Page 53 of Enemies, Lovers & A Valentine's Baby

“What are we looking at?” Cole asks, fingers elegantly tucked into the pocket of his pants as he stares up at the seven floors of the Coral.

“The Coral. They have a great hall that is probably the best venue for the event. I figured we’d start off with the bigger details and work our way down to the little things.”

“Okay, what do you like about this one?” he asks.

“Well, let’s start with the most obvious,” I say.

“And what would that be?”

“Availability. Things book up quickly around here, and originally Sue and I were going to keep our usual spot, but at the last minute we decided we wanted to shake it up a bit and do something different. Keep it fresh. That didn’t leave us with many options.”

“Hmm. I can see how that would make things tricky,” he says, still staring up at the building.

“The best part about this place though, besides the fact that it’s available, is it’s also literally perfect for the job,” I finish with a smile, already getting excited to show him everything.

“How so?” he asks, brows cocked inquisitively at me.

“Come with me. I’ll show you,” I say, leading him into the building.

“Hello,” I greet the young blonde woman sitting behind the reception counter.

“Hello,” she responds, fingers still tapping away at the keyboard in front of her, with barely a glance my way.

“I spoke to your manager earlier. He said I could take a look at the event hall upstairs for an event we’re looking to do in a few weeks.”

“Sure thing. What’s your name, miss?” she asks.

“Lila Smith,” Cole’s deep baritone voice answers from behind me before the words can leave my mouth. Much like me, the receptionist freezes at the sound of his voice, her fingers pausing their typing.

Her eyes widens as she greedily stares at Cole, her jaw almost hitting the floor. I can’t say I blame her. Dressed in a casual black blazer with a tight black turtleneck showing off his broad shoulders and thick neck, and black pants with a slim Gucci belt, he looks like sex on a stick. It was a struggle for me too when my eyes first landed on him today.

She flips her hair over her shoulder coyly, her voice instantly becoming very high pitched.

“Uh—good morning. I didn’t see you standing there,” she smiles a little too brightly at him, completely ignoring me like I’m invisible.

“No problem at all. Would you check that out for us, please? Lila Smith?” Cole says to her, leaning forward on the counter, a wide smile showing off the dimples in his cheeks.

I can’t help rolling my eyes, but inside my chest constricts. He’s shamelessly flirting with her.

Not that I care what he does.

“No problem, just go on up,” she smiles at him, twirling a lock of hair around her finger, without even checking her computer.

“Thank you,” Cole turns back to give her another one of his charming smiles as he leads me towards the staircase. I ball myhands into fists, resisting the urge to childishly smack his hand away off the small of my back as he leads me forward.

We make our way up three flights of stairs, finally reaching the large mahogany door that separates us from the hall. I stand there, trying to catch my breath from the hasty walk up here, regretting not taking the elevator.

I feel his warmth beside me, and when I look up at his face, I can’t help but smile at his expression. It reminds me of exactly how I felt when I first saw pictures of this place. It’s even better in real life. More beautiful than anything the cameras could’ve captured. From the nude-colored walls to the stylish drapes that hang to the side of the hall, even to the little bar area in the back. Everything down to the gorgeous chandeliers that swing from the high ceiling is a masterpiece.

Even standing empty right now, I can imagine the final look will be like something straight out of a fairytale by the time I’m done with this place.

“How have I attended so many events, but never been to this place?” Cole asks, speaking more to himself than me as his eyes roam the hall.

“Sometimes, little wonders are always in the places we least expect them to be,” I shrug.

“It’s beautiful,” he says softly, eyes glued to the vast space that stretches out in front of us, so full of possibility.

“That’s exactly what I thought too when I first saw pictures of it. Then I instantly started thinking about the ways we could tailor it to fit our event. The possibilities are endless, because it’s basically perfect just the way it is. If you want to compare, I also have another location that we could check out and see if—”

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