Page 66 of Second Chance Wedding
“Your ego is seriously out of control.”
“Only when it comes to you. Goodnight, baby girl. Sweet dreams.” Cole winked, chuckled at her responsive gasp and turned toward the walkway that trailed around the house rather than taking the path back through it.
When he made it to the corner, Cole paused long enough to see Ana turn off the gas-fueled fire and go back inside, shutting and locking the patio door behind her.
He’d almost made it back to his Jeep when he turned his head to see Ben bounding off the front porch.
“Stay away from my mom.”
Cole faltered at Ben’s anger. “Hey, Ben. I guess you saw that, huh?”
“Why are you messing with her? She doesn’t need some guy screwing with her head.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not doing either of those.” Cole leaned back against the side of the Jeep but kept his focus on Ana’s son. “I’d never intentionally hurt your mother. I care for her, Ben. A lot. I always have. And I get that you’ve been the only man in her life for a long time, but if I have anything to say about it, that’s going to change soon. You need to accept that.”
“And if I don’t?” Ben challenged, nostrils flaring with every breath.
“Then you are more selfish than I thought, and you and I are going to have to come to an understanding one way or another.”
“I’m not selfish.”
“Then stay out of my way. Ben, your mom is an amazing woman. She deserves to be loved. To have a man share her life.”
“She has me.”
Cole let his skepticism show. “Do you share the load? Help her with all her responsibilities here and with her business, with everything else? Are you there for her when she needs someone to hold her in the middle of the night? And even if you do a couple of those things every now and again, where are you going to be in five years? Huh? What about ten? Are you going to give up your future to be that constant for her then, too?”
Ben glanced toward the house and then back at Cole, a frown pulling his eyebrows low over his nose.
“I hadn’t…thought of it like that.”
“I know. Maybe it’s past time you did, though.”
A long silence followed his words, and Ben shifted on his oversized feet.
“You really like her? For real?”
A huff left Cole’s chest, and he nodded.Likedid not begin the scratch the surface of what he felt for Ana. But to say he loved her wasn’t enough, either. He felt more, something bigger, deeper, stronger. “Yeah, Ben, I really do. I want to be those things for her. So are you going to help me out here or what?”
“I don’t like seeing you kiss my mom.”
Cole chuckled and shook his head. “You’ll have to get used to it, Ben, ‘cause I have no plans to stop.”
Ben glared at Cole, and after a long moment, the teenager straightened to his full height and lifted his chin.
“You’d better not hurt her, or you’ll answer to me.”
Cole accepted the warning with a nod and the seriousness and respect it deserved as he stretched out a hand. “Deal.”
ChapterFifteen
Ana groaned the following morning when she opened her eyes and remembered she hadn’t donethemost important thing she needed to do for the entire month—find a babysitter for Ben.
With getting ready for the gala opening, the disaster of Ben stealing the limo, and all the drama since, then Thanksgiving with her parents, she’d literally forgotten that this weekend wastheweekend she was to fly to NYC with Quinley for her final dress fitting and bachelorette weekend.
She couldn’t miss it. But did she really want to drag Ben along? She couldn’t. Hewouldn’t. But what was she going to do?
She couldn’t ask her parents. Maybe if yesterday hadn’t happened, shemight haveasked but now? No way. She would not leave Ben in that environment. Who knew what would happen between Ben and her father.
