Love Unforgettable: Love in San Soloman - Book Three

by Wells, Denise

  “There was an emergency,” Trevor says. “My PREGNANT wife was bleeding. I lost my head for a minute. Forgot she was in the car. But that’s where I was just now. I went back to get Paisley as soon as I remembered.”

  “What if something would have happened to her, Trevor?” I ask. “What if someone else had come along, someone dangerous?”

  Trevor looks around the room for a minute. “You make a habit of letting dangerous people at your winery, Lex?” he asks, looking pointedly at Cole.

  “Trevor, come on, drop the act,” I say.

  “You drop the act,” Trevor says.

  “Lame comeback,” I mumble.

  “Look, Lexie.” Trevor lowers his voice. “This is what you and I wanted. A family. I can give you what you want.”

  “Trev, you’re married,” I remind him. “There is no you and I.”

  “Things aren’t going to last with Elise. She’s nuts. We get rid of her and it’s you, me, and the kids.”

  I have no words.

  “You get rid of the woman currently in labor with your baby?” Cole clarifies.

  “Look, this is between Lexie and me. Would you just stay out of it?” Trevor balls his hands at his side, his face reddening.

  “No, I don’t think I will,” Cole says. He steps closer to me and puts his arm around my waist. A move that makes me feel emboldened and protected at the same time. I don’t know where Cole Mason has been all my life, but I am certainly grateful that I have him here now, because I really don’t even know who this other guy is standing before me. How is it possible that not twenty-four hours ago I thought Trevor was the love of my life?

  Trevor scowls at Cole, which almost makes me laugh. How he thinks that’s an effective counter move to what Cole just said is comical. And pathetic.

  “Let’s do this,” Cole says. “Why don’t we just all agree, here and now, that none of this will be spoken of again. Nothin’ about affairs or running away together, and definitely no talk about kidnapping, or vandalizing cars. I mean, it’s in your best interest, Trevor, to stop talking about this whole thing before more people than me start putting it together. You know, that your story doesn’t line up. Cause it don’t.

  “Consider yourself lucky that your wife is on your side for now. Quit stepping out on her, start being a husband that is deservin’ of such a great family. You’re gonna have another baby, man. A little boy from what Paisley tells us. And she’s a great kid. She’s excited about teaching him to color and she’s going to be a great big sister. Let that happen, man. Let it all happen. For whatever reason, the stars above have chosen to shine down on you. Take that and run with it. Life’s too short, and all that jazz. You’re gonna have a good business with a lot of great clients if tonight was any indication. Don’t mess that up, man. You find yourself in a hole, just stop diggin’.”

  I expect Trevor to lash out again. His face looks like it’s going to combust at any moment. Nostrils flaring, eyes narrowed, cheeks puffed. Instead he stays silent. I can’t tell if it’s because he’s just tired of arguing, or if it’s because he knows that Cole is right. He looks around at the others in the room and the nurses behind the station, all stare back but remain quiet. He raises a finger in the air, as if to make a point, but then lowers his hand before saying anything.

  Cole turns to me and says, “Ready to go, sweetness?”

  “I am,” I say. We leave the room without another word to, or another word from, Trevor.

  “You okay?” Cole asks once we’ve made it into the elevator.

  “Yeah, I’m good. I keep trying to summon up some kind of anger toward him, but so far all I feel is pity. Clearly, he’s lost his mind.”

  “Only one oar in the water, if that.”

  “And, clearly, I’ve lost my mind for hanging onto him for so long. What’s the matter with me? Such an idiot. I’m so sorry you had to go through all of this with me.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Truth be told, I enjoyed myself all in all.”

  “You were a huge help and I don’t know what I would have done without you. I owe you one. Oh, dinner! I can make you dinner. Although, maybe you’d rather we went out. I mean, I’m not saying that I’m NOT a good cook, but I’m not saying that I AM either. I’ve got a few recipes that I’ve conquered.”

  “Oh yeah? Wet my whistle.”

  “You mean tell you what they are?” I ask still not totally used to his quirky sayings.

