging? I’m impressed,” I acknowledge.

  “You told me not to get any ideas.”

  “And since when do you follow rules?”

  I take off the black bra, toss it to the side, and try on a cherry red push-up bra. I look in the mirror from several angles trying to decide if it fulfills its claim of adding one full cup size. “Do I look any bigger?” I ask. If he’s here to help, I may as well take advantage.

  “Not sure. Let me check.” He comes up behind me, reaches around, and cups both my breasts in his hands. He squeezes and presses gently, rubbing his thumb across the soft silky fabric. “Oh, yeah. Look. Definitely more of a handful.” He kneads my breast through the thick padding of the bra.

  I watch in the mirror as Cole continues to massage my now achingly full breasts. “I’m pretty sure we’re not allowed to have sex in here,” I state firmly.

  “You’re probably right,” he answers. Despite my warnings, he removes one hand from my breast and unsnaps my bra. With his free hand, he plucks the bra from my chest and flings it across the room and onto the floor.

  I watch, hypnotized, as his big rough hands continue to caress my skin. First, trailing up my arm, then slowly gliding across to my breasts. He cups each in his hands, rubbing his thumb over my pebbled flesh, sending powerful currents through my body and down to my core.

  Our eyes are glued to the mirror, gauging the other’s reaction. My eyes grow wide as I try to focus on his. I can see a hint of excitement sparkling there as he watches me with a hooded gaze. A shiver of expectation and apprehension moves through me.

  When I don’t push his hands away from me, he gets bolder. Heat effuses to my cheeks as he slides one hand down lower and lower, slowly slipping it beneath the fabric of my shorts. He sweeps the hair from my neck. He didn’t shave this morning and the stubble he rubs on the sensitive flesh under my ear tingles in the most delightful way.

  Cole’s hands are all over me. I am being assaulted with an onslaught of sensations as he dips his finger lower and lower until he discovers how wet and ready I am for him.

  A slow smile spreads across his face when I rotate my hips just enough to invite him deeper. I wiggle a little more and am greeted with the feel of a rock hard erection pressed against my ass. I watch in glory as Cole reaches down, unzips his shorts, and pulls out his engorged cock. He grabs it tightly with his fist and rubs it against me.

 
His breathing quickens, matching mine, as we stand there staring at our images in the mirror. The effect on me is pure, white-hot desire. “I need you. Inside me. Now,” I grunt through gritted teeth, acutely aware that we could be discovered at any moment.

  In a mad rush, we strip ourselves bare. “Don’t move,” he demands as he pulls over the padded bench and places it directly in front of the mirror. Grabbing my hips, he guides me up and onto the bench, raising my ass to the perfect height.

  Our bodies move in perfect sync with one another. Where I move, he moves. Where his body goes, mine follows. I arch my back and he slowly slides inside me. It’s insanely erotic and lewd to watch our lovemaking in a full-length mirror.

  I desperately want to watch every move, every stroke. But when I close my eyes, all sight and sound disappears, leaving only sensations that rack my body.

  He stops and waits for me to move. Slowly, I bring myself back against him until every inch of him fills me. I grind against his pelvis, reaching down with one hand to feel our connection. I glide forward just enough to feel his hardness slick with my desire. Cole grabs a hold too, squeezing tightly as I continue to glide forward and back, all the while putting pressure on my clit with two drenched fingers.

  With him deep inside me, I thrust my hips harder as my core tightens until my entire body shudders. I open my eyes just in time to watch the orgasm as it tears through me, draining me.

  I drop my hand back down to the bench, holding on tightly, trying desperately to keep from falling off the edge.

  Cole grabs a tight hold of my hips, but rather than wait for me to come back down to Earth, he rushes forward, burying himself deep within my saturated sex. He pulls back, watching my face in the mirror as he pauses briefly before pushing roughly back in.

