Meant to Be (RightMatch.com Trilogy) (15 page)

“Hi, sweetie.” She stepped aside. “This is Cole and Ellie Matheson.”

“Welcome.” He shook Cole’s hand, then looked down at Ellie. “Hello there, beautiful.”

Ellie reached out. “Up, Ellie up.”

As Mark lifted her into his arms, he told them, “Take off your coats.”

The brisk October day had necessitated jackets. Mark busied himself setting Ellie on the counter and removing hers, too. It was a cute denim that matched her Calvin Klein jeans. Dana and her girls spoiled Ellie with designer clothes. It was like they were all playing dress up.

Ava came out to the kitchen from the family room that sprawled off of it and hugged Beth. Then she turned to Cole. “Welcome to our home, Cole.” There wasn’t a speck of warmth in her tone.

“Thank you, Ava. Glad to be here.”

“Are you?” she asked pointedly.

“Come see Ellie, honey.” Mark was obviously trying to intervene.

Ava turned and her whole demeanor changed. “Oh, aren’t you a beautiful one?”

At least Ava had the good sense to be nice to Cole’s child. Beth had told her daughter that she was entitled to her feelings, but she had to treat Cole with respect and be kind to the baby. Ava loved kids, anyway, so that wasn’t a stretch. Basically, her daughter was a good person but had this animosity toward Cole, and it was becoming an obsession.

They all headed to the family room. A lovely space with a cathedral ceiling made of wood, it sported whirling fans that let off a low hum, walls of windows and a fieldstone fireplace. Cole said, “Wow, great room. I especially like the fireplace.”

“Thanks.” Ava pointed to the left. “There’s room on that couch for you both.” Two sofas lined the walls with chairs facing them, all dark leather, and Ava pointed to one where a woman sat.

Beth recognized her. “Hello, Mitzy.” This was Rob’s current
little stewardess.
He had a penchant for them.

“Hello, Mrs. Montgomery.”

“I told you to call me Beth. And this is Cole and Ellie.”

Mitzy cooed over Ellie but when she turned her gaze on Cole, her cooing was of a different sort. “Hello, Cole.” Briefly Mitzy glanced from Beth to Cole. Was she thinking about their age difference and why on earth he’d be interested in an older woman? Beth stopped the thought from taking root in her head.

Just then a voice came from the other end of the room. “Hey there, beautiful.” Rob. He crossed to Beth and hugged her from behind.

Beth smiled broadly. “Hi, sweetie.” She drew out of his arms and grasped hold of his hand which steadied her. “I’d like you to meet Cole Matheson and his daughter Ellie.”

Rob said, “It’s about time I got to meet this lucky stiff.” He shook Cole’s hand and held on to it. “Welcome to your first visit with the Montgomery clan.” He leaned in and stage whispered, “I’m a lot more open-minded than my sister. You’re gonna do fine.”

But when they all sat and Ava maneuvered—not so subtly—Cole next to Mitzy, so she could ostensibly play with the baby, Beth’s heart did a little clutch.

The woman was about Rob’s age with a Barbie-doll figure and a sweet heart-shaped face. Beth tried again to stop the thought but this time, it barreled through like a bull in a china shop.

This is the kind of woman Cole should be with.

o0o

Though Cole recognized Ava’s maneuvering, her
setup
made him angry. How could she do this to her mother? And her brother? Still, he pretended to be unaware when he was forced to sit next to Mitzy on the couch. At least he had the baby on his knee as a buffer. With all the new people around, she didn’t squirm to get down. “She’s just beautiful, Cole,” Mitzy said sincerely. “She looks just like you.”

“She’s a beauty all right.”

Mitzy leaned over conspiratorially. “Rob told me her mom is a doctor. And didn’t”—she glanced at Ellie—“w-a-n-t her.”

“I think it’s an amazing thing Johanna did,” he said calmly. “To have this little miracle and give her to me. I have nothing but the utmost respect for her.”

Rob dropped down on the floor next to Mitzy and grabbed her hand. “So you live in Rockland like the rest of us, Cole? Mom’s the only holdout.”

“Yeah. My family’s here, too. It’s convenient.”

“How much family do you have?” Rob asked.

“Two brothers. And two sisters-in-law I adore. A slew of nieces and a nephew and, of course, my parents.”

