Tempt Me - By Shiloh Walker Page 0,40

wondered if she’d be pissed. He ignored it and just mixed himself a Jack and Coke.

He had managed exactly three swallows when the next message came.

Cole, you’re being childish ignoring me like this. Either call me or I’m coming over there. I do know where that woman lives.

“Aww, shit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What?” Shooting the sky a look, he demanded, “Just what did either of us do to deserve this?”

The he dialed her number. This was ending. Now. The last damn thing she wanted to do was hassle a damn lawyer.

“I’ve had it,” he snapped the second she answered. “You hear me, Mara? I've had it. You and me, we are over.”

“Baby...please. “

“You didn't hear me. That's fine, I'll say it again. I want to make sure this is absolutely clear. We are over. It doesn't matter if you've thought about it. It doesn't matter if you realize where we went wrong. It doesn't matter if you're sorry. Nothing matters. We are over. Do you understand that?”

There was a long pause, and he wondered, if maybe, just maybe, she had gotten the point this time. But Cole should have known better. Just like always, Mara only saw what she wanted to see. Mara only heard what Mara wanted to hear.

“Cole, listen...when I say I've thought about things, I really mean it. I thought about it a lot. I wasn't fair to you. I had been neglecting you while dealing with everything with the store and you felt lonely. You went someplace where you could get the attention you needed. That's what all of this was about. I can forgive you. It's okay.”

He closed his eyes. “How magnanimous of you. That's great. We're still over. Now, will you stop calling me?”

“How can you be like this? We were together for years. Doesn't that mean anything to you?” Her voice was husky soft. “Don't I mean anything to you?”

Shit. “Mara, can we just not go there?”

“See? You do still care. That's why you don't want to talk about this. You still love me.”

“No.” The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. Yeah, they had been together for a while, had some good memories during those years. Although he didn't love her anymore, those years did matter to him. But Cole knew Mara—if she thought, for even an instant, that they might have a chance, she'd keep hounding him. “Mara, I don't love you. I'm sorry. I don't know when it happened, but I don't think there's been any love between us for quite a while. And once you get past your wounded pride, I think you're going to realize that you don't love me either.”

“This is about her, isn't it? That bitch. Were you cheating on me with her?” Mara snarled.

Aw, hell. “No. I didn't start seeing her until the week after I broke it off with you.”

“A week. Wow. You waited a week. You dump your fiancée, and now you're shacking it up with that cow. You fucking bastard—”

“That's enough. You will not talk about her like that.”

“Why not?” Mara laughed. “Seriously, Cole. I would've thought you had better taste. She must give a really good blow job or something. But that's okay. You'll get bored with her sooner or later. You’ll get over this freakish fluke and you’ll want me back. Maybe, if you're lucky, I'll take you back. If, and that's a really big if, baby. I hope for your sake it's sooner rather than later. That bitch doesn't deserve somebody like you. Don't make me wait too long.”

“Yeah, you keep holding your breath on that, Mara. Here's something to chew on—this isn’t a fluke. I think I'm falling in love with her. Do us both a favor, don't call again.” With anger pulsing inside him, he ended the call and tossed the phone down. He bent over the counter, his fists braced on it.

He had known that wouldn't be fun. He'd been right.

I think I'm falling in love with her ...

Eyes closed, Rocki leaned against the arched entryway that separated the hallway from her kitchen. The brick felt rough against her bare arms, too rough, but she welcomed it. It reminded her she was awake. And fairly clearheaded. So what she had just heard wasn't just a narcotic-induced hallucination, right?

All these years...a smile curled her lips. She had spent years wondering whether anybody could ever make her heart roll over in her chest again. And it had just happened.

Pushing off the wall,