  We watch one another, my hazel eyes locked onto his blue, his smile one of animalistic desire. Suddenly, he pounds into me, quickly, roughly, burying himself deeper each time. I feel him everywhere. His hands are on my hips, on my breast, teasing my sex, and grabbing my hair.

  My body responds, clamping down on him as he slices through me. As my legs begin to shake, I can barely contain a whimper that slips from my lips. With a final thrust, Cole comes with me. Watching his face, I see his jaw clench tightly as he wars with his own impulse to moan aloud.

  Cole grabs his boxers from the floor and we use them to clean ourselves up before we dress. He pulls on his shorts and shirt, stuffing the boxers into his pocket.

  “Okay, baby. You better go. Otherwise we will never leave this dressing room.”

  “No problem,” he replies. “I’ll go sit in the waiting area.” He leans forward to kiss me. His incredibly sexy lips press against my mine. I sigh as his tongue begins to search for my own.

  “Stop!” I demand, pushing him away. “Go, now! We can finish this later.”

  By the time I finish dressing and selecting the items I’m going to let Cole buy for me, my heartbeat has calmed and my breathing has slowed down to nearly normal. I take one final glance in the mirror and ask myself, “Who is this stranger in the mirror that just had mind-blowing sex in a public fitting room?”

  I emerge to find Cole waiting just as promised. Hand in hand, we approach the nearest register where a middle-aged woman wearing a nametag that says, “Nancy” is working. She looks up and smiles, not at Cole, but at me. That’s odd, I think to myself, shrugging off the insecurity that is pouring out of me. “Were you able to find everything you were looking for?” she asks.

  I nod. “Yes,” I mutter feebly.

  Again, she grins at the two of us as she rings up my purchase. Cole has his credit card ready in his hand and doesn’t even flinch when Nancy announces the total for today is over two hundred dollars. I can’t help it if I have great taste in lingerie.

  With a completely straight face, she hands Cole the bag and his receipt. “Please come again,” she chirps cheerfully.

  I grab Cole’s arm and drag him as far away from Nancy as our feet will take us. She definitely knows something. I’m certain of it.

  We leave the mall and find the nearest baby store to buy all sorts of odds and ends to fill the diaper bag. Cole checks the clock and decides that we have enough time to stop by the hospital before his game.

  Stopping at the front desk, we ask for directions to the maternity center. The helpful volunteer behind the desk sends us down a labyrinth of corridors. We search blindly for the right elevators that will bring us where we need to go. Fortunately for both of us, Cole has a great sense of direction and navigates the halls successfully.

  The moment we step out of the elevator, I spot Adam standing at the nurse’s station. Cautiously, we walk towards him, hoping not to be interrupting anything private. He takes one look at Cole and me and comes rushing towards us. He wraps his arms around Cole for a genuinely heart-felt hug.

  When Adam turns to offer me a friendly hug, I see the exhaustion in his eyes. But there’s more. Despite the weariness of his long night, he is jubilantly excited. He chatters buoyantly about the arrival of his daughter as he guides us towards Emmy’s hospital room.

  “It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I still can’t believe she did that. You should have seen Emmy. She was so brave. And just wait until you see Hartley. She’s absolutely beautiful, just like her mom.” Adam is beaming with pride.

  Emmy looks drained and radiant as we walk into the room. She is holding a tiny bundle wrapped in pink blankets and wearing a pastel striped hat. When Emmy looks up at us, her cheeks are wet. “I did it, guys.”

  She adjusts the tiny person resting on her chest so we can see the baby’s face. She is plump, pink perfection with pudgy cheeks that begged to be kissed. Like she knows someone is watching, she opens her slate blue eyes and gazes up at us. Her mouth opens, like she is already trying to smile.

  Emmy hands little Hartley to Adam and struggles to sit up a little straighter in bed to greet her visitors. Adam sits in a chair in the corner of the room, staring down at his little girl like he can’t take his eyes off of her. I’ve never seen anyone so completely happy. Except maybe my brother and Megan when baby Connor was born.

