All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [123]
"Thank you for saying that," the professor said. He looked from one to the other. "I'd better go talk to the police."
Natalie watched him climb through the window, leaving her alone with Cole. They stared at each other for a long minute. Now that everyone was gone, she became acutely aware of where they were and what had happened here. Cole must have felt the same way, because he walked past her to gaze over the edge of the roof to the ground below. She wanted to tell him not to look, but she knew she couldn't. After a moment, he turned back around, his face pale, his jaw tight. She sensed he was battling for control, and she wanted to help. So she went to him.
She put her arms around his waist and held him close, burying her face in the curve of his shoulder. She could feel him shaking, but not a sound came through his tight lips. He wasn't a man to give in to emotion, but he needed to find a release. Natalie lifted her head and kissed him. The groan, which sounded more like a sob, burst through his mouth as he kissed her back with a passion and desperation that swept over her like a tidal wave. She wanted to give Cole comfort, but somewhere in the middle of the kiss, she found comfort, too. She was able to express all the words she couldn't speak and all the feelings she wasn't supposed to feel. It was both painful and liberating.
Tears began to spill out of her eyes and down her cheeks. Cole pulled away, his breath coming in deep, ragged gasps. He wiped away her tears with a gentle finger. "Don't cry, Natalie."
"I'm trying not to," she said with a sniff. She took a step back and drew in a long, deep breath of fresh air. "Everything just got to me."
"I know."
And he did know. She could see it in his eyes. "We should go down to the police department, finish this once and for all."
He nodded. "I have to call my parents, too. And then you and I—we need to talk."
"I remembered something else from that night, Cole. Emily told me that you were dating someone in San Francisco. Her name was Cynthia."
"I saw her a few times," Cole admitted. "She was a family friend, and I wanted to distract myself—from you."
"Did it work?"
His eyes were clear and honest when they met hers. "No. And it never went further than a few dinners. Does that really matter to you now?"
"No, but I can't help wondering if one of the reasons I couldn't remember all this time was because I didn't want to remember the pain of that knowledge. I know it hurt me at the time, because I didn't understand what was going on with you then. I didn't comprehend how I could tell you that I loved you and you would go out with someone else. Now I do. You saw my words of love like a steel trap closing around you, and you tried to escape."
"That's probably true."
"No probably about it. Anyway, it's all in the past."
"Is it?" Cole challenged. "What about now? How do you feel now?"
"Do you actually think I'm going to tell you how I feel—after what happened the last time? I'm not that stupid. Why don't you tell me how you feel?" she challenged.
He hesitated for one telling second too long. He obviously couldn't say the words she wanted to hear. "Natalie—"
"No, don't, Cole." She put up a hand to stop him, knowing that she couldn't take one more rejection from this man. "I'd rather not know." She took a deep breath. "There are no second chances, Cole. Not for Emily. Not for any of us. You need to move on with your life, and I need to do the same. This is over. It's all finally over. And we're done."
* * *
"It's over, Drew." Laura leaned against the door to Drew's car and folded her arms in front of her chest. She'd learned more about her husband in the last hour than she'd learned in the last ten years. "I can't believe you sold drugs to Emily. How could you have done such a thing?"
"They weren't dangerous. Everyone was taking them. And I needed the cash. Not all of us had parents with money, Laura."
"It was still wrong. Don't you get that, Drew?"
"It was a long time