The Rules In Paradise (Playing By The Rules) (20 page)

             
He closed the door and couldn't hide the grin on his face despite his valiant effort. He reached down and picked up his shirt, sliding it on. He threw my shirt at me, having it land on my stomach.

             
"Our party awaits my lady, try to look presentable for them." I grumbled under my breath as I put my shirt back on and redid my pants.

             
"I'll never forgive her or you for this," I said through clenched teeth.

             
"Me? What did I do?" He looked truly shocked.

             
"You said yes!" I scolded as I opened the door. Cole laughed behind me as we walked out to the living room.

             
We were greeted by a round of applause and hooting and hollering from the people sitting around the living room. I blushed a deep red as I saw Adrian, Jason, Charlotte and Kyle all clapping. I embarrassedly hid my head against Cole's chest as he accepted and reveled in the attention. He had a slight blush, but was taking it like a true man.

             
"Thank-you, thank-you. I aim to please," he said which erupted the room with laughter and we finally left.

             
"How about we order everyone a round of shots," Cole whispered to me as we all looked at our menus.

             
I gave him a dirty look. We were seated at a table at a small Italian restaurant downtown.

             
"Olivia mentioned that you and your soon to be father-in-law were in business together, what is it that you do?" Cole questioned Kyle.

             
"Well, he owns a law firm a few miles from here. I will be taking my Bar this summer and he has already asked me to become a partner," Kyle said.

             
"Oh, what kind of firm is it?" Cole asked with genuine curiosity.

             
"Well he's a shrewd businessman and he is diversifying right now. I'll be real estate law, he has a number of different guys in there practicing every law available. He's covering all his basis and hiring guys that are good, not just those that practice a specific specialty."

             
"That's genius. Do you do local cases only or are you able to work outside of the city?"

             
"It depends on the specialty. Every guy is licensed in different states. Depends on what you need and where." Kyle took a sip of his drink.

             
"Well good luck on the Bar and congrats on the upcoming nuptials," Cole said, working the table as only he could.

             
He continued to direct the conversation to everybody at the table. I noticed he took his time inquiring about each person leaving nobody feeling left out. It warmed my heart to see him interacting with my friends. He fit in perfectly. It was only the second time I was able to see his God-given talent in action. He knew the exact right thing to say and when and how each person would respond. I imagined his mind to be working overtime, calculating what he was going to say to each person's personality.

             
Kyle invited him and Jason to go see something he had built for the restaurant when he was in high school. The three men left the table. Adrian and Char were gossiping about something Jason had said earlier. I felt extremely happy and blessed. I had all of my friends here and together and we were all having a great time. I was lucky that Adrian and Charlotte were so accepting of Cole. He could be a little different and intense sometimes, but they didn't seem to think anything of it.

             
My attention turned to the buzzing next to me. Cole had left his phone on the table and the buzzing signaled he had just received a message. The message was from a Shelia.

             
'Final offer is going to be 425k with the art thrown in. House as-is. She said she will not pay a penny more. Is this good?'

             
The screen went black and I quickly pulled my attention away from it. I saw the guys round the corner and I tried to play it cool.

             
I waited for Cole to check his phone, but he did not touch it for most of lunch. Finally, he reached into his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out a credit card.

             
"Please, allow me. Consider it an early wedding gift," he said to Kyle and Char, "but not to you, don't get any ideas," he said, his attention directed at Jason and Adrian, both of whom laughed.

             
He set his wallet down next to his phone while he waited for the waiter to return with his card. I watched his every move as he picked up his phone and read the message. His face stayed straight as he replied apparently to the same message I had read. He put both his wallet and his phone into his pocket as we stood up to leave.

             
We spent the next couple hours walking around downtown as we showed both Cole and Jason, who had never been some of the highlights. I don't know why but the message plagued me. I thought it weird that it seemed this Shelia was talking about his house. I could be reading into this, way into it but I couldn't shake it. Cole noticed something was wrong almost immediately.

             
"Are you feeling well?" He asked.

             
"Yes, why?" I replied. He held my hand and looked down at me.

             
"You have been exceptionally quiet since lunch, are you tired?" I shook my head. This wasn't exactly something I could ask him. I felt like I had invaded his privacy by reading the message even though I hadn't actually done anything to read it.

             
"Maybe I am tired. Just not feeling particularly talkative I guess."

             
"You? Something must be wrong if you are not talking and being a force to be reckoned with." He smiled, but I returned it with a weak one.

