AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay.”
“Come,” Maureen said a moment later. “I think if we sneak off to the kitchen, we might be able to get out of at least the first few songs that Ian and Gwen have planned.”
Instinctively, she glanced around to see Cole already in conversation with Cal, a drink in his hand. Satisfied that he was in good hands with her brothers, she nodded and followed Maureen into the relative safety of the kitchen.
It wasn’tthat Cole didn’t like Cal McCormick; he did. He was a good guy and despite his high-profile career, he was remarkably down-to-earth. And if Cal hadn’t been so openly antagonistic with Cole the first time they met, he was pretty sure they could be friends. As it was, every time Cole saw the other man, he felt as if he owed the other man some sort of explanation. It was the most ridiculous thing. After all, Cole was a grown man in an adult relationship with a woman and he didn’t owe explanations to anyone.
Except maybe Amber.
“Have you given it any more thought?” Cal said as he’d handed Cole a drink. They’d been in the house less than five minutes, and already Cole was bracing himself for the interrogation. Only this time, he was ready for it.
“What exactly have I given any thought?”
He wasn’t going to roll over easily.
“Whether you’re good enough for my sister or not.”
Damn.
Cole had not been expecting that. His spine stiffened, and he forced himself to take a sip of his drink before answering with a sharp retort. What he really wanted to do was tell the other man how he had actually considered their last conversation and was doing his best to give Amber exactly what she needed. But everything he’d been about to say vanished in the face of Cal’s animosity. He let the icy-cold beer slide down his throat before swallowing hard and answering. “Oh, I know I’m good enough for your sister. And I also know I don’t owe you any explanation to that end.” Cal opened his mouth to protest, but Cole cut him off smoothly. “In fact, I think unless I’m in a relationship with you specifically, I don’t have to tell you a damn thing.” He put the glass down hard on the side table and crossed his arms.
It had been the wrong thing to say, and Cole knew it. But he couldn’t help himself. Logically, he knew Cal was just being brotherly. He knew it wouldn’t solve anything to be an asshole. Still, he couldn’t stop himself.
Cal took two steps backward. His mouth opened and shut comically, but there was nothing funny about the anger Cole saw in his eyes.
It only took Cal a moment to recover. “Listen.” Cal was obviously taking great pains to control his voice. He took a step closer to Cole, so they were almost chest to chest. If anyone in the room was paying them any attention at all, they would see in a flash that a family-friendly, festive party was about to take a turn.
Cole knew he should step back. He knew there was nothing to gain by provoking Cal. Especially when the man really did only have his sister’s best interests at heart. Still, the stress of the last few days, the uncertainty of how Amber really felt for him and what she was willing to give up for him when maybe he didn’t really deserve it after all bubbled over and in an instant, Cole was looking for a fight.
“My sisterismy business.” Cal spoke through clenched teeth. “If you think for one minute that I’m going to sit back and let you waltz in out of nowhere to ruin her life—”
“Ruin her life?” Cole swallowed hard. “That’s what you think I’m doing?”
“Absolutely.” Cal didn’t miss a beat. “That’s exactly what you’re doing. Before you came along, she had a plan for her life. An excellent job offer and a degree that she’d been working on for years. She was literally on the edge of having everything she’d ever worked for and then…” Cal held up his hand and made an exploding action. “Gone. For you.”
Cole shook his head despite the fact that he could only agree with everything Cal said. Not only did he agree with it, everything Cal said had been in the back of his mind, too.Had he ruined her life?“It’s not like that,” he insisted, although there was far less certainty in his voice and even he could hear it.
“It’s exactly like that. And I’m not going to sit around and—”
“Hey. What’s going on here?” Mitch slipped himself in the impossibly small space between the two men and looked at them each in turn. “Because it doesn’t look to me like you guys are rehearsing your rendition of ‘Silent Night.’”
Cole forced himself to take a deep breath and a step backward. “Nothing,” he said. “Nothing’s going on.”
Mitch looked to his brother. “Is that right, Cal? It’s nothing?”
For a moment, Cal looked as if he were going to disagree, just out of principle. But he pressed his lips together and nodded curtly. “It’s nothing.”
A sly smile slipped across Mitch’s face. “Great. Then you won’t mind if I borrow this one for a minute.” Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Cole. “Come with me. I need some help bringing in firewood.”
“I knowthis might be a little strange.” Maureen addressed the elephant in the room straight away. The older woman instantly put Amber at ease and somehow reminded her of warm cookies.
Her relationship with her own mother had always been a good one, even throughout the scandal, but although her mom had always loved her, she’d never been an overly affectionate woman and had certainly never exuded the same type of open affection that Maureen McCormick did with her sons.
“It should be strange,” Amber said. “Shouldn’t it?” She laughed as Maureen nodded. “But is it weird if I don’t think that it feels strange at all?”
“No.” Maureen poured Amber a small glass of wine. “That’s not weird at all. I felt the same way with your sister. Well,” she added. “Maybe not at first, if I’m being honest. But as soon as I got to know her, it didn’t feel unusual at all and the same goes for you. After all the boys have told me, I feel like I already know you.”
Amber took a sip of her wine and settled into one of the kitchen chairs.
