Chapter 18
"Keith?!," Cole said in surprise.
"Cole?!," Keith said at the same time.
Cole stared at him then his eyes turn cold. He turn towards Phoebe. "So, he's my replacement? That was quick of you"
Phoebe started protesting. "No Cole! You've got it all wrong! Keith and I-"
"-are lovers. I've been so stupid, coming here to apologize to you when you've already replace me," he interrupted. He stood up and began to stride towards the door. Keith block his way.
Cole started to shove him out of the way. "What the-"
Keith shook his head. "I'm not letting you out of here, jumped to your own conclusion. Boy, do you always jump into conclusion"
Cole step back and stared at him. "I jumped into conclusion? Why, seeing you here with Phoebe tells me all I have to know. And I can't believe I call you my best friend. So long, buddy"
Keith took a hard swing towards Cole, slamming him straight towards the wall. Cole, didn't see it coming, saw stars for a while, then got up and stalk towards Keith.
"Stop! Stop! What's wrong with both of you? You're behaving like little kids! Cole, you've got it all wrong, Keith is here to help me decorate the tree that's all, Cole, sometimes you can be such an idiot. You always assume any guy I'm with, I'm dating him. How can we be a couple when you never believe in me at all?"
Cole shove his hands into his hair and said quietly," Phoebe, I'm sorry-"
"Take your apologies out of my house, Cole. Get out of my house now."
Cole started towards her, then change his mind and walk defeatedly towards the door. Keith followed him. He turns towards Phoebe. "I'll talk to him"
Phoebe stared at him coldly. "You do that". And close the door in his face.
***
"I'm such a fool!," Cole muttered, and scowling, picked up his beer.
"You are," Keith said cheerfully then wink at the blonde a table away from him. "She's giving me the eye"
"Which eye?"
"The eye, you know. The blonde in the short skirt"
Cole considered his order of nachos. "There are one hundred and thirty-three blondes in short skirts in here. They all have eyes."
"The one two tables over to the left. Don't look."
Though he hadn't intended to, Cole shrugged. "What the hell am I gonna do. She probably won't even bother talking to me anymore."
"Don't give up, man. She obviously can't stop loving you. She cried buckets when you dump her in the office because you trusted your secretary when all the while Curtis was framing her-"
"Okay Okay, I know the details all right?," Cole scowled then rub his cheek. "It still hurts"
"Do you wanna let me kiss and make it better? But it'll have to be after I talk to the blonde. Okay, that was five full seconds of eye contact. I'm going in."
"My money's on you, pal." Then Cole muttered as Keith swaggered away, "She'll eat him alive."
He pushed aside the nachos without interest, lifted his beer again and spotted Patricia crossing the floor toward his table.
"Of all the pub in all the towns," he mumbled and took a longer, deeper drink.
"I thought you were playing husband with your Patricia." She'd decked herself out in a leather dress of electric red that coated her like a tattoo and screamed to an abrupt halt just pat her crotch. Her hair was in a thousand wild have-me-now curls, and her mouth was painted a hot, wed red.
It occurred to him that it was just that look that had made him think with his glands when he'd first seen her. He said nothing, lifted his glass again and did his best to stare through her.
"You set the guards to prevent me from coming into your building." She leaned down, planting her palms on the table and her impressive breasts directly at eye level. "You got some nerve, Cole, I wanted to make things up with you, but you just blew it."
He flicked his gaze up to hers, then over her shoulder when one of her friends was pulling desperately at her arm and muttering her name.
His lips curved in a viciously could smile, and he pitched his voice just over the roar of music. "Why don't you do us all a favor and get her out of here?"
"I'm talking to you." Patricia jabbed a nail, painted the same wild red as her dress, into his chest. "You pay attention to me when I'm talking to you, you bastard."
The control snapped in, even as he imagined squeezing his hands around her neck until her eyes popped. "Back off."
She jabbed him again, hard enough this time to break skin. The let out a squeal of shock when he grabbed her wrist.
"Keep out of the way. You think you can ruin my relationship with Phoebe and I'll do nothing? You keep the ell out of my way."
"Or what?" She tossed her hair back, and to his disgust he saw it wasn't fear in her eyes, but excitement, edged with a glint of lust. "Call your bodyguards again?" She raised her voice now, to just under a scream. Even in the din, it cut and had heads turning. "I wished I've made Phoebe suffer. I should I have ask Curtis to plan something which will make her suffer with you."
"You're sick." He shoved her hand aside. "And you're pitiful." he was pushing his chair back when she slapped him. The ring on her finger nicked the corner of his mouth, and he tasted blood. His eyes went dark and flat as he got to his feet. "You keep crossing the line, Patricia, and you're going to get run over."
"We got a problem here?"
Cole merely glanced at security. The man's shoulders were wide as a canyon and his, sharp smile didn't hold any humor. Before he could speak, Patricia had launched herself against the boulder of his chest, blinking until her eyes filled.
"He wouldn't leave me alone. He grabbed me."
"Oh, for Christ sake."
"That's a damn lie." This from Keith, who'd hopped to Cole's side. "She started on him. She's a lunatic."
"I don't know what they're talking about." Tears, slid gracefully down her cheeks as she tipped her face back to the bouncer's. "He hurt me."
"I saw what happened." A brunette with amused eyes and a slight Southern drawl strolled up. "I was sitting right over there." She gestured behind her, kept her voice low. "This guy was having a beer at this table, minding his own business. She came up to him, got in his face, started poking at him and yelling abuse. Then she slugged him."
