Page 147 of Tortured Tones

He kissed me, stealing my breath and my heart. Cole was mine, and I was his. We’d closed the door on one part of our lives and opened the door to a new chapter. But for the first time, I looked forward to the future. Now, all I needed was Josh.

***

Two days later, I ran out of the courtroom and rushed across the parking lot with tears streaming down my cheeks. I flung my arms around Cole, who’d been waiting for me. “Arrrrgh!” I screamed. “He’s mine. Josh is all mine. I got full custody.”

I couldn’t stop shaking. Or crying. Or hollering.

“That’s fucking awesome.” He swung me round, placed me on my feet, then kissed me, fast and hot and fiery, all lips and tongue and total sexiness. “So when do you get him?”

“Today.” I quaked on my feet. Even my voice quivered. “After school.” I held out my hand. “I can’t stop trembling. I can barely breathe. I’m so excited.”

“So you should be.” He rubbed my hands, holding them against his chest.

“I will never be able to thank you enough for helping me.” So much warmth and gratitude flooded through my veins and exploded in my heart. “I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you.”

“I was glad to help.” He brushed a tear off my damp cheek. “And to see you happy.”

“I can’t believe this has finally happened.” I jumped into his arms again. “I got Josh. Argh!” Nothing could make me come down from this high. Not ever.

I had a little less than two hours until Josh was mine.

“Would you like to celebrate? Or how would you like to celebrate?” A mischievous smile skipped across his lips as he raised a sexy eyebrow.

I’d had more sex in the past two days with Cole than I had in more than a year. So much for going slow. But right then, I was too wired. I was sure Cole wouldn’t care if my mind was elsewhere, but when I was with him, I wanted to give him my undivided attention. That wasn’t going to happen today. “How about some food? I‘m starving.”

“We can do that.” Grinning, he rubbed my arms. “There’s a little Italian restaurant near here. We can grab a quick bite to eat before we pick up Josh.”

“We?”

“Ava, this is a huge day. I want you to treasure every moment with Josh. But so you don’t crash your car with all those tears in your eyes, Becks can drive. We’ll collect Josh, take you home, then leave you be.”

Wow! “You keep impressing me, Mr. Tanner.”

He stepped in close and threaded his fingers beneath my hair, dragging his thumb across the base of my neck. “If you keep calling me Mr. Tanner, you’re gonna end up in trouble. We’ll be celebrating, but it won’t include Italian.”

I played with the neckline of his T-shirt and lifted my chin. “What if I want some trouble?”

Hunger flared in his eyes...for me. God, that was crazy but so good. “I’m more than happy to cause some. My town car is right there. Should Becks go for a walk?”

I flattened my hand against his chest and giggled. “No. Not today.”

“What about this weekend? Would you like to come to Big Bear with Josh? Everyone’s going. I want to spend as much time with you as possible before I go overseas.”

“Cole, I can’t think about anything other than Josh right now.”

“I know. Just putting it out there.” He touched his lips to mine then wiped the corner of his mouth with his fingertips. So sexy. “Let’s go eat, then pick him up.”

“I’d like that.”

We joined Beckett by the car. After hugs and more tears of happiness, Cole took me to lunch. But I couldn’t eat much. I couldn’t sit still. I glanced at my watch every five minutes.

Then . . . it was time.

My heart raced at the speed of light.

For the entire drive to Beverley Hills, excitement somersaulted and backflipped through my stomach. Cole held my hand even though my palms sweated. Just after four p.m., Beckett pulled into Luther’s driveway and parked outside the front door. Cole leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. “You ready?”

“Oh God, yes.” This was it. Josh was mine. “I’ve waited for this day for more than two years. I can’t believe it’s finally here.”

---