It was also the moment his phone started to ring in his jacket pocket.
19
Cole inhaled several deep breaths to calm himself as the phone continued to buzz in his jacket pocket. Fuck! Not now! Closing his eyes for a moment, he gathered what little control he could find and slid out from between the sweetest thighs he’d ever had the pleasure of being in. Licking his lips, he savored the lingering taste of her kiss.
“Are you going to get that?” Rachel asked in a tone that told him just how satisfied she was now.
Reluctantly, he let go of her dress and took a step back from her, stuffing his happy-for-now cock back into his pants. When he finally had them zipped and buttoned, he reached into his jacket pocket with his left hand as he brought the other to his mouth and licked his fingers. “Hmm…god, you taste fucking delicious.”
Then, he looked down at the screen and frowned.
“Better than your caramels?” she questioned.
This time, she received no response. Cole was too busy staring at the number flashing at him. His thumb slid over the screen to accept the call, and he brought the phone to his ear, holding up a finger to Rachel.
“Hello, this is Cole.”
“Mr. Madison? Oh, I’m so glad I caught you.”
“Becky? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Cole kept his eyes on the floor as he listened to the woman on the other end of the phone, hoping with every fiber of his being that this wasn’t a call he could never come back from.
“I’m afraid so. Your mother took a rather bad fall around an hour ago.”
“Is she going to be okay?” he asked, knowing that his voice was much cooler than it had been only moments earlier.
“I believe so. She has a very bad bump on her head, and she broke her arm. We’ve moved her to the hospital.”
“Fuck,” he cursed, shaking his head.
Spinning on his heel, he made his way to one of the aquarium tanks illuminating the space from the opposite side of the room. “Look, I’m at a function right now, but I’m going to leave right away. I should be able to get there in around…” He paused and lowered his arm, so he could look at his watch. “An hour. Yeah, I can get there in an hour, I’d say.”
“Of course, Mr. Madison. After last time, we knew that you would want to know right away.”
Becky was right. He did want to know. He just hated that he was so far away, and at this moment, it made him feel so fucking useless.
“Thank you for that, Becky. I do appreciate it.” His voice was clipped, but that was all he could manage. “I’ll be there soon.”
He ended the call and stared at the blank screen in his hand. He needed to leave right now. Pushing the phone back into the pocket he had pulled it from, he turned to walk out, and that was when he saw Rachel standing only a few feet from him.
“Are you okay?” she asked cautiously.
“No. I have to leave,” he replied absentmindedly.
“Okay.”
There was something in the way she immediately accepted his response that pulled him from his thoughts long enough to look her in the eye.
“I—” he started.
“Cole?” she coaxed, taking a step closer.
He kept his hands by his sides. He was almost afraid that if he touched her, he might break down for the first time in his life. What he hadn’t counted on was her reaching out to him.
Silently, she raised a hand to his cheek, where she gently cupped it, and then she took that final step toward him. “It’s okay. Whatever it is, go and take care of it. I can catch a cab.”
And just like that, he knew what he wanted. He covered the hand she held against his face with one of his own. “Come with me?” he requested.
He held his breath as he watched her blue eyes blink, her dark lashes kissing her cheeks. Once again, he was struck by how beautiful she was.
“Where to?”
That isn’t a no. He felt relieved as he brought their hands down between them.
“Lake Forest.”
Her fingers squeezed his as she asked, “What’s in Lake Forest?”
Trying for a smile but knowing it was coming off as more of a grimace, Cole replied stiffly, “Not what. Who. It’s my mother. She’s in a home up there.”
He could tell he had surprised her, but she still held his hand.
She inquired, “Is she okay?”
“No, she had a bad fall tonight, and she’s in the hospital.”
Rachel’s face changed to such a look of despair that he was sure he would get an excuse of some sort, but what he got instead was a nod.
“Of course, I’ll come with you. I’ll call Mason from the car. Let’s go. You can tell me more on the way.”
She turned to leave, but before he could help himself, Cole pulled her back around and tugged her to him. She came without resistance, and as his lips met hers, she returned the kiss with a soft sigh.
“Thank you.”
“For?” was her quiet response.
There were so many ways he could answer, but considering his feelings for her at this moment, he decided to go with something simple yet oddly profound.
“For finally saying yes and going on a date with me.”
Rachel glanced over at the man sitting behind the wheel of his luxurious car as they hit the freeway.
Since they had left and navigated their way out of the city, he hadn’t said much at all, so she’d decided to leave him alone. That was the best way with men, she’d found. She’d learned that from her past experience with Mason back when…well, back when they’d lost their mother. Let them battle their demons until they reach a point where they need a hand or a woman to crumble with.
Discreetly, she looked Cole over as they sat in the confines of his vehicle. He had his left hand on the steering wheel at the twelve o’clock position, and the right was fisted against one of his tightly muscled thighs.
The five o’clock stubble framing his serious jawline made Rachel want to reach out and touch, to remember how it had felt against her skin back at the aquarium, but she kept that memory and her hands to herself for now. Now was not the time for inappropriate touching. As a matter of fact, she found she wasn’t even interested in that way. If anything, she wanted to reach out to soothe him, to heal him.
Settling back into the plush leather seat, she peered around the dark interior at all the bright blue lights shining from the dashboard. Suddenly, a random thought crossed her mind as she realized this car was way out of her pay range. It also struck her that even though Cole was obviously wealthy, he didn’t ever mention it, and he never made her feel like he was in any way above her on the social ladder. No, he might dress like a million dollars every day, but he had never held his prosperity over her or anyone for that matter. Huh, add that to my list of things I find so compelling about him.
Right on the heels of that thought, the radio switched songs, and one of her all-time favorites came on. It was a classic, and she was a sucker for the classics.
Automatically, she leaned forward to turn up the music, but at the last minute, she stopped herself. Turning her head to face him, she smiled. “May I?”
Cole looked her way with a curious expression. “Simon & Garfunkel? Now that is something I wouldn’t have pictured.”
Rachel chuckled. “What can I say? My father was into the classics, it rubbed off.”
As she turned up the volume on the melancholy melody, Rachel sat back and started to hum “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The lyrics were so incredibly fitting for him at this moment, and they made her want to comfort him that much more.
While Rachel sat there, wondering how to initiate any kind of contact or conversation, Cole unclenched his fist and moved his arm across the console to her, offering his hand with his palm turned up. Rachel felt a lump in her throat at the simple gesture, and she slid her hand into his, entwining their fingers and holding them in her lap.