Page 11

Coco’s hand flew out and she braced it on the wall to keep herself from skidding on the slippery floor. The small red figure she had collided with now gripped her arm tight, trying to not fall along with her.

The pressure released and she felt the woman’s hand slide from her arm. Then she heard a breathless voice say, “Sorry, still trying to walk in these goddamn man-trap heels.”

Coco straightened to glance down at a short, older woman in tall high heels that could be considered hooker shoes. She bit back a snort of laughter because you could see from the woman’s expression that the shoes were paining her.

Coco smiled. “It’s okay, all good, we are still standing on this slippery floor and that is a plus.”

The woman smiled back, softening her features even more. Coco thought the woman to be in her late fifties and she had the most beautiful curls that she kept short, but on closer inspection, Coco could see that there was some gray blended with her brown coloring.

She was again surprised when the woman moved toward the end of the corridor and peeked around it before rushing back.

“Do you know if there is another exit out of this hallway other than the bathroom. The woman gently took her arm and moved her down the hall with her.

“I don’t know the place, why?” Coco’s curiosity piqued.

“Trying to lose my jailer.” The woman muttered as she walked past the women’s washroom and opened another door before closing it and then a couple more, muttering as she moved along quickly. “This could work, but no he will figure that out.”

“Nope, too obvious.” She continued to mutter.

Coco’s eyebrows rose up. Now what is going on here?

The woman looked like someone’s trustworthy aunty and not a jailbird.

Then she heard “Ahh!” and noticed that a security guard was now making his way toward them. Then, she saw the woman rush to where he had just come from and opened the door.

“Perfect.” The older woman grinned and let out a twinkle of laughter.

Coco realized she must have a weirded-out look on her face.

The woman came back and grabbed her hand, shaking it.

“Maxine is my name, and if you are ever in need of a private investigator...” The woman fished through the little clutch purse that Coco just noticed was on her other wrist and pulled out a laminated black business card.

On the front read, “Private eye Max Holden”.

“Everyone calls me Max for short. Listen, if a very tall, grumpy ex-cop–looking man with a voice that sounds like he chewed broken glass for a living comes down this hallway looking for me, you never saw me.”

And just like that, the energetic woman was gone, leaving Coco staring down at the card wondering what just happened.

She shrugged and tucked it into the pocket of her dress before she heard the heavy tred of feet behind her.

She turned and her eyes widened as she gazed up.

Damn, Max wasn’t kidding. The man was imposing and looked very uncomfortable and irritated at the same time.

His suit was well cut to fit his tall and heavy frame.

Her neck craned back when he stopped in front of her, silently assessing her with his dark eyes.

“Where did she go.” She had to suppress a grin because the man didn’t pose that as a question but a demand.

“I di—” She closed her mouth abruptly when the man gave her a look that said don’t even try lying.

He strode past her, and she watched him go down the hall not even bothering to stop at the women’s washroom or the other doors in the hallway but stopped at the very door Maxine had just disappeared into, opening it and peering inside.

Curious as to how he knew that was the door, Coco called out. “Sir.” And he paused, looking back at her.

“Umm, how do you know that is the right door?”

“I can smell her atrocious perfume; it stops here.” Then he walked in, closing the door behind him.

Coco let out a laugh and made her own way now to the ladies’ washroom; nature was now hammering at her door, and she needed to relieve herself.

She could hear the flushing of the toilet behind her going as she washed and then dried her hands. Giggling from the memory of Maxine and the man, who Maxine referred to as the jailer, heading down and out through the same door and wondered fleetingly what they were up too.

She giggled as she opened the door and her heart raced at the sight of fury on Colin’s face before she could utter a word, she was forced to back up when Colin took a step inside, using his body against hers. His eyes were cold as he turned and locked the door.

“Wuh you feel you doing yuh big waaater buffalo?” She snapped out, surprised and incensed that he had her trapped in the women’s washroom, watching her like a crazed ex-lover.

“Where is he?” Colin accused.

Coco frowned. Now what in the hell was wrong with him.

“Where is he, Coco?”

“Who? Are you talking about?”

“Keith.” He pushed past her and started pushing in the stall doors.

“Keith?”

“Yes, the man that couldn’t take his eyes of you and had you giggling in here just now.”

“Oh, for the love of God, Colin. He is for sure in here with me in a women’s washroom.” She rolled her eyes, voice dripping with annoyance.

He paused, shooting her a disbelieving look, which sent anger through her. “Hold on and let me get him for you.” She followed him to the rest of the stalls and pushed them open before he could do it himself.

He stood there with his arms crossed as she cupped her hand to her mouth and sing-songed at each door she opened.

“Keithy? Nope, not in here. Keithy, no, not here either. No Keith. Keithy .” She drawled out the name when she finished at the last door. Then she turned with her hands palm up by her shoulders and an expression on her face that you gave a child when their toy magically disappears.

Colin moved fast and had her body pressed flush against his before she knew it.

“You think you are so funny, let’s see how amused you are after this.” And his head lowered, slamming his lips against hers.

She pushed hard against his shoulders, turning her head away. “What do you thin—”

“Making sure you never forget who you belong to.” His lips dragged across her cheek. She stretched her neck as far as it would go to avoid him.

“Colin, this is a fake relationship and will be a fake marriage. You are acting like an overbearing and jealous man.” She tried to reason with him and then she gasped when he sucked hard on her neck.

