Chapter Ten

Chapter TenThe unrelenting sounds of clothes rustling pulled me from sleep the next morning. I forced my eyelids halfway open to find Cole standing beside the bed, buttoning his fly. He was fully dressed. He was also looking right at me.Due to the blackout blind, I couldn’t tell if he was sneaking out in the middle of the night or if it was already morning. Please don’t let it be morning. I didn’t want to get up yet.I narrowed my eyes at the LED alarm clock until my sleep-fuzzy vision cleared. 4am. An ungodly hour in my book.He crouched beside the bed and brushed my curls away from my face. “Morning, baby,” he said, his voice low and soft. “Didn’t mean to wake you. How are you feeling?”“Still knackered, but my muscles don’t ache anymore,” I replied tiredly.“Good.” He pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead. “I gotta go. Need to head home and change so I can go for my usual morning jog.”I let my eyes close. “You do that. I’ll egg you on from here.”A quiet chuckle coasted over my forehead. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”He would?He kissed my hair. “You go back to sleep.”“’Kay,” I breathed, my mouth curving at the knowledge that I wouldn’t be waiting another week until I next saw him.“See you soon.”The sound of footfalls gradually faded, and then I heard the front door click shut.I managed to get another four hours of sleep before my body clock nudged me awake. After I ate a quick bowl of cereal, I showered and dressed. Leaving my curls to air dry, I returned to the kitchen and began to make myself a cup of tea. It was while the drink was brewing that my phone rang.Seeing Briar’s name on the screen, I answered, “Morning.”“I think we can safely say that Delaney’s in the same emotional space as you,” she proclaimed.I let out a soft snort. “Well hello to you, too.”“He gave up his Friday evening for you. He turned up with carb treats—always worth mentioning. And, unless he was bullshitting me about his intentions, he spent the evening babying you.”“He wasn’t bullshitting.”“None of that says ‘I’m content with a casual arrangement.’ Grover sure never babied me when I was sick or anything.”“As we’ve already established, Grover’s incredibly self-involved.” I pulled my teabag out of my cup and dumped it on the holder.“Did he stay over? Please tell me he stayed over.”I sighed. “He stayed over, but—”“We’re not doing ‘buts’ when it comes to this situation, remember? I take it he’s either still asleep or he left, since you’re speaking so freely.”I retrieved the tub of milk from the fridge. “He left early to go jogging.”“Did you guys make plans for tonight?”“No. He mentioned last weekend that he has something going on this evening.” Balancing my phone between my cheek and shoulder, I unscrewed the cap off the tub and then poured a blob of milk into my cup. “It’s possible that I might see a little of him this morning, though. Before he left earlier, he said he’d be back in a few hours. Probably just to check that I’m definitely fine before he goes off to do his own thing.”“He’s definitely getting closer to taking the jump from casual to serious—anyone can see it.”Exhaling heavily, I screwed the cap back on the tub. “I don’t know, Briar. It’s true that, at this point, lines haven’t merely been blurred, they’ve been trampled on by Cole.” I returned the milk to the fridge. “But when I mentioned to him last night that I was thinking of staying in Redwater for good, he didn’t seem to care either way.”“Really?”“Yeah, really.” I all but yanked open the nearby drawer, making the cutlery rattle, and then retrieved a small spoon. “Wouldn’t he have encouraged me to stay if he wanted something serious with me at some point?”“Not necessarily. I mean, he could still be dancing around the idea in his head. Or maybe he’s unsure where you’re at—that might make him hesitant to fess up. There’s one way to find out for certain. When he gets back, you could tell him that you want more and ask if it’s a one-way thing.”Stirring my tea, I snorted. “Yeah, no.” She was bloody mental if she thought I’d go down that road.“You might as well get it out into the open.”“No, I might as well not.”“Oh come on, don’t be a chicken.”“I’m not scared to give it to him straight, I just don’t believe he’s ready to hear it yet.” I tossed my spoon into the sink and then closed the cutlery drawer. “I’d rather not send him packing by—”She squawked down the phone.