Once Upon a Dare (Risky Business)(33)
He jerked his hand back as though she’d branded him with a flaming hot poker. “What makes you think I’m getting married?”
Anna snorted with laughter.
Lulu shrugged. “Well, Mom said you had a new girlfriend, so I just thought…”
“Anna?” Cole eyed her curiously. “Care to explain what my niece is talking about?”
“What?” She crossed her arms and held Cole’s stare. “I had to tell her something to get her mind off the pain. And I know there’s someone new in your life, even if you insist on denying it. You’re thinking about settling down. Why else would you have bought an apartment?”
“People buy homes all the time.”
Anna smirked. “Yes, people do. But you’re not people. You’re Mr. I-never-stay-in-one-place-or-one-be—” She paused, searching for a more child friendly word. “Relationship-too-long.”
Cole sighed heavily. Not only was Anna relentless, she had good instincts. He couldn’t get anything past her. That also meant she didn’t fall for his BS and lived by the sibling code, which she’d informed him on numerous occasions gave her the right to set him straight, even when her opinion left his oversized ego bruised and battered. Hell, especially when it left his ego bruised and battered. For some reason she was determined to teach him humility, although it hadn’t exactly taken.
“It’s about time you settled down. Who’s the lucky woman?” she asked, grinning from ear to ear. “And when can I meet her?”
“First of all, there is no woman,” he insisted, a little too forcefully, given he and Olivia weren’t actually in a relationship and never would be. Not that he was opposed to the idea of Olivia at his new place. That he could actually picture easily. “Second of all, why would you even wish that on me?”
“Did you really just ask me why I would wish true love and happiness on my only brother?”
“Anna, you of all people should know I don’t believe in that crap,” he reminded her. After all, hadn’t they been raised by the same single mother when their deadbeat father walked out? If watching his mother break her back scrubbing floors to provide for them hadn’t been enough to make him swear off marriage, Anna’s own struggle to keep her marriage afloat would have surely sealed the deal.
There was no way he’d risk putting someone he cared about through all of that. Hell, it was the reason he preferred to keep his relationships strictly physical. An image of Olivia flashed in his head, and for the first time he wondered if he’d made a mistake. He respected the hell out of her and she deserved more than a quickie on the boardroom table. She deserved a man who could give her quiet nights making love by the fire, Sunday brunch, and someday, when she was ready, a family of her own.
Even if he wanted those things, he’d never be that guy. London had taught him that. It had been an expensive lesson, costing him his company and his pride. No, all he could offer Olivia was here and now.
“You know what your problem is, Cole?” He didn’t know off hand, but he was pretty sure she was going to tell him whether he wanted to hear it or not. “You’ve never really been in love; the pulse pounding, butterflies in your stomach, cloud nine, can’t eat, can’t sleep, sacrificing your heart to someone you care about more than yourself, kind of love.”
“As delightful as all that sounds, I’ll pass, thanks.”
“So there’s no wedding?” Lulu asked, looking from her mother to Cole.
“Afraid not.” He shrugged, trying not to think too hard about all the things Olivia deserved that he couldn’t give her.
“Bummer,” she pouted, her bottom lip jutting out just like her mother’s. “I was really hoping for a cool aunt!”
…
Olivia adjusted her glasses irritably and sighed as she flopped gracelessly into her desk chair. With only two weeks left to create a mind blowing pitch for Vixen, maybe her energy would be better used searching for a new job, because if today’s strategy meeting was any indication, she was going to need it. Cole hadn’t even bothered to show up. And after he’d lectured her about being on time! Where the hell was he anyway? She glanced at the clock, confirming he was two hours late. What could possibly be keeping him? It really wasn’t like him to blow off meetings. She hoped he was okay.
Wait. What? Since when did she worry about Cole’s whereabouts? He was a grown man and perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Besides, they weren’t a couple. Just two people who liked to have sex. Together. Nothing more—as evidenced by his no show today.
So much for partnering on this one. It was only the biggest account of her career, after all. No big deal. Well, if that was how he wanted to play it, fine by her. It would be a lot of work, but if she had to go it alone, that’s what she’d do. She was no stranger to hard work, and she wasn’t about to give up on her partnership or the Vixen account, not by a long shot. Come hell or high water, she was going to land this account.
The question was, how? Flipping through her notes, she jotted down follow-ups and ideas that needed to be teased out for later. When Cole’s massive body filled her doorway, she sensed his presence immediately.
“You’re about two hours too late,” she bit out, not bothering to look up. What was the point? He couldn’t possibly have a decent excuse. Nothing short of a dead body—and he was very clearly breathing—would excuse his earlier absence. “And you had the nerve to lecture me on punctuality?”