Chapter 11
LORNA
Between speaking Gaelic, his sexy body, and the building that was perfect for my dream salon—the one that I was fairly certain he’d bought just for me—Cole had talked me into moving in with him.
He moved quickly after I agreed, and it was only a day later when my things were shifted from the apartment I had shared with Ivy to my new home.
But only after Cole assured me that I wasn’t abandoning her to the lease we’d signed.
The last thing I wanted was to leave my roommate and friend in a precarious position.
I still saw her at work every day, and there were definite perks to living with Cole—like how he’d woken me up with his mouth on my pussy this morning. But I still found myself missing my friend after only a week.
So there was a huge smile on my face when she called me Friday evening, only a couple of hours after we had last seen each other at work. “Hey, did you change your mind about coming to the game on Sunday? The next one is in Chicago, so you’d have to wait two weeks to join me otherwise.”
“I am so sorry, Lorna.”
My brows drew together at how serious her apology sounded. “Don’t worry. I already told you it’s no big deal that you can’t make it. I’ll just hang out with some of the wives I met last weekend.”
“You may want to reconsider going at all.”
“I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t I attend the game? Are you okay? Do you need me to come over this weekend or something?” I shot Cole a worried look as he strode toward me, his eyes filled with concern.
I put my phone on speaker mode so he could hear her reply. “There’s a story online about the night the two of you met.”
“Gossip is part of the job, unfortunately. Just ignore it, and the vultures will find a juicier story in no time at all,” he assured her, seeming unbothered by what she’d said.
“It’s not as though there’s even anything to say about Lorna and me.
No scandal since we were both very single until we got together.
We didn’t hurt anyone. Their interest should pass quickly. ”
“Not with the story Darla sold them.” She heaved a deep sigh.
“I swear, I had no idea she would ever do something like this, or I would’ve cut her loose a long time ago.
The girl I met in kindergarten is nothing like the woman she’s grown up to become.
I just don’t understand why she’d pull crap like this on anyone, let alone one of my closest friends. ”
“I’m gonna need you to tell me exactly what happened,” Cole demanded, pulling his phone from his pocket to type our names in the search engine on his web browser.
“Darla told them that you warned that player away from Lorna.”
We dropped down onto the couch as Ivy’s explanation, along with the long list of search results, hit us.
“Holy fuck, she must’ve been close enough to hear exactly what I said,” Cole growled, raking his fingers through his hair.
I leaned against his side to peer at the screen, my eyes widening when I saw the headlines.
“Nighthawks coach threatens to fire player over a woman.”
“Coach O’Hara causes a scene in a nightclub in a fit of jealousy over a younger player.”
“Who’s the woman caught in the middle of Nighthawks love triangle?”
“Is O’Hara fit to coach?”
“Oh my gosh,” I gasped. “This is really bad.”
“And it’s all my fault,” Ivy wailed. “I never should have told Darla about the bottle service and table Naomi got us for your birthday. But I knew how much she’d enjoy it and inviting her along seemed like the right thing to do. If only I’d known what a mess that decision would cause.”
I shook my head. “It absolutely is not your fault. You were just being a good friend, like you always are. It’s one of the things I like best about you, how you go out of your way to make the people you care about happy.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Cut yourself some slack,” Cole grumbled. “You had no way of knowing your friend would pull a stunt like this.”
“I just—”
This time, I was the one who cut her off. “Cole is right. Darla might not have been the best friend in the world to you, but she’s still come through when you needed her in the past.”
“Until now,” Ivy bit out. “Hurting you means hurting me, and if she knew me at all, that would’ve been obvious to her.”
“True,” I conceded, feeling sad for my friend. “But the fact that she missed that about you is on her, not you.”
“Don’t worry about Darla,” she assured us. “She won’t be able to cause additional trouble for you guys since she won’t be around anymore. This was the last straw. I’m done with her.”
I loved that Ivy had my back, but I hated that she felt as though she needed to end a long-standing friendship because of me. “You don’t have to do that on my account. It’s not like I ever have to spend time with her again. We aren’t even roommates anymore, so I wouldn’t see her when she drops by.”
“I’m not making this decision because of you,” she swore. “If she’d do something like this to you just because of a little petty jealousy, then I can’t trust her not to stab me in the back at some point too.”
There was no arguing with her logic when she was right. “I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is,” she sighed. “The important thing is that you guys are prepared when you go to the stadium in case you’re bombarded by the press.”
Cole flashed me a confident smile. “Don’t worry about Lorna. I’ll make sure nobody bothers her.”
“I’m counting on it,” my friend murmured.
After we said our goodbyes to Ivy, Cole and I scanned through the articles that had been published about us. Although they knew who I was, most of what was said about me wasn’t that bad. But Cole didn’t come out looking that great.
“Ugh, this is awful. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close, brushing a kiss against my temple. “You’re here, with me, all moved in. That’s what’s important. The rest of it is just outside noise. I don’t give a fuck what other people think about me as long as you’re happy.”
“No worries there.” I twisted my neck to smile up at him. “I’m deliriously happy and think you’re the best man I’ve ever met.”
“Good, because I’m the only man you’re ever gonna be with.”
When he said things like that, it sent butterflies swirling in my belly. But I didn’t give in to the urge to climb on his lap and kiss him. Instead, I asked, “Is this going to cause problems with your job?”
“I doubt it.” Cole shrugged. “It’s not the first time the media has been interested in someone connected to the Nighthawks, and it certainly won’t be the last.”
“I get that, but your boss will probably have questions about you threatening Micah’s position over me.
” I narrowed my eyes as the weight of what he’d done hit me.
“Hold up, did you really do that? Is your warning the reason he suddenly had to run off? Not the appointment you said he’d forgotten about? ”
“Of course I did.” He flashed me a cocky grin. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do when he meets the woman who was meant to be his.”
A part of me wanted to be mad at him for doing something like that, but the feminine thrill I got over knowing he wanted me so much that he was willing to put his coaching position at risk was stronger. “Thanks for making the tough call and claiming me as yours.”
“Grá mo chroí thú.”
My thighs clenched, and I finally gave in to the urge to climb on his lap.
One of these days, I would get him to finally tell me what he was saying…when I wasn’t thoroughly distracted by my need for him when he talked like that. Maybe when we were old and gray.