“I’m pretty sure chickens don’t make that noise, if that’s what you were aiming for.” I took a sip of my tea. “Sounded more like a crow or something.”“First of all, that was an excellent imitation of a chicken. Second of all, you’re just trying to derail the conversation and I’m not allowing it.”Knuckles wrapped on the front door.I frowned. “Is that you?”“Me, what?”“At the door.”“No. Ooh, he’s back. Okay, go jump in with both feet and see what happens. Oh, and call me afterwards.” She hung up.Snorting again, I set both my cup and phone down on the counter. The woman was genuinely high if she thought I’d follow that advice. Scaring off Cole was nowhere on my list of things to do.More eager to see him than I’d like, I made my way through the apartment. If he gave me any indication that he did truly want more, I’d be all over it. But unless or until that happened, I’d keep my own wants private. The last thing I wanted him to feel was pressured.Reaching the front door, I opened it wide.And Ryland barged inside.I gaped, my brows snapping together. “What in the bloody fresh hell are you doing here?”He jutted out his chin. “I told you we needed to talk.”My blood boiling, I fisted my hands. “You do not get to come here uninvited—and just to note, you’ll never be invited. More, you definitely don’t get to force your way inside.” I pointed at the open door. “Out. Now.” Or I wouldn’t be responsible for my actions.Instead, he backed into the living area, almost bumping into the sofa, and held up his hands. “I know I probably shouldn’t have gone about it this way, but there are things I need to say to you, and you wouldn’t give me the time of day.”I felt my frown deepen as I stalked toward him. “I can’t understand how that would surprise you. Or why you thought this would ever be a good idea.”“I left you alone for weeks so you could calm down enough to hear me out.”“I don’t want to hear you out, I just want … Oh my God,” I whispered, coming to an abrupt halt. Because he’d dropped to one knee and was pulling something out of his pocket.He opened a jewelry box, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. Oh this wasn’t happening. It wasn’t. It absolutely wasn’t.“Izzy, you are the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, inside and out. I didn’t expect to grow to care for you this much. I didn’t even realize how much you meant to me until you left my life.”My blood pressure undoubtedly rising, I scrunched up my face. “Ryland, don’t do this.” I couldn’t quite get my head around the fact that he was doing it.“All I’ve done during the time we spent apart is miss you like hell. Giving you space over the past few weeks was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. But I have no one to blame other than myself for how you pushed me away—I know that.”I swiped a hand down my face. “Ryland, seriously, stop.”“I took you for granted. I disrespected us both and what we had, but if you give me a chance I’ll prove that I’ll never do that again.”“You. Need. To. Stop.”“I promise you that no one will ever work as hard as I will to make you happy. No one will ever care for you the way I do. You’re the most perfect thing in my world. All I want is to … to …” He looked to the side. We both did. Because a snicker sounded from the doorway.Oh, heaven and hell, my parents and my brothers, Aiden and Jacob, were stood right there. All were watching the scene in a kind of shocked dismay.My dad, Connor, folded his arms. “Don’t let us interrupt,” he told Ryland. “You carry on.”Well of course my dad would encourage him to continue. He was relishing that he’d be able to watch this man who had not only cheated on me but had spouted lies about me to journalists be shot down.Aiden twisted his mouth. “I’ve got to say, it’s not the best proposal I’ve heard so far.”Jacob nodded. “Maybe it’ll get better.”My mum, Jaxxon, arched an expectant brow at Ryland. “You’d better get on with it. We don’t have all day.”I shot them all glares. They could save me from this excruciatingly awkward moment, but no, they were dragging it out instead.Ryland looked up at me again, his face flushed, his confidence wavering.I urged him to stand. “You need to get up and—”“No.” Ryland cleared his throat, a renewed determination building behind his eyes. “I haven’t finished.” He inhaled deeply. “As I said before, you’re the most perfect thing in my world. All I want is to make you happy.”I shook my head. “Ryland, you—”“Don’t interrupt him, Iz, that’s just rude,” Connor cut in.Oh, for God’s sake.