Chapter 10
Cole glanced up from his phone when the chime on the door sounded. Ben stalked in looking red-faced and ready to implode.
Cole slowly stood and slipped the phone into his pocket, bracing his palms on the counter in front of him as he took in the teen’s glassy eyes. “What’s got you so fired up?”
“Nothing,” Ben growled. “And stay away from my mom.”
Cole straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. He’d taken Monday through Thursday off to look at some homes for sale as well as work on a few repair projects inside the garage apartment he occupied located next to Brooks’s house.
Brooks, Allie and their brood of four lived in the original Blackwell family home where all nine of them had grown up. Over the years, Aunt Rose had moved into the home’s garage apartment for privacy and to give Brooks and his growing family space as the only married sibling at the time.
Rose currently enjoyed an extended visit with friends in Florida until spring, so it didn’t make sense to rent a place when the apartment sat empty. But he needed to find a place before Rose returned.
Every day that week, Alec and Brooks had texted to let him know the boy had shown up for work looking like his dog died.
Cole figured the teenager was finally realizing he had a lot of hard work ahead of him, but this seemed like something more. “Your mother and I are old friends.”
“I know you used to date. And that you asked her on a date tonight.”
“I asked her to discuss business.”
Ben’s nostrils flared, and he fisted his hands at his sides like he wanted to punch something. Cole held Ben’s gaze and waited the boy out, but when he didn’t speak, Cole shrugged. “Alec needs you in the store to price merch. Go get started.”
“Leave my mom alone.”
Cole stiffened at Ben’s irate tone. “I don’t take orders from you, Ben. And you’d better get it through your head right now that you are not in charge. Our discussion is a way for her to pay off some of the debt you put her in. Your mom is smart, and I’d like her opinion on some things.”
“You think sex with my mom is worth that much?”
Cole rounded the surfboard counter and had Ben shoved up against the outer door of the rental building in a matter of seconds.
“Cole,” Alec said in a low, warning voice.
Cole ignored Alec’s sudden appearance and pinned the teenager to the door when he tried to break his hold. “Don’t you ever talk about your mother like that. Do you hear me? You do not have the right to abuse her or any woman. Only weak cowards abuse women. So I’m going to ask this once, and I want the truth. The bruise on her collar bone, Ben… Did you do that to her?”
It was pure speculation on his part, but Cole watched Ben pale to the point he looked like a television vampire who only had color in his lips and his red-rimmed eyes.
“Cole.”
Cole heard Alec shut the door normally open between the buildings during business hours before he came to stand at Cole’s side.
Alec’s hand squeezed Cole’s shoulder, a reminder not to lose control and a soothing gesture combined.
Ben held Cole’s gaze before looking away.
It wasn’t an admission, but it wasn’t a denial, either.
Fury engulfed him. He’d wanted so badly to be wrong. For the bruise to have been what Ana said it was—from a box she’d carried.
Ben didn’t say a word, but he acted like he knew exactly what Cole referenced. And even though Ben didn’t admit to anything, Cole knew Ana had lied to protect her son. “That’s what I thought. Ben, your mother is a smart, capable woman who obviously loves you to her detriment, but she isn’t your punching bag, verbal or otherwise.”
He lowered his head and tightened his grip. Ben’s eyes widened.
“And if I ever hear you say—if you do—something like that to your mother again, I will smile in my mug shot knowing I’ve taught you a lesson you won’t forget. Do I make myself clear?”
Angry tears filled Ben’s eyes and reddened them even more, but after a long moment, he swallowed and nodded. “Yessir. I’m sorry.”
“Good. Now go get to work.” Cole released him.
“Tell Ky to show you what to do,” Alec ordered. “I’ll be in shortly.”
Cole braced his hands on either side of the door and stared out at the street while trying to get control of his anger.
Ben had hurt her, and she’d lied to protect him.
“Cole…”
“Go keep an eye on him,” he said to Alec. “I wouldn’t put it past him to have walked in there and out the front door.”
Alec hesitated, obviously wanting to say something.
“We’ll talk about this more tomorrow,” his brother said before following Ben.
Cole glared out at the businesses across the street and then locked up his side of things an hour earlier than planned.
The Marine ball was tonight, and he needed to go home and shower and don his dress blues before heading to the hotel to meet Ana. Maybe by the time he got there, his anger would be down to a slow simmer.
For her sake, he hoped so.
