by Willow Aster
“We’re his family. We’re supposed to stick together, not return someone when they aren’t up to par.”
“Oh no. Is this about boarding school again?” She pinches the bridge of her nose as if she can’t listen to one more word that I have to say.
“No, Maman. This is about a hell of a lot more than you sending me away to school at such a young age. I got over it. But turning your back on your husband, our father … it’s inexcusable. Shame on you.” I point my finger at her and back away to the door. “I’ll see you when I get back. I’ll be taking a leave from work to do what you should have been doing all along.”
She stares out the window as if she can’t even stand to look at me.
It doesn’t bother me this time.
Because I can’t stand the sight of her.
I call Lilith, the woman who handles all of our travel, and ask her to schedule me on the next flight out to Paris and to text me the information. I hurry back to my apartment to throw a few things in a bag.
I dial Caden as I walk toward our building.
“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you. You okay?” he says, and his voice soothes all the hard edges that have formed over the past hour.
For the first time since I spoke to my aunt, I break down. Because this man has become my safe place.
“Baby. What’s going on?” I don’t miss the concern in his voice, as I continue walking. I don’t care that a few people turn to look at me, as the tears stream down my face.
“My family is so messed up. My mother sent my father away. She left him in Paris because he’s having hearing issues and he apparently can’t, you know,” I whisper as a sob leaves my throat. It’s not only disappointing, but it’s embarrassing admitting just how cold my mother is.
I look up to see my gorgeous man running my way. Because he knew I needed him. He weaves through a few people, and when he reaches me, he just wraps his arms around me and holds me close. “I’ve got you, Cosi.”
And he does.
He has all of me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Caden
Cosette has been gone for almost a week, and I may as well have cut off a fucking limb. I’m miserable without her. I’d offered to go with her, but she said this was something she needed to do on her own.
It stung a little bit, but I understand her desire to be independent. This is a sensitive situation with her father, and I’m proud of her for going and facing it all head-on. We talk a few times a day, but my mood is sour and my patience has run thin.
I miss her.
I feel a distance there and I worry it’s more than just the miles currently between us. I am not that dude. I don’t get worked up over this shit. But Cosette is different in every way. Talking to her isn’t the same as being with her. Hearing her laugh. Touching her. Kissing her. Knowing that we are okay.
“Oh no. I can’t do another day of doom and gloom. Brother, get it together,” Gus says as he strolls into the office.
I hold up my middle finger, no expression on my face, and flash him the bird as I return my attention to my computer screen.
“Well, that’s pleasant.” He oozes sarcasm. “How do you expect to have a good day when you start out with this kind of greeting?”
“Don’t start with me. I’m not in the mood for it.”
“She’ll be back before you know it. Stop moping around like a big ole baby.”
“Takes one to know one,” I grumble, making no attempt to snap out of it.
“Hey,” Jesse knocks on the open door, because he’s the only Taylor with any goddamn manners. “Vivienne Dubois is here to see you.”
“She is? All right. I wasn’t expecting her. Send her back,” I say, straightening my top and thrusting my thumb at Gus to get out. “Go.”
“Fine. Can we please go to Mean Mug and get a drink after? It’s been a long week,” he whines, and I roll my eyes. Is the love of his life in another country at the moment?
“Maybe. I’ll find you after Vivienne leaves.”
He steps out of my office, and I hear him make small talk with Cosette’s mother as I push to my feet. She strolls in, with Louie and his oversized chompers panting inside her purse.
“How are you? This is unexpected,” I say, leaning forward to give her a hug, though she doesn’t reciprocate much. Louie all but lunges from the bag to get to me, and I scratch the top of his little head.
“Well, there is something I need to discuss with you. And seeing as my daughter can’t take the time to return my calls, I thought I’d come here myself and speak to you.”
I hold my hand out, inviting her to take the seat across from me and I move back around my desk.
“All right.”
“Have you spoken to Cosette?”
“Of course I have,” I say, intertwining my fingers and setting my hands on my desk. I’m not happy with the way she’s treated my girlfriend, but she’s still her mother, and I’ll bite my tongue. For now.
“I didn’t know if you two were still a thing?”
“Of course we are. She went to see her father, she didn’t leave me.” My tone comes out with more of an edge than I mean it to.
She nods. “I see. I just thought with Jeremy being in France with her, maybe you two had parted ways. You don’t strike me as a man who shares, but who am I to judge?”
My hands form into two fists, and I move them to my lap to try to control the anger that is currently taking over every inch of my body.
“I don’t share.”
She raises a brow. “Oh. I’m sorry. I thought you knew, but it’s obvious that this is a surprise for you. Caden, you need to understand that Jeremy is very much a part of Cosette’s life. He wanted to be there with her, and I think spending all this time together away from here has been good for them.”
I push to my feet and walk to the bar area and grab two bottles of water. I set one in front of her because I don’t want her to know I’m fighting the urge to throw it against the wall. She wants to get a rise out of me, and she is certainly succeeding. I spoke to Cosette this morning and she never said a word about Jeremy.