The outrage had Patricia shrieking. She took a swipe at the brunette, missing by a mile as the bouncer nipped her around the waist. her exit, kicking and screaming, caused quite a stir.
"Thanks." Cole dabbed the back of his hand on his lips.
The brunette's smile was low and friendly. "Anytime."
"I'm going to get you a fresh beer. Sit, relax," Keith fussed around him like a mother. "man, that woman is over the edge and then some. I'll get the beer and some ice."
"Your friend's really sweet." She offered Cole a hand. "I'm Dory."
"Cole."
"Yes, I got that from Keith already. he likes my friend." She fluttered a hand toward the table where the blonde sat looking wide-eyed and prettily distressed. "She likes him. Why don't you join us?"
She had voice like cream, and skin to match, intelligent interest in her eyes and a sympathetic smile. And he was just too damn tired to start the dance. "I appreciate it, but I'm going to take off. Go home, soak my head. I'm considering entering a monastery."
She laughed, and because he looked as if he could use it as if he could use it, touched a light kiss to his cheek. "Don't do anything rash. ten, twenty years from now, you'll look back and smile at this little incident."
"Yeah, that's about right. Thanks again, and tell Cole I'll catch him later."
"Sure." She watched him go with little tug of regret.
***
"What do you mean she's gone?," Cole demanded.
"I mean she's packed up and left," Paige said coldly. "You've had your chance and you blew it, don't bother coming back here"
***
Cole went back to a small cottage in Ireland because it reminded him of all the good times he had there with Phoebe. In the center of the room Phoebe stood stock still, clasping and unclasping her hands, watching the handle of the door turn, unable to breathe with the tension. The door swung open, admitting a blast of frigid air and a tall, broad-shouldered man who glanced at Phoebe in the firelight and demanded," Who's there!"
Cole broke off, the door still open, staring at what he momentarily thought was hallucination, a trick of the flames dancing in the fireplace, and then he realized the vision was real; Phoebe was standing perfectly still, looking at him. And lying at her feet was a young Golden retriever.
Trying to buy time, Cole turned around and carefully closed the door as if latching it with precision were the most paramount thing in his life, while he tried to decide whether she'd looked happy or not to see him. In the long lonely nights without her, he'd rehearsed dozens of speeches to her-from stinging lectures to gentle discussions. Now, when the time was finally here, he could not remember one damn word of any of them.
Left with no other choice, he took the only neutral course available. Turning back to the room, Cole looked at the retriever. "Who's this?," he asked, walking forward and crouching down to pet the dog, because he didn't know what the hell to say to Phoebe.
Phoebe swallowed her disappointment as he ignored her and stroked the retriever's glossy golden head. "I-I call her mystery."
The sound of her voice was so sweet, Cole always pulled her down into his arms. Instead, he glanced at her. "Nice name."
Phoebe instantly noticed the altering of his expression and watched nervously as he crossed his arms over his chest, watching her, his face inscrutable. "You-you look well," she said, thinking he looked unbearably handsome.
"I'm perfectly fine," he assured her, his gaze level. "remarkably well, actually, for a man who hadn't seen the sun shine in more than 3 weeks, or been able to sleep without drinking a bottle of brandy."
His tone was so frank and unemotional that Phoebe didn't immediately grasp what he was saying. When she did, tears of joy and relief sprang to her eyes as he continued: "I've been working very hard. Unfortunately, I rarely get anything accomplished, and when I do, it's generally wrong. All things considered, I would say that I'm doing very well-for a man who's been more than half dead for 3 weeks."
Cole saw the tears shimmering in her magnificent eyes, and one of them traced unheeded down her smooth cheek. With a raw ache in his voice he said, "if you would take one step forward, darling, you could cry in my arms. And while you do, I'll tell you how sorry again I am for everything I've done-" Unable to wait, Cole caught her, pulling her tightly against him. "And when I'm finished," he whispered hoarsely as she wrapped her arms around him and wept brokenly, "you can help me find a way to forgive myself."
Tortured by her tears, he clasped her tighter and rubbed his jaw against her temple, his voice a ravaged whisper. "I'm sorry," he told her. H cupped her face between his palms, tipping it up and gazing into her eyes, his thumbs moving over her wet cheeks. I'm sorry." Slowly, he bent his head, covering her mouth with his. "I'm so damned sorry."
She kissed him back, holding him fiercely to her while shattered sobs racked her slender body and tears poured from her eyes. Tormented by her anguish, Cole dragged his mouth from hers, kissing her wet cheeks running his hands over her shaking back and shoulders, trying to comfort her. "please darling, don't cry anymore," he pleaded hoarsely. "Please don't." She held him tighter, weeping, her cheek pressed to his chest, her tears soaking his heavy woolen shirt and tearing at his heart.
"Don't," Cole whispered, his voice raw with his own unshed tears. "you're tearing me apart." An instant after he said those words, he realized that she'd stop crying to keep from hurting him, and he felt her shudder, trying to valiantly to get control. He cupped the back of her head, crumpling the silk of her hair, holding her face pressed to his chest, imagining the nights he'd made her weep like this, despising himself with a virulence that was almost past bearing.
When he stroked her neck, he noticed she was wearing the pendant key he gave her that night. He lifted at stared at it. "I thought you wouldn't wear it after the way I treated you that day."
Phoebe smiled and covered his hands with hers. "You're wrong. I've worn this ever since you open your heart to me."
The End