Page 30 of Mistletoe Mistake
For a few seconds, we both stood there awkwardly, just looking at each other, and frustration coursed through me. I didn't want things to be awkward. The whole point of what we’d just done had been to get rid of the tension between us, not to create more.
With that in mind, I tried to lighten the mood. “Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you, Cole.”
His dark eyes flashed, indicating that he had a few things to say about that, but he held himself to a single-word answer: “Likewise.”
Walking to the door, I put my boots back on and grabbed my coat. As I wrapped my scarf around my neck, Cole spoke again.
“Gemma.”
He only said the one word, just my name, but it stopped me in my tracks. “Yes?”
Turning back to him, I watched as his lips grew tighter and tighter, some kind of internal battle going on inside him, until he finally seemed to gain the upper hand and took a deep breath, making a visible effort to relax.
“Is there anything else on your calendar this week that you need some company for?”
Immediately, hope spiked within me. I knew exactly what he meant: he wanted to repeat this evening, and I couldn't even pretend I didn't want it too. My body reacted instantly, with the aching that had only recently subsided coming back in full force. I had literally just been satisfied completely, and already, I wanted him again.
“Actually, I do.” I had planned a full-on schedule of activities for me and Edwin over the next three weeks, but Cole didn’t need to know that. I offered him a casual, flirty smile instead. “Can you handle more Christmas fun?”
That now-familiar smirk of his reappeared on his face. “If tonight has been any indication, I think the reward will be sufficient.”
So, he clearly enjoyed himself as much as I had. Maybe one more time wouldn't hurt. Maybe one more time would be what it took to satisfy the need in me.
I grabbed my phone from my pocket and held it out to him. “Give me your number and I'll send you the next thing on my schedule. You can let me know if it works for you.”
As calm and cool as always, Cole came over and took the phone, standing next to me while he entered his number. Just being next to him again, smelling his cologne and watching each tiny movement of his muscles, almost made me want to tear my clothes off again right there and then. When he handed the phone back to me, he leaned over and brushed his lips against my cheek, barely touching it. “I'll look forward to hearing from you soon.”
Swallowing hard, I forced myself to pull away. “Goodnight, Cole.”
I left the room while I still could, while I still had any willpower left.
Only when I had settled in the back of the car, watching the streets of London go by, did I remember Annabel and the paparazzi.Fuck.I really should have given Cole more details about that while we were in the same room, but my distraction hadn’t been entirely my fault. Now that the distraction had disappeared, reality started to sink back in.
With dread pooling in my stomach, I pulled up Annabel's Instagram account. Unsurprisingly, it featured a bunch of photos of her at the Winter Wonderland, including one of her with Edwin's arm around her as he gazed at her adoringly, reminding me why I made a point of never looking at her posts. In the past, seeing this kind of thing would always send me into a spiral of doubt and bitterness, but at that moment, instead of the usual agonizing self-loathing that would accompany any thoughts of Edwin and Annabel, the sight left me curiously unaffected. Maybe finally getting laid had helped to soothe my resentment? That would be a nice side-effect.
Finally, I found the post I was looking for.
Spotted tonight in the Park: a certain super-rich American hotel exec (CS) looking cozy with Eddie's ex!
‘Eddie’? Edwin had always told me he hated when people called him that.
The post already had thousands of likes and comments. Though I knew I shouldn't look, my eyes strayed to the first few comments anyway. Most of them were about Cole; people had guessed immediately that the post referred to him, since she hadn’t been subtle. After that, it didn’t take long for the comments I expected to appear.
He must not watch LOK.
Sounds like he's in for a massive letdown.
Wow, would have thought someone that loaded could do better.
My jaw clenched as I quickly turned the screen off, my gaze returning to the city outside the taxi window instead, though I didn’t actually see a thing. No matter how much I tried to fight it, my heart pounded as the familiar feelings of shame and self-doubt washed over me. Having my fiancé break up with me had been one thing, but it was another thing entirely to have complete strangers speculating about the reasons he'd left and the reasons no other man would ever want me.
Cole would see those comments. He had a publicist, which I’d learned earlier, and if she was any good at her job, she'd find out about all of this in no time. Not to mention the pictures that were bound to appear in the tabloids tomorrow morning, along with a rehash of the whole situation. He'd see everything that people had said, and he'd know everything that had happened.
The chances of a second night with him seemed to be fading by the second, so before I lost my nerve, I sent him a quick text inviting him to the event I had in my calendar for the next evening. If he wanted to blow me off, at least he'd have to give me an excuse.
With that done, I took a deep breath, letting all the negative feelings flow out of me. I couldn’t do anything else about it now, and I wouldn’t let this bring me down like it had before. If nothing else, I had the memories of that night with Cole, and they were good enough to keep me going for quite a while.
What would Edwin think if he could have seen the way I'd behaved with Cole? The way Cole had brought me to climax, the way I had come for him, over and over again. It would be enough to make Edwin take back everything he'd said about me.
