Page 55 of Enemies, Lovers & A Valentine's Baby

“That’s right.”

Trying out cocktails with Cole Matthews? That sounds like a dangerous idea. The last time Sue and I did this, we tried so many combinations that we eventually got drunk. This is more agirlfriend type of experience. The last thing I need is to act like Cole and I are on friendly terms. He and alcohol are two things I don’t even want to consider in the same sentence. Especially after that dream.

“Come on, Lila. You’re making this more complicated than it needs to be by overthinking.” Cole’s deep voice pulls me out of my thoughts. He leans back in his chair, brow arched as he watches me. “Look, we don’t have to figure it out right now. You can decide what you want to do later, and I’ll go along with whatever you want. It’s your call. I just want to make sure things turn out as good as Sue wants. She’s not just my best friend’s wife, but she’s also my friend.”

“Yeah, well, she’s been my friend for longer, so how about you let me worry about what my best friend wants!” I cringe a little at my sharp tone.

For some reason I’m even more irritated with him than usual.

He raises his hands up in mock surrender, leaning even further back into his chair.

“Maybe we should work on something else right now. Let’s see what’s the next item on the menu. Looks like music,” he says, as he scans through the list.

“About that,” I say, leaning forward now, elbows on the table and fingers clasped together in front of me. My excitement bubbles back to the surface. “It got me thinking back to Sue and Greg’s wedding. I’d booked this unknown, up and coming live band who turned out to be incredible! The melodies they had together were out of this world. It really felt like something magical was happening, like”— I pause, searching for the right words to convey how it made me feel.

“Like love was in the air all around us and if we reached out, maybe we could all snag a piece of it for ourselves, even just a sliver,” he finishes for me. “Something as pure as what Sue and Greg have has a way of giving hope. Personally, it reminded methat love was still a real thing, and just because mine hadn’t—” he pauses, clearing his throat sharply.

Just because yours hadn’t what?

I’m tempted to ask, but I can tell from the solemn expression on his face that he regrets that last sentence. Something about that expression tugs at me, and I remind myself that he is none of my business.

“You’re right, the band was great. I enjoyed the evening more because of their performance,” he said.

“Oh, so you did enjoy the evening after all,” I say.

“Lila, I—”

“Anyway,” I cut him off, bringing both of our focuses back to the work at hand. “As much as I would love to have them back, especially since I know how much Sue loved them. There’s a problem.”

“What is it?” Cole asks.

“Well, they’ve always been good, but now they’ve hit the big time. No way they’d perform for us.”

I watch as his eyes darken with curiosity. “Why don’t you let me worry about that?” he says.

“They only perform for influential people. Plus, even if they by some miracle agreed to come, we couldn’t afford them.”

“You’re forgetting something, Lila,” he says silkily.

“What’s that?” I respond.

“You’re forgetting that I’m onForbes’ billionaires list. I’ll make a few calls.”

Instead of being annoyed at his grandiose statement, I find myself intrigued by him. It didn’t come across as bragging, just a matter of fact.

I stare at him a moment longer. I’ve always thought of him as a self-centered jerk who only cared about himself. Yet here he is going out of his way to help Sue out with all this when he’s obviously a very busy man. Now, he’s going to get us this band,at what’s for sure going to be a great expense on his end, all without batting an eye.

I’m starting to wonder if maybe Sue is right, and there is something more to him.

“Can I ask you something?” I say, curiosity finally getting the better of me.

“Sure. Ask away.”

“Why are you doing this? You said yourself you’re onForbes’ billionaires list. You have multiple companies to run, yet you insist on personally planning this event with me, when you could have easily passed it on to your events team.”

An emotion I can’t quite place flickers across his face so quickly I wonder If I’ve actually seen it.

“I pride myself on knowing every part of my business,” he says, “and since the event planning division is a new addition, I thought it would be good for me to spend some time learning it.”

---