Chapter 9
Mr. Easton’s large hand engulfed my upper arm, stopping me when I noticed Jules and Cole laughing together as Aurora watched with rapt attention.
“Hold on,” Mr. Easton whispered in my ear, causing goosebumps to crawl up my neck.
“Why?” I whispered back, for some odd reason matching his energy.
“I haven’t seen Cole laugh like that in a long time.”
I opened my mouth to let the snarky comment lounging on my tongue out, but then I glanced at him. His strong face softened when he watched his best friend laugh with my best friend.
“What’s the significance?” I already inferred that Cole didn’t laugh often and even less often with women.
“Cole has raised Aurora since she was a little girl. Their parents died in a car accident.” Mr. Easton cleared his throat, a habit he had when he wanted to say more than what he had.
I wasn’t sure, and it may have been the subdued lighting of the restaurant, but I could’ve sworn he was blushing.
“She’s his sister, but he’s the only parent she knows. He was barely eighteen when they died, and he refused to let her go to extended family. We were in college and he wanted to leave to take care of her. I left with him.”
I stared at him, and now I was certain he was blushing as he continued to watch his friend become more animated, talking to Jules.
“Why are you blushing?” I asked, confused that he almost seemed human.
Almost.
Mr. Easton cleared his throat again just as Cole threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh. Aurora smiled brightly, watching her brother and my best friend lean into each other.
“They died in a rather compromising position.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
My mouth hung open. His face was growing more red by the second. “Compromising position? From a car accident?”
“Yes, their mom was distracting their dad.” He widened his eyes, attempting to push the mental image into my head so he wouldn’t have to use his words to verbalize.
“Were they fighting?” Obviously, his eyes and my brain were on different wavelengths because I was not catching what he was mentally throwing at me.
“Fuck, you’re going to make me say it. Their mom was giving the dad road head. The dad got distracted, and they crashed, killing them both on impact.”
Just when I thought my jaw couldn’t drop any farther it proved me and physics wrong, practically laying on the top of my boobs.
“Anyway,” he continued when he noticed that my jaw wasn’t going to reset itself anytime soon, “the kids in Aurora’s class were bullying her relentlessly.
We sold his parents’ house, moved to San Diego, and used what money we had left to start our business.
Aurora got to reinvent herself. Cole closed himself off from people, especially women, and dedicated himself to raising Aurora and giving her the best life he could.
This,” he gestured with his calloused hand toward our friends who were still grinning at each other, “is promising.”
I shook my head before he even finished his sentence. “It might appear promising, but I promise you it will not go any further than this.”
Mr. Easton tore his attention from our friends and pinned it on my face.
His jaw ticked, a dimple fluttering in and out of his cheek like a bad cell connection.
“You are technically working with Aurora, this is her project. We are just her backers, there is nothing stopping Cole from pursuing Jules.”
I rolled my eyes, annoyed that he immediately went to legalities and not emotions. “It has nothing to do with fraternizing with the help,” I spat, not understanding where my annoyance was coming from, but not ignoring it, either.
“Jules had a horrible break-up in college, and she has sworn off men. She is a serial dater and refuses to let anyone get close to her.”
“My best friend isn’t just anyone. He has been through so much,” Mr. Easton stated, his dimple twitching even faster on his cheek.
“Neither is mine. I don’t want him to get hurt, because he will get hurt.
I know my best friend, and she won’t do it on purpose, but she will not change for him.
I don’t want this to mess with our working relationship.
As you stated, this is the biggest account we’ve ever had.
” With one last glance at his flickering dimple, I took a step toward our two best friends, ready to end the impending disaster before it had a chance to start.
Mr. Easton grasped my hand to stop me. I waited a beat, but he didn’t release me. When I turned, he was staring down at the ring on my very important finger.
He ran his finger over the smooth surface of the diamond before releasing my hand.
“You’re right, I don’t want Cole to get hurt.” With a curt nod that made my stomach knot, he stepped away from me.
I followed closely behind him, running my finger over the diamond like he’d just done.
Aurora noticed us first. Jules and Cole were still engrossed in whatever they were talking about.
“Hi, what took you so long?” Aurora asked, as she stood up to give Mr. Easton a hug before enveloping me in a rib-crushing hug. “I think my brother likes your friend,” she whispered.
“I think your brother should be careful. As much as I love Jules, she does not do commitment, and I don’t want him to get hurt.”
I hated sounding like such a downer, but I liked Aurora and I didn’t want her to get upset when Jules hurt the brother she so obviously adored.
We’d already signed the contract. We were legally in a business relationship, and I didn’t want it to get uncomfortable.
When Aurora moved back to search my face, her eyes were so much older than her age. She’d been through so much in her young life, and I felt oddly protective of the innocence she had left.
Mr. Easton pulled out a chair for me before settling into his own.
“Have you ordered yet?” Mr. Easton asked, his gaze ping-ponging between Jules and Cole.
They glanced at each other and laughed as if they had an inside joke we were not privy to. “We haven’t even looked at the menu yet,” Cole answered.
“We were waiting for you to arrive,” Aurora added, even though it was a blatant lie.
Jules and Cole were so engrossed in each other they had lost track of time and their appetite.
“You did not.” Jules stared at Cole with wide eyes.
He explained how he had run off a high school boy who had a crush on Aurora by dressing up in a ski mask and jumping out of a bush wielding a baseball bat when he walked to the door to ask her out.
“He did! It was so embarrassing. Like I can’t take care of myself and need my crazy brother scaring off poor unsuspecting boys,” Aurora huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I know you can take care of yourself, and I know you don’t need me to scare away boys for you.
