He wandered down not long after, dressed in gray dress pants and a blue button-down with his tie.
He went straight to the coffee pot and filled his tumbler, which he took with him to work, before he grabbed a granola bar and stuffed it into his pocket.
Finally, he walked over and took a seat on the chair and stared at me.
“I love you,” he said softly.
“I love you, man,” I answered, frowning at him. “Did you have a good night?”
He nodded, a smile on his face. My chest clenched.
“I think I got the girl,” he said, his eyes bright.
“Yeah?” I asked thickly. “You guys fuck?”
He shook his head. “No. Nothing like that. We-We kissed. Uh, then we slept, but we talked.”
“All good things?”
He sat forward and looked at his hands. “I, uh, yeah. Yeah, man. All good things. It’s a lot, you know?”
I nodded. I did know. We hadn’t had a lot of time to really sit and talk. I wanted to, though.
“I have a daughter, man. A little girl.” His eyes glittered with happiness. “I-I prayed every night for Rosalie and a family. I have it. I’m just… I don’t know. It’s crazy, right?”
“I’m happy for you,” I said, giving him the best smile I could muster.
“Last night, we did this video chat with her husband, Klaus, and Ass Hat. I got through it. I didn’t tell Ass Hat to go fuck himself once. And they’re so good with Ellie, man. Like, so good. They dressed up and read her a bedtime story. I just… fuck. I gotta be a part of that. She’s my kid, you know? My old man wanted fuck-all to do with me, but I have a chance. I-I want to take it.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared back at me.
“Then you should take it,” I said. “Really, brother. Your prayers have been answered. You have loved Rosalie since the very first day. Now is your chance. Don’t ignore it.”
It hurt to say the damn words, but I loved Cole. I wanted his happiness, even if it meant I had to let him go to get it.
“I don’t know how this is going to work. I’m here. She’s in L.A. with the guys. I need to finish out my residency.” He shook his head.
“It’ll work out. Focus on the now, brother. You can finish everything out and then go if you need to go.”
He nodded, his throat bobbing. “I-I need to talk to you. Later. I want to make sure this is real before I make any big moves.”
“I understand,” I said, knowing exactly what he wanted to talk to me about.
Leaving.
E and I had already planned for it.
I cleared my throat. “I have the gala tonight. I’m taking Jade with me.”
He crinkled his brows. “As your date?”
I shrugged. “I guess.”
“Man, what about Rosalie?—”
I held my hand up. “Cole, I think Rosalie is going to be your girl, man. Not mine. I have to move on. She hates me. Like she really, truly hates me. I’m not going to try to win her over. I only want your happiness. Don’t worry about me. I have E and Riot. I’ll be OK.”
He frowned at me. “I have to go, or I’ll be late,” he muttered. “But we’re going to talk about this Jade shit when I get back. Don’t do anything stupid with that bitch, man. She’s a gold-digger. I don’t trust her ass.”
“Go to work. I’ll see you probably tomorrow. Do you work tomorrow?”
