Page 131 of Love Me Like You Do

After a moment of static, her precious little girl’s voice came on the line. “Hi, Hailey.”

“Oh, baby. Are you okay? What happened?”

“Evvie got scared. Everyone was yelling at us, and she got scared. Cole got us away. He told me to hold on to his jacket, but my shoe came off, and I let go.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie. That must’ve been scary. I’m so glad you’re safe. Evvie’s okay?”

“Yes. We’re going home now.”

She could hear Cole’s voice.Hand me the phone. And then, he came back on the line. “The car’s here, so give me a second to get them in their car seats, and I’ll call you back.” She’d never heard that tone before. He was always so in control, so confident, but he sounded shaken.

The restaurant was humid, hot. She pushed out the door and stepped into the frigid evening air. “Okay. I’m getting a cab right now. I’ll meet you at the apartment.”

Hailey entered to total silence. Other than a few recessed lights, the penthouse was dark, with no staff in sight.

Thanks to traffic, it had taken her an hour to get from Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. Still, she’d expected the ruckus of getting the girls to bed. Little feet padding down a hallway, Cole shouting,Wait, let me dry you off.

Not this…emptiness. Where was everyone? Where were the girls? She dropped her purse on a table in the marble foyer and crossed the massive living room that overlooked the bottom half of Manhattan all the way down to the Statue of Liberty.

At the end of the hallway, she came to the guest room where the girls were staying. Peering in, she saw them sleeping together in the same bed. Still unnerved, she sat on the edge of the mattress, brushing the hair off Paisley’s cheek. She pressed a kiss on each temple. “I love you, babies. I love you so much.”

Then, she left the door ajar, so they’d have the light from the hallway, and headed to the room she and Cole were staying in.

She walked in to find him sitting on the bed, head in his hands. “Hey.”

He jerked upright. “I’m so damn sorry, Hailey. I fucked up.”

“It’s okay.” She sat beside him, stroking his back. “It was scary, but she’s all right.”

He got up and paced across the room. “I was only going to stay five minutes. I thought I had it all under control. I had her hand in mine, but the fuckers started shouting at the girls—trying to get a picture. Evvie was losing her shit, and I had to let go of Paisley’s hand.” It seemed less about recounting to her and more about reliving it step-by-step. “I told her to hang onto my jacket—”

“But her shoe came off, and she let go. I know.” It was excruciating to witness his pain.

His gaze snapped over to her. “She said that?”

She could only nod. He was frantic, distraught… She’d never seen him like this.

“That’s why she let go? Because of hershoe?” He scrubbed his face with both hands. “They didn’t have her size, and that was the only pair she wanted, so I got her a half a size too big.”

One more thing to blame himself for. “Cole, that’s not your fault. I would’ve bought that size, too. I’ve done it myself for a pair of boots I loved but didn’t fit.” She wanted to comfort him, but when she moved closer, he held up his hand to ward her off.

Ouch. She knew he was processing. She knew it wasn’t personal. But she didn’t like this wall he was putting up. How did she get through to him? “Come with me. I want you to see her. She’s asleep. She’s safe. She’s fine.”

“You don’t get it. Ilosther. I had no business taking them to the screening.”

She’d thought the same thing, but he didn’t need to hear it. “Why did you? You said they had fun at dinner. You could’ve just gone home…” He didn’t need her piling on the blame.

“I know that. Believe me, I know. I wanted to make it a night she’d remember. I wanted—”

“You wanted her to love you. I know. It would’ve hurt me, too, if she’d said she hated me. But you know that she loves you, right? She was just overtired.”

“Yeah, that’s the point. I knew that. And still, I took her out. I took her to a fucking screening.” Closing his eyes, he swiped his hand down his face. He took a deep breath, and the next time he looked at her, he was deadly calm. “I love you, Hailey. I love those girls. But I can’t be what you need me to be. Iknewthat.” He looked down at his bare feet. “I just got carried away.”

“Don’t say that. We’re brand-new to parenting. We’re going to make mistakes—lots of them—and we’re going to learn from them. You’re blowing this way out of proportion.”

“Bullshit. I never leave well enough alone. It’s just what I do. Those girls deserve a hell of a lot better than what I’ll do to them. I’m a fucking menace.”

The last time Hailey had looked at the clock, it had been four in the morning. She must’ve finally dropped into a deep sleep because when she checked her phone, she saw it was nearly nine.