  He nods.

  “Oh, well. Uh, I kick ass at grilled cheese. I mean like the perfect ratio of cheese to bread, and I mix them up too, swiss, cheddar, gorgonzola, muenster, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. The trick is to . . . wait, I’m not going to tell you my trick. Then you’ll know it. And it won’t seem so impressive.” I tap my index finger against my temple.

  He smiles at me. A knee weakening smile. One that has me wanting to take my panties off and throw them onto the Cole Mason stage.

  “What else?” he asks.

  “What else, what?”

  “You said you had a few recipes up your sleeve.”

  “Do you have something against grilled cheese?” I ask.

  “No, ma’am,” he turns his head and winks as he says it. “But, how about I take you out?”

  “You DO have something against grilled cheese.”

  “No, I have something about wanting to take you on our first date.”

  “Our first date, huh? Awfully presumptuous, aren’t you?”

  “It’s possible I am,” he says. He takes a deep breath before continuing, “Lexie, may I take you to dinner tomorrow night?”

  “Yes,” I say, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. We pull into the private drive leading to both our houses. I half expect him to drop himself off first. Instead, he keeps going to my property, past the winery and his truck, to my house; opening the gate with the remote, like he’s done this a thousand times before.

  “You could have just dropped yourself off at your house or your truck,” I say.

  “Sweetness, there will never be a time that I don’t see you to your door.”

  He parks the car and comes around to open my door for me. And, true to his word, walks me to the front door. Waits until I unlock it, gives me a light kiss on the forehead, and says, “Sleep well, sweetness.” Then he walks off in the direction of the winery.

  I go inside, say hello to all my dogs, then immediately text Kat and Remi.

  Me: 9-1-1 to the bitches who abandoned me earlier tonight which turned out to be okay because I’ve finally seen what a bastard Trevor is. First, he accused me of kidnapping Paisley. Can you believe that? I can’t believe I didn’t see this side of him before.

  Kat: OMG! What happened? Did he call the police, Remi, can you get her out of this? Do you need bail money?

  Me: I wasn’t actually arrested, he just threatened.

  Remi: This better be good, I was almost asleep.

  Remi: Okay, sorry, just read your message. Holy shit. What a dick.

  Kat: I guess if you had been arrested, you’d be calling and not texting anyway.

  Me: Second, he totally came on to me. Like he thought we would still get together and run off into the sunset.

  Kat: Wait, what?

  Remi: What she said.

  Me: He said, and I quote: I can give you what you want. Things aren’t going to last with Elise. I’ll get rid of her and it will be you, me, and the kids.

  Remi: I can’t even. There are no words.

  Kat: O. M. G. That’s a new low and I defended hardened criminals for a living.

  Me: Right?

  Me: I’m freaking out a bit. I mean, just a few hours ago I was convinced that Trevor was it for me. Now I know he’s a lying cheat. So, what happens to those feelings? Do they just go away? Do I have to replace them with something else? Someone else?

  Kat: That would be a rebound, baby girl. Maybe not the best option.

  Remi: I second that.

  Me: Which brings me to my next point.
/>
  Kat: Hot cowboy?

  Me: Yes! He asked me out for tomorrow night.

  Remi: What did you say?

  Me: I said yes. Does that mean he’s my rebound?

  Remi: Not necessarily.

  Kat: Most definitely.

  Me: Seriously?

  Kat: Okay, not necessarily.

  Remi: Well, probably.

  Me: Ohmigod. Which is it?

  Remi: Well, for real, I think it depends. You had Trevor in your head a long time, but there wasn’t ever an actual relationship. I mean, not really. So, I think it could go either way for you.

  Kat: Agreed.

  Me: How was I SO wrong about Trevor?

  Kat: It happens. We’ve all been there.

  Me: Okay, but I don’t even mean about him being an absolute jerk. He was married this whole time. And when he was here before. Or at the very least, he had someone in NY and they shared a kid. He was here for two months! WTF?

  Kat: If it were that easy to tell, no one would ever be able to have an affair.

  Remi: True.

