Page 11 of Love Me Like You Do

You want something, you get it.

That was exactly her mom’s thinking.You want to be a designer? Be one!

“Because I’m not home enough. But when I was a kid, it was because my nannies didn’t want ‘one more thing to take care of.’”

“What’s a nanny?”

“A babysitter.” He spoke to her like an equal.

That’s nice.

“Were they mean to you?” Paisley asked.

Looking at his water bottle, he cracked a grin. “One of them was. But not the last one. She was cool.”

Paisley took a slug of milk, then licked her lips. “I don’t like horses. I got hit by one when I was little, but I like dogs. And kitty cats. And I like swimming. Do you have a pool?”

While Hailey had a hard time following the conversation, Cole rolled with it. “I do. But it’s covered in snow right now.” He perked up. “Actually, I’ve got an indoor lap pool if you want to swim in that. It’s not very deep, but it could be fun.”

“An inside pool? I want to go. I want to go now.” She swished her bottom until her butt hit the edge of the chair, and then she dropped to the floor. “Come on, Evvie. Let’s get our swimsuits.”

“I not finished.” The littlest one took another bite.

“Take it with you,” Paisley said.

Evvie seemed to find that a reasonable option because she grabbed the last quarter of her sandwich and followed her out of the kitchen.

Without the kids, an awkward silence settled between her and Cole.

She hadn’t seen him since high school, where he was a total smoke show, hugely popular, a hotshot athlete—in other words, totally intimidating—but also such a tool. He’d ruined her senior year.

But her petty issues from a decade ago had no place in today’s situation. “I’m surprised to see you. The attorney told me there was a co-guardian, but that he wasn’t going to be involved.”

“I wasn’t.” Cole got up, stacked their plates, and brought them to the sink. “But I’ve got a concussion, so I’m out for the next four games. Figured I’d come out here and see what’s up.”

See, there it was again. That cavalier attitude. But she knew how close he and Darren had been. Even more, this man was in the middle of his hockey season—he needed to be with his team—but he’d chosen to come and pick up the girls.

“Bullshit.” She came up beside him and got walloped with his expensive and masculine scent.Whoa. The pheromones radiating off him…that’s powerful stuff. “These are Darren’s kids. You couldn’tnotbe involved.”

He gazed out the window at the snow-covered mountain range. “No. I couldn’t.” Steam rose out of the sink, and he fiddled with the faucet to get the right temperature.

“I can’t believe they’re gone.” If they had any other history, she’d have hugged him. They might not have much in common, but they did share Lindsay and Darren.

“I know.”

“Mostly, I’m so angry.”

He cut her a surprised look.

“At myself. I haven’t talked to Lindsay inthreeyears. I came out here for the christening, and then…I don’t know what happened. I took a second job, she got busy with two kids, and somehow, we drifted apart. I hate that I let that happen.”

“I get it.” He rinsed the plates and stacked them in the dishwasher. “I lost touch with Darren, and I don’t remember when.” He braced both hands on the rim of the sink and lowered his head. “Why didn’t I fly him out for a game? I should’ve sent his family to Disneyland. At some point, I should’ve checked in with him.”

“I noticed you weren’t at Everly’s christening.”

“I was thinking about that on the flight out here. I got an invitation, but I don’t remember if I RSVP’d or just blew it off. I hope like hell I didn’t give it to my assistant to handle.” He went back to rinsing a glass. “I’ll have to ask her. Darren… He was the best.”

“He really was. And the way they loved each other? Even after two kids and financial stress and everything they’d gone through, they were still so wildly in love. Total soul mates.”