Chapter 12
Cole
Next morning, I was at the hospital at eight o’clock on the dot.
I expected to find Laney in a zombie state, or at least looking tired.
To my surprise, she was wide-eyed and full of energy.
Skye had been discharged half an hour ago, and Rob had taken her home right away.
I regretted not seeing her—I was better at giving pep talks in person—but I trusted my brother-in-law to take good care of her.
“Why are you so awake?” I inquired.
“I might have drunk five coffees in the past two hours.” Her grin was priceless.
“Someone was looking forward to this day.”
She nodded, licking her lips. “You promised a day of proper pampering. Who needs sleep? Pffft.”
Laughing, I pulled her close to me, barely keeping back from capturing her mouth. “Want to check out that broom closet right now?”
I only realized that she wasn’t her usual self when she wrapped her arms around my waist, looking up seductively.
“Or you can kiss me right now.”
I took her hands in mine. “You were worried about colleagues seeing you, remember?”
She blinked, nodding. “Oh, you’re right. I forgot. So gallant of you. Saving my reputation. I think I like you a little more.”
“You think?”
“Yup. I have to consider this when I’m not lacking sleep and high on caffeine.”
“I happen to like you this way. You’re… corruptible.”
She blushed. “Just need to change out of my scrubs, and then I’m good to go.”
Tilting closer, I whispered in her ear. “You’re hot in them.”
She playfully pushed me away. “Hey, stop being so charming. I’m extra susceptible when I haven’t slept.”
“Susceptible and corruptible. I think I’ll pay you visits on your night shifts.”
“Oh, you’re terrible. I’m going to change. Wait for me outside.”
I wiggled my eyebrows, tilting closer again. “Or… I can watch you change.”
Laney burst out laughing. “No, you can’t. Damn, and here I thought you were chivalrous and everything, looking after me… but you were just waiting for the right opportunity to take advantage of my susceptibility and corruptibility.”
“Always will,” I assured her.
“Good to know.” With a wink and a grin, she turned around.
I waited for Laney outside, taking advantage of that time to make calls for work. Riling up the team for a new project was one of my favorite things to do. Their enthusiasm was in part what drove me. Normally they didn’t work on Saturday, but we were on a tight deadline.
They were still reticent toward me after this intense week.
I wasn’t an asshole by any means, but I hadn’t been approachable, and now I was riding their asses with the draconian schedule I’d set up.
I couldn’t go easy on them in the early stages.
We were close to the deadline for submitting our proposal for the Centenarian project.
“We’ve got strict deadlines on this, Perry.”
“Sure, boss.”
“Gene, get me the Centenarian budget update by this evening, please.”
“How about the graphics you asked me for yesterday?”
“Prioritize this.”
“Okay.” Her tone was clipped, but she didn’t contradict me. One of my main tasks as chief of operations was making sure that all parts moved in a coordinated way. That meant being ruthless with priorities.
Laney came out while I was still chatting with the team, but I immediately ended the call, pocketing the phone and whistling loudly.
“I was wrong, doc. You’re even hotter in this cute outfit.”
“I’m wearing a jacket, jeans, and riding boots,” she said skeptically.
The riding aspect of it was messing with my thoughts.
“Trust me” was all I said.
We went to a coffee shop near the hospital. The server led us all the way to the back, in a corner with a couch and a small table. We were the only ones in the back. On Saturdays, New Yorkers treated themselves to brunch, or at least late breakfast. It was eight thirty now.
“This is lovely,” she said, looking around. “So this is the first step in proper pampering?”
“Yes. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” I took off her jacket, draping it on the side of the couch.
I touched her cheeks with the back of my fingers, rubbing up and down lightly.
“Thanks for looking out for Skye.” I’d told her that before, but it was worthy of repeating.
I wanted her to know how much I appreciated it.
Her breath caught when I cupped the back of her head, bringing her closer.
I kissed her deep and wet. She tasted amazing.
I could kiss her for hours, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
This was just so fucking perfect. She whimpered, tugging at my hair, then at my shirt.
I kissed down her neck before straightening up, speaking against her mouth.
“Laney, I know what we said in Rome. But I like you so much. Being with you, talking to you, just sitting on that couch, pouring you wine and giving you a foot massage. I can’t ignore this, and I don’t want to. Explore this with me.”
Laney’s eyes widened. She bit her lower lip, lowering her gaze to my shoulder. My gut clenched. “So, my job isn’t the only reason I was saying that.”
“Okay. You said something about baggage, I remember. Want to sit down?”
She nodded, pressing her lips in a tight line. I waited patiently, hand on her waist, knowing she wanted to say more.
“I was married for six months,” she whispered, and I felt like someone had just hit the back of my knees with a baseball bat.
“My husband passed away from a heart attack two years ago. Since then, I’ve…
I don’t know if I can...” She shook her head as if she was correcting herself.
“I haven’t even been on a date or kissed anyone… until you.”
I nearly buckled under the weight of what she just said. I tightened my grip on her waist, searching for the right words.
Worry was etched on her beautiful face, but she still wasn’t looking at me. “Are you mad that I didn’t tell you before? I’m sorry. It’s not a secret or anything, it’s… not something that naturally comes up, and talking about it makes me sad.”
