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“Why do you say that?" he replied, clearly puzzled.
“I know you’re probably hurt by me not telling you about Mia, and I can’t blame you. But thanks for showing a brave face in front of your family. Because you accepted me back, it was easy for them to.”
He looked into her eyes, her beautiful eyes filled with amazement.
“You know I wouldn’t do anything to make you feel uncomfortable, Hope. That’s never been my style. Besides, I still wish you wouldn’t keep me in the dark about what’s going on with you. I want to help you, Hope. I really do.”
Cole wished that eventually Hope would open up to him about what trouble she could be facing but it looked as if it was going to take some time for her to feel comfortable doing so. What could he do? He had his men on the case but he still wanted to hear it from her own lips whatever she was going through.
“I know,” she said quietly. “I know.”
Chapter 11
"I can't get over how nice everyone is," Hope said as she and Cole drove in his SUV back to her apartment to gather her things.
"What did you expect?" Cole said with a charming grin.
"I don't know. I guess I was little bit apprehensive at first. I had no idea what your relatives would say to me considering I've been missing in action over the last three years. I'm just so thrilled Mia is fitting in with the family."
He gave her a look. "Why wouldn’t she? Mia is our flesh and blood." His lips curled into a sexy grin and Hope could not resist his charm. Cole and she had showered and freshened up prior to leaving the palace. She could still smell the sweet scent of his aftershave. Though they had separate showers at the palace, a part of her was wishfully thinking, hoping they would’ve shared a shower again for the sake of old times as they did in the past.
Cole reached over and turned on the radio to get the forecast. The DJ played one of their favorite holiday tunes. Hope hummed to the tune mindlessly, savoring the moment, thinking about how much fun Mia was having at the house with all the Christmas songs playing.
Just then the mood was ruined when the DJ made an announcement cutting off the end of the tune.
“That was This Christmas by Christina Aguilera," the DJ announced. "And this just in, Charlie Xszykee has been sentenced again for an additional fifteen years in prison for fraud and embezzlement of funds from yet another client to add to his long list of charges."
Hope felt her stomach drop. Her glance slid over to Cole and saw his jaw was clenched. He reached over and switched off the radio.
"I'm so sorry you guys went through that. It's awful what Xszykee did." Hope felt sick to her stomach. She knew how Charlie Xszykee had swindled money out of all of his clients, including the Belmont family and the Belmont family's friends, the Romeros. The Belmonts were hit pretty hard having lost close to three and a half billion in investments and stocks from embezzled funds. They had trusted him. Nausea overwhelmed her remembering when a fax came in about Charlie Xszykee’s firm, and she'd accidentally shredded it.
"It's all water under the bridge," Cole said in a cool tone.
"How can you be so calm about it?" Hope asked. "I'd be devastated if he'd done that to my company. You guys trusted him. I remember when I was working there with you, and everything sort of hit the fan. I thought you handled it very well. At least he's serving time for what he did."
"You know how I feel about trust," he said coolly. "The guy broke our trust, so of course he would get what was coming to him. Yeah, he hit us really bad but money comes and goes yet family is forever, as my old man would say. As long as we have each other. At least the business is still going strong. That's what matters. I really feel it for those guys who didn’t have as much of a backup as we do. Good thing we didn’t put all our eggs in one basket."
"I know," Hope said softly. She looked out the window at the waterfront taking in the beauty of the half frozen blue lake and the leafless trees misted with a bit of white flurries. The sky was a clear blue. She felt relief that her daughter was at least happy with her family while she and Cole spent time together to discuss pressing matters. But discussing what? Their turbulent past? Or all the mishaps that happened with the corporation while she'd been there? Her mind raced trying to think of something else to talk about to change the subject fast. She didn't want to spoil the mood, especially after all Cole did for her over the past twenty-four hours, considering he'd only found out that they’d both had a child together. She had to count her lucky stars that things weren’t worse, or that the family hadn’t shunned her as she'd expected them to. Her heart leaped with excitement over Jonah’s happiness regarding Mia. At least she was able to give him the gift of a granddaughter at Christmastime.
