“And you somehow ended up down my neck?”
He turned on the charm, flashing one of his devastating smiles. “What can I say, doc? It’s hard to keep myself in check around you. So, what do you say?”
My heartbeat accelerated. Adrenaline thrummed in my veins. “Yes. But let’s make it on my day off, so I don’t fall asleep on you again.”
“As I said, I didn’t mind. But more time with you is just what I wanted. When’s your day off?”
“Sunday.”
“Perfect.”
Those butterflies were now absolutely out of control... as was my grin. Yesterday evening had been amazing, but judging by the intense glint in Cole’s eyes, I hadn’t seen anything yet.
Chapter Ten
Cole
Today was a fine day... except for the worst case of blue balls I’d had since I was a teenager. The cold shower I took didn’t fix things, but my right hand did. I came to my apartment after leaving hers, working from home for a few hours. Since I was meeting Skye and Tess in Soho, it didn’t make sense to go into the office.
I made calls for the Centenarian submission, then checked on permits of an older project, which had hit a roadblock. As chief of operations, I liked to get my hands dirty
with every project. Hunter preferred to handle strategic decisions, only keeping an eye on the financial key performance indicators, but that wasn’t for me. I loved being in the thick of things, always had. I was a problem solver and thrived on finding solutions—especially in issues others deemed too difficult or complex.
In between calls and emails, my mind circled back to Laney. I couldn’t shake off thoughts of her even if I wanted to, and I didn’t; quite the opposite. Laney was funny and easygoing, but there were moments when a sadness passed in her eyes. I wanted to find out what that was about, help if I could... or just erase that sadness completely. I could ask Isabelle, but I preferred to talk to Laney about it. I already knew some of the things she enjoyed, and I was going to be very thorough in exploring her to find out more.
I chuckled at myself. Ryker would give me so much shit about this. I willingly admitted that I’d been shocked when Hunter and then my brother broke out of the bachelor pack and settled down. I’d never felt the urge to even get to know a woman too well. But now, it was like an inner driving force that I couldn’t stop. Laney was cautious and kept her cards close. I couldn’t tell if it was because she didn’t want to open up in general, or just with me. I was determined to find out.
After making a few calls, I opened up the 3D rendering of a project we’d just completed. I’d noticed some discrepancies that I wanted our team to fix.
I was writing notes to the team when Tess called. I was meeting her and Skye in two hours, so maybe they needed something. I answered right away. I had a golden rule: never ignore a call from the family. Typically no one called without reason during work hours. Pointless calls to give each other shit were acceptable in the Winchester family, but we had the good sense to only do it in our spare time.
“Morning, sis.”
“Cole.”
I went from relaxed to tense in a fraction of a second. Her voice was strained.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m with Skye... and she’s not feeling well.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, as if someone had sucker punched me in the stomach.
“Is... is the baby coming?”
Please say no.
Please.
She was due in May, so that would mean he’d be born two months too early. I had zero medical knowledge, but even I knew that was bad.
“I don’t know. She fainted, and now she’s lying down, still very drowsy. She’s covered in cold sweat. We’ve already called an ambulance. We’re waiting. Just wanted to let you know.”
“Where are you taking her?”
“The Liberty, but I remembered that her ob-gyn is actually on vacation, so she can’t help. I’ve called Rob too. He’s meeting us there.”
Tess’s voice was trembling. I forced myself to take a deep breath and sound calm. I didn’t want to make Tess worry even more.