AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That changes nothing.” He finally lifted his drink to his lips, and as he pulled the glass away, he looked at the liquor that was left inside, like he was surprised by how good it was.
“Cooper—”
“Like I was saying before you interrupted me, not a goddamn thing you tell me tonight will make this situation any different.”
I shook my head, discouraged that he wouldn’t give even a little. “Because?”
“You’re a Cole.”
“So?”
He chuckled as if he was shocked by my response. “I don’t fuck with Coles. Especially ones who are about to be my business partner.” Another exhale left his mouth, this one full of angst. “A scenario I still can’t wrap my head around.”
“Hold on.” I put up my hand. “Let’s go back for a second.” I turned my body to face his a bit more. “I know I should have told you who I was before we went up to my suite. I intentionally left out my last name during our introduction, and that was so wrong of me. I’m sorry. I really am.”
He mashed his lips together. “You’re sorry … Jesus Christ, Rowan.” Instead of patting his hair, he tugged on it. “I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why you created this fucking mess.” His gaze strengthened. “Now that I’m putting it all together, it makes sense why I didn’t immediately hear from you when we got back to LA. I’m sure you were shitting your pants over how I was going to react when you told me. But then you texted me for days after our little run-in. You could have told me at any point. You didn’t have to see me in person, you could have called.”
“I could have, yes. But I didn’t feel right about that. It was something I wanted to say to your face.”
“But what if I hadn’t run into you? Were you planning on never reaching out? Were you just going to ghost me, hoping I’d never learn the truth?”
I shook my head. “I honestly don’t know.”
“Of course you don’t.”
“It’s not like that, Cooper. It’s just that this all happened so unexpectedly. Sure, my plan wasn’t a good one, and there were holes and wrong turns in everything I did. I take fullaccountability for that. But I also didn’t expect our families to merge—that definitely altered the course of everything.”
“Because now, you can’t avoid me. All those ghosting plans went to hell.”
“No.” I put my hand on his leg, removing it once the furiousness crossed his eyes. “That’s not why at all.” I guzzled half the glass of wine. “I wanted to tell you—I did—but I wanted to do it on my terms. I had every intention of having that conversation tonight, and then the Daltons’ conference room happened, and it was too late.” I wrapped an arm around my stomach. “Seeing your expression when I walked into that room—that’s something I’ll never forget.”
“You’re fucking unbelievable, Rowan.” His nostrils flared. “Every bit of this conversation has been about you. What you wanted. When you wanted to do it. What about me?” He moved to the end of the couch, holding the glass between his legs so it hung toward the area rug. “Did you ever once consider how this would make me feel? How fucked up this would be for me?” Before I could respond, he continued, “I know you didn’t.”
“You’re right. Every word you just said … is right. I thought about myself, not you, and I fucked up. I’m sorry. I can’t say that enough.”
He ran his teeth over his bottom lip. “If it were only a few hours together, even a one-night stand, that would be one thing. But three fucking nights and a liquor store run-in? Shit.”
“I disagree with you because I felt something for you from the moment we connected eyes, so whether it was five minutes or three nights, I still should have told you who I was. I owed that to the person I care about.”
His eyes left me, and he hung his head. “Don’t tell me that.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Don’t fucking tell me that. I don’t want to hear it.” His voice rose at the same time his head did. “I don’t want to hear aboutyour feelings. They no longer matter. This—whatever this was—is over. It should never have happened to begin with.”
“Because I’m a Cole …” I knew we’d already discussed this, but I just couldn’t understand why it mattered.
He had to turn his neck to look at me, the angle giving me the perfect view of his square jaw and stubble and the hump of his Adam’s apple. “And because of all the shit your family has put mine through over the years.”
“Which I had nothing to do with.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
I inched forward; the jitters running through me were making it hard to sit still. “You do know how ridiculous that sounds, don’t you?” I drained the rest of my wine. “You’re punishing me for something I had no part in. I’m basically guilty for having my last name.”
“You’re guilty for lying. For manipulating me. For stirring this feeling—whatever the fuck it was—inside me and then letting a goddamn bomb drop. That’s all on you. And now, we’re going to be working together, and that’s just the icing on the fucking cake.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
