Page 65 of Beautiful Mess

“I didn’t raise you to talk about women like that.” I have to take a breath before I continue to not blow a damn fuse. “When you talk about Grace, or any other woman, for that matter, it will be with respect. Do you understand me?”

Holding up his hands innocently, he murmurs, “Yeah, sure.Fuck. I’m going to finish getting ready for dinner. Hopefully, you’re able to pull the stick out of your ass before we leave.”

Cole storms out of the kitchen, leaving me standing here with steam practically coming out of my ears. My hands are shaking, I’m so pissed.

How dare he talk about Grace like that, especially after knowing the only reason she agreed to it is because she felt like he could use someone to talk to. She’s doing it out of the goodness of her heart, because that’s the type of person she is, and he’s had ulterior motives the whole time.

I’m disgusted by my son’s behavior, and not only because it’s Grace he’s talking about, but because what I said to him is right—I didn’t raise him to behave like that. It takes all my self-control to not go after him and tell him about my relationship with Grace. But again, she deserves to know before I do it, and doing it right now would feel an awful lot like marking my territory against my own child.

We’ll tell him…soon.

Let’s just hope I can keep my cool until then.

Twenty-Eight

Grace

“Before I took my leave of absence, I was managing a twenty-person team,” Cole boasts, and I have to fight to not roll my eyes.

We’ve been at the coffee shop for about a half an hour now, and he’s done nothing but talk about himself the whole time. His job, his house, his wife that doesn’t appreciate him, his new car and how fast it can go.

I. Don’t. Care.

“Wow, look at you,” I reply with as much enthusiasm as I can muster. “When do you go back to work?”

Cole blows out a breath, sitting back in his chair as he links his fingers together behind his head. “I’m not too sure yet.”

My brows pinch for the fiftieth time already today. At this rate, I’m going to need a strong dose of Botox by the time this is over. “Aren’t you worried they’ll replace you?”

Chuckling, he says, “They need me too much to replace me.”

“You sure about that?” The words leave my mouth before I have a chance to stop them. “I mean, they are managing right now without you, aren’t they?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.” He huffs out a laugh and shrugs. “But not for long.”

“Right, of course.” I nod. “Because I’m sure you bring something totally new and unique to the team that they couldn’t get from anybody else, right?”

“Exactly.” Cole winks at me, and it makes my stomach roll. “See, you’ve always understood me.”

Choosing to ignore that last comment, because it couldn’t be further from the truth, I ask, “How’s everything with the divorce going? Having been through one myself, I know how stressful they can be.”

“Fine, I guess,” he mutters as he pulls out his phone.

“Do you know when it’ll be finalized? I know South Carolina has a ninety-day waiting period once the papers have been filed.”

Cole’s gaze is glued to the screen as he appears to be texting somebody. “They haven’t been filed yet.”

“Oh. How long have y’all been separated?”

“Since the day I got here.” Finally locking his phone, he sets it face down on the table before meeting my gaze. “I’d imagine Emily will get the paperwork filed pretty soon.”

“Have you guys not talked at all?”

“No way.” He chuckles. “She probably blocked my number before my car was even out of the driveway.”

This entire conversation is so bizarre.

“Maybe you two won’t get divorced after all. Maybe you just need some space before coming back together.”

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