And she pushed against his chest hard, creating space and moving her neck out of his reach, stopping him from marking her.

Earning herself a small victory over their struggle.

“Be as it may, you promised to do your part and I am going to make sure that you act like the devoted, loving girlfriend, fiancée, and then wife.

And whatever was going on between you and Keith before ends now.

I think since we are in this bathroom that we should get some practice in on the loving part.

“You can go to the devil—”

He smothered her words when his hand turned her jaw for her lips to meet his. Silencing her in his domineering, punishing kiss.

This was new to her, and she felt a rising fear come over her.

For the short time, she and Colin had been in a relationship, he never tried to force her to do something she didn’t want to.

Even the last time they kissed she could tell he wasn’t serious with his kiss when he’d came into her office, but now this was a side she didn’t know of him or like.

She pushed her lower body away from him, her hands planted on his chest as she tried to leverage herself off him and hopefully break the kiss, her angry gaze locked with his, but Colin snaked his hand around her waist, pulling her up and hard against him.

He shifted his head, and his lips moved over hers trying to gain entrance.

Coco tried to fight but eventually knew it was futile, so she just stiffened in his embrace, riding out the tide until he came to his senses.

His kiss changed, becoming desperate in his need to get her to respond and she suddenly felt something was wrong.

She sensed behind his domineering kiss was pain and his eyes lost their icy look, replaced with sorrow.

Her gaze widened when she began to see tears fall, pooling first in the blue depths, then falling down his cheeks before mingling with their joined lips.

She opened hers with a gasp and he groaned, shutting his eyes from her as his kiss softened and moved across hers.

She could taste the saltiness of his tears and moved her hands from his chest now into the thickness of his hair, her fingers running through it, then onto his scalp, massaging.

She began to return his kiss, offering him solace in the storm he was going through.

Wanting him to know she was there with him, and he was not alone.

His grasp around her waist tightened and he delved further into her mouth, tasting and taking what she had to give.

His tears stopped falling, and he lifted his mouth off hers.

His eyes were damp and miserable as he looked down at her.

“What’s wrong, Colin? Is it your grandfather?” Coco stayed in his embrace, her hands still moving through his hair. He closed his eyes for a second, then rested his forehead against hers.

“I’m sorry for how I acted just now, did I hurt you?” He said, gazing at her swollen lips now.

“No, not really. But you did scare me there for a minute.”

He blinked again, slowly, raising his hand and caressing her cheek. His thumb gently swept against her bottom lip.”

“I am sorry that I scared you. What I did was no excuse and I promise you I won’t do that again.”

She stared searching his face and seeing the sadness still there. For himself, but also for what he’d just done.

She nodded. “But what happened Colin to make you upset?”

He sighed and pulled slightly away from her.

“It’s not just about my grandfather; my brother Jacob just delivered some bad news about my niece Kaitlyn.

” He turned, walking away from her, his hands balling into fists and she followed, her hand on his shoulder for support.

He unclenched a hand and lifted it up, placing it over hers.

She’d seen in the press that his brother had married a senator’s daughter and had a child with her. She didn’t know anything else about the situation.

His voice sounded hoarse with renewed emotion. “Kaitlyn has a form of leukemia, and she needs a donor. My family and my brother are not a match for her.”

“Oh my god, Colin, I am so sorry to hear that. What is going to happen next. Is her mother a match?”

Colin stiffened under her hand. “We don’t know if her mother is a match yet.” The way he said mother with such distaste, she knew there was a story there but it was for a later discussion.

“Does this change everything with your grandfather, now that everyone needs to focus on Kaitlyn?”

“No, he doesn’t know yet and we want to keep him out of it for his health too.” Colin turned and gave her a bitter smile. “So, the agreement between us still stands.”

She frowned. “Colin that is—”

They were interrupted when someone tried to push on the locked door, then they tried the knob.

“I thought they said this women’s washroom was open.” They heard a female grumble under her breath, then the person tried the door again.

Both Colin and Coco stood there, silent. Coco hoped the woman would go away, not wanting to get caught and people at the party finding out she was in the bathroom with Colin; her father would have a cow.

“And I need to pee. Shyte.” Coco smothered a laugh at the grumpy last word, the voice sounding like her grandmother. Then they heard the heavy press of heels heading down the hallway.

When all was quiet, Coco opened the door and peeked outside, confirming the hall was empty.

“Let’s go before my father finds out and wants to wring your neck.” She gave him a soft smile that he returned.

She took his hand for a second as they exited the washroom.

“Whatever you need and whenever you want to talk, I am here for you.”

He nodded. “Thank you and from here on out I will be on my very best behaviour. Scout’s honor.”

She rolled her eyes. Colin was never a scout.

“No, seriously. Thank you for giving me comfort and being there for me.”

She nodded, then they headed down the hallway and back to the event. The music seemed to be muted a bit and Coco glanced at her watch, noting that guests probably started migrating toward the lawn where supper was going to be served.

She turned as a male voice addressed her.

“Oh, there you are. Coco, can I talk to you for a second before we sit down for dinner. Colin, you don’t mind, do you?” Keith gave them a smile. “I will escort her to dinner. You can follow the guests heading out.” Coco froze and turned to Colin, her mouth opening.

“Yes, I do mind. My fiancée is not going anywhere to talk with you.” He didn’t hesitate at all, just as the music stopped to allow the person with a mic about to announce something. The guests that were still in the room stopped talking and all eyes turned to them.