And I’m back to wanting to kick him in the balls.
“Fuck you, Cole. Does Harlow look like a slut? What about Dad, Emma, and Molly? Huh? Just because it’s different doesn’t make it any less.” Thankfully, the elevator stops. I don’t even care that it’s on another floor. I storm out and leave him sputtering pathetic excuses behind me. I’ll take the stairs so I don’t have to spend any more time with that infuriating man.
* * *
COLE
Ireel back as Jacinta spits fire at me. I can’t control the way my dick leaps in my pants at seeing her all wound up. It’s spectacular, and all I want to do is put my hands all over her to tame the wild beast.
Of course, I didn’t actually mean it how it came out, but that’s exactly how the tabloids and people like Camilla Carlos would portray her. I’m still trying to come up with an excuse as the door opens on the wrong floor and she storms out. A bemused-looking couple gets in, and it’s only then that I realize that Riku isn’t around. Where is her shadow anyway? I can’t let Jacinta wander around on her own, so I stick my hand in the door to stop it from closing and follow her out.
How do I keep putting my foot in my mouth? This isn’t like me. I’m professional. If you want to make it in the big business of the PR world, you need to have a way with words. It’s the reason I am where I am now. I’m also pretty good with the ladies. I was married to a supermodel, for fuck’s sake. I have to have done something right. But I just keep getting it wrong with Jacinta. Sure, at first it was because I made assumptions that I discovered simply aren’t true, but now there’s just something about her, something that makes me want to see her lashing out in anger. I never want to see her sad, scared, and upset, so I go out of my way to make sure she’s not.
I follow Jacinta, and she slams the door to the stairs open, muttering under her breath, the sound echoing off the concrete stairwell as she climbs the couple of levels to her room.
She’s so preoccupied by her anger, she obviously doesn’t hear me, and she also isn’t watching where she’s going. She misses a step and stumbles, teetering at an odd angle. I rush up behind her and put my hand on her back, stopping her from falling. She squeals and turns around and gives me a shove. Because I’m not quite balanced, I proceed to tumble backward. The shock on her face as I roll down thankfully only a few steps is photo worthy.
My back smashes onto a step, and I curl my body inward to minimize any more damage, but I’m groaning in pain when I finally come to a stop at the landing.
“Oh my god, Cole. Are you alright? You scared the shit out of me, and I just reacted.” She hurries down the step to where I’ve landed. She runs her hands all over my body, I’m assuming checking for broken bones or bleeding, and suddenly my pain isn’t so bad.
“Oh, oh,” I moan as she runs her hands over my pelvis.
“Holy shit, you might have broken something. Stay still while I call an ambulance,” she orders, digging in her pocket for her phone.
“Just a little lower,” I mumble, and her hands shift down before freezing when her hand brushes against my rapidly hardening erection.
“You fucking pig,” she growls and smacks me before standing up. I chuckle, groaning as I pull myself to my feet.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. You were so worried. I didn’t know you cared so much,” I tell her, brushing off and assessing my injuries. There are some bumps, and I know I’m going to have some bruises, but I’m mostly fine.
“I don’t, but Spencer would have been really upset if his dad was hurt, and I felt guilty that it was my fault.” She won’t meet my eyes before she whirls around and continues back up the stairs. A soft feeling deep in my heart warms at her words. The fact that she thought about my son, worrying about me for his sake, is a huge eye opener. How did I ever think this woman was superficial and self-involved? She’s nothing like that at all. She’s kind, caring, and thoughtful. Man, I’ve fucked up so badly.
“Jacinta. Hey, Jacinta, wait for me!” I call as she pulls the door open at her floor and storms down to her room. “Please, I’m sorry!” I sound desperate even to my own ears. She stops and turns around just as my phone rings.
“Shit.” I pull it out of my pocket and see it’s a FaceTime call from Spencer. I can’t reject this. I swipe to accept it, and she rolls her eyes and swings around again.
“Hey, buddy, how are you?” She stops in her tracks.
“Daddy. Hi, I miss you! What are you doing? Did you go surfing? Did you see a volcano? Did you see a dolphin?” He peppers me with questions, not allowing me to answer one before he’s on to the next. Chuckling, I keep walking toward Jacinta. “Where are you, Daddy? Is that the hotel? Can I see your room?”
“I’m not near my room at the moment,” I tell him when he finally catches a breath.
“Well, whose room is that?” he asks, pointing to the door behind me.
“I’m not sure, buddy. Lots of people stay at the hotel.” Spencer’s lip drops and starts to quiver, and my heart rate picks up. Fuck, now he’s sad.
“But I wanted to see your room! I want to see where you slept. Who tucks you in and kisses you goodnight like Mommy does for me?”
“Hey, buddy, what’s brought this on? Is Mommy around?” I ask, frowning. Hayden lets Spencer have her phone to call me, and she lets him do it in private in case there are things he wants to talk to me about.
“Well, I have Mommy, and Mommy had Soloman tucking her in last night, and I wanted to know who does it for you.”
Soloman is Hayden’s new boyfriend. He’s not a bad guy, but I hadn’t realized they’d evolved to sleepovers. Jacinta can’t help her chuckle when she hears Hayden’s excuse for him catching a man in her bed. Damn, I wish she’d been more discreet.
“Who’s that, Daddy?” Spencer has big ears, so he doesn’t miss much. “Is someone with you? Can I say hi?” He moves the phone around like it’s going to help him, not realizing it’s my phone that needs to move. While he’s out of the picture, I look at Jacinta, silently asking if she’s okay for me to show him.
She nods, and I flip the screen around. “It’s my work friend, Jacinta.”
