Page 95 of Fighting the Tide
“I need the—”
“Results.We all know that.You’ve said it enough.She’s not yours, Nolan.When I look at her, I see Sean.It’s the way her mouth dimples in the corners when she smiles and the almond shape of her eyes.You’ll have to face just how deep Brooke’s betrayal went, but I hope it doesn’t cripple what’s growing between you and Colette.I think you were meant to share a piece of your life with Brooke, only so you could be connected to your soulmate now.”She gets up out of her chair, swaying a little with how much she’s drunk.Her words resonate inside of me and I find myself scrutinizing Colette as she tips her head back and laughs at something someone has said.I’ll admit, I didn’t take the time to memorize Sean Clark’s face, for obvious reasons, but I can see what Avery is talking about.She may have echoes of Brooke there in her features, but there’s no mistaking how different she is.
“I’m falling in love with her,” I confess as my chest pulses at the same time her mismatched eyes find mine.“I can’t control it and I’m scared.”Colette’s mouth turns down as she watches me, then she turns back to her conversation, her smile making a reappearance.
“I know.”Avery’s hand lands on my shoulder, giving me a squeeze.“True love is worth fighting for.No matter how hot the coals beneath your feet are, you take that next step.Even when you feel like giving up, you take the agony, knowing the reward will be the greatest gift you’ve ever received.”
“She’s so young,” I murmur.It’s my last reservation standing in the way of how my heart wants to sing for Colette.
“She is, but she’s an adult.If she chooses to be with you, despite the age difference, then that’s her choice to make.Do not make it for her.You need to concentrate on that unwarranted guilt you’re feeling and get rid of it.”Her hand tousles my hair as she backs away from the table.“I need to somehow convince my wife-to-be to follow me inside.Puppies and candies in a van just won’t cut it tonight.”
“For a drunk woman, you’re sure making a lot of sense tonight,” I muse as she attempts to salute me but pokes herself in the eye instead.“You need to go sleep that off.”
Her fist rubs into the afflicted eye as she stumbles and rights herself, a dopey smile coating her lips.“I’m not even that drunk,” she lies and scoffs, finally lowering her fist from her reddened eye.
“I need to use the bathroom, and I’m not using the portable bathroom.”I point to the outdoor facility and cringe.Avery waves me off and stumbles over to Monica, her small heel getting stuck in the grass.I snort to myself and stand from the chair to head inside, my bladder screaming at me for release.
I step into the kitchen and shut the patio door behind me, heading for the powder room to my immediate left after the fridge.I haven’t drank more than a single drink tonight because I want to keep my wits about me, but also because I want to drive home later.I hate sleeping at someone else’s house, and even though I’ll only begrudgingly admit it to myself, the cottage is my home.
After finishing up and washing my hands, I open the door to find Cassie O’Brien leaning against the wall, her arms crossed at her chest.“Can we talk?”
“About?”I ask as I lean on the wall on the other side of the bathroom doorway.
She looks over her shoulder, the same energy I sensed off of her at the restaurant permeating the air around us.She’s worried Kasen will come looking for her and find us here together.“About us—”
“You seriously want to say that with your fiancé outside?”I snort and shove off the wall.“Cassie, there is no us.There was for a moment, a long time ago, but that’s long done.I don’t want to be an asshole, but it was nothing more than a flicker in the spans of our lives and it meant even less.Why do you keep bringing this back up?”
“Because she’s desperate and you take some sort of sick pleasure in that.”Colette’s sneering tone has the air rushing from my lungs and Cassie’s face reddening with embarrassment.Cassie turns just as Colette steps from behind a column next to the kitchen, her beautiful face a mask of irritation.“You’re both sick fools.One chasing the other in circles, like a dog trying to clean its own ass.”
“Hey!”Cassie steps toward her, her finger pointing in her face.“Watch it!”
“Or what?”Colette smirks, she actually fucking smirks as she, too, steps up to Cassie, who has to strain her neck to look into Colette’s face.
“Okay, stop,” I snap as I put an arm between them.“Cassie, I hope you enjoy your night with your fiancé.”It’s a direct dismissal, and she knows it as she stares at me with surprise.I know she wants to say something, to continue the conversation she tried to initiate, but with one look at Colette’s thunderous face, she turns on her heel and leaves the house.
We both watch her leave and then Colette’s hands slap against my chest as she pushes me back, making me stumble into the wall.“Is that how it’s always going to be?Will she constantly be sniffing around you, and will you always eat it up like a decadent dessert?”
“Hold on just a minute,” I growl and step into her, our chests brushing.“I don’t eat anything up like a dessert…” My eyes rove over her face as I let my lips slowly crawl upward.“Yet.”
Her cheeks grow pink as she fights a smirk of her own, then her eyes narrow and the mirth is gone.“You’ll be a starving man if you don’t set that woman straight once and for all.”She takes a step back and crosses her arms under her breasts, making them plump upward, threatening to spill over.“Stop entertaining her need for talks and drink dates.”
“I’m not entertaining shit.”I shake my head as I scoff.“What do you want me to do?”
Her arms drop from her chest as she takes two small steps closer, pressing her delicious body against mine.Her mouth brushes mine and then coasts along my cheek, her lips dragging over the skin.“Make sure she knows who you belong to.”Then her lips press to the shell of my ear as her tongue dips out to flick against it.My arms wrap around her waist, my hands landing at the lowest point of her back, too dangerously close to the plump swell of her ass.
“Who do I belong to?”I husk out, my voice raw with unbridled desire.
She draws back and slaps a hand to my cheek, roughly patting it as shetsks.“We’ll know as soon as those results come back, right?”I have never wanted to bend someone over my knee so badly before.
Her hand falls from my face as she flicks her hair over her shoulder, sending a shot of her scent my way.Then she walks to the front door, her flat shoes clicking on the tile.“Where are you going?”
“Home,” she answers with a yawn and opens the front door.“Good night.”
“Wait!You can’t go alone.”My heart thunders as she looks over her shoulder, her smile shining in the dim light.
“I called my driver.He’s been waiting outside.That’s why I caught you sneaking around with Cassie.”She steps outside and blows me a kiss as I shake my head.“Good night.”
As soon as the door shuts, an irrational thought enters my mind.What if she’s with Jeremy?I rush to the window by the front door and move the curtain aside to peer out, letting loose a breath when I see her getting into a Rolls-Royce, an older gentleman holding the door open for her.
