The Right Side of My Pillow, стр. 18
Jade found the key she needed so that she wouldn’t be messing around when she made it to the front door. Quickly, she got out of the car and ran inside. Jade wasted no time closing and locking the it. Just for a moment, she rested her back on the door and closed her eyes. Of course, she thought when she opened them, the first thing I would see would be Cole.
“Hey.” Concern was etched on his face. “Are you okay?”
Jade stumbled over her words. “Oh…I’m…everything is fine.”
“Are you sure?” Cole looked around her as if trying to see what might be causing her anxiousness. Are you running away from someone?”
Jade pushed herself off from the door. “I told you I'm all right, Cole. I just…sometimes I hate walking alone in the dark.”
Cole folded his arms across his chest. “Really? The same girl who would sneak out of the house at all hours of the night by herself?”
She was pissed that he kept trying to act like he knew her. He didn’t. She spoke through clenched teeth. “That was a long time ago, Cole. A lot has changed, so please stop trying to act like you know me. You don’t!”
Jade brushed past him as she made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Cole was beyond frustrated. He’d tried being patient, supportive, and anything else he could think of to break down Jade’s walls, but she just wouldn’t let her guard down. He couldn’t seem to do anything right except piss her off. Cole didn’t know what else to do. He had to remind himself that it had only been a couple of weeks. Patience. He had to exercise patience.
Jade hated the person she was becoming. She was bitter, angry, and had just been unnecessarily mean to Cole for the crime of showing concern. Too bad he didn’t show more concern when it really mattered. “Come on Jade. Stop being childish,” she said aloud. She walked farther into her room and kicked off her shoes then lay down on her back looking up at the ceiling. Thoughts of what he hadn’t done were never too far away, and neither was her attraction to him. Both bubbled just underneath the surface. This is an impossible situation. I’ve got to get past the past. And, just because he’s sexier than any man had a right to be doesn’t mean I’ve got to let it affect me. Jade didn’t know how it was possible to feel attracted to Cole and want to strangle him at the same time. She made up in her mind that she was going to get it together. First things first, I’ve got to get control of my feelings. Freaking out over every little thing is ridiculous. Secondly, I most definitely need to re-launch Operation Crush the Crush. That has to start right now.
Chapter 9
Cole hadn’t had a chance to talk to Jade after she’d stormed off to her room last night. When he woke up she’d still been in her room. He had an important meeting, so he left earlier than usual and didn’t get the chance to talk to her.
Doug strolled into his office. “Our meeting with Sean went well this morning.”
“Yeah, it did. I’m confident we’ll get the account.”
He picked up a ball from Cole’s desk and tossed it into the air. He caught it on the way down and tossed it up again. Doug attempted to sound as light-hearted as possible. “You seem a little distracted. Would that have anything to do with your new house guest?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I’ve never seen you lose focus more than you have since she arrived. I can’t imagine Elise is dealing with it very well either.”
“No. She’s not. I’m not quite sure what to do about it either. She wants me to kick Jade out and put her up somewhere else. It doesn’t make sense to do that when Jade can just stay with me.”
“Hmm…well, I can tell you, Carmen would castrate me if I tried to pull what you’re doing with Elise and her.”
“First of all, Carmen is your wife. There is a big difference.”
“Elise is gunning for the position. You two have been dating seriously for a year now. She’s expecting to become your wife.”
“I don’t know how we arrived at that place in our relationship. I’ve never said marriage was in my future with her, or anyone for that matter. But, back to Jade, what’s the big deal? I’m letting an old friend crash at my place.”
“C’mon Cole. You can’t be that dense. You’re a smart guy. If Jade were Jude maybe you could get away with that. But, she’s not. She’s incredibly beautiful and from what I can tell a single woman. You’re a man. I know you haven’t missed that.”
“Of course not. Yes, she’s attractive, but she’s always been attractive. My motivations are not romantic. The bottom line is…” Cole’s voice was strained. “I’ve let her down once. I won’t do it again.” Frustrated he exhaled. “You just don’t understand.”
Doug stopped tossing the ball. “Then explain it to me in a way that I can.”
“A long time ago, I made promises. I messed up. I need to fix it. Things might be drastically different in both of our lives if I’d been able to follow through.”
“That sounds a little bit like guilt. That has never been a good motivator for doing anything.”
Cole shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe there is a bit of guilt in there but I also really care about her, and I want to help.”
Doug could see all the warring emotions on Cole’s face. He had to ask. “Are you sure there aren’t any romantic feelings involved?”
Cole was so tired of this question. “Let’s say that there were…which there are not, but if there were, Jade can seem to barely stomach being in the same room with