Cole noted Ava had gone into the kitchen and was talking softly to Mark. He wondered if Mark was chiding her for her machinations.

His gaze strayed to Beth, who had Mariel on her lap. “Beth, let’s get the girls to play together.” He stood. “We’ll sit on the floor in case Ellie starts to bully Mariel.”

As Ellie was the sweetest-tempered kid in the world, Beth would know he was getting her away from the uncomfortable situation. Cole and Beth set Ellie and Mariel facing each other, then settled near them. Ellie took a few steps toward a pile of toys, plopped her fanny down, and soon, Mariel followed suit. Mariel picked up a baby doll and began biting its feet.

Ellie went right for the fire truck and ran it on the floor in front of her. “Rmm, rmm,” she babbled.

The adults laughed.

Cole grinned like the proud papa he was. “She likes those firefighters. My brother Joe is a cop and last week he took her to one of the station houses where a buddy of his works. They let her sit in the truck and even blow the horn.”

Soon, Ellie scrambled up onto her knees to push the truck around, and Mariel followed her, pushing the doll on the floor. By dinner time they were inseparable. Well, Cole thought ruefully, at least that worked out.

“Can I help you serve?” Cole asked when Ava announced dinner. Beth was settling Ellie in a highchair and Mark put Mariel next to her in another.

“That’s right,” Ava said in a syrupy sweet voice. “You’re Mr. Mom. Are you a good cook, too?”

“Uh-huh, contrary to my mother.”

Rob asked about his comment as they helped Ava get the food on the table—heavenly smelling roast beef, which Mark had sliced, mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetables.

“My mother cooks all the time, but honestly, she still can’t get the hang of it. My poor father.”

“How is he?” Mark asked. “Mom told us about his heart attack a week ago.”

“He’s amazing. He came home after only two days and he’s a pleasant patient. My mom doesn’t even mind being his nurse.”

“My dad was the best,” Ava put in while she was filling water glasses; she went on to sing the praises of her sainted father. Although Cole knew his jealousy of Peter was stupid, Ava’s litany piqued him just the same.

Which was why, when everyone was cleaning up and Ava went down a short flight of stairs off the family room, carrying platters to store,Cole followed her.

The space she entered was a wing with beautifully appointed high ceilings, a bedroom to the left and sitting room to the right. Behind a couch were storage units. He let Ava put the dishes away, then said softly, “Ava?”

She swirled around. “Oh, my God, don’t sneak up on me like that.” He hadn’t. He’d taken care to make noise.

“Is this how it’s going to be from now on?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Probably. I think you’re wrong for my mother and I believe you’ll show your true colors eventually. Maybe I can speed up the process.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong about me. So I’ll tell you two things right now: I’m not giving her up because of your objections.”

“You’re an interloper! You’re making everybody unhappy.”

“I love your mother.”

She rolled her eyes. “Now, while she’s still beautiful.”

“Forever.”

“Isn’t it a little early for all that?”

“You know our history. We connected online for months before we started dating. For Christ’s sake, you signed her up on my site.”

“Which I totally regret.”

Do what’s best for Beth.
“I’m sorry you feel that way. As I said, I’m not giving her up because you think my motives aren’t honorable. But the other thing you need to have pointed out to you is that you’re hurting your mother by your blatant attempts to show us how wrong our relationship is.”

He saw the chink in her armor immediately. Her face fell and her shoulders slumped. And she didn’t argue with him. Must be she sensed the truth of the situation, if only in her unconscious.

He seized the opportunity and moved closer to her. “Ava, please, give me a chance. Get to know me better and you’ll see that I make her happy.”

“You’ve already hurt her with your lies.” Not all of which she knew.

“I’ll spend every one of my days making up for that.”

“I can’t change how I think, Cole, just because you want me to.”

“You can try. For your mother’s sake. She’d do it for you in a heartbeat.”

Ava raised her chin, but some of the hostility that had been there all day had abated. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Because I’m here to stay.”

o0o

“Aren’t you glad we could do this?” Cole made the statement at the bar in the Seneca Casino, where he sat with his two brothers. He had to smile at how similarly they were dressed: pressed trousers, sports coats with silk T-shirts underneath. Joe’s shirt was red, Spence’s green and his, slate blue. The women teased them about dressing alike. Currently, those women were out gambling on the floor of the massive space, about an hour away from Rockland. Annie had headed right for the craps table (who would have thought?), Beth had taken a chair at a machine with free games, U-spins and Pick a Money Sack. It turned out that Dana loved poker and had planted herself at a blackjack table. She hadn’t been heard from since.