“Did you come here to tell me that? Or are you here for an actual reason?”
“I wanted to ask if you would mind if a local magazine wants to shoot some photos of the hotel before the sale goes through. New York Life is doing a spread on my Dubois Designs, and apparently they were very impressed by Cosi’s work on that particular project.”
“Of course, that’s fine.” I don’t take my seat, I stand over her, waiting for her to leave. “Are we done?”
I’m seeing red and I need to speak to Cosette.
Would she fucking lie to me?
Her mother came here for one reason only, and if she’s telling the truth, this just might work in her favor.
Would Cosette play me that way?
“Oh, yes. All right then. I’ll be on my way.” She pats me on the shoulder and I yank the door open.
She turns around to say something and I let the door shut in her face. She didn’t come here for any other reason than to get in my head.
I try calling Cosette and she sends me to voicemail.
Not a good start to calming me down.
I send her a text.
Is Jeremy in Paris with you?
The three little dots move across the screen, and my motherfucking stomach wrenches with nerves. She didn’t take my call. Is she sharing a fucking baguette with her cocksucking ex-boyfriend? I offered to go and she insisted she wanted to go talk to her father alone. But Jeremy is there with her?
My head is fucking spinning.
The doctor is just on his way in to go over the plan for my dad to return to the States. Can I call you when we leave the hospital? I want to explain what’s going on.
Holy shit. This is really happening.
Answer the question, Cosette. Is Jeremy there?
The three dots are moving again. What is there to think about? It’s a one-word mo
therfucking answer.
Yes, but I want to explain. I will call you in a few minutes.
I shut off my phone. I’ve been fucking played.
I whip my door open and find Gus walking toward me.
“Everything okay?” he asks, and I don’t miss the concern on his face as he takes me in.
“That cocksucker Jeremy is in France with Cosette.” I intertwine my fingers and press them behind my head as I close my eyes and try to compose myself.
I want to hit something.
Hit someone.
Preferably Jeremy.
“Let’s go. Time to get a drink,” Gus says, and he shouts for Spence and Jesse to meet us at Mean Mug.
And that’s exactly where I plan to spend the next several hours.
Numbing myself so I don’t have to deal with the ache that has settled in my chest.
Except Mya and Emma show up too, and while the brothers are playing darts and I’m nursing a beer and sulking, they swoop in. And their piercing eyes and female wiles get the truth right out of me, damn it all to hell.
“What’s going on, Caden?” Emma asks. “Why the angry vibes?”
I sigh. “No angry vibes here. What are you talking about? No. Angry. Vibes.” Except at Jeremy’s face.
Emma looks at Mya and snorts. “Yeah, and I’m not a she-devil.”
Mya laughs and then looks at me with concern. “Are you okay?”
I run my hands through my hair and then lower my head, suddenly feeling like all the energy has been zapped out of my body.
“Vivienne paid me a visit today … she wanted me to know that Jeremy is in Paris with Cosette.”
“No!” Mya says. “That’s—”
“Crazy talk. There has to be an explanation,” Emma says.
“Cosette didn’t tell me. I don’t need more of an explanation than that to know that she was trying to hide it from me.”
“So why aren’t you there right now?” Emma asks.
“Ooo, yeah.” Mya perks up, taking my hand in hers. “You need to go see her. Find out what’s going on. In Paris.” She looks at Emma, grinning. “Can you imagine how romantic it would be if they—”
“I’m sorry if I’m not feeling the romance of it all right at the moment,” I interrupt before they get all swoony. “Did you not hear the part where I said she kept it from me?”
“But she can’t stand Jeremy. You know that. She loves you,” Emma says. “Give her a chance to explain.” She lowers her voice. “You’re the smart one in the family, don’t start being a dipshit now.”
“Emma!” Mya laughs. But she leans in. “It’s true. You’re not using your head right now. Come on, Caden. Hear her out. Cosette wouldn’t lie to you.”
“She already did.” I tip my head back and finish my beer before holding up my glass to ask for another.
I’m not going to Paris to chase her down. She should have told me. I had to hear it from her goddamn mother.
“She didn’t lie. She withheld the truth and she deserves the chance to explain herself.” Emma’s tone is somber now. She knows I’m not budging on this one.
“I had to hear it from her mother, who was thrilled to tell me, by the way. And then I had to ask my girlfriend if it was true. I’m done talking about it.”
Mya nods. “Okay. Sleep on it. You just need to cool down.”
I nod and force a smile. My head is spinning. I didn’t see this coming. Cosette blindsided me, and I’m pissed.
I spend the next two hours drinking until I don’t feel the anger anymore. Not the best coping strategy, but it is what it is.
I’ve never loved anyone the way I love Cosette and this one is going to hurt for a while.
The next morning my head is spinning. My mouth is dry. I pat the bed beside me and it’s empty. No Cosette.
Memories flood back and I squeeze my eyes closed, wishing I could go back to sleep. Forget everything that happened yesterday.
I fumble around on the nightstand and find my phone. When I turn it on, messages flash across my screen. I’d turned it off after I’d spoken to Cosette and it remained off until this morning.
