Page 108 of Muddy Messy Love

“No, she won’t. I’ll take care of it.”

Wincing, I drop my forehead to rest on Cole’s shoulder, then bang it three times.

He chuckles and winds a hand through my hair but then freezes, his body stiffening. “Christ, I hope she used protection.”

“She did,” I immediately say. “That you don’t need to worry about.” Secretly, I grin. Whoever wrote that crazy condom song will never know the good they’ve done.

Cole lets out a hefty sigh. “I don’t want to know how you know that, but good.” He resumes stroking my hair, then a quiet moment later, whispers, “I need to protect my three girls.”

Tiny fireworks explode around my heart, and I lift my head to study his face.His three girls.Have I joined that exclusive club? I trace my thumb lightly across the bruise on Cole’s cheekbone. He doesn’t flinch, only returns my stare with possessive conviction. It’s divine to feel wanted and cherished—protected and secure. It fills the numb black hole in my soul that once sucked all the goodness away.

Maybe he really isn’t going anywhere.

The notion is too fantastical to believe, and my destructive brain agrees. It swoops in on those optimistic flourishes andstamps them out like spot fires, leaving only the memory of Cole’s less coherent ramblings from this morning alive.

I should have walked away.

The small voice inside begs me to ask my laundry list of questions. I know I shouldn’t, but words bungee from my mouth without permission. “This morning, you said some stuff.”

Cole narrows his gaze. “Like?”

I bite my top lip, fighting back the words. Trust me to let my insecurities ruin a perfect moment.

Cole grimaces. “That bad, huh?” With a hopeless chuckle, he flips me onto my back and covers me with his delicious weight. The thin fabric of his track pants does little to buffer the hardness growing between his legs. He drops a tender kiss to my neck, then whispers in my ear, “Don’t listen to drunk people, Angel. They’re generally full of shit.”

I leap onto his dismissal like it’s a runaway horse and seize the opportunity to change course. I tilt my mouth into a half smile that mirrors his. “Even the part about using my pussy as punch bait?”

Cole’s eyes glimmer. “Well, that part was true.”

I shake my head with a smirk. “You’re an arsehole.”

“And you’re beautiful when you blush.”

Hannah hates me.

She’s too polite to say it. Too kind to show it. But it’s there in the lack of chit-chat, fewer smiles, and painful silences.

Wincing, I shift Ella from my lap and plop her down on the floor with Alex and Lily. We need to talk. Alone. But three tense hours pass before the milk-moustached munchkins fall asleep on their gym mats and Tej disappears for lunch.

I tiptoe my way through the maze of little arms and legs to confront Hannah in the staffroom. She sits on the window seat with her legs crossed, staring vacantly at the kettle as it rumbles to a boil. “Hannah?” I lean against the kitchenette bench, cradling my elbows. Here goes nothing. “I’m really sorry about yesterday. About Slade.”

Hannah drops her chin, then shakes her head. Glitter-tipped fingers grapple in her lap. “What’s done is done. Just forget about it.” She refuses to look at me, and I die inside.

“I never wanted to jeopardise our friendship. I should have told you the truth. It’s just…I was torn between you and Cole.”

She glances up. “And you chose him?”

I frown but slowly nod. “Yeah, I did.”

“Good. He deserves someone who chooses him.” She looks back down and clenches the ornate architrave either side of her knees, her posture stooped like a wilted weed. “I’m not angry with you, Aves. I know my brother. I understand the spot you were in.” She looks up again, and her eyes shine with unshed tears as vulnerability weeps from her pores. “But tell me, do I have ‘use me’ tattooed on my face?” Two fat tears slide down her cheeks, taking mascara with them.

I drop to sit next to her and squeeze her denim knee. “Slade’s not worth your tears. Trust me.”

Hannah wipes her nose with the back of her hand and sniffles. “What is it with men? Are Cole and Tej the only good ones alive? I felt sexy for the first time in forever. I thought Slade at least wanted me for that. Not that I want someone like him to want me, but you know.Ugh.” She scrubs a hand down the side of her face. “It hurts. He probably hated every sordid second. I’m so stupid.”

Speechless, I stare at her glistening blue eyes, prettier than a Caribbean sea. How the heck could she think so little of herself? I square my shoulders. This situation calls for sassy Aves. “Firstup, you are so far out of Slade’s league in the sexy stakes, it’s unlikely he’ll ever touch such beauty again.” Hannah opens her mouth to argue, but I raise my finger to shush her. “Secondly, he’s a scumbag, and that is wholly a reflection on him—not you. And thirdly, deception is his superpower. I don’t know if Cole told you, but I dated him for two whole months before discovering he had a girlfriend he’d been with for years.”

She shakes her head and wipes her cheeks with her palms. I rise to pluck a tissue from a nearby box and pass it to her before resuming my seat. “Cole didn’t mention that,” she says.

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