“I love you, Izzy,” Ryland went on. “It might be hard for you to believe, given all that’s happened, but it’s the God’s honest truth.”No, no it wasn’t. Not at all. I’d have said as much if he hadn’t spoken again before I had the chance.“I’ve made mistakes.”That was putting it lightly.“Mistakes I hope you can forgive me for. Mistakes I am pleading with you to forgive me for. Because I need you in my life.”What he needed was to leave.“I promise you now that I will never make you regret forgiving me. I will love you until my dying day. You’re the most important—”“The fuck is this shit?” burst out a new voice, jagged with a pissed off growl.And the clusterfuck was complete. Because Cole was now here.I watched as he strode between my brothers and inside the apartment, his face like thunder, his eyes the same ice cold they were when glaring at an opponent in the ring.Ryland jumped to his feet, notching up his chin in a defiant gesture.Jaxxon narrowed her eyes at Cole. “And who are you, exactly?”Like she didn’t know. She might not follow boxing, but she’d recognize him easily enough—he was on posters and billboards everywhere for the clothing designer labels that sponsored him. And considering she’d probably ripped into his life after hearing he was a part of mine, she’d definitely be aware of what he looked like.“Cole Delaney,” he replied without moving his gaze from Ryland. “Izzy’s boyfriend.”Well, he couldn’t exactly say something like sex-basement-buddy to my family, could he?“Oh,” said Jaxxon. She waved a hand toward where Ryland and I stood, adding, “Well, then, I’m sure you’ll want to deal with this.”Um, it was best that I did that myself. Then again … Ryland hadn’t listened to me in the past, had he? I’d told him time and time again to stay away from me, I’d told him that I wanted nothing more to do with him, but he’d disrespected my wishes and ignored my declarations. Maybe he’d heed the male who was currently prowling toward him.“Now just what would you be doing here?” Cole asked, eyeing him coldly.Ryland showed him the ring box. “What does it look like?” he snarked. “I’m proposing to Izzy.”Cole very slowly cocked his head. “What in God’s name told you that that would be a good idea? She doesn’t even want to talk to you. Why in the fuck would she want to marry you?”Excellent question.Ryland’s grip on the ring box tightened. “She’s hurting, I know that. But I intend to make it up to her. I’m prepared to spend the rest of my life doing that.”“Noble,” said Cole, his voice bone dry. “But she’s not hurting. Not at all. She’s uninterested in talking with you because she’s uninterested in you. Simple.”Ryland scoffed. “Well of course she’d tell you that. She might even have convinced herself of it. But she and I both know the truth. She loves me.”I felt my mouth drop open. He couldn’t honestly believe that. Maybe he just wanted Cole to believe it; maybe he’d spewed out that crap in the hope of landing a verbal blow on Cole. If not, the man was plain delusional.Cole gave him a disbelieving look. “Loves you?” he echoed, his voice dripping with disdain. “You think she loves you?”“I know she does,” Ryland asserted. “Just the same, I love her.”“You love the thought of owning her,” Cole corrected. “You love the thought of her loving you. You love that you’d be the envy of so many if she was yours. It’s all about how you feel. Which is why you refuse to see how she truly feels. I doubt you even really know Izzy.”An affronted expression slipped over Ryland’s face. “Of course I know her.”“Yeah?” asked Cole, doubtful. “What’s her favorite color? What’s her favorite movie? Favorite snack? Favorite animal? What’s a place she’s always wanted to go but not yet had a chance to visit? Surely you can answer at least one of those questions.”Ryland sneered. “Like you know the answers.”“Yellow. Donnie Darko. Snickers. Wolves. Salem.”I felt my brows rise. Well. I hadn’t expected that he’d filed away any of the stuff I rambled about.An angry flush stained Ryland’s cheeks. “Just because you know basic, trivial things about Izzy doesn’t mean that you know her better than I do. It doesn’t mean shit.”