Chapter 34
YASMINE
Cole hasn’t just sat with me all day while Mom was in surgery, he also upgraded Mom’s room when he saw she was in a communal one with five other patients. Then he made sure there was an extra bed in the room so I could spend the night too.
Even when I told him not to make a fuss, he still did, making sure my mom was comfortable and well cared for.
Watching him take control was hot and made me feel all kinds of things that I shouldn’t be feeling for having only known him for such a short period of time.
However, we have been talking for weeks on the Wildcard app, and after dinner last night, part of my heart already knows him. It wants him too.
Especially after he promised not to break it in the car on the way here.
The heart monitor monotonously beeps, letting me know Mom is alive and well.
The procedure went without a hitch; she’s stable and responding well to the stent, and although it might have only taken an hour, my mom was exhausted afterward and has been sleeping ever since.
“The surgeon said it’s time for me to go.” Cole struts into Mom’s private room, the one Cole paid to upgrade and that I plan to pay him back for, his voice barely audible, so as not to disturb my mom.
It’s late now, and the hospital is quiet, with barely any noise in the private facility as everyone settles in for the night after their procedures. Families are heading home and passing by the door in gentle, respectful whispers.
Even though it’s late, I don’t want him to go. He’s a superstar and has been a power of strength all day, reassuring me she will be okay, and that she’s in safe hands.
He even looked up the surgeon to confirm he’s the best in the state and would be Cole’s first choice if anything ever happened to him or his family. He always seems to know what to say and when.
And he’s the only man that I have dated who’s stuck around regardless of stressful situations or through tough spots.
Dean, my ex, would have run at the first mention of the hospital, but Cole jumped at the chance to bring us here and organized us as if he’d done so a million times before.
He’s a natural with Mom and even joked with her that she had permission to break his legs if he ever broke my heart.
Cole isn’t just nice, he’s good and kind-hearted to a fault. He even canceled all his plans to play in a tennis championship with his brothers today to be here.
We’ve only officially been dating for a whole twenty-four hours, and somehow it seems like he’s been in my life forever. He just fits, and I think my mom is already planning what the holidays look like.
Sidenote: so am I.
“I’ll walk you out to your car.” I stand up, getting ready for him to leave.
“You stay here.” He passes me the hot chocolate he went to make me because not only did Cole sweettalk the nurses into providing a room with a television so my mom could watch her favorite programs to settle her nerves before her procedure, but he also asked if he could use the staff room to make a proper hot cocoa, which he ran to the store to get for me, rather than use the vending machines.
I swear they melted into a puddle when he flashed them a dazzling smile bright enough to stop traffic.
He’s a snake charmer who has the skill to calm a dragon. I’m sure of it.
Not that he’s aware of any of it, he’s just being himself, which is dashingly handsome and so swoony at all times, it makes me want to rip my clothes off and jump his bones.
I need a refresher of the night we spent together, ’cause it wasn’t just good, it was the best sex of my life.
“Thank you,” I say, wrapping my hands around the hot mug, stealing its warmth before taking a small sip.
“Anytime.”
I place my mug of cocoa on the nightstand by Mom’s bed and close the distance between us. “No, I mean for everything today.” I keep my voice low. “I will pay you back for the room.”
“You’ll do no such thing.”
That’s not even an option. “Yes, I will.”
“No. You won’t and I won’t hear any more about it.
” Cole wraps his arms around my waist, the low lighting of the room making shadows dance across his face.
Aside from holding my hand, which he did the entire time my mom was in surgery, it’s the first time we’ve been this close since this morning.
“For once in your life, take the gift. You work so hard for you and your mom, and I understand your need to be independent but just let me do this one thing for your mom.”
The look of shock on his face when I told him over lunch today that I was covering my mom’s medical expenses quickly turned into admiration, with a hint of anger when I explained who my dad was and how Mom refused to ask him for help.
As a film producer in LA he can well afford to cover Mom’s expenses and mine until we die, but Mom has always made it clear that I shouldn’t ask for his assistance. So I never have.
She believes the medical insurance I pay for covers today’s surgery, and she’d be upset to learn it costs an additional seven thousand dollars. But she’s worth every penny and more.
Mom and I have never struggled because, while she refused alimony, I persuaded her to accept his offer to cover property support, including utilities and insurance, as well as all my college expenses.
Her part-time job at the local boutique funds her little treats, which she deserves, and her being healthy is all she needs to focus on; she doesn’t need to know that I pay a huge chunk of my salary to cover the medical care and medication she needs every month.
She’s the reason I plan to get my app in front of Douglas Zenon.
If I succeed, I won’t have to worry about my mom’s healthcare anymore.
I’m not dumb; I understand her condition will worsen with age.
I’ve researched it and know what to expect.
But if my app climbs the global charts, I will never have to worry about medical bills again.
I’d have it covered ten times over, and I wouldn’t have to keep pumping money into my savings as a just-in-case fund, the way I have been.
“I will pay you back,” I inform Cole firmly. There is no chance I’m letting that slide.
“And I will give it straight back. It’s pointless to keep pushing me on this, baby.”
Baby. And there it is again.
How I loved it the first time and love it even more now.
“Were you sent from some faraway island, some place where toxic men don’t exist?” There isn’t one red flag about him, only green ones, and I’m running to every one of them.
“Even better, I was brought up by a great man.”
His father.
He told me all about him after I shared how unwell my mom has been. The new medication seems to be helping and she’s only had a handful of hypos in the last few months. Menopause is apparently screwing up her levels and management of her type 1 diabetes.
Cheers, Mother Nature.
“Your dad sounds like a great man.”
Cole runs his nose down mine. “You’ll have to come to his care home with me one day. I try to visit at least five times a week.”
“I would like that.”
He plants a kiss on my lips, both firm and soft in its execution.
“I’ll come back tomorrow at ten o’clock to pick you up.”
“Okay.” He’s like something out of a dream and took all the worry out of today. He’s been a rock; sturdy and unwavering.
“If you need anything.” He nips at my lips. “You call me or drop me a text.”
“I do need something.”
He gently breaks the kiss, pulling away. “Yeah, what’s that?”
“You.”
“You’ve got me.”
“Yeah?”
“All of me.”
My chest is full, my mind dizzy, because he’s all in.
I’m falling harder than I ever thought possible, and he hasn’t just caught me; I’m hooked, unable to escape.