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“Makes sense,” she says glumly. “Office love gets complicated. Take it from me. If it goes wrong, it can ruin careers. He might even think he’s protecting you with his walled-off act. Men are dumb like that—especially the rich, bossy types.”
“Protecting me from what?” I hiss.
“Women always get blamed for this crap when it goes sour. It’s always the hen’s fault and never the rooster’s.”
“Well, he kissed me first. I kissed him back and I—I encouraged it, okay? But his mouth found mine first.”
She pauses for a heavy second. “God, I like that you kiss and tell, lady. What happened after the kiss?”
“His daughter found us—”
“Frenching? Holy shit.”
“No! We...we stopped before she saw us. But he’s been avoiding me ever since. He’s acting weird, Dakota, like nothing ever happened, and it’s driving me nuts.” I don’t add because it’s all I can think about.
“Yep. He freaked. Or maybe he just feels bad about initiating a kiss with a woman he works with. Maybe he panicked. The whole workplace romance thing might scare him, especially if he has a kid in the mix.” She sighs. “Still, not all workplace romances end in scandal. Mine gave me a husband and Evermore.”
I hear the little bundle of joy gurgle in the background.
“We can’t all be as lucky as you.”
“Lady, I’m a Poe, even if the last name changed. Nothing lucky about that,” she says with a laugh. “Anyhow, you should catch him alone. Talk to him. He kissed and ran and that means he owes you a conversation if he isn’t a soggy douchecanoe. If he wants to claim temporary insanity or blame it on being drunk, whatever—but at least make him say it to your face. You’ll see the truth then, no matter what he says.”
I nod. “Right. I swear, married life has made you wiser...”
Dakota laughs and I hear Lincoln yell at her in the background.
“Shhhhh! If he hears you, it’ll go to his head. Also, you two work together. You have to clear the air either way or any future work meetings will be torture. But I can’t imagine any man going frosty on you, Eliza. He’s just confused and not as indifferent as you think.”
Oof. What if she’s right?
I swallow before I say, “I—this is going to be like Derek all over again, isn’t it?”
“What? Holy crap, no. If he makes you the other woman, you’ll give me his home address and I’ll hire a whole murder of trained ravens to paint his car white.”
I burst out laughing because she might actually be serious about the bird poop parade. When Edgar Allan is a distant relation, there’s nothing off the table with revenge.
“I’m just afraid,” I whisper. “After Derek—”
“Stop it. This is not Derek,” she says sharply. “You’d know if he was taken, right?”
I hate that she’s right. Even if most of Cole Lancaster’s life is still a black void, I do know that.
“Just because he’s single doesn’t mean he won’t break my heart,” I say.
“That’s always a chance in any relationship. But I’d like to think most guys aren’t cheating scumbags.”
“How can you say that? Your ex was just as big a cheating douchebag.”
“He was, but Linc served up justice, didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “But before that...he busted your heart, too.”
“What?”
“Sorry. I just can’t forget the sobbing mess you were after he decided you were better off apart...” I hate that I have to remind her life wasn’t always so picture-perfect.
“He was scared, Eliza. And if I had to guess, that’s what’s going on with your beau. Men always fuss about being big and tough, but they can’t handle half as much as we can. Go talk to him.”
“I mean, what other choice is there? We’ll talk. If he doesn’t care, if he’s too afraid, he’s going to have to say it to my face. After Derek, I’m done playing guessing games.”
“Good girl.” She pauses as a grumpy baby squeals impatiently in the background. “And somebody’s up from their nap. I have to go. We’re having dinner with my mother-in-law later, but let me know how it goes.”
“Will do.”
I hang up with a sigh, stuff my phone back in my purse, and then head out the door.
While I’m still high on courage, I head for the beautiful library Cole turned into a personal office.
I knock a couple of times, but there’s no answer.
Fine. The door is unlocked, so I go inside.
Surprise, surprise. He’s not here.
You’ve got to love how answers are always scarce when you need them the most.
But I’m not suffering through another sleepless night and a morning running on stinging eyes and pure ristretto shots.
The afternoon sky has an orange-creamsicle tint. It catches my attention, and I walk closer to the window.
Once I’m there, I realize there’s another door, a sunroom attached to this library.
The sunset filters in through two sets of windows, giving everything that orange splash. It’s just above the pool on the lower level. I see someone out there, moving, and—
