Edible (19 page)

Rachel stared down at the man at her feet. He was such a contrast, kneeling there in his perfectly tailored suit, and she had to admit the sight completely turned her on. She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t realized what the sneaky jerk had done until the call connected and Josh’s voice came over the line.

“Cole? Really? You’re calling me at six thirty in the morning? Man, you need to get a life.”

Fuming, Rachel pulled Cole’s phone away from her ear and aimed furious eyes down at the man who was now blowing a warm breath between her thighs. Reaching down, she gripped his hair and tugged his head away from her body. Unrepentant, he grinned at her and raised a questioning brow as if to say,
What do you want me to do about it?

Pulling the phone up to look at it, Rachel quickly hit the end button. She was about to toss it on the bed when it rang like a fire alarm in her hand. Cole chuckled as she glared at him.

Against her flesh, he whispered, “I dare you.”

“I don’t care. If I answer this, it is going to cause mass chaos.”

“And do you really want
me
to answer it?” he asked her calmly.

Good point
. There was no telling what he would say.
Nope.
It could go straight to voice mail. She hit the off button and threw it on the bed.

Cole kissed her hard between her legs. Then, rising to his feet, he gave her a kiss that almost blew her mind
.

Who knew the suit would have such a dirty side?

“You need to tell them, so they don’t worry.”

“I will.”

“Where’s your phone?” he questioned.

“It’s in my bag by the front door.”

Cole nodded once and gave her another quick kiss. “Wait here.”

As he left the room, Rachel was shallow enough to take a moment and think he looked just as good leaving as he did coming
. Literally
. So, she stood with her back and ass against the wall until he walked back in. He handed her the phone and waited patiently for her to dial the number.

Bossy man
.

When the phone connected, Josh answered for the second time.

“Rachel? Jesus, what’s with everyone this morning?”

She laughed at the grumble in his voice. Even as a teenager, he had never been a terrific morning person.

“Sorry to wake you, Josh.”

“You didn’t. Someone else did.”

Her eyes flew to the larger-than-life presence standing in front of her with his arms crossed.

“So, um…I’m not going to be able to come to dinner tonight, and I was wondering if you could let Mase know.”

There was a pause. As she stood there naked, she felt as though he could see her through the phone, and her guilt made her think he was about to call her out.

“So, why not tell Mason yourself?” he asked, his voice groggy.

“Well, um…that’s a great question,” she hedged.

She locked eyes with Cole’s. Rolling his eyes, he reached out and grabbed the phone from her. Rachel squeaked as she slapped at his hand and tried to get it back. In hindsight, she realized she must have looked extremely ridiculous, but that didn’t bother her one bit. What bothered her was the fact that Cole was about to—

Yep, too late.

“Joshua?” Cole waited for his friend and business associate’s brain to catch up.

“Cole?”

“Yes. Rachel is here with me.”

He waited for one, two, three seconds, and that was when the question came.

“What the hell is she doing with you at six thirty?” Josh paused. “Is she in jail?”

Cole chuckled. “No, she is not in jail. Although, considering the way she is currently glaring at me, I think she wants to murder me.”

“Hang on, hang on! Rachel is
there
…with
you
?”

“This is her phone.”

“Madison, what are you doing?” his friend finally demanded.

“Now, if I told you the answer to that,
you’d
likely want to kill me, too. Anyway, be a good friend, would you? Tell her brother something to get her out of tonight.”

“Like what? That you’re fucking his sister?”

“Careful,” Cole warned. He looked at the woman who had given up the fight for her phone as she was now standing naked and vulnerable in front of him. “You wouldn’t want to say something you would regret. Just know that she’s here with me, and she’s safe.”

“Cole,” Josh growled his own warning through the phone.

“What?” Cole barked back at Josh. He felt like a possessive dog, and he knew Josh was feeling it, too, but they each had different reasons.

“Don’t hurt her.”

Cole let his eyes run over her once more. “I don’t plan to.”

And with that, he ended the call.

Three hours had passed since Cole had bundled her up and sent her home in a taxi. Rachel now found herself staring down at Tulip who was in a snit over not being fed on time.

“You do know that before I let you in here, you slept outside, right?” Rachel asked the obnoxious animal as she stepped over Tulip.

Heading into the small office at the back of the flower store, Tulip followed and then jumped up on the worn desk with an irritating meow, letting Rachel know that she didn’t really care about all of that.

“I know, I know. I’m your human can opener.”

Reaching up to the top shelf of the cabinet pushed against the wall, Rachel grabbed a can of Fancy Feast. She was about to open the can and serve the furball when the bells above the door sounded.

Looking down at the meowing noise machine, she scratched the cat’s head. “Hold that thought.”

Making her way out of the office and down the small hallway, she felt a twinge of annoyance skate up her spine at the sight of Mason standing in the store with his back facing her.

Of course, Josh told him. Traitor.

“Good morning, brother. You’re a long way from home. How are you?”