“I know plenty about her. I fully intend to learn everything else there is to know. What I don’tintend is for you to be hovering around her, harassing her, turning up at her home, or fucking proposing to her.” Cole ate up every bit of Ryland’s space. “This ends now. Like it or not, you’re nothing to Izzy. She’s never going to be yours. Never. Fact is she’s already mine.”Ryland’s face scrunched up. “Yours?”“Yeah. Mine. And that won’t be changing.”“What, you think she’d actually be content in a simple arrangement forever?”“What Izzy and I have is far more than an arrangement, and there ain’t anything simple about it.”My pulse skittered. Cole sounded so serious. So resolute. So honest. And I felt a flame of hope flicker to life in my stomach.Ryland’s flush deepened. He abruptly turned to me. “Tell me he’s lying. Tell me you aren’t in a relationship with him.”I met Cole’s gaze. It was as intense as it was unreadable. His entire expression was uncharacteristically inscrutable, giving me no help in deciding whether he’d meant what he said or he’d only spoken such words to shoo Ryland along.“You can’t be serious about him, Izzy,” Ryland added. “He’s a boxer. He hits people. He’ll hit you.”My back snapped straight. I slammed my gaze on Ryland. “He wouldn’t lay a finger on me in anger,” I said, barely overriding Cole’s growl. “That’s not who he is.”“You don’t know that,” Ryland insisted. “You don’t know him.”“Yes, I do. I also know that he’s right. You don’t love me. Never did. And I know for certain that I don’t love you.” My words weren’t sensitive, no, but I didn’t know if he’d otherwise really hear me. “I don’t say it to hurt you, I say it because it’s true. I have no clue what possessed you to propose, but my answer is no. It was only ever going to be no.”Ryland sucked in a breath. “Izzy—”“You have your answer,” Cole cut in. “Now you need to leave. And be sure you don’t come near Izzy ever again. Accept that what you had with her is well and truly over.”His mouth tightening, Ryland glanced at each and every face in the room, no doubt noting the unwelcoming look they all wore. He turned back to me. “You’re wrong in what you think. I meant what I said here today.”“So did I, and I won’t change my mind,” I told him, my voice hard, needing it to sink into his brain that he was fighting a losing battle here.Hurt flickered in his eyes, but it was swiftly replaced by an icy indignation. His face closed over. His jaw tightened. His chin inched up.He didn’t march out in a huff as I half-expected. No. Every move dignified, he snapped the ring box shut, slid it into his coat pocket, and then righted his lapels. An air of arrogant indifference gathering around him—the same air he often exuded on the runway—he gave me one last look and then made a beeline for the front door.Jaxxon slid into his path, holding up her index finger. “Not so fast. I have something I’d like to say to you. Actually, I’d much prefer to staple your arsehole shut, if I’m honest, but quite frankly you ain’t worth the consequences I’d have to face. Which is the same reason that Connor has so far resisted twisting off your balls and boiling them in oil.”Ryland’s head jerked back.Jaxxon smiled. “Yeah, we’re crazy as a bag of ferrets. But back to what I was saying before … I’ve learned what a spiteful little sod you are, so I’ll warn you now—you do anything to assuage your bruised ego that in any way negatively affects Izzy, I will hit you where it will hurt most. And by that, I mean I’ll ruin you. Your modeling career will be a thing of the past. You know I have the clout to make that happen, and you’re a fool if you think that’s an empty threat.”I couldn’t see Ryland’s expression from this angle, but whatever emotion crossed his face must have pleased my mum because she gave a curt nod of satisfaction and moved aside.Ryland went to leave, but then Connor said, “You’d be wise to heed my wife’s warning. And you’d better keep your distance from my daughter, or you won’t only have to deal with Delaney, you’ll have to deal with me. I can promise you two things—one, you won’t see me coming. Two, what happens will never be traced back to me. Don’t think I won’t hurt you. I’m the kind of person that would bury you alive and then join the oblivious search party to find you like a concerned citizen. Now get the fuck out of here.”Ryland quickly walked past him … and tripped right over the foot that Aiden purposely stuck out.All concern, Aiden grabbed his arm to steady him. “You all right there, mate?”Jacob twisted