Page 18 of L.O.V.E

My face had to be purple at that point, or charred black, because I was a furnace ready to blow. “Did she now?”

“Sounds pretty awful.”

How dare he look sympathetic.

The weight of memories, the ghost of my tortured past, the vile, vile anger welled, bitter on my tongue, and I could no longer meet his eyes, afraid to reveal my scars.

I pushed to stand, my chair making a terrible screech. “It was nice to see you, Cole, but I need to get to work.”

Cole stood, too, as if on reflex, and cleared his throat. “I hit a sore spot.”

“Something like that.” I didn’t wait for a response or bother with niceties. I made for the door without a backward glance.

What a shame. I loved that coffee shop, and now I could never return.

Cole

“You taking her out again?” I shoved my gloves into the locker.

“Tonight.” Martin dropped his ass on the bench and rubbed a towel over his head.

“So things are going well?” I asked, yanking a T-shirt down my damp torso and avoiding eye contact, afraid of revealing my ire.

“Yeah. I mean, you’ve seen her.” He chuckled, blew a low whistle.

I wasn’t amused. “Looks aren’t everything.”

“But you saw her, right?” Elbows to knees he stared at the floor. “Seriously, though. She’s great. Smart. Funny. Low maintenance.”

“Where are you taking her?” I stepped into my jeans.

“That new place in Bellevue everyone’s raving about. Top of the Tower. Had to call in a favor to get reservations. Worth the sacrifice, though, for that view.”

The words, “Don’t go there,” flew out of my mouth before considering the sentiment behind them.Jesus. Fuck. Shit. Why was the locker room so damn hot?

“Why the fuck not?”

Why? Who the hell knew? But I was digging a hole I’d never escape. I needed to backpedal, and fast. “She doesn’t strike me as the gold digger, arm candy type.”

“Explain.” His phone buzzed.

“You take a woman to a place like Top of the Tower to impress your colleagues. See and be seen. Show her off.”

“And?” He looked at his screen and shoved the cell into his duffel bag.

“Come on, Martin. You really want to expose her to the bullshit so soon?”

“No.”

“Take her someplace quiet and quaint. Where you can sit close, get to know each other. No pressure.”

“Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense.” His leg bounced jackrabbit speed. “Fuck. You’d think I’ve never dated before.”

Shit. The guy was nervous. Maybe he really did like Natalie.

“Wouldn’t call what you do dating.”

“True.” The word came out more triumph than reality check, and that right there was what had me riled more than anything.

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