* * *
Sasha picked up Ben from school on her way to work and dropped him off with the Blackwells before coming to Coastal Couture for her shift on Friday.
Ana had planned to work until closing, but Quinley had insisted they take a few hours in the spa prepping Ana for her “meeting” with Cole.
Ana ran her gaze over the printed pages of notes Quinley had kindly provided, amazed at her friend’s brain. Quin had truly come up with a masterful plan of social media posts, premade video templates for the various platforms, and even a couple of print ads if Cole wanted to go old school. All of which were conveniently on a drive ready to download. “This is amazing.”
“You said he wanted something similar to the boutique’s ads, so I figured why not evoke a little nostalgia and focus on those moments we don’t always think about?”
She glanced up at Quin. “How much would all of this have cost if he’d walked into your father’s firm as a client?”
Quinley lifted her elegant hand and waved it in the air, flashing the magnificent diamond Rhys had given her a year ago.
“More than twenty-five hundred dollars. Trust me, Cole is getting his money’s worth and then some.”
“Quin…I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You already have. Besides, think of it as my way of pitching in to help the Mr. Surly screw up.”
She lifted the pages and waved them. “Still, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Lachlan knows, by the way. It wasn’t me. Security apparently heard about the commotion from some of the employees and reviewed the footage. Once they saw what happened, they were required to send it upstairs. Lachlan’s been out of town all week, but he saw it earlier today. I’m sorry.”
Ana winced. ”I should have gone straight to him and told him. Was he angry?”
“Only that I hadn’t mentioned it.”
“I’m so sorry,” Ana said. “I didn’t want to leave a bad impression, but instead I made it worse, didn’t I?”
“He’ll be fine,” Quinley said. “And so will you. I told him you were just embarrassed and dealing directly with the limo owners, and I was sure you’d come see him soon.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“I got you, girlie. Now, let’s go over this again.”
Analise listened as Quinley explained why she’d used certain hashtags and keywords, the timetable for recommended postings, and all the other information Ana would never have thought to consider but was all there for Cole’s perusal.
“I got it,” Ana said as the stylist came to start on her hair. Quinley had booked the appointments as a massage for herself and makeup and hair for Ana.
The conversation turned as the stylist curled Ana’s medium-length hair onto huge, heated rollers to set the top and then grabbed a gigantic round brush and a blow dryer to style the bottom. As she worked her way through, the woman gradually removed the rollers and finished the top until Analise’s hair looked sexy and alluring and totally different from the sleek twist she’d worn it in for the gala.
She’d swapped her gala dress for a figure-hugging red dress that bared one shoulder and draped over the other. The fabric of the drape hid the multi-colored bruise on her collar bone which was another reason why she’d chosen it. The last thing she wanted to do was remind Cole it was there and potentially cause him to question her once more.
She fussed with the rucking at her waist and then smoothed her hand over the high-cut split that revealed heels with sparkling wraps around her lower calves. Cole had always loved her legs, and the instant she’d seen the dress, she’d had to wear it. What girl didn’t like a little body armor when meeting an ex?
“So did you make up your mind?” Quinley asked once the blow dryer was turned off.
“About?”
“Whether you want tonight to be a date,” Quinley said.
Analise faced the mirror and watched the way the stylist pretended not to listen but captured every word as she fluffed and sprayed. “I don’t think that’s my decision to make.”
“Not your— Of course it is,” Quinley said.
“It’s not,” Ana argued, giving up all pretense of confidentiality. “I broke up with him. I ended things. The only reason he asked me to go with him tonight is because it’s some business function he needs a date for, and he…used the excuse of needing advertising advice. He feels sorry for me due to the mess Benji dragged me into.”
While the stylist had dried Ana’s hair, Quinley had slipped behind the trifold screen and changed out of the fluffy robe and back into her clothes. She now sat leaning to one side in the chair beside Ana’s, chin propped on one fist.
“Yeah, I call bull.”
“Quinley…”
“I mean it. Think about it. All those years ago, you broke it off, yes, but that was then. You’re two very different people now, and the reasons you had to break it off no longer exist. He’s no longer in the military, and you’re no longer a girl trying to figure out your life.”
That was true. All of it. “That doesn’t mean he would ever want more with me. I hurt him, and…things are complicated enough with Benjamin acting out and me scaling my business. The last thing I need is to throw a man into the mix.”
“Technically Ben threw Cole into the mix,” Quinley said. “The question now is are you going to throw out the batter or bake a cake?”
