Page 111 of L.O.V.E

“I gotta run.” Wearing a boyish grin, Tango clocked Cole in the arm, then nodded at me. “See you soon, Natalie.” He took a step backward, then pointed at Cole. “We’re still on for lunch, yeah?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

With that, Tango turned and sauntered away.

Cole fell into his seat and grabbed my hand across the table. “I’ve known where you were the whole time.”

“What?”

He didn’t even have the courtesy to feign remorse.

“Oh, come on, Natalie. What man worth anything would let the love of his life out of his sights for one single heartbeat?”

Love of his life. I tucked that statement away for later processing. “You weren’t supposed to cheat.”

“I knew where you lived before we made that deal.” He dropped his chin, fiddled with a napkin, and said, “I’ve known for months.”

“That’s still cheating.”

“You’re right. I lied by omission. I’m sorry, but you were so damn cute and determined to make this difficult. You wanted to play. I needed to make you happy.”

“I’m too tired to be mad at you right now. Maybe after another coffee.”

As if on cue, a waitress I didn’t recognize brought refills. “Your breakfast’ll be right out.”

“Thank you,” Cole said, sitting straighter in his chair, turning his attention to the blue sky outside.

Early morning sun rays beamed through the window, lighting him in a dusty glow. I slipped my cell out of my bag and took a series of pics before he aimed his gaze my way again.

Oh, God. My heart.

The way he drank me in, those golden eyes dreamy and wanting and sleepy and grateful.

My phone chimed. I ignored the incoming text.

The waitress brought our plates. I used a fork and knife. Cole dug in with just his fork, his fingers long and graceful gripping the metal utensil. Thick veins mapped his hands, and dear God, I wanted those fingers on my skin. I wanted to spend the rest of the day in bed with that body and those dimples.

My phone chimed again. I shoved the annoyance away.

Cole stiffened. “What time’s your meeting this morning?”

“Nine sharp. I need to be at the office by eight fifteen so we have time to prepare.”

The third chime would come in three…two…one.

Yep. There it was.

Cole shot a glance at my cell, then back to me. “Don’t you need to get that? What if it’s work?”

“It’s not,” I mumbled before considering the consequences.

Faster than I could backtrack, he snatched the device off the table and read the screen.

Had I not been exhausted, I would’ve put up a fight.

The room heated. Cole stared at the words, his eyes going dark and liquid, his hands trembling.

“I’ve been getting them every day since Joe’s retirement party,” I confessed. “The exact same texts every day. Until yesterday.”

---