I raised you too damn well to be anything other than independent, but I’m allowed to have some fun.
It’s not like you were going to give him a chance anyway.
Hell, my way was probably nicer than what you would have done to him,” Cole said, smiling at his sister like she was the light of his life.
I couldn’t help but let him dig a little into my heart. He adored his sister just as much as she did him. The whole dinner I watched Cole and Jules interact, and I wished Jules would let someone in because if it was ever going to be someone, it should be Cole.
Rage pulsed through me at the thought of Jules’ ex who crushed her, and Jules for allowing herself to let him.
“I cannot wait to start this project with you,” Aurora said, not so subtly changing the subject away from her dating life.
“I am, too,” I told her truthfully. “I love to read and helping indie authors get out there makes me so happy.”
“I’m surprised Rachel hasn’t thought about something like this already. She is always reading,” Jules said, finishing her amaretto sour.
“What do you like to read?” Mr. Easton asked, acknowledging me for the first time since we sat down. The smugness of his tone made it obvious what he thought my answer would be.
“Romance, mostly smut.”
And he would be correct.
I was a sucker for a happily-ever-after and I refused to be ashamed.
His sharp, dark eyebrow winged up in an I thought so gesture that made me want to stab his hand with my knife.
“I love romance, too,” Aurora interjected, breaking the thick silence between dickhead and me.
“It’s my favorite genre.” Aurora leaned against her hand with a dreamy expression. “You know romance is the most read genre in the world, and yet it is the least respected genre in the world. It’s infuriating, and I’m going to help change that perspective.”
Aurora was no longer leaning on her hand. Both palms were on the table as if she was about to push off from it and announce her intentions to the whole restaurant, maybe the whole damn town.
The determination was evident on her face, and I was once again ecstatic that we won the bid for this project. It was going to be epic.
“I think I’m in love,” I stated, blowing a kiss at Aurora from across the table.
“Yes, and he put a ring on it so maybe stop blowing kisses at my niece,” Mr. Easton said in his droll voice.
“Ring?” Aurora cried out, reaching over and snatching my hand, her boob half an inch away from being dipped in butter. “Oh, my god. When did he propose? How did he propose? Where is he?” Aurora spit out these questions in rapid succession.
My gut clenched, and my ears heated from the attention now solely focused on me.
What the hell is wrong with me?
“It happened the other day. He proposed in the kitchen with bacon sizzling on the stove, but he had to leave right after to catch his flight. He’s working on a promotion, and his work keeps sending him to Ohio.”
“He left right after he proposed?” Aurora asked, her eyebrows scrunched together.
“He did,” I answered, somehow feeling Mr. Easton’s gaze on me. His judgment was warm on my face, and I knew this was another thing to prove we weren’t worthy of his company’s hard-earned money.
“I mean, not right after. Right?” Aurora asked, her head cocked to the side.
“Yep, slid the ring on my finger and wheeled his suitcase out to the waiting Uber.” The smile on my face hurt. I took another healthy drink, hoping to lubricate my facial muscles to make the action of smiling easier.
“All right, I have an early morning tomorrow. Are you ready to head out?” Cole tapped the table three times with his knuckles before he stood and helped Aurora out of her seat.
He then moved to help Jules stand. When she wobbled on her too high heels, he grasped her elbow to steady her.
“Jules, why don’t you ride home with me?” I asked, moving out of my seat.
“She can’t,” Mr. Easton said, his hand dropping to his side. It almost appeared like he was going to help me out of my seat.
“Why not?” I snapped, annoyed for no reason.
“Because I drove you here,” he responded with his annoying droll tone.
“Yes, I know, I was there. I was thinking you could take me and Jules back to my car and I can take her home.” I mimicked his tone, even throwing in an eyeroll to really drive my point home.
“That’s ridiculous,” Cole said, his hand still grasping Jules’ elbow. “I’ll take Jules home in her car, and Aurora can take my car home.”
“Sounds like a plan. See you guys tomorrow to start the campaign.” Aurora snatched the keys out of Cole’s hand, kissed him on the cheek, kissed Mr. Easton on the cheek, and skipped off.
“Is that okay with you?” I asked Jules, not wanting to put her in a position she wasn’t comfortable with.
Jules glanced up at Cole, her glassy eyes taking him in. I held my breath while I waited for her answer. Cole had enough baggage raising his sister, he didn’t need to take on Jules’ issues as well, which he would only be privy to for less than a week anyway.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Go get your car and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jules and I stared at each other, having a silent conversation. A one-sided conversation, because Jules’ face was shut down from any emotion.
When Jules and I hugged, I whispered in her ear, “Don’t break him, he’s our newest investor.”
“It’s not like that,” she whispered back.
Cole guided Jules out of the restaurant with his hand on her lower back.
Easton and I watched them go.
“Should I worry?” he asked.
“I think so.”
Mr. Easton turned the heat on when I got into the car. I practically purred when the heated seat engulfed my tired body.
“How did you and Jules meet?” Easton asked, the car’s engine humming me into relaxation.
“Huh?” I asked, snuggling deeper into the leather seat.
“Are you falling asleep?”
I must have been sleepy because I thought he almost sounded amused instead of his normal annoyed tone.
“No, I’m just resting my eyes. I had a long day, and I haven’t been sleeping very well.” I rolled my head over to look at him, and I was surprised how heavy it felt on my neck.
“Where do you live?” he asked, exasperated. His finger was poised over his car’s GPS, ready to punch in my address.
I mumbled the address, my muscles liquid from not having to be in control of my life at the moment.
“Don’t drool on my upholstery, it cost more than you will make from my company this year.”
I smiled, too tired to talk back.