Dad frowned.
“That’s not what I meant.” I waved off my last comment, but I wasn’t sure I hadn’t meant it. “I’m just trying to do the right thing by everyone. Logan wants us to be a family again, but to do that you want me to break up with a guy you know nothing about.”
“Look at it from our point of view. The last time you were in a relationship with some tattooed . . . anyway, you let it get so bad your brother got put away for protecting you. That’s beyond normal.” He clasped my hand. “Kid, you need time to sort out your head. There’s no way you could have had time to do that since you left Glasgow, not after jumping into another relationship with another idiot.”
I wrenched my hand out from under his. “Cole’s not an idiot. And I keep trying to tell you he’s the reason my head is sorted out. He’s helped me. He’s done so much to make me feel valued again, and more than that he got me back to Logan. You know, I kept having these nightmares. I’d think they were gone and then they’d come back. I’ve not had a single one since I visited Logan. Not a single one. And Cole did that.”
To my growing annoyance, Dad still looked unconvinced.
“Why did you come here if you weren’t going to hear me out?”
“I came here in the hopes that you’d hear me out.” He stood up and threw money on the table to cover his coffee. “We’ll be there for you, sweetheart, as long as you leave the baggage behind. Come home and start over again. Not just for us, but for yourself.”
*
“I’m guessing from that look on your face the meeting with dear old Dad didn’t go well.” Rae kicked off her shoes, only to pull on her boots. “So much for the packed bags, huh?”
I glowered at her, confused by her comment, but too focused on one thing to question it. “I just tried calling Cole again. Did you tell him I’ve been trying to contact him?”
“We were kind of busy at work today. He was getting back into the swing of things after his week off.”
Chest aching, I couldn’t hold back my tears. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. Why won’t he let me explain?”
Her eyes flared with anger. “Because after everything, you chose your family over him. You chose people who turned their backs on a daughter who’d just been sexually assaulted and hospitalized. What the fuck does it say about how you feel about Cole that you’d choose them?”
Horror shot through me. “Is that what he thinks? That I chose them? I didn’t choose them. I was trying to come up with a way to appease them. I never had any intention of giving Cole up. I just thought we could take some time—”
“A break,” she interrupted. “A break from him. The guy can barely to stand to be away from you for a few days and you were willing to go home to Glasgow for God knows how long. And he was what . . . just supposed to sit around and wait for your call for however long it would take for your parents to approve of him? And again, parents who gave a crap about you when Cole would move the heavens to protect you.” She stood up and grabbed her purse. “What was a silly argument to you was a huge deal for him. For reasons I get and reasons I don’t. But I’m guessing you do. I’m guessing he’s told you everything about himself. And I’m guessing you know that even suggesting taking a break from him cut him deeply for a reason, and you know exactly what that reason is.”
She turned to leave.
“Wait.” I shot up from my chair. “I need to see him, Rae. Are you going to meet him?”
“No. I don’t know where he is tonight.”
I narrowed my eyes on her back as she walked out. Rae was lying. She never lied.
Grabbing my own purse and keys, I hurried after her at a discreet distance. I followed her and felt nervous anticipation when I saw her head inside the Walk. Cole was there. I’d bet everything I had on it.
The pub was pretty crowded. It always was on a Saturday evening. I pushed past people standing around the bar near the door and craned my neck as I struggled out of the small crowd to the main floor. Every table was filled.
I caught sight of Rae winding her way through the tables, and my gaze zeroed past her.
That sick feeling in my stomach intensified.
Cole was sitting with the twins and Karen, a pint of lager in hand. He had other company too. A pretty blond woman was sitting with her thigh pressed against his, and Cole had his head bent so she could whisper in his ear.
My cheeks grew hot, my skin prickling.
Letting the burn of jealousy rush through me and flare out, I took a deep breath. Cole would never cheat. I knew that. I knew that the picture in front of me was innocent.
But I’d spent the whole week agonizing over our relationship and feeling guilty, and he’d spent the whole week avoiding me. Now he was allowing some woman to chat him up.