“I’m not mad at you,” I reassured her, skimming my hands up to cup her face, looking her straight in the eyes. That deep sadness there slayed me. Fuck, I wanted to erase that, to drive it away from her eyes, her heart, her mind.
I wasn’t mad, but I did feel a bit left out. I knew how irrational that was. We’d just been having fun in Rome, why should she share something so deeply personal? But I was happy she was opening up now.
“I’m not sure how to navigate this,” she murmured.
I smiled at her, keeping my hands on her shoulders. “I have a plan for today.”
She smiled right back. “And it starts with breakfast. Maybe we should order.”
“Your choice.”
We sat down, and she picked up the menu, rubbing her stomach as she read it. I was seeing this amazing woman in a whole different light.
“Okay, I want their premium breakfast. It says that it is a platter with a mix of their signature dishes. All of them sound good.”
“Let’s order.”
The waiter was quick and efficient, taking our order and then immediately coming back with our coffee and a basket with bread. Laney munched on a slice right away.
“I don’t know why I’m so hungry. That shawarma last night was huge. Skye and Tess really saved me with that.”
“They really didn’t try to question you? That’s very unlike my sisters.”
“Well, they thought about it, but I honestly think they were both tired. It crossed my mind to offer myself as bait to distract them from everything that was going on—both of them, because honestly, Tess was also pretty down. But I wanted to talk to you first about everything.”
Her compassion for my sisters took me by surprise completely, especially that she’d noticed Tess’s state. This didn’t come just from being a doctor, but also intuition and just being a caring person.
“Do you want to know more?” she asked.
“Only if you’re ready to talk.”
“I usually am not, but I want everything out in the open.” She sipped her coffee, holding the cup with both hands.
“Ryan and I met in college. We got married when I was in med school. We never knew about the heart issue until… it happened. It was just before I had to decide where to do my residency.”
“And after that you moved to New York.”
She nodded. “I’d been accepted to a hospital in Philly and this one for my residency, and I just needed a change of scenery, you know? A fresh start. It was scary to come here on my own, but honestly, staying there was even more scary.”
“I am sorry for your loss, Laney.”
I covered her hands. She nodded, smiling sadly. “It was a rough time, but I had Isabelle and also my parents. I went to therapy, and that helped.”
“With Isabelle?”
“No, she said that usually it’s best if the counselor is a stranger.
It’s been… I’ve healed, you know. Through my work and the counseling sessions.
I’ve made peace with what happened. But moving on, opening up, dating is different.
It’s harder. I’m scared, and I’m not even sure why. Losing someone leaves deep marks…”
I took her face in my hands, shifting closer. “Baby, we’ll go at your pace. We’ll just take everything as it comes.”
She smiled, biting her lip. “That sounds good. I can do that.”
Just then, the waiter came with breakfast, interrupting us, laying six small plates of food on the table.
Laney dug into the food with the same excitement as in Rome.
I couldn’t even fathom that this person who was so positive and optimistic had experienced such a loss.
The server kept bringing new plates as soon as we cleared the ones in front of us.
We devoured the enormous amount of food relatively quickly.
“So, I believe you promised pampering today. Proper pampering.” She laughed, her eyes happy again.
“I’m a man of my word. I’m going to follow through.”
She batted her eyelashes, smiling. “Care to share what happens after breakfast?”
“See, that’s the thing. I have to change the plan.”
“Why?”
I shifted closer to her again, touching her jaw, moving up to her cheek. “Because it involved taking you home, giving you a foot rub.”
Her pupils dilated. “Go on.”
“Wanted to extend that offer to a full-body treatment.”
“Perfect. When can we start?”
“Laney…”
She pouted. “I don’t like that tone. I feel like I’m about to be refused a bone after you dangled it in front of me.”
“I just don’t want things to… get out of hand.”
“Oooh.” She instantly blushed, licking her lower lip.
I couldn’t hold back and claimed her mouth, exploring her deeply.
I threaded my fingers in her hair, devouring every sigh she gave me.
With every lash of my tongue, Laney’s breath became shorter, faster.
She tasted like honey and strawberries, and I couldn’t get enough. But I paused the kiss.
“I know what you mean about things getting out of hand,” Laney said.
“You’re tired.” I remembered how guarded she’d been in Rome.
“And corruptible.” Her eyes were warm. “You really are looking out for me.”
“Yes. I want you to be sure, to trust me completely.” I wanted to touch and explore her, but first, I wanted to make sure she was ready for all that.
I twined a strand of her hair in my fingers, speaking against her cheek. “You taste like honey. I love it. I can’t stop fantasizing about spreading honey all over you, licking you everywhere.”
She shuddered against me. I barely kept from claiming her mouth again.
“Cole! That’s your idea of taking it slow?”
“No. Sorry. Got way ahead of myself. Want to stay here? I’m sure we can find other interesting things on the menu. I can start on that foot rub.”
“And I can’t even fall asleep on you because we’re in a public place. You’re a genius.” I caught her smile before she hid her face in my chest. “I like you, charmer. A lot.”
“I haven’t even started charming you.”
I was used to always doing things at my own pace. I was used to the world accommodating me—at least when it came to business—not the other way round. But now, it was all about her. I wanted to give her exactly what she needed.