Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
She was his—until he had no choice but to let her go.
Chapter Nine
Because Erin was starving, Macy, being a good pal whose family owned The Family Restaurant, went into the kitchen and returned with a big hunk of chocolate seven-layer cake that had Erin’s name written all over it.
Erin eyed the dessert and sighed with pleasure. “I have so earned that baby.” She picked up her fork, ready to dig in. “Come to mama,” she said, and whisked the plate from Macy’s grasp.
“Okay, if you need chocolate, you must not be getting sex.”
Erin paused, her fork halfway to her lips. “I’m getting. Sort of,” she said, shoving the fork in, hoping Macy would change the subject.
Macy snatched the plate away. “Spill.”
Erin scowled at her friend, but knew she wouldn’t get her cake back until she explained. “Fine. We slept together again, but before we did, he made it perfectly clear it didn’t change the future. And I agreed.”
Macy shook her head sadly. “And here I thought the man had potential.”
“Not finished,” Erin said, eyeing the cake longingly. It was her dessert. “I backed off the next day. There’s no way I’m going to let myself get emotionally involved when I know the outcome ahead of time. But then he’ll say and do things that lead me to believe he feels more than he’s admitting to me or to himself.”
“Such as?”
Erin shrugged. “Acting all possessive. I mean, get this: He forbade me to go to the Bar Association event with Evan. He said, and I quote, ‘If you’re sleeping in my bed, you sure as hell won’t be going on a date, business or otherwise, with some other man,’” she said in a baritone imitation of Cole’s voice.
Macy chuckled but her eyes opened wide. “Did you kick him in the nuts for ordering you around?”
“He was driving. Can I have my cake back now?”
“I’ll rephrase. Did you want to kick him in the nuts for ordering you around?”
No. No, I did not, Erin thought, knowing her reaction had been a shock to herself at the time.
“You’re blushing!” Macy squealed.
“Shh!”
“So . . . you liked his command.”
Erin resigned herself to the inevitable mortification. “It turned me on,” she whispered. “Now give me my cake!” Her voice rose in direct relation to her frustration.
Macy grinned and returned the plate.
Erin dug in. “Thank God, Aunt Lulu is back with you. This cake is something else.”
“Aunt Lulu is still hoping for a settlement from the grocery store. What do you think her chances are?”
“Good, actually. Turns out there’s a family feud going on over who should be able to run the business. The high-powered legal team was one brother’s way of trying to manipulate the other brother into caving. Long story. Anyway, when I found out what was going on, I called the father who’d left his two moron sons fighting over the running of his business while he retired in Florida.”
“Family-run businesses can get hairy.” Macy shuddered, knowing that truth from experience.
Erin nodded. “I told the father that if he didn’t come home and choose, his sons would bankrupt the business in no time.” She grinned. “I’m betting Aunt Lulu gets a nice settlement and the whole thing goes away.”
Macy’s smile grew wider. “Thank you. She’ll be thrilled!”
“You’re welcome.” Erin licked the back of the fork and placed the utensil on the plate, finally full.
“Now that you’re sated . . . so to speak . . . let’s talk about what you’re going to do to get the big lug to see if you two can make a go of any sort of relationship.” Macy waggled her eyebrows.
“Not happening. He made that clear.”
“But his actions are saying something else, yes?”
Erin shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. He’s stubborn.”
“So, my friend, are you. The way I see it, you can go all in, sleep with him as long as he’s staying with you and seems interested, go through the baby thing together and hope that he sees what an amazing woman you are and what a great life he could have. Then if he doesn’t come around, you can kick him in the nuts.” Macy grinned. “Or you can give up now without ever really trying.”
Erin wasn’t a quitter. She didn’t give up when things got tough or she wouldn’t have survived law school or the bar exam. She understood she’d had it easier than many of her friends, no major drama in her life. Until now, that is, she thought, glancing down at her stomach.
“So which will it be?” Macy asked. “And decide quick, because he’s on his way over here. You in or out?”
Erin straightened her shoulders and set her jaw. “In.” She was in.
“Hello, ladies,” Nick Mancini greeted them before Cole said a word.
“Hi, Nick. How’s the wife?” Macy asked.
“Pretty damned good.” And from his wide grin, Erin figured he more than meant it.