his mouth. “Maybe we should walk him out to his car, Aid, to make sure he doesn’t trip again.”My brothers then flanked Ryland as he hastened to leave, insisting on escorting him out of the building. I didn’t doubt that they’d issue a few threats of their own along the way.Cole looked at me, his eyes glinting with amusement. “I like your family.”Well that might change once he realized that they truly were nuts.My parents came straight over to me and hugged me tight. I gave them a mouthful for prolonging Ryland’s proposal but they only rolled their eyes, utterly unrepentant. They swiftly switched their attention to Cole and introduced themselves before I had the chance to do it for them. He was his usual self—easygoing, respectful, straightforward. And I could see that they both liked him for it.My brothers reappeared after five minutes or so. They tended to be rude and stiff toward any blokes in my life, but they didn’t pull that crap with Cole. I had the feeling that the things he’d said to Ryland had earned him their approval.As all four men settled in the living room, I went to the kitchen with my mum to make cups of tea and coffee for everyone. I threw her a dark look as we pulled mugs out of a cupboard. “I still can’t believe you didn’t save me from that horrible proposal.”Jaxxon shrugged. “He deserved to suffer the embarrassment of a public rejection after he betrayed you with Guinevere.”“Genevieve,” I corrected.“Whatever. He deserved it. That your boyfriend turned up and went all caveman added some spice to the proceedings. Since when are you and Delaney officially a couple, and why didn’t you mention it when we last spoke on the phone?”I wasn’t yet entirely sure if we were a couple or not. “Why didn’t you mention that you were coming to Redwater? You don’t usually keep that to yourself.”She narrowed her eyes at my evasion but apparently chose not to call me on it. “I knew you were deep in a migraine hangover. If I’d told you we were coming, you would have tried getting our rooms ready and all that stuff instead of resting like you’re supposed to.”I switched on the kettle to boil while my mum began to ready the coffee machine. “What brought you all here anyway?” I asked her before she could return to the topic of Cole’s recent declaration. “Not that I’m not pleased to see you.”“I wanted to check on you. You sounded fine whenever we spoke on the phone, but I wanted to be sure. Your dad was stressing about it. The only reason we didn’t come sooner was that you had some decisions to make and we knew you needed space for that.” She paused, studying my expression. “I’m getting the feeling that you’ve already decided what you’re going to do. Am I right?”I blew out a breath and nodded. “I’m going to take your advice. I’m going to branch out from sports photography. I’m tired of being constantly on the move, I want to finally anchor myself somewhere.” I bit my lip, hesitating. “But that ‘somewhere’ won’t be London.”“You’re staying here in Redwater, I take it?”“You don’t seem surprised.”She shrugged, pressing buttons on the coffee machine, which then whirred to life. “This is where you always come when you’re looking to relax. It didn’t take a genius to work out that you feel at home here.”“You’re not upset?”“I’d obviously rather you’re in London, I’m selfish that way. But I don’t want that for you if it isn’t what will make you happy. And it’s not like you’ll be on another planet, is it? Plus, I understand the appeal of Redwater. There’s something about the place. Like it has its own gravity. I can’t explain it.”“I get what you mean.”“I suppose it doesn’t hurt that you’ll be close to Delaney. You two are obviously cozier than you led me to believe.”I sighed, tossing a teabag in two empty cups. “Mum—”“Your love life is your business, I know. But I still reserve the right to sulk when you don’t keep me in the loop about it. As for his closet, no skeletons. Not one person I spoke to had a bad word to say about him. I was told he’s very likeable and, having just met him, I can see why.“Even your brothers took a shine to him. Which, considering they don’t like any men who go near you, is pretty much evidence of a higher power. But that doesn’t mean they won’t grill him about his intentions toward you. In fact, they’re probably doing it right now.”I frowned, not liking the prospect of that. When we returned to the living room, drinks in hand, it was to discover that she’d been bang on the mark. More, my dad was also partaking in the polite interrogation.