“He’s not going to fire you.” That he was sure of. “Look, honey.” Cole took her hand and turned her to face him. “This isn’t going to be easy, but it’s the right thing to do. Haley needs to know her father. He needs to know about her. Hell, we don’t even know how he’ll react until you tell him.”
Lucie nodded her head.
“I think you should call him. Tonight.”
That had Lucie’s head jerking back in surprise. “Tonight?”
“Yes. Call him. Ask him to come over so you can talk to him. He’s a reasonable man.” Granted, he might not be reasonable once he realizes he slept with one of his bartenders, getting her pregnant and having absolutely no recollection of the night in question. But, that didn’t change the fact that the man was a father.
Cole couldn’t sit any longer. He hated to leave Lucie, hated that she would have to go through this alone, but he needed to get to Sierra. “I hate to run, but I’ve got somewhere I need to be. Call me tomorrow and let me know how things went tonight.” He told her as he walked toward the door. “You can do this, Luce. Just remember, it’s best for all three of you.”
Cole left Lucie nodding her head, whether she was placating him or agreeing with him, he didn’t know. As much as he wanted to see the man’s reaction when she sprang the news on him, Cole couldn’t stick around.
He quickened his pace on his way to his truck, pulling out his cell phone. He fumbled through the numbers, but managed to dial Sierra’s phone, listening to it ring as he started up his truck. When Luke answered, Cole glanced down at the screen, wondering if he’d misdialed.
“Where are you?” Luke asked.
“On my way to Sierra’s.” He told him as he put the truck in Drive and tore out of the parking lot.
“That wasn’t the question.”
Well, fuck. Luke knew exactly where Cole was because he heard him tell Lucie he would see her tonight. Apparently Luke wasn’t happy with the idea. Was he jealous? The thought made Cole smile. Luke McCoy. Jealous. Ha. “I’m leaving Lucie’s.”
“What the fuck are you doing with her?” Luke’s voice lowered, and Cole realized he was trying to hide his conversation from Sierra. Not that there was any reason to. He was sure once he told Sierra exactly what was going on with Lucie, she’d understand. Not that he could. At least until Lucie shared her news. Cole damn sure wasn’t going to be the one to spread that little rumor. He’d never be forgiven. Not to mention, too many people could get hurt.
“She just needed someone to talk to.” Cole assured him as he pulled onto the highway. Traffic was light, so Cole floored it, gaining speed and getting closer to his destination. “I’ll be there in ten. We’ll talk then.” With that Cole disconnected the call.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Luke wanted to throw the phone, and he might have if it had been his own. Instead he dropped Sierra’s cell phone on the coffee table, staring at it in disbelief. Thankfully Sierra had gone to take a shower because Luke would have hated for her to talk to Cole. Knowing that he was coming straight from Lucie’s to see Sierra actually made Luke’s stomach hurt. Dropping his head into his hands, he closed his eyes.
What the hell had happened? Just yesterday the three of them had been happy. Or so Luke thought. They’d spent nearly every night for the past week together, at one of their houses. And in the matter of just a few hours, each one of them had done something to change the entire dynamic of their relationship. Luke had asked Sierra to marry him. Sierra had said yes. And Cole had been doing God knows what at Lucie’s during that time.
Should he have consulted Cole before he proposed to Sierra? Probably. Was the man going to be pissed? More than likely. Did Luke actually give a shit? The answer should be a resounding no, but it wasn’t. Luke did care. He cared about Cole. Hell, he loved the man.
Yes. Love.
Not a feeling he thought he would ever feel for another man. At least not that way. But he did. Since the day he met Cole all those years ago when he waltzed into the club, fully intending to make it his own, Luke had been fascinated by Cole. Then over the years they’d become friends, sharing women.
Then that one October night… Logan’s bright idea to shock some sense into Sam had turned out to be Luke’s nightmare. He had been so taken with Cole that night, the intensity of being close to him, having Cole touch him, put his mouth on him, surrendering to him in every way. It had been too much. So much that Luke had lost all common sense and had fucked Cole three ways to Sunday. Rightfully so, that had been the most erotic night of Luke’s life. Which was saying something because Luke had done some crazy things before then.