Love Me to Death (33 page)

“How long does she have left?” He finally asks in a whisper.

“A year at the most.” He gulps, places his empty glass down on the coffee table that separates us and then runs a hand through his hair. He looks at me as if expecting more and so I give it to him. “She has heart failure. Her heart is irreparable.”

“I don’t get it, she’s so young.”

“I know,” I breathe finally letting my words sink in.

“Why didn’t she tell me herself?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Knowing Ned, she probably wanted you to see her as strong. She wants your memories of her to be positive.” He nods slowly.

“And how do you fit into this?” he asks with a tone to his voice that I don’t like.

“What do you mean?”

He laughs a little. “Well, what is it you’re after, her money?”

I rise to my feet instantly and walk straight up to him until our faces are about an inch apart.

“Let me make this really clear. I have wanted to rip your head off your shoulders since the first day that you stepped into her penthouse, say another dumb comment like that and you might just give me a reason to.”

We are both breathing heavily before he nods and I back away a couple of steps.

“You can’t blame me for asking. You’ve sort of just appeared out of nowhere.”

“I couldn’t care less about her money. I’d rather be broke for the rest of my life if it meant that she would be ok.” I look down at the carpet and for the first time, I really consider a life without Ned. I lower myself to the sofa. I push the thoughts away.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” he asks as he takes a seat on the sofa opposite the one I am sitting on.

“I love her,” I admit.

“Me too,” he says. It should make me mad but instead I feel like we’ve finally reached an understanding.

“I hate the idea of her not being here one day but right now I’m trying to focus on making every day count. I want every day to be good for her.”

“Me too,” he repeats in a daze.

“Then you understand that you can’t walk away from her right now. She needs you,” I admit.

“I’m surprised you’re even telling me this,” he chuckles.

“Yeah well I’m not enjoying it, I can tell you that, but it’s the truth. I would never do anything to make her unhappy and if having you around makes her happy then so be it.”

He nods for a moment.

“You want me to go talk to her?”

“No,” I shake my head. “I have a plan and I need your help.” I turn to face him.

“Just say the word,” he says without hesitation.

I smile for a moment. “Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought, Jerkson.” I see the smile fill his face.

“Neither are you, Cale. Neither are you.”

I chuckle.

After explaining my entire plan to Jackson, I leave him to do his part. I head down to the clerk — Pierre — that gave me Jackson’s hotel room location and ask him to help me with part two of my plan. And by asking him to help me, I mean I paid him to help me. That guy really needs to lose his job.

I am currently sitting and waiting for Ned to resurface from the bathroom so we can leave. I do not want to be late.

“Babe, how long now?”

“Cole, you asked me that less than five minutes ago and I told you that I am moving as fast as I can,” she shouts at me through the door.

“Well,
your
fast is not all that fast. Do you need some help in there?”

“Does your help include taking my clothes off?” she asks sarcastically.

I think about it for a second. “Most likely.”

“Then no.”

“Good call.”

I sit on the bed messing around with my phone.

“Hey, babe?”

“Yes,” she calls impatiently.

“This chick just sent me a message asking if I want to hook up tonight, what should I say?” I smirk.

Just then Ned steps out of the bathroom wearing a purple dress that falls to just above her knees and a matching purple ring. She looks like an angel.

“What do you want to say?” she asks with a smile.

“After seeing you right now absolutely nothing. Excuse me while I delete her number.”

“And how many numbers do you have in your phone exactly?” She raises her eyebrows.

“Do you really want to know?”

“Probably not but try me.”

“It’s in the hundreds.”

“You are such a player.”

“Was,” I say before standing to my feet. I stroll toward her while grinning. “I
was
a player. I am now taken. My penis belongs to one woman.”

“Cole that is in no way a romantic comment,” she giggles.

“Of course it is. I’ve never told a woman that my penis belongs to her before. Do you understand the honor that has been bestowed upon you, woman?” I ask in amusement.

“You are a moron.”

“You love this moron,” I say pulling her into my arms.

“Yeah, I may need my head examined.”

“And your lips,” I stare at them for a moment. “I think your lips need to be examined too,” I whisper with a smile.

“Oh really?” she asks in shock. “You wouldn’t happen to know a doctor that could examine them for me do you?”

“Actually, I know a very highly qualified doctor who can perform the procedure.”

“That’s great and what exactly does the procedure entail?”

“Lots and lots of testing. Just to check they are in proper working order of course.”

“Of course.” She nods her head. “When will this doctor arrive?”

“He’s already here. Right in front of you actually.”

“Oh,” she says faking disappointment. “I was hoping for someone more qualified to run the tests.”

“I assure you, Miss Waters, there is no one more qualified in the entire world. I am trained specifically for those lips,” I say nodding toward hers.

“Well, that makes me feel better.”

“Mmm, I bet.” I move closer to her mouth. I brush my lips against hers softly. “Oh no, this just won’t do, I need to do much more extensive testing than I initially thought,” I whisper with a smile.

“Oh no,” she gasps.

