13. Cole
COLE
Jenny looked like a sexy princess; I puffed up with pride as we took the elevator to the lobby. “You really look incredible in that dress,” I told her.
“Aw, thanks.” She blushed in pleasure. “I meant what I said: it’s the nicest thing I’ve ever worn. I saw the price tag—holy cow, Cole. I promise I’ll take good care of it so you can return it after tonight.”
“What?” I scoffed. “We are not returning that dress. It was made for you. It’s a gift.”
“Wow.” Jenny gently stroked the luxurious material. “That’s… That’s real nice of you, Coley.”
“It’s my pleasure.” I meant it.
The elevator doors opened, and I swept Jenny out into the lobby where, lo and behold, the Windsor sisters were sitting and having a glass of wine, watching the sunset. Their eyeballs almost popped out when they saw her in the dress.
“Ladies,” I said.
“Hey, Florence. What’s up, Greta,” Jenny said, grinning at them as we passed.
Amari did a double take when he saw how gorgeous Jenny looked, but true professional that he was, he recovered quickly. “Mr. Bryson. Ms. Jenny. You two are looking your best. The car is waiting out front.”
“Thanks, Amari.” I nodded.
“Yeah, thank you.” Jenny grinned at him.
“I think everyone’s as impressed as I am with you in that dress,” I said as I opened her car door for her. Even Greta and Florence were speechless.”
“Ha, I don’t know.” She shrugged. “At least I looked fancy when I saw your nosy-neighbor ladies.”
“Yes, I enjoyed that, too.” I smiled as I pulled out onto the road, setting the Porsche’s navigation to the party. The Prestons were hosting it at a fancy Back Bay restaurant.
“Shirley seems real nice,” Jenny said. “I’ve never had a personal shopper before.”
“Shirley’s the best,” I agreed. “She’s been with me forever. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“You should buyhera present.” Jenny nodded. “Like a tropical vacation or something. Or a four-thousand-dollar dress.”
“That’s a good idea. I usually give her chocolates at Christmas, but I could get her something for her birthday. She always remembers mine.”
Jenny scowled at me. “You get herchocolatesfor Christmas? I met Shirley for ten minutes, and I could already tell that she would do anything for you. She’s going back to organize your office, and it’s seven o’clock at night! Screw the chocolate. Get her a Porsche.”
I laughed. “You’re good at spending my money, Jenny! Lots of creative ideas. I like it.”
She laughed, too. “Sorry about that. I just think you should reward good people, you know? Good people are hard to find.”
“True, very true.” I reached over and grabbed her hand, then held it for the rest of the ride.
The cocktail hour was in full swing when we got there, with the typical well-dressed Preston crowd. Jenny hitched up her dress, then fluffed her hair. “This is a fancy party, huh?”
“Fairly fancy,” I agreed. “The Prestons are an old-money family. You’ll probably see a lot of Chanel suits and pearls tonight.”
She looked confused. “On the men?”
I laughed. “No, the women—Chanel suits are classic Boston rich-white-women wear. I’ll show you.”
She hesitated before we walked in.
“You have nothing to worry about,” I assured her. “You look gorgeous, Jenny. You’re the prettiest girl in the world.”
“Cole, stop . You’re so silly.”
“I mean it.” I grabbed her hand again. “Shirley was right.”
We headed for the bar, and I did not imagine it—every single dude in the restaurant checked out Jenny from head to toe. Shewasthe prettiest girl in the world, and I was so lucky she was my date. “What do you want to drink?” I asked.
“Something fruity. With a straw, so I don’t mess up my lip gloss.” She motioned to her face.
“I’m on it.” I turned to the bartender and ordered a bourbon for myself and a rum punch with a straw for Jenny. She slurped her drink down fast, and I followed suit. I wasn’t going to let her outdrink me.
I pulled her onto my lap. “We should go to a Thunder game sometime,” I said.
“You mean the hockey team?” Jenny asked.
“Yeah—I own them.”
She almost spit out her drink. “What? You own a hockey team?”
“Yep. You know what that means, right?”
“That you’re rich as fuck?”
Ialmost spit out my drink. “Yes, but that’s not what I was going to say. What I wasgoingto say was that it means we can have box seats, baby. Would you be my date to a game? There’s actually one tonight—if we leave here in time, we can make the third period.”
“Coley, I’d be honored,” she cooed. “Box seats all the way!”
Picturing us at the game made me smile. I could see Jenny in a Thunder hoodie, drinking beer from a plastic cup, hooting and hollering at the team. I squeezed her against me, vowing to buy her both a hoodie and a beer later. “It’s a date.”
