Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Ella
Except, it’s not Cole’s room anymore. God, he’ll probably never come back now. I should have just been cool. He knew something was wrong. I should have hidden it better.
Tears prick the corners of my eyes, and my throat gets tight as I stare at the money on the dresser. I leave it. Taking it would be too depressing.
My phone buzzes from inside my pocket. It’s a text from Delia.
Your boyfriend’s back!!!
As I swipe at the tears in my eyes, my little unnamed black cat comes slinking into the room.
“At least I have you,” I whisper as I pick him up, snuggling him against my chest. I text Delia back.
As much as it saddens me to think of a feral, wandering, noncommittal street cat as my boyfriend, I guess it’s better than nothing.
She writes back right away.
What?? DUDE. NO.
Footsteps sound from outside, getting heavier and louder as they approach.
My heart twists inside my chest and I swear it stops beating. I stare at the door, my pulse fluttering. The footsteps are from a man, for sure. As they get faster, they get louder.
Cole appears. Hair touseled, shirt disheveled, chest heaving like he just ran here from somewhere far away.
“What are you doing here?” I manage to say.
He stands by the door for an extra moment, his eyes wild, before he strides toward me.
“I’m not leaving you. Not again.”
He erases the distance between us, and before I know it, his hands are cupping my face and his lips are on mine. My little black cat, my rebound boyfriend, leaps out of my arms. It was never going to work out between us anyway. My heart already belongs to Cole.
A breath rumbles through him as he wraps an arm around my back, pulling me close, his body warm and inviting.
“Don’t you have some kind of world tour or something?” I say.
“I canceled it,” he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I told my manager I’m not going. I’ve postponed the whole thing indefinitely.”
His jaw tightens as he looks down at me.
“I’m not leaving. Not unless you come with me.”
“You canceled the tour?” I blink up at him. “Are you allowed to do that?”
He just blew off a huge, huge opportunity.
And he did it for me.
“I’m allowed to do whatever the fuck I want.” He grins and pulls me against him. I let out a yelp at how possessive and hot he looks as his gaze flicks down to my lips. “And there is nothing in the world I want more than to be with you.”
A laugh escapes me, half breath, half disbelief. My heart seems to squeeze through my ribs and float high up into the atmosphere. The ceiling can’t hold it. It’s infinite.
“Are you sure about this?” I whisper.
“Oh, I am very fucking sure.” He takes my face in his hands and dips down to plant a slow, meandering kiss on my lips. “The only other option would be chartering a private jet so I can take you wherever you want to go.”
For real? My heart flip-flops.
“I would go anywhere with you.” I grab the front of his shirt and tug him closer. “But for now, this is exactly where I want to be. I don’t want to leave this room.”
“Neither do I.”
Cole goes to the door and closes it, latching the chain and turning the lock with a click. He turns around with a grin on his face and strides toward me.
Yeah…this room isn’t getting clean anytime soon.