Page 58 of Double Booked

With both men standing there, she couldn’t help but compare them. She used to find Patrick attractive, but now he paled next to Cole, literally and figuratively. Patrick was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and his arms looked stringy and pale compared to Cole’s tanned, muscular arms. Patrick looked like what he was, a businessman who worked behind a desk fifty hours per week. He seemed strangely out of place here in this cabin, tucked away in the mountains.

“I apologized over the phone, but I wanted to do it in person. I’m extremely sorry for hurting you, Eden. I had a horrible lapse of judgment, and I know that doesn’t excuse what I did, but—”

“You’re right, it doesn’t,” she interceded. “Nothing you say will erase what you did.”

He blanched and looked down at the floor.

Before he could speak again, she continued. “Why did you think coming here would change anything? Cole was right, it was a waste of time.”

Patrick’s head shot up, and his eyes were hard and narrowed. “You barely know the guy, and you’re taking his advice.”

She glared at him. “What I do is none of your business.”

“You came here to be alone, and now you’re shacking up with a stranger. How is that any better than what I did?”

She locked eyes with Cole, who was shaking his head and looking like he was about to lash out. “Get out,” she said firmly.

“You’re making a big mistake,” Patrick said.

“You heard her. Leave now,” Cole said.

Patrick whirled around and faced him. “Stay out of this.” Then he turned back to her. “Your friends are worried about you.”

She frowned at him. “Which friends?” She and Patrick had mutual friends, but she hadn’t confided in them. Aside from her parents and sister, she’d only told a few of her coworkers where she’d gone. “Who did you talk to?”

“Your assistant.”

“Marissa?” Marissa was her coworker, but not a friend.

“Yes. She’s the one who told me where you were.”

Eden’s temper flared, thinking of him wheedling information out of her assistant. “How dare you go to my office.”

“I didn’t go there. I called.”

“What did you say to get her to tell you where I was?”

“The truth, that I was worried about you hiding out with a stranger. You don’t have to stay here. Go get dressed, and we can leave together.”

“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Cole growled.

“Why don’t you let her speak for herself?” Patrick said.

“I’m not leaving,” she hissed. “You are.”

An icy silence settled over the room. The only movement was from Cole, who gave her a brief nod of encouragement.

Patrick gazed at her for a long, uncomfortable moment. “You’re going to regret this,” he finally said. Then he spun around and brushed past Cole on his way out the door.

Cole followed him outside.

“Where are you going?” Eden said, panicked.

“I’m making sure he leaves,” Cole replied, closing the door firmly behind him.

She rushed over to the kitchen window and peered outside. Cole leaned against the porch railing, shirtless and barefoot, while Patrick bent his head against the wind and hurried down the driveway. He quickly climbed into his car and drove off, the tires spitting gravel in his wake. She and Cole watched until his taillights faded into the darkness. Then Cole let out a big breath and pushed away from the railing. When he reentered the cabin, she was standing in the living room, waiting.

She expected him to hold out his arms and gather her into his embrace. Instead, he halted and shoved his hands into the pockets of his sleep pants. “He’s gone,” he muttered.