Page 108 of Play of Love
“What could you possibly have done?” Cole was the most perfect guy ever. He and Margo met in college and they’d been together ever since. They were the description of the perfect couple. I couldn’t even think of him doing something to upset her. “Did she find out the roses were red instead of pink?” I had to laugh.
The sick look on his face held my attention. “I did something worse than that.”
“Cole, I’m sure she’ll be here. I’ll call and check.” I took out my phone from my back jeans pocket.
“No, wait. I should tell you what happened first, before you speak to her.” He held up his hands.
I narrowed my gaze at him and sighed, certain this was going to be one of his crazy tales of overliness. He’d probably tell me that he thought Margo was upset because he’d told her the sheets in her room were cotton instead of silk. And, if he did I’d happily highlight that Margo didn’t care about things like that. She was the humblest woman I knew, and Cole honestly didn’t need to be so over-the-top.
“Okay,” I said, just to humor him.
“There was something on my mind. Had been for a very long time. Years. I planned to tell her days ago, before we got here, but she’s been really busy at work. It was important to me to tell her before she got here. I wanted everything to be perfect and memorable as a happy time.”
This sounded serious. I shifted my weight from one foot to the next and folded my arms under my breasts.
Cole pulled in a breath and continued. “I had a secret that I needed to get off my chest.”
“What kind of secret?” I bit the inside of my lip and tucked a wayward strand of my hair behind my ear.
“The bad kind.” He brought his hand to his beard and shame filled his handsome features and made him look down. When he looked back to me, I saw that this really was serious. I’d never seen him look like that before. “Abi about ten years ago, Margo and I had a really terrible argument. I thought that was the end of us. We’d just left college and tried to live together as a couple. Anyway, this argument we had made me think we’d broken up. I was angry, and I got drunk, and um…”
I dropped my hands to my sides waiting to hear what he had to say.
“What did you do, Cole?” My voice sounded more rigid now, unlike the playful tone I’d used previously.
“I slept with someone else.”
My heart stopped and skipped several beats. My breath was caught in the walls of my chest. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“What?”My voice sounded fragile.
“I don’t really want to say it again. And, it’s embarrassing for me to tell you. I can’t even remember how it happened, but it did, and I’ve lived with that secret for all this time. I couldn’t marry Margo with that on my conscience. She deserved to know, and I think she’s changed her mind. I don’t think she’s coming.”
I drew my brows together and frowned at him.
“Cole, why didn’t you tell her this before? This is crazy. You wait until two days before your wedding to tell her something that happened ten years ago!” I huffed. I was angry and disappointed. I instantly thought that ifIfelt this angry, then how did poor Margo feel?
Cole bowed his head and lifted it up again. “I was scared. I thought I could never mention it, but I had to. I, I was young and dumb. I’m not a cheater.” His eyes glossed over. “She was crying when I told her, but then she sounded fine. I asked her if she still wanted to marry me and she said yes. I thought she’d be here by now.”
“I’ll call her.” I nodded. I didn’t know what I would say to Margo, but I knew my friend would be incredibly hurt regardless of what she told Cole, and it was definitely the reason why she wasn’t here.
“Thank you.”
“Abi,” said a smooth, cool voice I’d recognize anywhere.
My breath quickened. I looked up to find myself gazing up into Scott’s turquoise eyes. The simple tingle I had felt when I’d watched him from the balcony was nothing in comparison to the heat that rose within me now.
It was because of the way he was looking at me. Smoldering with the heat I felt, probing and boring into me with an intensity that made me swallow hard and try to calm my racing heart.
Considering that I’d been on a six-year mission to purge myself of him, I wasn’t doing so well. It wasn’t helping that being this close to him gave me a good view of how much hotter he’d become since I last saw him. Looking at him from afar gave only a taste; up close, he was all kinds of gorgeous, and six years older looked great on him. The boyish look he had about him back then had turned into sharper, more striking masculine features, and, while he still exhibited that bad-boy presence with overpowering wildness, he had an air of maturity that was even more attractive.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Cole beat me to it.
“Scott, hey,” Cole replied putting out his hand to shake Scott’s. Cole looked nervous. He always did around Scott, but, with the secret he just disclosed to me, I was sure he must have felt like he was walking on eggshells. “When’d you get here?” Even his voice wavered.
“Just now,” Scott replied. He must have meant the time at which he’d come up the steps because he’d been here for at least half an hour. “Abi.” He focused his attention on me again.
“Hi.” I raised my chin and put on my best smile, trying not to see more into the look of interest he was giving me , or the way that his eyes caressed me with softness.
