Chapter 0006

Nicola Taylor

It had been a month since I last saw Cole. I was grateful he respected my wishes and didn’t keep pushing because, deep down, I knew I would have eventually said yes. Arabella had been wonderfully behaved but unusually quiet. Despite my attempts to engage her with games and conversation, her heart just didn’t seem in it.

Tonight was my college reunion, an event I dreaded. College wasn't as bad as high school, but I had been voted "most likely to be single," and here I was, still single. The rough predictions had turned out to be surprisingly accurate.

The worst thing was that my ex, Finn, was going to be there with his girlfriend I am guessing. But I had to go, I wanted to meet everyone, my teachers and my friends. I was curious as to what everyone is doing in their life.

As I got ready, an absurd idea entered my head. Without a second thought, I picked up my phone and called the number I would have avoided if I'd paused to reconsider.

“Hey, you said you wanted to make up for all the horrible things you did to me in high school, right? If you really meant it, and if you’re free, can you come by my house in a suit in an hour?” I blurted out as soon as the call was answered, nervous energy filling me.

There was a brief silence on the other end, then Cole's deep voice responded, “Nicola? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I replied quickly. “I just... I need a favor. Are you free?”

“I can be,” he said, a hint of curiosity in his tone. “I’ll be there in an hour.”

True to his word, an hour later, the doorbell rang. My breath caught in my chest as I opened the door to see Cole standing there in a perfectly tailored suit. He looked devastatingly handsome, and the sight of him made my heart race.

I smiled, my cheeks heating up as I invited him in. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

“Of course,” he said, his eyes taking in my appearance. The little black dress that I had bought just for the occasion after ruffling through hundreds of shops with Steph was worth it. “You look beautiful. I should have brought flowers. I didn’t know what—”

“No, don’t worry about it. This is perfect,” I replied, feeling a flutter of nervous excitement. “I... I need a date for my college reunion. I thought you could pretend to be my boyfriend for the night, and we could say we’ve been dating for a few years. I was voted ‘most likely to end up single,’ so I want to prove them wrong. And you owed me, so I thought, why not? Also, you are literally the most beautiful man I know. Everyone is going to lose it.” I blabbered as I started packing my small purse with things I might need but paused when I realized that I had just spoken my mind.

Cole looked at me amused as he stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. “I’d be honored to be there for you. Also, does this mean you will forgive me for—”

“You’ll get closer to getting my forgiveness for sure,” I told him, trying to control the redness of my face. I hoped he wouldn’t bring up how I had called him the ‘most beautiful man ever.’ It was so embarrassing.

“Let’s go,” I said, my voice steady as I looked in the mirror one more time. “We’ve got a reunion to attend.”

I gulped as I contemplated whether I should really pretend to have a boyfriend or not outside the hall where my reunion was taking place. “Is everything okay?” Cole asked as I noticed women checking him out as they walked past us.

“If I get caught in this lie, it would be more embarrassing. Also, I didn’t tell you one thing which is very important. Finn, my ex, is here, and I think this is a bad idea. Let’s go home,” I said, trying to pull his strong bicep towards the entrance of the hotel so that we could leave, but he didn’t budge.

“You’ll be fine. No one is going to find out, and if you would have accepted my proposal, this would kind of be true. So don’t worry,” he said. I froze in place when his hand slipped around my waist with ease. “Let’s go.”

“Oh my God, Nickyyy Babbyyyyy!!!” I saw Amy running towards me as she enveloped me in a hug.

“Wow, I thought you weren’t going to come,” I said, already feeling better about coming after seeing Amy.

“I wasn’t, but Wesley made me,” she said as I saw Wesley approaching us.

“Oh right, Cole, this is my dorm roommate Amy and her husband, Wesley, who gifted me noise-canceling headphones so I couldn’t listen to them do it. PS: They didn’t help.” Everyone laughed as Cole shook hands with them. Amy shot me an excited look, teasing me with Cole and making me blush a little. “And guys, this is Cole. He is my… boyfriend,” I said shyly as I felt my face heating up.

Stop acting like a ten-year-old girl with a crush, Nicola.

“Oh, it’s great to meet you,” Amy said, looking genuinely happy for me. “What do you do?”

“I have a few businesses here and there,” he said, but Wesley’s eyes widened, and I knew he recognized Cole.