  While Emmy and Cole chat, I continue my new-father watching. Adjusting her cap, Adam strokes her thin, fine hair. Smiling, he looks up at me. “I think she’s going to be blond, like me.” He looks down at her again, adoration on his face. “I hope she has Emmy’s eyes, though.”

  Cole hands Emmy the bag that we purchased for her and the baby. She peeks inside admiring all the items we’ve filled it with, topped off by the requisite pink teddy bear. Her eyes light up as she plucks it from the bag and holds it up to Adam. “Look honey, isn’t it adorable?”

  Before he can answer, Evan and Juliette show up at the door. Of course, Evan is carrying a giant pink teddy bear that is at least three feet tall. Cole just shakes his head and laughs. I think I hear him mumble, “Typical.”

  After greetings and congratulations are offered, Emmy smiles up at the boys and points to the sink along the far wall. “Wash up and you can hold her.”

  Juliette is taking about a hundred pictures on her phone. Emmy points at Evan and mouths to Juliette, “He needs a baby.”

  Juliette smiles and answers, “One thing at a time, please.”

  Watching these normally jovial and carefree jocks juggling the tiny person between them like she is made of nuclear material makes me laugh. When Hartley finally makes her way to Cole, he wipes his palms on his jeans. “I’m so nervous right now,” he whispers to me. “What if I drop her?”

  I rub his shoulder as I whisper back, “Don’t worry, you’re good with women.”

  Cole rolls his eyes at me and gingerly takes Hartley from Evan’s hands.

  Turning to me, he murmurs, “She smells good. Why does she smell so good?”

  Since I often wonder why he smells so good, I can only shrug.

  He lightly sways with her as he makes silly faces, trying to get her to smile. My heart feels fuller as I watc
h him with a baby in his arms.

  I watch him stare down at Hartley with complete awe. A wave of raw emotion slams through me. My breath catches. An image of Cole holding his baby— our baby— punches me in the gut. He kisses the top of her little head, murmuring inane words that make Hartley coo, and the room spins around like I’m dizzy drunk.

  I silently reprimand myself. Check yourself – it is entirely too soon to feel the I-want-a-child hormones kicking in.

  A nurse joins us, asking us politely to leave the room giving the family some privacy. “Time to nurse,” she announces.

  Evan and Cole lead the way down the hallway toward the elevator while Juliette and I follow behind chatting. It’s hard to concentrate on what Juliette is saying as I watch the way Cole’s clothes mold around his body. I notice a young nurse nearby sigh as she blatantly stares at the two of them.

  I look at Juliette who obviously sees it, too. “You’ll get used to it,” she assures me. “Eventually.”

  CHAPTER 21

  ON MONDAY NIGHT, I ARRIVE AT PHILIP’S FOR MY WEEKLY FAMILY DINNER a little early for once. I’d like to watch most of the Red Hawks game, which began at four o’clock.

  I can tell the moment Megan opens the door that something is wrong. She looks completely frazzled. “Come on in, Kenny. I hate to do this to you, but could you please finish cooking dinner?”

  Suddenly, I hear a horrible barking sound coming from the nursery. “Oh, my God! Was that Connor? Is he sick?”

  “He is,” she sulks. “He has the croup and I need to finish giving him a breathing treatment. I’ve been up all night with him. I’m exhausted.”

  Connor coughs again and we both cringe. I don’t know what the croup is, but it hurts me just to listen to him. Megan rushes back to the nursery and I head straight for the kitchen.

  Drifting throughout the house is the irresistible smell of fresh homemade tomato sauce. Megan has the crockpot sitting on the counter heating up our dinner. I check under the lid and discover one of my favorites – meatballs and turkey sausage. After a quick inspection, all that remains to be done is boil some spaghetti, which I am perfectly capable of doing, and throwing a few things together for a small salad.