Chapter 4 – Secret's Safe With Me.

Cole had dozed off, and had not been woken by Steffi's half six alarm. As long as he was out of the house by quarter past eight at the latest, then she would not disturb him. Doing her make up at her desk, she allowed herself a brighter shade of lipstick, a little more blusher… little things which gave her more of a general glow. When she dressed, she picked a tighter skirt and a more revealing blouse than usual, although she noticed none of this. She was just happy that Cole still loved her. After putting her earrings in, she crept over to the bed and shook Cole gently.

"Time to wake up, baby," she whispered in his ear. He groaned and she nibbled his ear gently. "If you don't get up, you're going to have one very unhappy Officer Gregory after you… he won't believe me if I say I came onto you. He thinks I'm so sweet and innocent, bless him." Cole opened his eyes, and for a moment was about to close them again. Then, he saw Steffi's face.

"Seeing you gives me a reason to get up this morning," he said with a small smile. He tried to sit up, and put a hand to his head. "Okay, how much did you let me drink last night?"

"Well, two and a half bottles of Jack Daniels, plus a very nasty Italian wine. I think you have every right to be feeling a little delicate." She grinned, and left the room to go and get some coffee for him. As she left, Cole checked her out discreetly, and muttered to himself,

"I hate to see her go, but I love to watch her leave."

As Steffi took the coffee into her bedroom, a key turned in the lock, and a head of tousled brown hair appeared through it.

"Cam? You up yet?" The head whispered loudly. Steffi rolled her eyes and stuck her head round her bedroom door.

"Up, dressed and getting breakfast. You're back early; things still not going great with Chelsea?"

"Great girl, great sense of humour, great body, big bad jealousy problem. She's accusing me of sleeping with you, as well as half of Manhattan, now," said the head, and he came through the door with a deep sigh. Still in his work clothes, Marcus looked thoroughly exhausted. He was a scrawny boy, about the same age as Steffi, and handsome in a crooked kind of way. "Can I smell cigarette smoke? Cos it's not the brand I smoke if I can smell it." Steffi bit her lip nervously and looked down for a second.

"If you tell Phil, I swear to God I will castrate you with my bare hands," she warned when she looked up again. Marcus's hands moved to his crotch and he swallowed hard. "I had a friend over last night, and we discovered that old habits die hard."

"She doesn't have a friend, does she? One exactly like Chelsea without the whole 'I have major jealousy issues' thing?"

"Who says it's a she?" Steffi said mysteriously, and she disappeared into the bedroom to give Cole his coffee.

"Girl, you are so bad!" Marcus said, starting to laugh. "You know Phil's gonna flip out so bad when he finds out." He stopped laughing as soon as he saw Cole, half-dressed, coming out of the room.

"Who's going to tell him, Marcus?"

"Not me, that's for damn sure sir!" Marcus straightened up, and Steffi laughed as she came out of the room again.

"Marcus sweetie, don't be scared of Cole! He couldn't hurt a fly, let alone a big strong boy like you!" She went across to him and squeezed his upper arms jokingly, giving him a sultry wink as she walked back into the kitchen. Marcus shuddered slightly and looked at Cole.

"Dude – where did you get her and how can I find one?"

"Well I'm afraid that would be telling," smiled Cole, extending his hand to Marcus. "Cole Turner."

"Marcus Kerrigan… hey, aren't you a lawyer? You deal with all those big cases, like that one with Phoebe Halliwell. What's she like? Is she cuter in person than she is in the papers?" Marcus said as he shook Cole's hand eagerly. Cole grinned at Marcus and said to Steffi,

"Would your other be flatmate this relaxed about finding you in bed with a guy who isn't your fiancé?"

"I don't really care if Katy doesn't like you. Hell, I don't care if Phil doesn't like you," Steffi said as she came back into the living room with a plate of toasted bagels. She put them down on the table and walked over to him, wrapping her arms round his waist. "I don't care what anyone thinks anymore. All I care about is you." She went up on tip toes to kiss him, but without high heels on she couldn't reach his lips. "Cole… give me a boost?" He smiled and obliged, and she gave him a quick kiss on the lips before kicking her feet about a bit.

"You wanna go down now?" She nodded, and he placed her back on the ground. Marcus was smiling in admiration.

"You guys are so sweet together," he said. "When Cam's around Phil she's never like this. And between you and me," he lowered his tone conspiratorially, "their sex life sucks. I'm in the bedroom next to them and it's never sounded like they have all that much fun. It's just Cam saying, 'it's okay, all guys do that sometimes.' It's weird, y'know?" Steffi hit Marcus on the arm playfully.

"You listen to us?"

"The bed is squeaky, it wakes a guy up!" He grinned and shrugged helplessly. "But I'm not gonna tell Phil, I promise. You guys are obviously into each other, and what kind of pal would I be if I ratted on you to her fiancé? Secret's safe with me, Cam." With that, Marcus went into his room and shut the door.

After Marcus had changed, the three had breakfast together. Cole and Steffi took turns to explain their relationship, and Marcus was shocked to discover Steffi's true identity.

"My mom knew you guys!" He exclaimed. "You had the place next to my parents' country home thing. They're so damn rich, but say one wrong thing or do one wrong person and you're cut out of the family! Hence why I live here with the first girl who ever knocked me back." He was also amazed to hear about Charmz's involvement in the death of the baby. "So, you guys have like, magic powers? That's pretty cool… I mean, now I know how Cam can have so many clothes without being as poor as me!" Steffi grinned.

"You don't have to call me Carmella anymore, Marcus. Just call me Steffi, I don't mind."

"Nah, I'm cool with your other name. But look, it's like twenty past eight. Isn't Phil gonna be back anytime soon?" Cole stood up, and kissed Steffi on the cheek.

"I'll see you later, baby." He went to fade out, but Steffi caught his arm.

"Can't you walk me to work? I don't want to say goodbye just yet." Cole smiled and took her arm.

"Of course I'll walk you honey. Hey Marcus, ring me sometime. I think I know someone you might like to meet when you break up with Chelsea; she's called Phoebe." He grinned and gave his card to Marcus who stared at it in awe. Then, he walked Steffi to the apartment door and they made their way to the offices of Carter, Campbell and Warren.