“Oh no indeed,” I say before pressing my lips against hers. All games come to an end as my tongue plunges into her mouth and I explore every bit of her. I’ll never tire of the taste of this woman. The kiss slows down and I gently pull away.

“What’s the verdict, doctor?” she whispers.

“I need to run more tests later, it seems that the problem isn’t just with your lips, it’s with every inch of your body too.”

“We can’t have that.”

“Nope, we can’t,” I chuckle. “You know that if you carry on like this we aren’t going to make it out the door.”

“Maybe that’s my plan,” she says mischievously.

“I love that plan but we do really need to go now. Tests will commence later. If you’re really lucky I might use my advanced equipment on you.”

“Oh, I can’t wait.” She winks with a giggle before I pull her through the door of the bathroom and out of the hotel room. If I don’t get out now I never will. “So where exactly are you taking me?”

“Somewhere I know you’ll love,” I say, linking our hands together.

“That’s not much of an answer, Mr. Cole.”

“True but a real answer would ruin the surprise so I’m afraid that’s the best you’re going to get.” She rolls her eyes.

As we step out of the elevator on the ground floor Pierre heads straight toward us as soon as he sees me. “Mr. Cole, the car is waiting right outside for you.”

“Thank you, Pierre,” I say nodding my head as I walk past him.

“Enjoy your evening,” he adds. I glance at Ned who looks somewhat impressed. I like the feeling it gives me to see that expression on her face.

“Did I ever tell you that I think you’re amazing?” Ned says smiling over at me.

“You didn’t, no. Are you telling me now?” I smile. She bites her bottom lip causing me to become a little distracted. I take a little breath and try to concentrate on what she is saying.

“I am. I’m really glad you were the one that applied for the job,” she says seriously.

“Me too, although I’m pretty sure we would have found each other anyway.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Babe, we are meant to be together … I would have always found you.”

She doesn’t answer but I see the small grin on her face. I know that what I just said was the truth. Ned has completely changed my whole life. There is no way I can become the man that I am becoming if I never met her. It’s as if she was pre-written into my life.
Maybe she was
.

“Mr. Cole? Miss Waters?” A man wearing a black suit asks. I nod as he steps up to the back door of a black limousine and opens it. He gestures for us to get inside with his head. I hold Ned’s hand as she lowers herself inside and then I scoot in next to her. Once the door is closed I turn to Ned who is admiring the inside of the car.

“You like?” I ask.

“Yes, it’s beautiful. Look at all of the lights.” She smiles as she looks up at the spot lights on the roof of the car and the ones that frame the leather chairs. I glance over at the driver but realize he has put up the partition that separates us from him.

“Only the best for you.” I wink. “Champagne?” I ask grabbing the bottle from the cooler along with the two glasses sitting next to it. She smiles over at me and that is my signal to pour us both a glass. Once I am done I put the bottle back in the cooler and hand Ned her glass. She lifts it to her nose and sniffs. A satisfied smile fills her face before she takes a small sip. Her eyes meet mine again and I see something I’ve never seen before. She looks at me as if I am her world and damn does it make me feel like I just found a purpose to live.

“Can I ask you a question?” she says as she leans back in the seat.

I take her free hand and entwine it with mine. Placing both of our hands in my lap, I nod.

“You can ask me anything.”

She takes a deep breath as if she is suddenly nervous. “How do you do it? How do you love me knowing everything you do?”

She still doesn’t get it.

I stare at her for a moment before taking her glass out of her hand. I place both glasses in the little slots that were made for them and turn to her. “Come here,” I whisper. She slides toward me and I pull her onto my lap so she is straddling me. I wrap my arms around her waist and breathe her in for a moment. “What makes you love your parents, Ned?” I ask calmly. She looks puzzled and shakes her head.

“I don’t know,” she says shrugging her shoulders. “It comes naturally, I don’t have a reason … I just love them, I always have I guess.”

“That’s exactly the way I feel about you. I can’t explain the reason that I love you. It’s like asking me why I breathe … I do it to survive.”

She’s silent. Then she nods her head.

“I get it,” she whispers. “I just needed to know if you felt it too or whether I was going crazy.”

“You’re definitely going crazy, you’re just not going crazy by yourself,” I chuckle. She laughs.

“Well, misery loves company so why shouldn’t crazy,” she teases.

“Exactly.”

“Doesn’t it scare you?” she asks seriously.

“What?”

“Knowing it’s all going to come to an end,” she says sadly.

“It terrifies me,” I say honestly. “I hate that I never found you sooner but I’d hate it if I never found you at all.”

“Yeah,” she breathes.

“Are you scared?” I ask.

“Yes, not of dying but of knowing that I’ll never feel anything like this again.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I scoff.

“What?” she asks in confusion.

“Babe, do you honestly think that when I get to heaven I’m not coming to find you — well after I thank the big guy for letting me in of course. But after that, your ass better be prepared to spend an eternity with me because if I’m going to live forever then I’m going to spend every day of it seeing that smile.”