  Me: Ugh. Okay. Well, I’ll need your opinion on what to wear tomorrow night.

  Kat: Duh.

  Remi: Of course.

  Me: Love you!

  Kat: Love you back!

  Remi: Love you, sleep well!

  I think I feel better but it’s hard to tell. Not to belabor the point, but what is wrong in my head, in my psyche, that I hung on for so long, and kept going back for more. Who does that?

  Broken people.

  I’m not broken.

  Okay, cracked people.

  I have no business getting involved with anyone else. Even if I’m not broken, I’m cracked. And clearly, I have no self-respect, or I never would have let this happen. Although, I only went back once. Well, and then this last time too.

  Shit.

  The worst thing is that I held onto nothing for so long. What does that say about me? Is it the fantasy that becomes so appealing? The unknown? It must be. Everyone knows that reality is never as good as the imagination.

  Chapter 26

  Cole

  I spend the morning going over the books with Earl, and plan to use the afternoon getting a better feel for the horses while they get a feel for the ranch. A couple of them are new to me, including the one that broke into Lexie’s vineyard, so I like to take my time getting to know them a bit before we start training. Each horse is different and will respond to different stimuli, whether it be verbal or otherwise, it can take some effort to figure out what that is.

  My plan is to take Lexie to dinner tonight, and then out dancing. I found a little steakhouse and saloon called The Tippin’ Cow, which features two-stepping on the saloon side. I send her a quick text and ask her if seven o’clock still works for her. She responds quickly.

  Sweetness: Yep! What’s the dress code?

  Me: Got cowboy boots?

  Sweetness: Of course.

  Me: There you have it.

  Sweetness: Wear cowboy boots?

  Me: Yes, ma’am.

  Sweetness: With?

  Me: Whatever your pretty heart desires.

  Sweetness: Okay.

  Me: I’ll pick you up at 7 pm.

  Sweetness: I can just drive to your house.

  Me: I’ll pick you up at 7 pm.

  Sweetness: Yes, sir. See you then.

  I have to say that texting isn’t usually my style. I prefer a phone call for efficiency sake. But Lexie and her friends seem quite taken with it. So, I will use whatever means she likes, even carrier pigeon, if it gets her to communicate with me.

  Sweetness: OMG! Hot Cowboy said to wear cowboy boots and ‘whatever my pretty heart desires.’ Could he get any more fucking ambiguous? What do I do? What do I wear? I was going to wear a dress, but with cowboy boots? And then how to I do my hair? I want to look approachable, but not obvious. I think. HELP!

  I’m guessing she has no idea that she’s texted me and not her intended recipient. I do like that she calls me ‘hot cowboy,’ that’s got to be a good sign. I decide to answer so she knows what she did. And so that she doesn’t send something else that embarrasses her more.

  Me: Hot Cowboy says, at the risk of sounding more ambiguous, something feminine and tight that is of the dress variety makes you approachable without being obvious. Especially with boots. Hair down so he can put his hands in it.

  Sweetness: Kill. Me. Now. Please.

  Me: I sucked my thumb until I was twelve.

  Sweetness: Okaayyy . . .

  Me: So now you know something embarrassing about me.

  Sweetness: It is SO not the same.

  Me: The night we ran into each other at the grocery store wasn’t an accident. I saw you drive by and followed you. Then ran up and down every aisle until I found you. That’s why my cart was still empty.

  Sweetness: Oh, that’s much better. Thank you.

  Sweetness: See you at 7 pm.

  I laugh at her response and walk out to the main corrals to work with the horses for a while.

  * * *

  I head back in the house around six fifteen in the evening. Figuring that gives me plenty of time to clean up and be at Lexie’s close to seven o’clock. I don’t want to get my hopes up about tonight, but at the same time, Trevor is out of the picture. So, there shouldn’t be anything else standing in our way. Unless there’s something I don’t know.

  I’ll admit, I don’t know much, but I’m smart enough to drink upstream from the herd.

