Page 144 of Tortured Tones

“We will.” Patrick gave me a firm nod. I hated to think what Cole paid this guy per hour. But every penny was worth it. Patrick turned to Wilson. “Would you like to go through the legal submission for Luther’s lawyer now? I’ve got an hour before I have another meeting.”

Wilson didn’t look pleased that Patrick had moved in on my case, but he didn’t object. “Sure. Ms. Matthews, once we’ve prepared everything I’ll send you an email for final approval. Is that okay?”

“Yes. More than yes.” Standing, I wiped my sweaty palms on my dress pants, then shook Wilson’s and Patrick’s hands. “Thank you.” Cole did the same.

“Let me show you out?” Wilson waved toward the door.

“It’s okay. We’ll manage.” Cole took my hand and guided me toward the door. “You work on taking Luther down and let us know how it goes.”

In a daze, I let Cole lead me down the hallway toward the reception area. But halfway along the corridor, he pulled me into a vacant meeting room and shut the door.

Now I was alone with him, and my head spun. My heart raced. My world blurred. No...they were just tears welling in my eyes. “Cole? How can I ever thank you? What you’ve done has been incredible.”

He drew me into a hug and kissed the side of my head. “You don’t owe me anything, Ava. I played my part in causing your problems—I had to help fix them. I couldn’t let you walk away, hating me for what had happened between us.”

“I didn’t hate you,” I whispered as I rested my cheek against his shoulder. “I was mad at myself for risking Josh.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“I know. I just want this fight with Luther over.”

“I get that. I’m here for you. No matter what.” Stepping back, he cupped the side of my neck. The warmth of his touch seeped through my bones and settled in my veins. No one had ever gone out of their way for me before. He smoothed his hand over my hair. “You said when you got custody of Josh you wanted to spend time with him. And I’m down with that. But I’d like to be part of the plan too. I want to be with you, Ava.”

I swayed on my feet. “You really want to see me again?”

“Yes. I want to see you a lot.”

Caution kicked in. “As one of your casual hookups?”

“No.” He glided his fingertips down the line of my jaw and brushed the tip of my chin. “There’s only one name I want on my list...and that is yours.”

An ache shuddered through my chest. “Cole, you’ve seen what Luther’s like, who I’m dealing with. If I don’t get full custody, he’s always going to be in the background. I come with a lot of baggage.” I didn’t want to inflict my problems onto anyone.

“If you hadn’t noticed, I have a few loaded suitcases of issues too. I’m not afraid of Luther. We can deal with him together. I care about you. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Letting you walk away was one of them. Luther has treated you like shit. I want to treat you right.”

I pursed my lips, holding back my tears. “Do you really want to get mixed up in my mess?”

“I already am.”

“I’m afraid of getting hurt again.” Truth hurts.

“So am I.” He rubbed his palms up and down my arms. “But I don’t want to fight how I feel for you anymore. I meant what I said before. I love you, for some crazy reason. I want to see where this road takes us.”

“Cole? I...” I was so in love with this man. But I had to think about Josh. My life revolved around him. Nobody else. “I can’t think of anything beyond my court hearing.”

“Ava, that’s fine. I’m not going anywhere...except on tour.” He smiled as he took my hand, walked backwards, and leaned against the sideboard. Entwining our fingers, he softened his tone. “We’ll go at your pace. I’m here for ten more days before I head overseas. I can come home once a month to see you like Flint is doing with Sutton, and Slip and Maddy.”

He'd do that for me? Wow. I had messed him up. But he’d done the same to me. There was no denying we had an unexplainable attraction. We didn’t have to fight it anymore. He’d gone out of his way to help me. All my skepticism about him had been shattered. He truly was a good and decent man. I couldn’t rush this, but I’d be crazy not to give us a chance at being happy.

I circled my hands over his shoulders and threaded serious playfulness into my tone. “What about all your groupies and supermodels?”

“I’m sure they’ll be okay. Flint was right. When you meet someone special, life changes. That happened to me when I met my daughter...and you. You’ve been in my head for months. I’m not gonna lie—I want you in my bed. I like a lot of sex.” A cute smile curled across his lips. “But somehow, I think you’d be okay with that...and you’d be able to keep up.”

Heat touched my cheeks. “How much is a lot?”

“You want to find out?” He snagged the bottom of my top and tugged me forward.

“Maybe.” I linked my hands behind his neck.

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