“Wait, dude, you’re the youngest billionaire guy.” Wesley said as Cole nodded his head, and I buried my head in his arm.

Amy’s eyes widened, and she mouthed “Wow” at me. I could feel the heat creeping up my neck as I tried to compose myself. This was going to be an interesting night.

As we mingled with more people, I was surprised to see how charming and entertaining Cole was while I could barely speak. I was getting a bit annoyed with the number of women flirting with him, even though he was clearly my ‘boyfriend,’ but somehow that didn’t seem to make a difference.

My heart shattered when I saw Finn roaming around the hall with the same woman on his arm. I excused myself, feeling the urge to cry out of nowhere.

I slipped away from the crowd, my vision blurring as tears threatened to spill. I found a isolated corner, leaning against the wall for support. The memories of Finn's betrayal crashed over me, and I struggled to catch my breath. How could he look so happy, so carefree, while I was still picking up the pieces of my heart?

“Is everything alright? I thought you were going to the bathroom? You’ve been gone for half an hour.” Cole asked me as he stood beside me near my barstool.

“I did, but I needed a drink. And talking is a sober person’s play or game or whatever the saying is,” I said as I drank more champagne.

“Are you drunk?” Cole asked, concerned, as he held me by my waist to pull me off the barstool. “I think we should take you home.”

“He is here, Cole. He is here, and he’s not even bothering to look at Nicola,” I told Cole as I fell into his arms while he steadied me by my waist.

“Wow, you are really drunk,” he said as he asked the bartender for some water. I sniffed his aromatic perfume that seemed to turn me on a little as I nuzzled further into the soft material of his suit. “It’s funny how you accuse me of not moving on, and here you are.”

“Nicola has moved on,” I murmured as he straightened me and made me drink some water.

“Clearly,” he said with the most drop-dead gorgeous teasing smile on his lips, making me wonder why he found my situation amusing.

“Cole, listen to me,” I said as I held his handsome face in my hands. “I am sad because he doesn’t regret losing me. He cheats on me, he does all the bad things, and what? Finn happy, Nicola sad? Why?” I whispered, making him smile wider.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve smiled this much in years,” he said as he removed my hands from his face, making me pout.

“My misery seems amusing to you?” I asked him as I tried to drink from my glass, but he took it away.

“You are cut off. Come on, let’s get you home,” he said as he started leading me out of the room.

“Wait, Cole, you are so hot. I want to show him my hot boyfriend,” I whispered in his ear as he stopped in his steps. I looked up at him as his stature towered over me. I felt him tucking my hair behind my ear as he made me look into his alluring green eyes.

“God sure took his time making you,” I thought as I stared at his face, which seemed like he was about to laugh out loud.

“Darling, you are speaking your thoughts out loud,” he said as we stopped in a secluded part of the dimly lit hall.

“Cole, I wondered what it would be like to sleep with you if I had married you, but thinking about that makes me blush a lot. Also, I don’t want to be with a man who has been with the most perfect women I have ever seen, like Rita from high school. You remember her?” I asked him, and I saw him blink, trying to process all the information I was throwing at him.

“Yes, I remember her, but what does my past have to do with me sleeping with you?” he asked, confused.

“You’ve seen these Barbie dolls, and I look nothing like ‘your type,’ so I don’t want to get involved,” I told him as I leaned into his hard, muscular body that radiated heat and made me feel comfortable.

“Is that why you said no?” he asked me as his finger raised my chin up to make me look at him.

“Well, there are many reasons. Some I told you, and some I won’t tell you, like this sleeping one,” I said as I hushed him.

“But you told me,” he said, but I shook my head.

“No, don’t tell Cole,” I said as I shushed him again. The music in the room was now starting to annoy me, so I grabbed his hand to lead him out so we could sit somewhere quiet. I sighed happily when I saw a couch and gestured for him to sit down before I sat on his lap.

My eyes drifted to his sculpted, beautiful neck, and before I could stop myself, I placed a tender kiss upon it. I felt his breath hitch, spurring me to trail fiery kisses along his strong jawline, down to his neck, with fervent passion.

Each kiss was a testament to the longing that had simmered between us, igniting a wildfire of desire that I couldn’t resist.

His hands trembled as they found their way to my waist, pulling me closer, deepening the intoxicating dance of lips and skin.