Mason turned to face her with a frown. Wearing jeans and a black sweater with a blue scarf wrapped around his neck, he stood there and stared at her like he was trying to work something out. “I’m good, Rach. How are you?”

Rachel glanced down at herself to make sure her appearance matched her wellbeing, and then she looked back to the brother she loved more than anyone in the world. “I’m fit as a fiddle,” she told him as she made her way around the counter.

She was determined to not make this easy for him. If Mason wanted to know something, then he could be the one to bring it up
. Ha! Good luck making that smooth transition.

“Yeah, so I see. That dress is cute.”

Leaning back against the counter, Rachel crossed one leg over the other as she clasped her hands in front of her.
Really, Mase? My dress? Come on. Oh well, two can play at this game.

“Really? You think so? It’s a ’50s bebop dress. I made it myself. First, I had to sew the bodice, and I couldn’t decide if I wanted it as a halter neck or two straps, but obviously, I decided on the two straps. Then, I had to get all this black tulle for the underskirt to give it that kick, and that was such a hassle to sew on. It took me at least—”

“Rachel,” Mason finally interrupted.

Raising innocent eyes to his, she batted her lashes as he shook his head.

“You know why I’m here, don’t you?” he asked, sounding exasperated.

“I have my suspicions, but if you confirm them and say you heard from Josh this morning, then I can’t promise you his safety.”

Mason stuffed his hands in his pockets and took a step toward her. “He told me you called him from Cole’s house at six thirty this morning. Is that true?”

“Oh my god!” Rachel grumbled as she threw up her hands. “You two are worse than gossipy old women, you know that? Overprotective jerks,” she muttered.

“We’re just worried about you.”

“Why? Because I spent the night with someone? Give me a break, Mase. You didn’t act like this when Charlie was on the scene.”

Mason clenched his jaw and turned away from her. “That’s because Charlie was different.”

“Really? How? How was he different? I was sleeping with him, too, you know,” Rachel threw out.

When Mason turned on her with a pissed-off look on his face, she thought she might have gone over the top just a little bit
.

“You slept with him already?” Mason thundered, pulling his hands out of his pockets. He moved back in front of her and gripped her arms. “Do you know anything about this…this Cole guy? From what Josh says, he’s pretty shady.”

“Shady?” Rachel laughed. “Josh does business with him! I hardly think Josh would use Cole as his lawyer if he didn’t trust him.”

Mason released her arms and raised his right hand to his eye. He pressed his fingers to his brow, like he was trying to control a twitch that had started there. “Just because Josh trusts him with his money does
not
mean Cole is a good guy. Lena told me you wanted nothing to do with him before. What changed?”

More than a little annoyed at this point, Rachel pushed away from the counter and stalked around behind it. Placing her hands on the surface, she glared at her brother. “So, everyone’s discussing my private life now? Did you have a conference call with Shelly and Josh this morning as well?”

“No, Rach, it wasn’t like—”

“You know what? I don’t care,” she said, effectively cutting him off. “I know you love me, Mason. I
know
that, but I need some time to myself.”

“Because of him?” her brother questioned, placing his hands on the opposite side of the counter.

“Maybe?” she hedged. “Would that be so bad? You don’t even know him.”

“Do you?”

Rachel thought about that for a minute before she shrugged. “No, not a whole lot, but I’m starting to. Isn’t that how things usually happen?”

Mason pushed back from the counter and ran a hand through his dark hair as he shook his head. “Usually, you get to know someone before you stay the night.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow at him before she laughed a little. “
Okay
, Dad.”

“You’ve just seemed so unhappy lately, Rach. I don’t want you to do something you’d regret.” Mason stepped behind the counter and took her hands in his. “You’d tell me if you needed anything, wouldn’t you?”

Rachel decided it was time to at least admit there were things going on with her even if she wasn’t a hundred percent sure what they were yet. Squeezing her brother’s hands, she looked up into eyes that mirrored her own and reminded her of the father they had both lost. “I just need some time to myself.”

Mason’s eyes creased on the sides as they focused on her. “I don’t understand.”

Rachel took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to think of how to word what she wanted to say. “I don’t know. Lately, I’ve been feeling like the fifth wheel, like I don’t belong, you know?”

“We’ve been making you feel like that?” he asked, concern covering his face.

Rachel shook her head and tried to explain. “No…well, not intentionally. Honestly, between you and Lena and Josh and Shelly, I’m just feeling a little bit…lonely.”

The expression that crossed her brother’s face almost broke her. He looked pained, like someone had ripped out a part of him and told him he couldn’t have it back. Pulling her to him, he wrapped his arms around her as she hugged his waist.

“I had no idea you felt like that,” he confessed against the top of her head.

“Why would you? I never told you.”

Pulling back from her a little, Mason nodded and held her for a moment. “Do you need me to sing?”

Rachel let out a small laugh. “No. No, I don’t need you to sing.”

“Are you sure? Because I think you do. It always helps.” He made a small production of clearing his throat, and then he began to hum before he started to sing,
aww hell the entire chorus of My Girl
, a song that was achingly familiar as he moved them around the flower store.