We largely ignored everyone else at the party. Instead, Jenny sat on my lap while we drank. It was awesome. When she excused herself to go to the ladies’ room, I ordered more cocktails. I felt like the cat that had swallowed the canary as I sat at the bar, waiting for her to return and also for James to show up. I hadn’t talked to him since he’d given me AccommoDating’s phone number. He didn’t know I was bringing Jenny tonight. I could hardly wait to see my friend’s face!
James and Audrey came in a few minutes later. It didn’t escape my notice that they held hands, and that their complexions looked bright. Orgasms were good for your skin. I knew all about that. Mycomplexion looked like I’d had the three-hundred-dollar facial at Balans on Newbury Street.
“I didn’t invite you here,” James said, clapping me on the back. “But it’s nice to see you anyway.” He kept Audrey close to his side, probably worried that I would try to steal her again.
Little did he know. I had an escort all my own.
“Todd texted me,” I said. “He wants me to come to everything I can. He said he wants to make you happy.”
“Aw, that’s sweet,” James said. He inspected me, eyes narrowing as he looked me up and down. “You’re looking smugger than usual. Why’s that?”
I beamed at him. “That’s why.” I pointed to Jenny as she hustled back into the room. She was walking fast and applying lip gloss, her curls bouncing and her voluptuous chest jiggling in the gorgeous Givenchy dress.
“Ho my frickin’ God!” Jenny shouted when she saw Audrey. She practically shoved James out of the way to get to her.
“Yay!” she yelled, grabbing Audrey into a hug and jumping up and down. “You got me my own billionaire! I’m so freaking excited!”
“Oh, Jesus,” James said. “You didn’t.”
“Yes, I did. Ho my frickin’ God, I did,” I said, chuckling. “I’m gonna marry this girl. She’s got a mouth like a?—”
“Cole,” James said, cutting me off. “My mother is ten feet away from us. Please. ”
“I don’t have to finish the sentence, anyway,” I said. I watched Jenny hug Audrey again, the two of them talking a mile a minute. “You know what I mean.”
He sighed. “I can guess.” We stood and watched the girls talking excitedly to each other.
“You’re the one who told me to call her,” I reminded him.
“I didn’t mean for you to bring an escort to my brother’s wedding functions,” James said.
For the second time that evening, I almost spit out my drink. “You should talk, bro.”
James glared at me, but I could tell he wasn’t mad. “Buy me a free drink. I need one.”
I motioned for the bartender and ordered James a martini.
James leaned closer and lowered his voice. “I’m happy you’re here and that Jenny’s working out for you. But I need to protect Audrey. No one but you knows the truth. It has to stay that way.”
I nodded and slid his martini over. We were in the Preston Viper pit, and James did need a drink. His family would freak out if they had any idea about Audrey’s real identity.
“Of course. I promise I won’t say anything about either of them,” I said. “I wouldn’t do that to you—you know that. But I have to say, for the hired help, you’re being very protective of her.”
“She needs my protection,” James said immediately. “She’s a sweet girl. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.”
“It doesn’t sound ridiculous. But what are you going to do after this is all over?” He might not admit it, but it was clear James was into this girl.
He shrugged. “Probably nothing.”
“Thatsounds ridiculous,” I said. “And I’m only saying that because you’re my best friend.”
“Sometimes I think I need to protect her from myself,” James said.
I was about to tell him he sounded doubly ridiculous, but Jenny and Audrey came to the bar then, still happily chatting. James put his arm around Audrey and kissed the top of her head. I watched him, gobsmacked. I’d never seen him like this with a woman before.
“I didn’t know you owned part of the Rhode Island Thunder, Cole. Jenny just told me. That’s so cool,” Audrey said.
“We have box seats tonight,” Jenny squealed. I put my arm around her and squeezed her against me.
“We can have box seats whenever you want, princess,” I said, then kissed her on the nose. Jenny smiled at me happily, and my heart swelled again. We stayed like that, arms wrapped around each other as we chatted with James and Audrey.
Several times, I caught Audrey observing her friend. “Jenny, come to the bathroom with me,” she said after a while, grabbing her by the hand. She flashed a dimpled smile at us. “We’ll be back in a few, guys.”
“What’s that all about?” I asked, watching Audrey drag Jenny away.
“I think Jenny’s going to get a talking to,” James said.
I scratched the back of my neck. “About what?”
“Not getting her hopes up about the billionaire with the box seats,” James said.
“Huh,” I said as I watched them retreat.
Was Jenny getting her hopes up?
And if she was…was that really the worst thing?