“Yeah, we’re lucky to be together, and that Rick’s recovered enough so Mom could take Ellie for the weekend.” Joe grinned. “Soon they’re going to have more grandchildren than they know what to do with.”

The three brothers had planned this time away because everybody was working hard and, as Joe had pointed out, two new little ones were coming soon. Life would be hectic, so they took a respite now. Sipping a Molson’s, Joe studied Cole. “I thought maybe Beth’s daughter might take Ellie.”

Snorting, Cole sipped a Scotch. “Not hardly. We were over to Ava’s house last Sunday and she needled me every chance she got.”

“How’s Beth taking her behavior?”

Cole beat back a smile. That night after their visit to Ava’s, despite the fact that Ellie was in the house, Beth had stayed over and they’d made the sweetest love ever. He could still feel the silk of her skin and hear her sexy murmurs. “Ironically, it made her more determined that our relationship work out.”

Spence winked at Joe. “Translated, they had great sex.”

“Hey, lay off me. I know the facts about pregnant women and their hormones. I’ll rag on you when the girls are around if you don’t leave me alone.”

His brothers gave small smiles and exchanged knowing glances. Then Spence sobered. “Are you sorry you didn’t get to experience that for Ellie?”

“Lots of sex?” Cole joked. “Sure.”

“No, that Johanna wasn’t around while she was pregnant. That you never felt Ellie move inside her, read baby books together, sat and just talked about what the kid might be like?”

“Those are certainly poignant moments.” Cole kept his tone neutral to not give them fodder for further discussion.

For a minute, they listened to the bells and whistles of the machines, some music emitting from the speakers—definitely not Cole’s taste. Spence finally said what Cole knew was on their minds and his, too. “You know, you’ll never get to experience a woman’s pregnancy if you stay with Beth.”

“No ifs about it, bro. I’m in for the long haul. But yes, to answer your question, I do regret I’ll never have that. But like Joe Sr. always said, nothing’s one hundred percent. I got my kid and Beth. I couldn’t live without either.” Having had enough serious conversation, Cole stood and gulped the rest of his drink. “I’m off to see if my woman is winning any money.” He trundled down the bar steps before either brother could comment.

Beth’s luck was good. He found her at Cash Spin with $240 in her winnings column. For a moment, he watched the way her hair spilled over her face when she moved to press the button. She wore a cocktail dress with blue sparkles in it that drove up his blood pressure. Slipping behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders and began to knead there.

“Ah, that feels good,” she said in a pointedly sexy tone. “But you better back away, mister. I have a really jealous lover.”

From the corner of his eye, Cole got a glance of the woman next to them. Her eyes bulged at Beth’s comment. Leaning over, he said loudly enough for her to hear, “We won’t tell him. You know, baby, I got a room upstairs. It has a Jacuzzi, and a big, big bed.”

Beth pressed the spin button and icons whirred in front of her. “Oh, look. The money pot.”

“Hmm, I got a money pot I could show you.”

Beth laughed out loud and their onlooker harrumphed, pressed
cash out
and left the seat open. Cole dropped down into it.

“That was mean,” Beth told him. “She was winning.”

“Aw, would you begrudge me a little fun?”

Beth shook her head at him as she often did when he’d been outrageous.

He leaned over and kissed her nose. “Are you? Having fun?”

“Yeah, I love gambling. I never did it before.”

“Never?”

“Nah. Peter wasn’t a gambler. Said it killed him to throw money away.”

“Well, you’re doing the opposite.” He pointed to the total which was now $300. “We are winning.”

“We?
What are you talking about? I’ve won this fair and square on a measly twenty-dollar stake. But if you’re really, really good, I may buy you a meal or two with it.”

“Oh, love. I’m very, very,
very
good.” Again he leaned over. “You should know that by now.”

Beth giggled and the person on the other side of her made a tsk-ing sound, cashed out and left too. Must be they weren’t in the mood for love, either.

o0o

After the fun of joking around at the machine, Beth and Cole joined the other two couples at the bar in the hotel. It was dimly lit, and currently housed about thirty patrons.