“I don’t even know what to say to that,” Ana said with an awkward sounding laugh.
“It means look in the mirror,” Quinley said.
Ana looked, suddenly more than a little awed by the magic the stylist had performed. Her eyes appeared smoky, her lips full and glistening, and her hair— Why couldn’t she ever get her hair to look so thick and luxurious when she did it herself?
“That’s not eighteen-year-old Ana,” Quinley said softly. “That is a woman who is young and hot with plenty of life left, one who will have an empty nest in a few years and wonder why she worked so hard only to wake up alone.”
The stylist nodded once at Quinley’s statement, and the woman turned with an excuse to leave the room. “What about you? You have a lot to say about my love life, but whenever I ask about yours lately, I get dodged at every turn.”
Ana swiveled in the chair to fully face her friend. “Your wedding is in a matter of weeks, and… you don’t seem excited at all. Why is that?”
Quinley’s smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“You are imagining things.”
“Am I? Quinnie, if something is wrong, tell me. Maybe I can help.”
“Nothing is wrong. I mean it. Nothing. And tonight is all about you. Stop changing the subject and focus on that.”
Ana’s phone dinged, and since it was face up on the counter, Quinley’s smile turned genuine when she read the text.
“Prince Hottie has arrived.”
“This conversation isn’t over,” Ana said. “I know I’ve been distracted and focused on Benjamin and this mess, but one day soon we are going to sit down and have a serious talk.”
Quinley grabbed Ana’s phone and quickly typed out a message while avoiding Ana’s frantic attempts to get the device back.
The sound of the text being sent left a shiver rolling over her spine. “What did you just do?”
Her best friend handed the phone back to her with a raised eyebrow and a grin.
“I asked the question you couldn’t.”
Ana glanced down at her phone to read the text Quinley had sent.
So is this evening business or pleasure?
“Quinley! I can’t believe you did that to me.”
She stood glaring at her best friend when her phone dinged and vibrated in her hand seconds later. Ana froze, clutching the phone to her stomach before she slowly shifted it to see the face.
Quinley crowded close and peered down as well to see what it said.
Let’s find out.
* * *
Cole leaned his shoulder against a broad, decorative column in the hotel lobby near Ana’s boutique and waited for her to appear. He’d thought he’d find Analise inside her store, but her assistant manager had said Quinley had arranged for Ana to get ready in the spa.
He didn’t begrudge her the pampering, but he hated standing there like he’d been stood up and wasn’t comfortable hanging out in the ladies’ boutique. He also didn’t want to face Jones and the rest of his team alone, and he called himself every kind of a coward because of it.
Sasha turned off the lights and exited Coastal Couture, shooting him another smiling look at his dress blues before waving goodbye.
“Have fun,” she called on her way out of the hotel.
The lobby was starting to fill with men and women in uniform along with their companions, either migrating to the hotel’s main bar or down the corridor to the ballroom located somewhere behind the column where he leaned.
A prickling along his neck and spine alerted him to Ana’s arrival. Cole straightened and turned his head, his gaze scanning until he found her. She’d emerged from one of the other hallways leading back to what he assumed to be the pool and spa area, and his gut clenched at the sight of her.
His thoughts returned to the text message she’d sent minutes ago about the evening being business or pleasure, and right now he could only focus on pleasure as her beauty literally sucked the breath from his lungs.
“You clean up pretty well there, soldier.”
Cole let himself peruse her from head to toe and back again, relishing the rosiness that flushed her cheeks as a result. Silence followed, and he took it to collect his senses and oxygenate his brain. “Red is my favorite color.”
She bit her lower lip and wrapped her hands around the tiny purse dangling off her shoulder by a sparkling, thin chain.
“No, that’s not right.” A shake of her head left her sleek and shiny earrings dangling. “Your favorite color is blue.”
It used to be. Until he saw her in that dress. “Not anymore.”
He liked the way her lips curved in a shy smile, and he leaned in to brush a kiss over her cheek because he couldn’t help himself. “You look amazing, Ana.”
“Thank you. It’s not my gala dress, but when it came into the boutique for the holidays, I had to have it. Thanks for giving me a chance to wear it.”
She glanced around at the lobby and the groups that had started to form.
“I didn’t realize the ball was happening tonight—or here. Quinley apparently put two and two together and insisted we spend some time in the spa.”
“I heard.”
“Everyone looks so nice.”