“Leave him alone,” I told them. They predictably went to argue, so I added, “Don’t think I won’t spit in your cups.”Thankfully, they let it go.Once all the hot mugs had been distributed, I took a seat on the sofa beside Jacob. I would rather have sat on the other end of it with Cole, but there wasn’t enough room.The conversation was light. My family spoke of their eventful flight, Jacob’s recent race, and Aiden’s idiotic attempt to row a boat while smashed—he wasn’t even sure where he’d intended to go, or who the boat belonged to. Cole spoke of his training, his upcoming fight, and also of the short period he lived in Vegas.The whole time, I kept waiting for him to announce that he needed to leave, since I knew he had plans for later. But hours went by during which he talked and laughed with my family, not looking at all like someone who needed to keep an eye on the time.When my family headed to their respective rooms to unpack, I flashed Cole a quick smile and said, “Sorry if they’ve been a little overwhelming.”He gripped my hand and dragged me along the sofa, hauling me up against his side. “They haven’t.”I bit my lower lip and fiddled with his collar. “Um,” I began, keeping my voice low, “you told them you’re my boyfriend.”He curved his arm around my neck, staring down at me, his eyes warm. “Because I am.”My pulse leaped. “Since when?”“Since I decided.”“And when did you decide?” I asked, the flickers of hope in my belly becoming a roaring fire.“Yesterday, when you said I’d find someone who’d support my goals rather than resent them. The thing is … I’ve already found her. You. I’ve known that for a while. But I didn’t see how I could make you feel anything other than neglected, so I was convinced that all I’d do is mess everything up if I pushed for more. But then you said something else yesterday.”“What?”“You said that I’ll be as invested in a relationship that matters to me as I am in my career because that’s who I am. And I realized you were right.” He flicked my nose with the tip of his own. “I hadn’t thrown myself into my past relationships—if you can even call them relationships—because they hadn’t meant anything to me. It’ll be different with us, because what I have with you matters.”“You could have fooled me,” I muttered with a haughty sniff even as delight made my lips curve. “You barely reacted when I told you I planned to stay in Redwater instead of returning to London.”“I considered telling you that, since I had no intention of letting you go anywhere, your change in plan was moot. But I wasn’t sure if you were ready to hear that. I didn’t want to say or do anything that would make you pull back.”We’d been in the same boat, then.“I planned to instead steadily chip away at your defenses and subtly position myself more fully into your life until, before you knew it, you were utterly gone for me.”My smile widened, my chest light and warm. “Gone for you?”“Yeah. But then goddamn Ryland turned up and tried putting a ring on your finger,” he added, his words vibrating with a repressed growl. “There was no chance I wasn’t going to spell out for him that you’re mine in every sense of the word. I could tell that you wasn’t sure if I meant it.” He stretched out one of my curls, his gaze diving deep into mine. “I could also tell that you wanted me to mean it.”“You weren’t supposed to be able to tell,” I mumbled.He chuckled. “Most of the time, you’re not easy to read. But there are moments when your walls fall for just a few seconds, and then everything you’re feeling is plain to see on your face.” He dipped his head. “And such a beautiful face it is.”He kissed me soft and slow and wet. I sank into it. Melted into him. Relished the heat of relief and joy that radiated in my chest.He broke the kiss, his pupils blown. “I originally wanted to fuck you in your bed tonight, but your family is here, so how about we spend the night at my place?”“I thought you had plans for this evening.”“I canceled them so I could stay with you today while you recovered from your migraine hangover.”“I’m fully recovered now.”“I see that. But I’d still rather spend the rest of my day with you than go ahead with my previous plans. So, you up for coming home with me? We can talk more while there.”I smiled. “I’d like that.”“Good answer. Let’s go.”