  Chapter 27

  Lexie

  Kat and Remi find my accidental text extremely hilarious. Once they manage to finally stop laughing, they help me decide on a strapless cream-colored lace dress, that hits just above the knees. By itself, it’s a little ornate, but when paired with a wide, big buckled leather belt, my brown and turquoise Dan Post cowboy boots, cropped jean jacket, and turquoise jewelry, it’s about perfect. I let my hair dry naturally after my shower, so it’s got that wavy tousled look to it. It’s about the only other hairstyle I’ve got nailed, outside of my braided pig tails for when I’m working with the grapes or the wine. Mascara, a bit of eyeliner, lip gloss, and a spritz of perfume. I’d say I’m as ready as I’m gonna be without over-prepping. And with ten minutes to spare.

  I hear the buzzer for the gate and push the button to open it.

  Good thing I’m ready. He’s early.

  I take a deep breath to soothe my onset of nerves. It’s silly. Every time we’ve been together I’ve felt more than comfortable. Like I’ve known him for most of my life instead of a few days. But knowing this is a date still makes me nervous. I hear tires on the gravel, and then a car door, so I grab my purse, wave goodbye to my dogs, and pull open the door with a big smile on my face.

  “Trevor? What the hell are you doing here? You need to leave. Get out.”

  “You knew it was me, you opened the gate.”

  “I didn’t check first, I’m expecting someone.”

  “Is that why you’re all dressed up?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but, yes. I’m leaving. You need to go. You aren’t welcome here.”

  “You look beautiful, Lex.”

  “Trevor, what in the actual fuck? We aren’t having a conversation. I don’t want you here. Go.”

  “It’s him, isn’t it? The guy from last night? The one that thinks he’s got brass balls?”

  “He does have brass balls. And he’s going to kick your ass if he finds you here,” I say. I actually don’t know for sure if that’s true, but I’m assuming it is. And if Cole doesn’t kick his ass, I just might.

  “We need to talk,” Trevor says.

  “We don’t need to talk. We don’t need to do anything. We’ve been over this. It was a mistake and it’s not happening again. You’re married, and your wife just had your baby!”

  “That’s why we need to talk. I’m going to tell her everything. And I’m going to leave her.”

  “If you were going to leave her, you would
have the first time around. But you didn’t. So why would you want to do that now?”

  “So we can be together.”

  I lower my head. Did he really just say what I think he said? Does he actually think we will ever be together after this?

  I scoff and roll my eyes.

  “Trevor, we are never going to be together. Ever.”

  “Lexie, I know I goofed—”

  “Trevor, this was no goof. This was a monumental fuck-up of global proportions.”

  “I didn’t think it was that bad,” he says.

  “Seriously? It was worse than that bad. My God, you’re delusional. That can be the only possible answer.” I throw my hands up in defeat. The harder he tries, the more over this I am.

  Trevor reaches out and grabs my upper arm and shakes me slightly. “I just need you to listen. Please.”

  “Let go of me, Trevor.”

  “Are you going to listen?”

  “No!”

  “Then I’m not going to let go,” Trevor says.

  “You got ‘bout half a second to let the lady go before I knock your fucking head off.” That deep radio announcer voice that sends shivers down my spine has arrived.

  Trevor drops his hand.

  “Smart choice,” Cole says to Trevor, and then turns to me, placing his hands on my upper arms. “Sweetness, everything okay here?”

  “Yes. I was just telling Trevor it’s time for him to go. And he was about to do exactly that.”

  Cole turns back to Trevor, stepping in front of me slightly. “Well?”

  “Fine, but this isn’t over, Lexie,” he says as he gets in his car.

  “It’s SO over, Trevor,” I yell back.

  Trevor revs his engine then spins his tires, kicking up gravel at us. Cole immediately shoves me completely behind him to take the brunt of the kickback.

  “You really okay?” Coles asks as Trevor disappears in a cloud of dust.

  I nod. “I am. He was just, I don’t even know what. It’s like he’s forgotten last night even happened. I thought he was you, otherwise I never would have buzzed him in. I didn’t even look. It was close to seven o’clock.”