Page 80 of Dirty Rich Cinderella Story

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Cole

“Can we even do this?” Lori whispers as we settle into the fully reclined seat facing each other.

“It’s a private flight,” I say, brushing hair from her eyes and catching her leg with mine. “We can do whatever we like.”

“I’m not very experienced with private jets, as in I’ve never been on one at all.”

“We can fix that,” I promise.

“Cole—”

I kiss her. “Don’t put limits on what we can do together. Consider that one of my rules.”

“I don’t want you to spend money on me.”

“Sweetheart, I have money and I share it with no one.”

“I don’t want to be your kept woman.”

I laugh. “My version of a kept woman is you naked, tied to my bed, with another spanking thrown in just for the pleasure of it.” I stroke her cheek and soften my voice. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.” I don’t give her time to argue. “Tell me something I don’t know about you. Why law school?”

She hesitates, like she isn’t going to move on, but finally seems to succumb to the shift of topic. “I was obsessed with legal shows from the time I was a pre-teen, forward. I even went to sit in on court cases while I was in high school. What about you?”

“My mother was an attorney and of course, there was my father.”

“But he was into wine too, right?”

“He invested in the winery. I just signed that deal you saw in my office, and now I’m set to sell it.”

“Sell it?You’re into wine. You like it. You know it. Why not keep it?”

“I like to drink wine. I don’t want to grow my own grapes. More importantly, we’re becoming a full-service firm and spreading our wings into malpractice law, and that means financing large cases before they pay out. You saw the sale. That alone will go a long way.” I change the subject. “What happened with your mother and her date?”

“He’s going to have to fight to get her back. She’s pretty tough. She says my father loved her and she isn’t settling for less than my father, and yet my father gambled away all of our security. I don’t get it.”

“Your mother must think he’s a good man who made a mistake.”

“Maybe,” she concedes, “And maybe I’ll see it differently when I get us out of financial ruin.”

“What’s that going to take?” I ask. “Is it all medical bills from your mother’s stroke?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“Come on, sweetheart,” I urge, resting my hand on her hip. “I need to understand what you’re going through.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re together and what affects you, affects me.”

“We’re new.”

“And that means what? Tell me.”

“Medical bills and other debt.”

“Did your father have life insurance?”

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