He smiled, glad to note some things hadn’t changed in the last fifteen years. Ana rambled when she was nervous, and he’d be lying if he said the tell wasn’t endearing.
He was more than a little nervous himself. Both because of spending the evening with Ana and because of seeing Jones and his team again.
“I’m sensing our meeting might be difficult to have with everyone around, but I talked to Quinley about your…offer. We tossed around a lot of advertising ideas this week, and I hope you’ll like the plan as much as I do. I may use a few of them for the boutique as well. Do you want to go over everything now before things start?”
He stepped forward and extended his arm for her to accept. “Let’s wait and do it another time. We should head inside.”
He easily read the confusion and hesitation on her face. With the business side of things postponed for the evening, that left them where? He’d needed a companion for the evening and pushed his advantage at the time because it felt right and he could, but now? Seeing her in that dress?
He wasn’t sure of anything except the fact he didn’t look forward to being grilled by his former team members about life postmilitary. He was still in the process of adjusting.
But the distraction Ana posed would help him get through the night and the fact that Mannix wasn’t there to celebrate with them.
“Oh, okay. Let me leave this in the boutique for safekeeping then,” she said, moving across the floor where she unlocked the boutique long enough to leave the packet inside behind the checkout counter. She emerged and locked up before joining him again.
Cole escorted her toward the ballroom and was acutely aware of the admiring gazes shot Ana’s way. Jealousy spiked along with pride. “I feel like I need to wrap you up in a tablecloth to keep them from ogling you,” he told her under his breath.
A soft giggle emerged from her, and he nearly swallowed his tongue when she glanced up at him from beneath her thick lashes. That look was…yeah.
“I could say the same for you. Not all of them wear the uniform so well.”
“Blackwell!”
The booming voice drew his gaze from Ana as they followed the crowd into the room. Cole grinned when he spotted Jones.
Jonesie closed the distance with rapid strides and wrapped Cole in a bear hug, pounding him on the back.
“Ah, man, I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed your ugly mug. It’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you, Jonesie.”
“And who is this?” Jones asked with an appreciative glance at Analise.
“Watch yourself,” Cole said good-naturedly. “Analise Taylor, this is First Sergeant, uh, Sergeant Major,” he quickly corrected, sighting the latest status change, “Calvin Jones. Congratulations.”
“About time, yeah?” Jones said, giving Cole his cheesiest grin.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Ana extended her hand to Jonesie to shake.
“You as well. I was going to ask what’s had our boy here so busy, he hasn’t kept in touch, but now I see the reason for myself.”
They were joined by other members of Cole’s former special ops team, and Cole was glad to note Jonesie kept things casual considering the celebratory mood of the evening.
A chime sounded along with an announcement to be seated as the social hour was now drawing to a close.
Jones offered Ana his arm and led the way to the tables he had secured.
The group was too large to fit at one, so they’d split into two side by side. Cole noted Ana’s rapt attention as the formal part of the evening began with the presentation of colors by the Color Guard and the National Anthem.
Cole and every marine present saluted while nonmilitary stood silently or with their hand over their heart. The cake cutting came next with pieces given to the oldest and youngest Marine present, and then the reading of the commandant’s birthday message, honors and awards and then toasts.
Cole locked his knees when Mannix’s name was read as one of the fallen, and he said a silent prayer for the family left behind by the man’s death.
The table was noticeably quieter when dinner was announced, and the hotel’s wait staff appeared to serve.
He felt Ana’s curious gaze on him and knew she had to sense the tension.
“It’s all good, Sergeant Major,” Finley said from across the table. “Everyone knows it wasn’t your fault.”
Cole was aware of Ana’s gaze shifting from Jonesie, whom she no doubt believed Finley addressed, to him once she followed the man’s gaze.
Cole shifted in his seat and eyed Jones. “You know, you gave me such a hard time about coming and bringing a date, but I don’t see yours. She finally wise up and see the error of her ways?”
Jonesie’s slow grin eased the tension blanketing the table. He shook his head. “Nah, man, I am an American hero who looks good in uniform. My woman loves me. But I got downgraded by a six-year-old transplant patient. Even I couldn’t compete with that.”
“Jonesie’s wife is a pediatric surgeon,” Cole told Analise, hoping the subject of Mannix and his death was left behind with the toast. At least for the night.
“I’m sorry she couldn”t make it, but what an honor to know she’s part of something so amazing,” Ana told the man.
“I couldn’t agree more. That’s something we can apply to a lot of things, isn’t it?”
