The Russian Billionaire’s Secret(15)

“I want to ask you a question.”

“Okay,” Amy nodded.

“Is that going to be a problem with your family or anything? I mean it didn't even cross my mind until Chad called me that.”

“Would that make you run?” Amy asked tilting her head.

“Nothing's going to make me run, Amy. I'd just like to know ahead of time.”

“No,” she shook her head. “I've never dated a white guy before, but it's not like my parents are racist or anything. Are yours?”

For a split second, Cole looked taken aback by her question.

“Don't get me that look,” she said pointedly. “It's more likely coming from your side and we both know it.”

“My parents aren't racist,” Cole sighed. “No one in my family is. In fact, I think the only racist I've ever met in person is your ex.”

“I doubt that,” Amy laughed.

“I don't hang out with bigots.”

“Neither do I.” After a moment she added “And Chad doesn't count.”

“I wasn't going to count him since you broke up with him.”

Amy smiled. It was sweet of Cole to think she had broken up with the jackass, but sooner or later the truth was going to come out.

“I didn't break up with him,” Amy said before she lost the courage to do so.

“Now I know he's a dumb ass,” Cole said shifting gears as they pulled onto the highway. “You don't leave a good woman and expect that she's going to let you come crawling back into her life.”

“He left me at the altar.”

“Fuck,” Cole muttered under his breath and pulled the car onto the shoulder of the road.

“Is everything okay?” Amy asked confused.

“This isn't a conversation we should have in a moving car,” he grinned at her and took her hand. He entwined his fingers through hers and gave a reassuring squeeze.

“I think it's better if you drive,” she smiled looking down at her lap.

“It's not something you should be embarrassed about. He's the jackass that stood you up at the altar.”

“I shouldn't have said anything,” she said tugging her hand away gently. “Can we just forget about this?”

“No,” Cole shook his head. “I'm never going to be able to forget that look in your eyes when you said he stood you up at the altar. I'm never going to be able to get how afraid you are of opening up. He left you because he's a dumb ass.”

“You don't know me,” she said blinking back tears that threatened to fall. “Cole, for all you know I'm a horrible girlfriend. I could be a horrible person.”

“But you're not, Amy!” Cole said taking her hand again. “You're not. You've been hurt. You've had you're heart broken, but that doesn't make you a horrible person. It just makes you human. There's always some dumb ass that breaks everyone's heart. It's a risk we all take by not being hermits and hiding away in our houses and only speaking to our plants.”

Amy laughed despite the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

“I know how it is. I've been there. I've done that. Right out of school, I married my high school sweetheart Samantha. Everyone thought we were the perfect couple and that we were going to ride off into the sunset and have the perfect life. As you can see, that didn't happen. No, I got busy with work and Samantha got busy with the man I thought was my best friend. That was four years ago. They're married now with a toddler and another baby on the way. Sure, maybe I paid a little too much attention to work or maybe I just felt how unhappy Samantha was and didn't want to be around it. I'll never know for sure. No one will. And this,” Cole motioned to the space between them and then held up his their gripped hands, “this could end horrible. It could go down in flames. Maybe we're not right one another. Maybe I have some bad habit that would make you want to smother me with a pillow before the honeymoon was ever over. I don't know. You don't know. That's the thing about life. We never know! We don't know, but that doesn't mean we don't try anyway. Who knows maybe this is meant to be. Maybe there was a reason for Samantha cheating and Chad leaving you at the altar. Heck, maybe this is the reason the universe made Debra such a crappy liar. This could be it. Yeah, you're scared. Hell, the way I felt the first time I saw you scared me witless, but that's how I knew I had to go for it. It's often the things that scare us the most that are worth having. I want to try this. I want to try us.”

Cole reached over and wiped a tear from her cheek. She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes for a moment.

“I'm not asking for forever or anything beyond today. What I'm asking is that you give this a try? Sure, we were only officially introduced yesterday, but there's something between us. I know you have to feel it too. It kept me up most of the night. I almost called you at three this morning, because I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.”

Amy unfastened her seat belt and wrapped her arms around Cole's neck. She leaned her forehead gently against his and closed her eyes. He brought his arms up around her. When she opened her eyes Cole's gaze locked to hers. She searched his piercing blue eyes for answers trying to grasp something more concrete than both of them waking up at the same time in the middle of the night.