He stopped, closed his eyes and shook his head. Turning, he walked back to the SUV and jerked open her door. Needing to see her eyes, he gently pulled off her sunglasses and placed them on the dashboard. He stared at her, taking in her glossy curls and her sexy mouth, and didn’t miss the trepidation in her deep green eyes. Nobody, least of all him, should make her feel anxious or nervous. He looked into her lovely eyes, still full of hurt, and cursed himself for being a fool.
Walking away from her had been the dumbest move he’d ever made. She was what he needed and, if he wanted her in his life, he was going to have to fight for her. Fight his urges to run, to bail, to protect himself. He’d take anything she would give him, any time she could spare from her busy life looking after her sisters and pursuing her degree.
He was done living alone, being alone. And Lex was the only woman he could imagine being in his life full-time, for ever. Thinking that they couldn’t have any barriers between them, he yanked off his sunglasses and tucked them into the inside pocket of his jacket. He held out his hand to Lex.
She looked from his hand to his eyes and back to his hand. ‘Why are we here, Cole?’
‘I have some things to say. Will you listen?’
She ignored his hand, hopped down from the car and jammed her hands into the back pockets of her pale-blue jeans. She shrugged and looked around. ‘Where are we?’
‘This property dates back to the late-eighteenth century. It’s around five thousand square metres and is one of the biggest in the area. Five bedrooms, a three-bedroom cottage, staff accommodation and an apartment over the four-car garage.’ He pointed up and Lex followed his gaze and shrugged.
‘So?’ When he didn’t answer, she threw her hands up in the air. ‘Cole, why are you acting like an estate agent? Why am I here?’
He didn’t want to have this conversation standing on the driveway, so he took her hand and pulled her around the empty house and onto the entertainment deck overlooking one of the two pools on the property. The house was currently unoccupied, and he’d purchased it fully furnished, so he guided Lex over to a comfortable couch under the veranda roof.
If she agreed to his crazy plan, exploring the house could come later...
Right now, he had alotof explaining to do.
Lex sat down on the couch and Cole pushed back the sturdy wooden coffee-table to make room for their legs. He sat down on the coffee table and rested his forearms on his thighs, inching to touch her.
But that, hopefully, would come later too.
Just say the words. Just get it done, Thorpe.
‘I need to tell you who Charlie is.’
Surprise flashed in her eyes and a tiny frown pulled her eyebrows together. It was obvious that wasn’t what she’d expected him to say. ‘Okay...’ She drawled out the word.
‘The reason I cancelled our French jaunt was because Sam, my brother, asked for a meeting in Thailand,’ Cole explained. ‘He wanted to tell me about Charlie.’
‘He couldn’t email you the information?’ Lex asked, sceptical.
‘No, and I now understand why.’ He swallowed, looked down at his hands, and rubbed the back of his neck. It was still so hard to comprehend, hard to take in.
‘Charlie was my sister, Lex.’
He rubbed his hand over his jaw, still having difficulty with the words. ‘She was ten months younger than me, and was apparently the centre of our family. A beautiful little girl and utterly adored, especially by my dad.’
Lex wrinkled her nose, trying to make sense of his words. ‘I don’t understand how you never knew you had a sister.’
He hadn’t either and it had taken much convincing from Sam for him to believe that he’d once been a big brother.
‘She died when I was very young.’
He felt Lex’s hand slide over his knee and he immediately felt calmer, more in control. He wasn’t alone, he had someone supporting him. He knew he wanted her, but until this moment he hadn’t known how much heneededher. Her strength and her calm, her support.
‘Tell me what happened, Cole,’ Lex said.
‘Please know that it wasn’t my fault. Sam said it was a freak accident and I was hurt as well,’ he gabbled, surprised to know that he could talk so fast.
Lex placed her hands on his face and forced him to look at her. ‘Cole, darling, take a breath and tell me, as simply as possible, what happened.’
Simple. Good idea.Right now, simple was all he could handle.
Cole hauled in a deep breath, nodding once before speaking again. ‘The original owner of Rossdale and my father met somewhere and became friends and he invited our family to what was, as Sam explained, quite a rustic place. It was more of a family holiday home than an inn and, apparently, my father fell in love with the place and they visited as often as they could.’