Cole locked his jaw and shot Jones a glare.
“Being part of something bigger than ourselves is important. It’s what keeps the world spinning. Isn’t that right, Blackwell?”
Cole stared into his drink and ignored Ana’s stare along with everyone else’s at the table. But in that moment, he felt the weight lift, just a bit.
Mannix wouldn’t want Cole blaming himself. Just like Cole wouldn’t want Mannix doing it if their situations were reversed and Cole’s name had been read during that memorial toast.
It took another long moment, another deep breath, but Cole stretched out a hand and picked up his glass. “To Mannix.”
“Rest in peace.”
“To Mannix.”
“Tequila shots in heaven, buddy.”
One by one, all who served with the marine raised a glass and held it high before drinking to their fallen friend.
“Okay,” Jonesie said, getting everyone’s attention. “Since I am now your commanding officer and I am here alone until my beautiful wife arrives, I’m hereby requesting a dance with the beautiful ladies present.”
“What, you’re not dancing with me?” Finley asked.
“Don’t worry. You’re off the hook since I’m out,” Cole said to Ana, forcing a smile to try to alleviate some of the tension still riding him and drawing a laugh from the others as a result.
“Miss Ana?” Jonesie asked in a hurt yet teasing tone, ignoring Cole’s comment and placing a hopeful hand over his chest as though he’d be hurt if she refused.
“I’d be honored,” Ana said to Jonesie.
“Heartbroken over here,” Finley muttered. “I really looked forward to that dance.”
Finley’s date swatted at his arm, earning a wink from him and laughter from the table.
While dinner was served, an orchestra took position on stage and began playing. Table talk shifted from catching up on the various new developments within their family units to the antics of military brats as Jonesie related his twelve-year-old daughter’s troubles with a boyfriend.
“What about you, Ana? Do you have any children?” one of the spouses asked.
Cole felt Ana stiffen at his side, but she nodded and smiled.
“One. He’s fifteen going on…thirty. Or so he thinks.”
Her words drew a laugh from those at their table, and Cole shifted his hand and gave her leg a gentle squeeze, then lingered when he felt her soft skin due to the slit in her dress.
“It’s hard to be a kid these days,” Jonesie said. “I am glad I’m too old to have always had a phone camera pointed at me.”
That topic sent the table off on another round of discussion. Dessert was served and more and more couples left their various tables to go to the dance floor.
Cole leaned forward, listening, banked anger rising to a slow simmer when his thoughts returned to the incident with Ben at work. “Let’s dance.”
Ana seemed surprised, but Cole guessed it was more in how he stood and grasped her elbow to tug her to her feet and the abruptness of his request.
Cole felt Jonesie eyeing him but ignored the other man. When you spent so much time together in the heat of battle and just hanging out, you learned to read each other. Jonesie undoubtedly read the tension.
With a hand at her waist, Cole guided Ana between the tables to the front of the room and took her into his arms.
“Is something wrong?”
“No,” he said, not wanting to get into it here.
“I’m…sorry you lost one of your team.”
Ana blinked up at him, looking way too alluring and sexy in that dress and nothing like the mom of a teenager. A frown pulled her eyebrows together over her nose in a crunch he tried not to find adorable.
“Cole, it’s obvious that, whatever happened, no one holds you responsible.”
He welcomed her words and the soothing slide of her hand on his shoulder as they danced. Mannix would always be missed, but like Jonesie said, they’d each signed up for something bigger than themselves. He carried a bullet fragment to this day because of it, and Mannix’s family had a folded flag instead of a husband and father. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Knowing he wasn’t responsible didn’t make it easier, though. He’d gone through the scenario thousands of times in his head, even reenacted it multiple times. No one would have ever expected a seven-year-old to shoot them.
Just like no one would expect a fifteen-year-old to hit his mom?
“What do you want to talk about?”
His fingers tightened over her waist and hand. He could forgive himself for Mannix’s death for the most part because he couldn’t have prevented it given the war zone they’d been in at the time. But he’d never forgive himself if something happened to Ana.
Cole moved closer, much too close for etiquette’s sake. He lifted the hand holding hers and placed it on his chest. That done, he moved his hand to the three inches of material draped over her shoulder and slipped his fingers beneath to brush against her delicate collar bone. “I want to talk about this.”
To anyone observing them, it probably looked as though he straightened the material but since he held Ana’s gaze with a pointed stare, he knew the moment she realized why he did what he did. “You lied to me.”