“What about… me?” He finally looked at me.
“We’re just… starting over.”
“I know, but what if I want to marry you? We already have Ellis together. It makes sense if we marry.”
“You snooze, you lose,” Anson said.
“Fuck off, Ass Hat. Seriously,” Cole replied.
“Stop. Both of you.” I sighed. “Cole, just give it time, OK?”
“So you’re saying we have a chance at marriage?” He stared at me with so much concern and fear on his face that it broke my heart.
“Yeah. I think we do. It’s a long way away.”
“Why is it a long way away?” he asked. “I loved you long before Ass Hat and Ass Nut ever did. Why do I have to wait?”
“Cole, we only just started to try again,” I said gently.
“Don’t you think we’ll last?”
I sighed. “I’m not saying we won’t, but don’t you think it would really suck if we did this and things don’t work out?”
“So they might not work out with you and me, but you’re sure they’ll work out with the other two. Nice.” He stared out his window wordlessly.
I looked at Anson for help, but he was frowning.
“Please don’t take it personally. It’s just something we should wait on. We had a good weekend. We need to have more of those. You and Ani still don’t get along?—”
“You’re right.” Cole nodded. “I need to fucking relax about it. I get it, but I’m going to marry you too. Someday, my ring is going to be on your finger right next to this dickweed’s.”
Anson chuckled. “God, you’re a fucking nightmare. When are you going to grow up?”
“Grow up? Fuck you. You don’t know shit about me or my life?—”
“So enlighten me,” Anson said.
“Fuck off.” Cole looked out the window again. I knew he was upset, so I didn’t push him.
While I did want to explore the possibility of marrying Cole, I also knew it wasn’t something I could just jump into. I knew Ani and Klaus. We’d been together for years. I knew they were forever for me. With Cole, his world was volatile, and we still had no clue whether he would stay with Enzo or join us. We wanted to give him the time to decide that, but it was hard because we were stuck in the in-between, waiting to see if leaving his life was even worth it for him. I assumed it was, but he and the horsemen were best friends. Ride or die. I wasn’t sure what was happening there, and it scared me.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence. When we reached the doctor’s office Anson had booked me at, we went in through the back door, Cole with us, his eyes taking everything in. Ryder stayed in the SUV.
“Welcome,” one of the office women greeted us. “Come on. We have everything set up for you.”
She ushered us into a room before we were seen. Anson already had them sign NDAs. I told him it was unnecessary because of HIPAA laws, but he’d looked at me like that didn’t mean shit.
“Oh, sir. We have a waiting room over here you can wait in.” The woman gestured for Cole to follow her.
“He’s with us,” Anson said immediately. “He stays.”
“Oh.” She raised her brows. “Security?”
“Yes. Thank you,” Anson replied tightly.
She glanced at Cole again, her cheeks pink. She was young and pretty, and Cole always had that effect on women.
She closed us in, and he sat in one of the chairs.
