Page 107 of Sneak Attack

“I liked it more than I expected to.”

“Good.” He chuckled against my mouth. “Need to use the bathroom. Want to get dressed or lie in here and talk?”

I wanted to never leave a bed when Cole was around or wear clothes in his vicinity again.

Which wouldn’t go great if Jasper saw.

“Clothes,” I mumbled, and Cole grabbed mine from the floor.

“Probably the responsible thing, but I’m not happy about it, either.”

He tugged on his boxer briefs and used the bathroom. When he was done, we switched. I refixed my hair into its clip, splashed cold water on my face and washed my hands.

When I was done, Cole was in the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of red wine.

“Need a drink after that?” I teased.

“Need something to calm me down before I do it again. Want one?”

I preferred white, especially in the hot summer, but I’d take it. At my nod, he grabbed another wineglass from the cupboard and he brought them both to me.

“Where’s Bongo?”

“My bathroom again. It’s easier so I don’t have to worry about his barking waking Jasper. Come on.”

He led me outside where he had a massive patio. The immediate outside had a covered ceiling with a ceiling fan whirring softly. One sectional couch faced a television mounted on the wall. Beyond that there was a larger patio complete with an outdoor fire and grilling station. An outdoor table large enough to seat eight, and a curved couch in front of the fire.

He took me there, and once we were seated, kicked his feet up on the coffee table in front of us.

“Do you want to talk about your meeting today?” I asked.

Cole had his arm draped over the back of the couch and I scooted closer to him so his fingers could trail along my shoulder. He cupped the bowl of his glass between his finger, stem and base hanging down.

“Meeting went fine. I was planning on meeting Selma at the diner so I could talk to her about it with Grayson. Figured if I took Jasper and were at her parents’ place, she wouldn’t make a scene.”

“Let me guess. That didn’t happen?”

“She never came. I was talking to Jasper and Theresa walked up, heard him saying something about how his mommy told him I was getting him a new mom and I wasn’t going to let her see him anymore.”

“What? That’s horrible. I mean, besides not being true…”

“It’s evil. I know. And nasty. Theresa heard, sat with us while we got the rest out of him and then when she sent him to the back, I told her about her showing up here. Surprised the hell out of me when they seemed to be on my side. Said she and Irv would talk to Selma and get her to let this go.”

“Well, that’s good.” I sipped my wine. Cole was right. It was surprising. Selma’s parents tended to be the kind who believed their child could do no wrong. At least they used to be.

“So, it’s done?”

“Not until she signs it, but I offered her a shit ton of money for child support so I’m hoping she signs it for that alone.”

“You paid her off?”

He grinned down at me. “Wouldn’t call it a payoff, and sheshouldget something, she just never asked for it. I make a thousand times more than her, and I don’t always like thinking of me being the parent who can buy their kid all the expensive things, you know?”

“You haven’t heard from Selma yet?”

“Not a peep, although I’ve been distracted recently.”

He kissed me, and the quick brush of his lips sent me tumbling all over again.

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