Page 43 of The Forbidden Trio

She shook her head. “Cole… I don’t know. Do you really think that’s smart?”

“The hell with smart. People don’t care about each other because it’s the smart thing to do. We justdo, because the alternative is unacceptable.” There was a fire raging in his chest. Love was raging. “Because we need each other.”

She was wavering, and he said a silent prayer that she wouldn’t kick him out of bed and out of her life again.

“I may need to take it a little more slowly. It takes time to build trust.”

He had to respect that. It made sense. Of course it did. He pulled in a breath, forced himself to calm. “We’ll take it however you need to, Janie. But know that I’m right there. Exactly where I’ve wanted to be for seven years. I just needed to make sure I had my shit together enough, you know?”

She took in a deep breath, blew it out and picked up his hand and kissed his fingertips. “Okay,” she said, as if she’d made some sort of decision. “Okay, babe. Let’s… let all that go for now and enjoy our noodles.”

He kissed her cheek and she smiled at him, making his heart pound.

Damn, what this girl did to him.

“Change of subject?” she asked him.

“Sure. Absolutely.” Not really. He wanted her packed and on her way to the house he’d gotten with her in mind. He twined his fingers in the ends of her hair for a moment, trying to convince himself that going at her pace really was okay. And it was—intellectually. But emotionally? He was just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. “Why don’t you tell me about your business? The place is successful, obviously, from what I saw of it. When did you open it?”

She smiled. “It’s been almost a year, which is hard to believe—it still feels brand new to me.

But it’s doing really well. The location is good.”

“Yeah. Malibu? For yoga? You almost couldn’t have picked a better spot. The rent on that place must be steep.”

Her cheeks pinked. “Well, I invested what I got in the divorce settlement.”

“Yeah, about that… I know you refused alimony before because you knew I was struggling, but that’s all changed. Once I got sober and was able to write good music and perform again, things really took off for the band, which you’ve probably heard. I have the resources now. If you need money for the business—”

“Absolutely not.”

“Okay. Just offering.” He shrugged, but he felt a little hurt. Which was ridiculous. Obviously, she was a good businesswoman. Why should she need his help?

She hadn’t needed him at all.

“The studio is doing great.I’mdoing great.” She bit her lip, watching him closely for a long moment. “But thank you for offering. I’m good, Cole.”

“Yeah, you are,” he said, making her smile. He speared a piece of pork with his chopsticks, fed it to her. “So, tell me what’s going on with your family. How is Iris?”

She chewed for a moment, swallowed. “She’s good. Great, really. She and her partner, Amy, have been together for about four years now, and they adopted a baby girl a few months ago. Lola is a little doll—I love being an aunt even more than I imagined I would. I’ve been up to Portland to see her twice already. And Iris is still painting, and she’s doing some work in clay now too.”

“Wow, a new generation. Your parents must be thrilled.”

“They are. I think they were despairing of ever being grandparents.”

They’d talked about it when they were young, back in the days before he’d lost himself in drugs and booze. Having kids. Making a family. But he’d blown that all to hell, hadn’t he? Still, maybe there was time now. Maybe. He had to grind his jaw tight not to push too hard.

Cole took a sip of his iced chai tea. “So… everyone’s healthy and happy?”

Janie nodded as she sipped some of the rich pho broth. “How are your dad and Alison doing?”

“They’re fine. Went out to Pasadena to see them at Christmas with Chase.”

“You still don’t talk to your dad much?”

“Not much, no. That hasn’t changed. Dad’ll never forgive me for dragging my little brother into the music industry.”

“You hardly dragged him. From what you’ve told me—and from what he says himself—he was practically born with that guitar implanted in his hands.”

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