There are forty-two missed calls from my girlfriend. There are just as many texts.
Caden, please pick up the phone.
It’s not what you think.
Please talk to me.
I can explain everything.
I love you. I love you so much. Please don’t shut me out.
CADEN!
The texts continue to flood my screen and I push to sit up in bed and scrub a hand down my face.
I didn’t give her a chance to explain. I shut down the minute I heard he was there.
But she should have told me, right? I deserved to know. Hell, I am all in on this girl, and she kept a pretty big secret from me. Her ex-boyfriend is in Paris with her. Isn’t that the motherfucking romance capital of the world?
No. I am not going to be played.
I reach in my nightstand drawer and pull out the ring box and lift the top. I study the princess-cut diamond that I’ve chosen for Cosette. I don’t know if she’s ready to spend her life with me, but I sure as shit am.
Or was.
Until yesterday.
And it hurts like hell.
I picked out diamonds because once she left, I realized just how lost I am without her. She is exactly what’s been missing from my life. And she’s been canoodling with her ex in Paris? How could I be so fucking stupid?
I drop the ring back in the nightstand drawer and slam it.
The calls and texts stopped coming during the middle of the night. That’s probably because she was with Jeremy then.
I groan.
I need to shower and eat something greasy and pull my shit together. I am not this guy. I do not fall apart.
I push to my feet and head for the shower.
Fuck Jeremy.
Fuck everyone.
The hot water pours down my back and I rest my pounding head on the wall beneath the stream.
I know this girl. Hell, I know her better than anyone. She isn’t a liar. She isn’t sneaky.
Could there be an explanation?
Did I jump to conclusions?
Fuck. I’ll call her back when I get out of the shower. She deserves to at least explain what happened. I was ready to propose to her just yesterday. Am I really going to throw in the towel that easily?
Damn my wounded ego.
I’ve let it get the best of me.
I need to fix this.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cosette
I search my purse for the key and make my way into Caden’s apartment. I can hear the water running in the bathroom, and I drop my bags at the front door and hurry down the hallway.
I caught the first flight out, after not being able to reach Caden. I know he’s angry, and I need to speak to him in person.
So, here I am.
Exactly where I want to be.
I’ve missed him so much.
I’m not happy with him for not letting me explain what happened, and I don’t know how he knew that Jeremy had showed up in Paris, but either way—we need to talk.
The bathroom door is open and I walk through. Steam surrounds me and there stands my gorgeous boyfriend with his head pressed against the wall, letting the water rage against his beautiful body.
“Tough night?” I ask, and he whips around to face me. His dark eyes are pained, but he doesn’t hide how happy he is to see me.
I move toward him, not caring that the water is running and I am fully clothed, but he puts his hand up to stop me. He turns off the water and reaches for a towel before wrapping it around his waist.
“I can’t think clearly if you step in this shower with me and you know that. I’ve missed you so fucking much, Cos. How could you keep this from me?”
His words sting. The hurt. The disappointment. A large lump forms in my throat.
“Do you want to go sit down?” I ask. “I’d like to explain.”
<
br /> “So explain,” he says, and he doesn’t move. He leans against the double vanity and crosses his arms over his chest.
I fight the urge to walk toward him. Caden is my safe place. My happy place.
I nod. “Jeremy showed up yesterday at my father’s doctor’s office, of all things. It was after you and I had spoken. I was going to tell you immediately, but you literally called me two minutes after I saw him. He claimed he had business to discuss with my father. Of course I didn’t buy it, I mean he could have just called. But when you phoned me, Dr. Fury had just called us back and he was signing off on all the paperwork for my father’s hearing aids. I had to finish up with him and then I called you immediately. I told Jeremy he’d wasted his time being there when he finally admitted that he came to try to win me back. How did you even know he was there?”
His eyes soften. “Your mom came to see me yesterday. She told me he was with you. I thought you were keeping it from me.”
“Caden.” I move into him. Needing to know we’re okay. To feel his warmth. To show him how much I love him. “I’m so sorry she did that. I wondered how he knew where the doctor’s office was.”
“I’m sorry I overreacted. I was just missing you so damn much. More than I ever thought I could miss someone.”
“I missed you too,” I say. “So much.”
“And hearing that he was with you, it just sent me sideways. I thought you’d lied to me, but I knew better. I swear I was about to call you when I got out of the shower.”
I pull back to look at him. “My mother did that just to mess with you. I should have known. I’m so sorry that you had to feel that. Being away from you … well, I had a lot of time to think and sort out my feelings. There’s so much I need to tell you.”
“I’m listening.”
“I’m done living my life for other people, Caden. You are everything that I want. Everything that I need. That’s the most important. Also, I want to work with you and your family, where I’d have the freedom to be creative and use my own designs. My mother doesn’t want that for me. And I can’t spend my life trying to make her happy. I’ll never fit into her perfect little mold like Juliette does. She should’ve known that when even boarding school couldn’t ‘fix’ me. And after seeing what she did to my father,” I say, as all the emotion overflows and it’s difficult to speak without crying.
