That didn’t really surprise me. “Good tip. Thanks.”
“Anytime, darling. His flight landed on time, so he should be home soon. I already ordered dinner. It should be delivered in…” He paused to check his watch. “Ten minutes.”
“Wow, thanks.”
“It’s both my job, and my pleasure.” He came over and lifted my hand, then lightly kissed my knuckles. “Say hello to the husband for me. I’ll see you later.”
I rolled my eyes at his husband remark. “Bye, Oliver.”
He walked away and left through the front door.
Dinner arrived precisely ten minutes later—he really was good at his job—and I got a text from Cox saying he’d be home soon. I left the food in the kitchen and went to the bathroom to see if I could do something with my hair. Cox seemed to like it when I wore it down, so I took out my ponytail and worked a little product into it to tame the frizz.
My stomach tingled with anticipation. I hadn’t seen him all week, and I’d missed him. A lot. In fact, I’d definitely missed him more than I should, but I was having a very hard time convincing my heart—or my body—of that.
Was he going to mind that I’d slept in his bed all week? That I’d used his pillow because it smelled like him? I’d never slept so soundly. Being in his bed was like sinking into a cottony cloud of man heaven.
If he ever got married for real, she was going to be one lucky girl.
I heard him come in and my heart fluttered.
“Honey, I’m home,” he called from the kitchen.
He was so ridiculous.
But it was really good to hear his voice.
“Hi.” I came out, suddenly wishing I’d put on something sexier than this boring t-shirt and black leggings. My bra wasn’t even pretty, nor did my panties match.
Way to fail, Soph.
Oh well, too late now.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” His gaze swept up and down and the corners of his mouth lifted.
“It just occurred to me that I could have put on something sexier since I haven’t seen you in a week, but…” I shrugged.
“No need, sugar. You’re perfect just like this.” He slipped his hands around my waist and leaned in for a kiss.
As soon as his mouth touched mine, my body lit up. I draped my arms around his shoulders and melted into his kiss. His lips were soft but firm, his tongue velvety against mine. A week apart hadn’t changed anything. I was falling hard for this man.
Our lips separated and he pulled back, his brow furrowing.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No,” he said, although he still looked confused. Or maybe bewildered. “No, everything’s fine. It’s good to be home.”
“It’s good to have you back. Oliver sent dinner over. Should we eat?”
He fingered my hair, his eyes tracing over my face. “Sure. Let’s eat. I can have dessert later.”
The look in his eyes left no doubt as to what he wanted for dessert. Me.
I had no complaints about that.
We took our dinner to the table. Cox got out plates and silverware and opened a bottle of wine. It was one of my favorites, a Salishan Cellars red blend called Cookie. Delicious.
“How was your trip?” I asked when we’d gotten settled with our food.
“Too long. But otherwise, it was fine. Productive. How were things here?”
“Fine. It was a pretty normal week for me, other than staying here instead of my apartment.”
“How’s your dad?”
“He’s doing okay. Salty as usual.” I paused to take a bite. Now seemed as good a time as any to bring up Althea. “I saw something last weekend and I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up, but it keeps bugging me.”
“What’s that?”
“When I came to your office with Mr. Calloway, I met Althea McLellan. She’s your lawyer?”
“She is.”
“I saw her last Sunday outside a restaurant, but that’s not what was weird. I’m pretty sure she was with your old business partner, Dominic Coates.”
“Couldn’t have been.”
“I really think it was.”
He shook his head and kept eating. “No. Althea can’t stand Dominic. She was more than happy to see him go.”
“Okay, but I’m telling you, I really think it was them. I’ve seen Althea there before and I Googled Dominic to make sure.”
“She doesn’t have any reason to meet with him.”
“Well, that’s kind of my point. Wouldn’t it be odd for your lawyer to be meeting with your former partner? Especially if you didn’t know about it?”
“Sugar, you don’t need to worry about it.”
My back stiffened at his dismissive tone. I leaned back and crossed my arms. “So you just… don’t believe me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You might as well have.”
“All I’m saying is that there’s nothing to worry about. Althea has worked for me for a long time.”
Maybe I should have dropped the subject. Cox knew her, and I didn’t. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on. And I didn’t like the way he was trying to blow me off.
“Oliver thinks she’s evil incarnate.”
“Oliver and Althea are oil and water. They’ve never liked each other.”
“But—”
He got up, picking up his plate, and took it to the kitchen.
Don’t let him walk away from you while you’re talking to him. He does that when someone is telling him something he doesn’t want to hear.
I stood, leaving my half-eaten dinner on the table, and followed him. “Cox.”
He stopped and turned to face me. His jaw was tight, his eyes flashing with annoyance. But I was annoyed with him too. “What?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t trust her blindly. I know Oliver doesn’t like her, but he said she’s ruthless and willing to bend the rules when it suits her. And I really think it matters what kind of people you surround yourself with. That’s why Mr. Calloway is so careful about who he does business with.”
“Is he, now? Well good for him. I suppose that’s a consequence of having a real wife to keep him in line.”
A real wife. My feelings snapped like a dry twig, making tears spring to my eyes. “I was just trying to look out for you. The least you could do is listen.”
Without another word, or waiting to hear what he had to say, I turned and walked away.
24
Cox
Well, shit.
I’d gone and said something remarkably stupid, hadn’t I?
Yep. I had.
Fuck.
I went to the liquor cabinet and poured myself two fingers of whiskey. A part of me wanted to follow her. Scoop her in my arms and do whatever it took to make her feel better.
But I’d never been good at apologies.
I took my whiskey to the living room and sat on the couch. This wasn’t how I thought tonight would go. Home from a week-long business trip and now I had a girl with hurt feelings in the other room.
Shit.
Sophie’s claim of seeing Althea with Dominic had been like a needle, poking an uncomfortable shaft of doubt into my head. I trusted Althea. With as deeply embedded as she was in my business and my personal affairs, I had to trust her.