Page 33 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

The sight of Cole’s familiar dirty-blond hair and confident stride had me pushing further into the shadows to hide myself.

He looked angry as he strode up to the booth I’d just vacated.

The woman who had accurately assessed my situation—that I didn’t belong at Cole’s table—slowly stood as Cole said something to her.

She shrugged and replied. Cole didn’t wait for her to finish as he started to scan the room.

For a moment, I wondered if he was looking for me, but then I pushed that thought from my mind. If he was, it didn’t matter. Cole and I were from two different worlds. The sooner we acknowledged that, the better off we’d be.

Thankfully, he didn’t see me on his first sweep.

His expression was frustrated as he waved his hand, and the woman slowly moved away from his booth.

She glanced over her shoulder like she expected him to call her back, but he had turned away from her and was chatting with one of the men in suits who had been following behind him.

When they finished talking, the man glanced around like he was looking for me, too. I took that as my sign to slip away. The bathroom felt like a safe bet, so I stuck to the walls as I made my way over and pushed open the door.

I’d never been in a bathroom that was this fancy. There was black marble penny tile on the floor, black wallpaper with silver flowers etched into it, and a huge silver chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Even the restroom mocked my bank account.

I sighed as I stared at my reflection. “What are you doing here, Willow?” I whispered.

I could see the ache in my gaze. I loved Cole. I wanted him to be the one that everything in my past was leading to. I wanted him to love me. I wanted him to love Jasper. I wanted us to be a family.

But it couldn’t be. I was never going to be able to make Cole happy. We were too different. And I knew in reality no amount of attraction or mutual affection could make up for that difference.

My eyes brimmed with tears, and I angrily wiped at them. Cole wasn’t mine, so was why was I mourning a future I never had in the first place?

The sound of the bathroom door opening was followed by the chatter of women, and I pulled away from the sink and hurried to disappear into one of the stalls. I wasn’t ready for the pity stares or the “everything okay” questions. I needed a moment to compose myself before I saw anyone.

I latched the door shut and peeked through the space between the wall and the door to see that the women were now standing in front of the mirror that I’d just vacated.

“I have no idea what is wrong with Cole.”

The blood in my veins turned ice cold at the mention of Cole’s name. The woman’s dark hair came into view, and I realized that it was the same woman from earlier.

“He doesn’t understand that this club is all about image, and that girl will only hurt his image.

” She was smoothing her black hair back toward her bun.

“I sorry, but some backcountry girl?” She sucked air through her teeth, making a whistling noise.

“What are people going to say? This is Obsidian, not some square-dancing bar.”

The group of women who were standing around her all laughed. I frowned. That wasn’t even funny. I’d been to square-dancing bars. They were ten times more fun than this place. There you let loose. Here it felt like everyone was judging you for just existing. This conversation was proof of that.

“What did he say to you?” a woman with tightly curled blonde hair asked.

Black-hair woman sighed. “He told me to leave his table. He was so rude.”

There was a murmur of disbelief that rippled through the women.

She shrugged as she turned from side to side in front of the mirror. “It’s fine. Just a minor setback. Once the backwater girl is gone, I’ll be the one he’s texting. I’m always the one he texts when he’s lonely.”

The other women giggled, and my stomach churned at her implication. I knew, once I left, Cole was going to seek out comfort with other women—I just didn’t want to have a mental image of it happening.

The women finished preening and left in a cluster. The bathroom fell quiet with them gone. I took in a deep breath as I unlocked the stall door and stepped out. After washing my hands, I stared at my reflection with new resolution.

Those women were mean, but they spoke the truth. I didn’t belong here, and it was about time I accepted that. I wasn’t going to sit around until Cole decided that he was done with me. For the first time in my life, I was going to be the one to leave.

No more hiding.

I left the bathroom with my head held high.

I didn’t slip into the shadows, I pushed through the crowd, ready for Cole to find me.

Needing a drink to bolster my wavering confidence, I made my way over to the bar and ordered a French 75.

While I waited for it to be made, I leaned my right elbow on the bar and glanced around, wondering how long it was going to take for Cole to find me.

“Hello, gorgeous,” a deep, rumbly voice said from behind me.

I frowned and turned to see a guy with dark brown hair and eyes staring back at me. His grin was wide, causing the edges of his eyes to crinkle. On any other person, his expression would be inviting, but when it mixed with the look in his gaze, my skin went cold.

“Haven’t seen you around here.” His gaze flicked down to my very naked ring finger. “Looks like you are as unattached as I am.”

“Here’s your French 75,” the bartender said. “That’s $35.”

I almost threw up in my mouth. Thirty-five dollars? What the hell had I been thinking?

I opened my purse and started rifling through it. Just as my fingers found my wallet, the man next to me was handing over his credit card.

“Let me, lovely.”

I glanced up at him.

His smile turned wicked. “You can pay me back later.”

“Willow, there you are.”

Cole.

I glanced in the direction of his voice and saw his smile slowly fade as he took in the scene.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he stepped closer. “Tim, put her drink on my tab and give this man back his card.”

The bartender nodded as he obeyed.

“Excuse me, I was buying the lady a drink.” The stranger straightened like he was sizing up Cole.

“No you weren’t.” Cole didn’t falter. He was staring at the man like he was a joke. Which he was. But I didn’t need Cole to rescue me, again. I just needed to get out of here. “Now get away from here before I lose my patience.”

The man sputtered. But with one look from Cole, his security team started approaching the man. He must have realized that I wasn’t worth the fight and disappeared into the crowd, muttering under his breath.

With him gone, I had Cole’s sole attention.

“I was worried about you,” he whispered as he stared down at me, the air around us filling with electricity.

I steeled my nerves as I raised my gaze to meet his.

“I’m sorry,” I said. And that was truth.

I was sorry about so much. I was sorry that I ran away when I should have been stronger.

I was sorry that I let Cole into my life when I knew better.

And I was sorry that this was going to be one of the last interactions I would allow myself to have with him outside of our business relationship.

“Willow?”

I wanted to close my eyes and bask in the sound of my name on his lips, but I couldn’t. I needed to be stronger. “I was weighing my options.”

Cole frowned. “Options?”

I sighed, and my strength wavered with each word I spoke. If I didn’t get out of here right now, I was going to fall back into old habits. “Please, take me home.”

He paused. “What are you saying?” He wrapped his hand around my arm and dipped down, forcing me to meet his gaze.

Strength, Willow. You can do this. I took in a deep breath. “Cole, we’re kidding ourselves. This”—I waved between his chest and mine—“was never going to work. The sooner we accept that, the better off we’ll be.”

“That’s not tr?—”

“Please, take me home,” I interrupted. I didn’t need him refuting my decision. I needed him to realize that I was immovable in this.

Cole grew quiet and I risked heartbreak as I glanced over at him. He was watching me, and the ache in his gaze was palpable and took my breath away.

“I can’t leave. This is my club. I need to be here.” His voice was deep, and I could hear the hurt in his tone, but I couldn’t let it change my resolution.

“Then I’ll get a taxi,” I said as I started to dig around in my purse for my phone.

“Don’t.” Cole held up his hand. “I’ll get a car to take you.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

We waited outside for a slick black Lincoln to pull up. A friendly looking man got out of the driver’s seat and greeted Cole. They spoke in hushed tones, and I didn’t wait to hear what they were talking about. Instead, I pulled open the back door and climbed inside.

I watched them shake hands, and then Cole stepped up onto the sidewalk as the man got back into the car. He stayed rooted to his spot as the engine started. Cole didn’t move as we began to pull away.

His gaze was trained on the car until we took a left, and then he disappeared.