             
"Hey, snap out of it. I don't like to see you this way," his voice was low and soft.

             
"I just, am confused," I said. His face instantly fell.

             
"Confused? Did I do something?"

             
"No, not really. It's just, do you promise not to get mad?" I asked.

             
"If you have to ask me that then I am going to say no, but I promise not to get visibly mad while we are in the company of others. What is it Olivia?" He looked anxious.

             
"When you got up your phone went off. I just glanced over to see what it was and there was a message on it. I didn't mean to read it, but I couldn't help it. It just popped up." He didn't speak for a moment while we continued to trail the rest of the group.

             
"Ok, I am waiting for your confusion to become apparent." His face showed that he had lost some of his earlier vigor.

             
"It sounded like you were selling your house. Are you?" He sighed and walked awhile before answering.

             
"Yes, I am."

             
"Why? You raved to me about how much you loved it and how it was your baby. It sounded beautiful."

             
"Because it was a necessity that I got rid of it." His tone was even. His face gave nothing away.

             
"Why?"

             
"Because it was. What are you a damn child? There are some things I had to take care of back home and I am doing just that. It is not a big deal." His face was lined with anger.

             
"Does it have to do with me?" I asked.

             
"Not directly. I made some choices in the past that I now regret and that is something I had to deal with as a result of my feelings for you."

             
"Shelia is?" Dare I ask him that? He gave me a look of disbelief.

             
"She is my real estate agent Olivia. Unless you took that as some kind of metaphor for our affair we're having which is why I didn't get here on time."

             
"That wasn't fair," I said in a soft voice.

             
"This whole conversation isn't fair. You've already insulted my integrity by insinuating many things about my absence, now I have to justify a text I got from my sixty year old real estate agent. I do not take well to accusations Olivia." He spoke without looking at me. Just following behind the others.

             
"I'm sorry," I said like a child who had just been scolded.

             
"You should be. I am here with you rather than back at home working and dealing with this real estate issue. I am surprised by your distrust in me Olivia. I didn't take you for a jealous woman."

             
"I'm not, it's just," I let my sentence trail off. I knew I was being stupid, but I also knew that there were things going on that I had no clue about.

             
"It's just what Olivia. Enlighten me." His tone was turning sarcastic.

             
"It's just you're so damn secretive. You're hiding things and I don't think they're all bad. And you're you."

             
"Yes, I am me. What does that have to do with anything?"

             
"Because you're gorgeous and successful and damn near perfect. The chances of you running into someone who catches your eye is better than the chance that you want to be with me." I tried to keep my voice down, but I was getting upset. I heard him groan which only contributed to my uneasiness.

             
"You have no earthly clue what I have given up for you Olivia. I have damn near given up heaven and earth for you. I have done so to be here, with you. I've pissed many people off, for you. I've spent a lot of money to pay for mistakes, for you. If you knew what I've done to be with you then you wouldn't be spewing this nonsense. Do you need a title Olivia, is that what this is about?" His eyes were a blazing bright blue.

             
"No, not at all. It's just, am I worth it?"

             
"Right now you are giving me a headache. I'm here for you, please accept that. You are more beautiful and intelligent and sexy than you know. You are worth every single ounce of frustration and every dollar I've had to spend. But that is what I need to deal with when I go home, I don't want to deal with it here too. I'm here to see you and to be away from that madness. Let me enjoy it." He was rubbing his hands over his face. We had fallen far behind the group.

             
"I'm sorry."

             
"Please stop saying that. Or on second thought, stop being so ridiculous that you have to say it. I'm here, for you only." He stroked my face with his hand and leaned in to kiss me.

             
"Wait until you get home, Romeo," Adrian called out from way ahead of us.

             
Cole laughed and waved to her.

             
"We're getting a hotel room tonight," He said as we tried to catch up to the rest of the group.

Chapter 15

             
I awoke the next morning, slightly disoriented. The sun was streaming in a very large window. I could feel the air from a ceiling fan above me. I however was brought back to where I was, noticing I was covered in only a sheet. The bed next to me was empty. I looked at the clock and was shocked to see it was already after nine in the morning. I scoured the floor for any semblance of clothing but turned up empty. I wrapped the sheet around me as best as I could and walked out into the living room. Cole was sitting at the kitchen table with a laptop in front of him. He looked up and smiled.

             
"Well good morning Sleeping Beauty, how are you this morning," his smile was soft and genuine.

             
"Very good. How long have you been up?" I took an apple from the basket in the middle of the table and took a bite.