Nemesis(41)

“That sounds promising,” Sadie replies in a dry tone. She grabs the elastic off her wrist and ties her brown hair in a high ponytail. “I think I’ll just let someone find me. I’m not looking anymore, because I only find the douche lords.”

“And their friends,” I add, thinking of Rob. “Although, if Cohen hadn’t seen me out with Rob, he never would have come over to cock-block me, and then we never would have gotten together.”

“We’d still have gotten together,” Cohen says confidently, giving me a quick kiss. “I was already in too deep by then.”

“Are we going out for dinner, or are you guys about to f*ck on the table?” Sadie interrupts, poking her tongue out at me. I want to point out that it was her and Ian f*cking on the table, but I don’t want to bring him up, so I keep my mouth shut. Now that’s true friendship.

“Let’s go then,” I say, kissing Cohen once more before jumping off the table. “I vote for Mexican.”

“Mexican it is,” Cohen agrees, wrapping one arm around me, then the other around Sadie.

I still think she should meet Chad.





Chapter Twenty-Two


I meet Cohen’s brother and sister-in-law, and their daughter.

“It’s nice to officially meet you, Sandra,” I tell her, feeling a little embarrassed over what happened the last time I saw her. I don’t think I was rude or anything—at least out loud, anyway.

“You too, Jacinta,” she says, smiling. “I’ve heard so much about you. The day I came into Cohen’s office, as soon as the two of us went in the elevator, he said to me, ‘See the beauty at reception? She’s going to be mine.’”

Wow.

And that’s when I was being a bitch. I’m starting to think Cohen likes all sides of me, including that one.

“I kind of thought you were his new woman,” I admit, helping her cut up some of the vegetables for the salad. Cohen and his brother, Kale, are out grilling the steak. Cohen’s niece, Arabella, is with them, playing in the garden.

Sandra laughs, face lighting up. “Between you and me, I think he wanted you to think that.”

Damn Scorpio.

“Yeah, I kind of guessed that,” I admit, shaking my head. “It wasn’t one of our finest moments.”

“Love makes people do crazy things. It’s like all common sense leaves you. Sometimes, I look back at my past relationships and wonder why I fought to keep some of them, because I wasn’t happy and neither were they. But in that moment, I thought I was in love. It wasn’t until I met Kale that I found out what true love is. And now I’ll do anything to keep it, you know?”

“I totally understand,” I tell her, wanting to sit on the counter, but not wanting to be rude. “I’m glad things have calmed down now. The start of a relationship is fun and exciting, but it’s also pretty scary not knowing where you stand with someone, not knowing if you will be good enough for them or not. It’s a vulnerable thing, to show your true self to someone, show them the best of you, and then have the possibility of them thinking that it’s not what they want, that it’s not good enough for them.” I pause, recalling how we’d made it to this point. “I guess that’s where the whole ‘everything happens for a reason’ comes in. The one who’s meant to stay, will.”

“Yeah, they will, and they’ll fight to be by your side,” Sandra adds. “I’m so happy Cohen found someone. We thought he’d be single, living the bachelor life, for the rest of his existence.”

I laugh at that. “I’m glad Cohen found me.”

Even if Dan is the one who made him come and talk to me. Let’s just pretend that never happened.

We finish making the salad, along with a pasta salad and mashed potatos, and leave them on the table, waiting for the meat to be ready. I thought it would be awkward meeting and talking with Sandra, but she’s lovely, and Kale is like an older version of Cohen, in looks and personality. It’s like looking into my future, one that I’m not complaining about. In fact, it’s like a dream.

“Are you okay?” Cohen asks when he comes inside, Arabella on his hip.

“What do you think I’m going to do to her?” Sandra asks, sounding offended. “I’m not going to chase away the only woman you’ve brought home since…”

His bitch of an ex Bianca?

Awkward.

Cohen sighs and hands Sandra her daughter. “I know you’re not going to chase her away. Jacinta isn’t really the biggest fan of meeting new people, so I’m just making sure she’s okay.”

“I’m fine,” I tell him, rising up on my toes to kiss him on the lips. “But thank you for asking.”

“You’re welcome,” he says, his intense stare softening on me.

For me.

It only does that for me.

How did I get so lucky? What is it about me that was made for him? I don’t know, but I’m not going to question it; I’m just going to embrace it.

We all sit down to eat, and I love watching Cohen interact with his family, especially his niece. I’ve never seen him with a child before, and I can’t help but be mesmerised. He’s so great with her, and I can tell he’s going to make an amazing father someday.