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“Wine never lies.”
Brit chuckled. “Nope, and neither do we when we drink it.”
* * *
“Cole, right?” asked a classically pretty woman.
Cole glanced at the blonde at the dinner party. “Yes. Marion?”
She flashed him a smile. “Yes. I’m Audrey’s daughter. She told me you were moving to the East Coast. How do you find it living here permanently?”
A pain in the ass. “Busy. It’s been busy,” he said. Too busy sometimes, yet not busy enough. For the past two weeks, he’d found himself going to board meetings, shaking hands and scheduling events for weeks and months ahead. He’d hired another assistant to help Bryan with his duties.
A prestigious newspaper wanted to feature him on the cover, and the editor had called him for an interview. All these things should keep his mind occupied, yet the image of Nikki unraveled into his mind whenever he wasn’t fast enough to stop it. He’d considered creating a fake social media account to friend her and have access to her pictures. He spent way too long reminiscing over the good times he’d shared with her and the twins.
Whenever he came back to his penthouse in Central Park, he inhaled whatever the housekeeper prepared if he hadn’t eaten out. He’d work out until the city that never slept seemed dormant. He’d shower, dreading the minute he lay exhausted and unhappy on his large bed. Large and empty. Exactly how he felt. Emotionally vacant.
“I can imagine.” Her gaze traveling down from his eyes to his mouth. “Sometimes it can get lonely,” she said in a husky voice.
You’re telling me. He cleared his throat. Though he agreed with her, if he said so she’d interpret the wrong way.
She nudged his elbow. “If you ever want to go out for dinner, call me.”
“Thanks, but I’m in a relationship.” Was.
She blinked a couple of times, withdrawing, as if she believed the opposite. “Sure. Good for you. Excuse me.”
She sashayed in the direction of a group of women and didn’t look back. His jaw clenched. Smooth. Very smooth, he cursed himself inwardly. The simple idea of taking a woman out cut an invisible wound inside him. The idea of not being with Nikki any longer, of her dating another man, cut a much deeper hole into his soul. He scratched his chin. What the hell was he doing? The previous day his father had invited him for lunch. While that had been the first social meeting they shared that had zero to do with work, was it enough? A milestone, sure. But at what price?
“Son?”
“Yeah,” he said to his father.
“Have you met Audrey’s daughter? I saw you two talk.”
Cole sighed. “Yeah, she seems nice.”
“Good.” He patted his back. “Invite her over sometime.”
“I’m not dating her.”
His father shrugged. “I’m not saying you will, just keep your eyes open. You’ll meet a lot of lovely women with excellent careers and from great lineage.”
Lineage? Did his father think he was buying a purebred dog? “I don’t need to meet any lovely women. I’ve met a great woman already.”
“That one from Tulip?” He shook his head, letting out a mocking laughter. “Son, she’s not for you. You don’t want a woman who already has two kids.”
Anger brewed in his gut and floated up his throat. Who the hell did his father think he was to be so judgmental? “Why not? You don’t know her boys. David and Henry are smart, caring and funny. And she’s a wonderful mother,” he said, his voice edgy.
Unfazed, his father removed a small piece of lint from his suit and tossed it in the air. “I’m sure she is, but you can do better.”
“What’s better to you? To end up a grumpy old man whose only friends are longtime business connections?”
His father’s eyes hardened, and the creases around them bunched. “You say that, but you’ve been trying to build a relationship with this grumpy old man.”
“I did. I thought we could rebuild our relationship, but you know what? I don’t anymore. I was so blind with guilt after what happened to Keith I didn’t see you for what you really were. A tiny person incapable of love.” A man who would end his days most likely alone surrounded by his wealth and employees. Was that how he envisioned his future? His chest squeezed like he’d been hit. Hell no.
“You ungrateful prick. If your brother had been alive—”
