All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [100]
"You can say that again. They were furious and hurt. They said terrible things to Cole and basically told him to choose between me and the family."
"I hate morning-after conversations with the folks," Madison said lightly.
Natalie smiled. "This was a doozy."
"What did Cole say?"
"He was defending his position and saying we weren't on opposite sides, but he didn't exactly come right out and say he ..." She shrugged, unable to finish the sentence much less the thought. "I know it was stupid to make love with him. I don't know what I was thinking. Where Cole is concerned, my brain takes a vacation. Anyway, it's never going to happen again, so that's that."
Madison laughed. "Nice try, Natalie, but you and I both know that is not going to be that. You and Cole aren't finished yet. You're not even close."
* * *
Cole left work just after four o'clock, knowing he'd accomplished absolutely nothing during the day. He hadn't been able to concentrate. His brain kept wandering back to the passionate night with Natalie, followed by the stormy confrontation with his parents. He needed to talk to someone. Josh hadn't answered his phone, so he decided to try Dylan.
The hostess at Club V said Dylan hadn't yet come in, so Cole went through the side door and up the stairs that led to Dylan's apartment.
His knock on the door was answered a moment later—by Josh. Josh wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a white T-shirt. He had a beer in his hand and the television remote in the other. "Cole, what are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same question. Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I'm covering a game tonight, so I was taking a break."
"Don't you have your own place?"
"I was out of beer and Dylan has a bigger television."
Cole nodded, wondering why it felt like a lifetime ago when his needs had been as simple as a cold beer and a big-screen TV.
"Where's Dylan?"
"Gone."
A chill ran through him at the answer. "What do you mean—gone?"
"He left me a message this morning saying he'll be back in a few days."
"Where did he go?"
Josh shrugged. "I didn't ask. He didn't say. You know he never says." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "What's the problem? Dylan is always taking off. Why are you so concerned?"
"It's this damn book. I think Dylan knows something about it."
"You better come in," Josh said, closing the door behind Cole. "Want a beer?"
"No, thanks. Do you think there was something going on between Dylan and Emily in Santa Cruz?" Cole couldn't believe he was asking the question, but it had been rambling around in his head for a few days.
"It's an interesting question," Josh said after a moment. "Madison asked me the same thing the other night. I told her they were like brother and sister. Weren't they?"
"I thought so." He felt better having his opinion confirmed. Josh was Dylan's twin brother. Wouldn't he have known if there was something going on? "Of course they were just friends," he added. "I'm going crazy trying to figure out who wrote this book. Malone has gone underground. My best investigator is coming up with nothing. It's as if the man dropped off the face of the earth. And now my parents are back and going ballistic."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"You can help me find your brother." As Cole finished speaking, a knock came at the door. "I'll get it." To say he was shocked to see Madison and Natalie at the door was an understatement. Apparently, they felt the same way about seeing him.
"What are you doing here, Cole? I thought you were at work," Natalie said.
"I wanted to talk to Dylan."
"So do we," Madison replied, looking around. "Where is he?"
"He's not here," Cole replied. "And no one knows where he is." He saw the disappointment flash across Natalie's face, but she quickly averted her gaze. How had they gone so fast from intimate back to strangers? He knew the answer to that. His parents had reminded them both that Emily was still between them.
"That's fine," Madison said decisively. "It might be a good thing that Dylan isn't here. He won't be able to stop us."
"Stop us from