When they pulled up at Hope's garage apartment on Wexford Avenue, she thought about where she'd come from and how much she wanted to give her little girl the best. But she was absolutely overjoyed to be staying at the Belmont Palace; it sure was a whole lot more convenient and luxurious than where she and Mia were staying.
They got out of the vehicle and Cole went to the passenger side to open the door for Hope and help her out. They walked up to the house and her neighbor, Mrs. Donaldson, came out of her side entrance of her house next door.
"Oh, there you are, Hope," Mrs. Donaldson said with a warm smile.
"Hi, Mrs. Donaldson, how are you doing?"
“Very well, thank you. Your friend Jewel was here earlier. She wanted to see how you and Mia were doing. She said you were at the hospital?"
"Thanks so much. Yes, we were there but everything’s fine now. I have to give her a call," Hope said, remembering that she never did get back to Jewel to follow up with how Mia was doing after her ER visit.
"Oh, this is Cole. Mia’s dad,” Hope said to Mrs. Donaldson. There was no use hiding it. She didn’t have to tell her his last name. And Mrs. Donaldson wasn’t one for Internet searches or gossip rags. “Cole, this is my neighbor, Mrs. Donaldson, from next door. Sometimes she babysits Mia for me.”
"Nice to meet you," Cole said.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Mrs. Donaldson said, looking adoringly into Cole’s eyes. "My, Mia does have your beautiful eyes, doesn't she?"
Cole gushed. Hope couldn't resist but grinning at his humility.
"Your Mia is such a darling angel. She’s such a polite little thing. Her mother is raising her with such good manners. And oh, they are so inseparable. They always do this little song and a dance together whenever I see them. And she tells Mia she loves her all the time. I find it so joyful to hear those words from a mother to a child. Whenever I see them together they’re always holding hands and singing. I said to myself what a beautiful family. That is how all families should be. I told her to stay here with me and Freddy with the kids and the cats but she said she’s comfortable in that garage apartment. Still, there's always music and singing coming from that place," Mrs. Donaldson rambled on joyfully.
Hope was embarrassed. "Oh, Mrs. Donaldson."
"Don't worry, honey. I have great-grandchildren. I think it's so wonderful how you two are. And it's so nice to meet Mia’s dad finally. I can see why she is the way she is now. She’s such a happy little girl. The happiest child I’ve ever seen. Well, anyways, I'll be on my way. You take care. I have something on the stove," she said before wandering back to her house.
"That’s some wonderful neighbor," Cole commented as Hope turned the key into her garage apartment at the side door entrance. When they were both inside, Hope dropped the key on the side table and placed her bag beside it.
"Yes, she is absolutely wonderful. Between Mrs. Donaldson and my friend Jewel, I don't know what I would do for babysitting."
"I see. I also see you take good care of Mia. That means a lot to me. The fact that the neighbor always sees that you two are happy together speaks volumes about the care and the love that’s between you two," Cole said in his deep, sexy, rugged voice. A hint of emotion slid in his tone.
“Yes, I love my little girl more than anything in this world. I may not have a lot of material things to give her right now but…”
"Don't worry about—” Cole's voice broke off when he saw a huge picture by the mantelpiece of Mia in Hope’s arms the day she was born. He hadn’t noticed it last night because it was in her room and she’d moved it later. He went over to the picture and picked it up. Usually Cole was always steady and cool and in control of his emotions, but Hope thought she caught a slight tremble in his hand as he held the frame tightly gazing intently into the image. "How old was Mia here?" he asked in a calm, cool voice.
"She was about one day old. Jewel snapped that picture."
"It should’ve been me taking that picture." Cole’s voice was laced with regret.
"Cole, I'm very sorry. I realize now that I made a mistake. Wish I could change the past."
"That makes two of us,” he said softly. He then looked at the rose that was placed beside the picture. Was it a coincidence that the rose was by the picture? The rose seemed to be a symbol of their relationship, or perhaps some omen of what was to come. Who knew?
