I’m taken aback by the bitterness in his voice. I stare at his profile, watching a muscle flex in his jaw, and wonder what his father is like. From the sound of it, their relationship isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy.
“Does your mother have much involvement with the company?”
His features soften at the mention of his mother, and so does his voice. “Not in the day-to-day operations. But my father can’t make a decision without her.”
“How long have they been married?”
“More than forty years.” He glances over at me. “What about your parents?”
“They divorced when I was ten.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Are you close with them?”
I look out my window into the city passing by the windows, at the starless evening sky, focusing on them instead of the sudden tightness in my stomach. “My dad, yes. He’s in Oregon now with his new wife. We get together on holidays.”
When I don’t continue, he squeezes my hand. “And your mom?”
“She lives in Vegas. We speak on the phone occasionally, but…” I have to clear my throat before continuing. “We’re very different people.”
“How so?”
I wasn’t expecting him to ask that. Most guys would leave it alone, guessing from my tone that I don’t want to get into it. But I have Cole’s full attention now. I’m not even looking at him, but I feel it. How the air has charged. How he grips my hand a little harder.
“She drinks a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean she starts around noon and doesn’t stop until she passes out. She’s got congestive heart failure now, but even that hasn’t made a difference in her drinking habits.”
Cole lifts my hand to his lips and kisses it again, pressing his mouth against my skin for a long moment.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. It is what it is.” Sighing, I lean my head against the headrest and close my eyes. “I blame her boyfriend.”
“Why’s that?”
“He beats her up. They’ve been together since her and my dad separated. I keep begging her to leave him, but she won’t. I’ve tried everything I can, but people have to want to take part in their own rescue. So now I just let her be and wait for that phone call in the middle of the night from the police that I know will eventually come.”
After a moment when I realize Cole hasn’t said anything, and his silence has gone from attentive to tense, I’m horrified.
What was I thinking? He tells me his parents have been married forty years, and I match it with that?
My cheeks burn with embarrassment. “Sorry. That was a lot.”
“You don’t have to apologize. Thank you for telling me. I’m glad you did.”
I glance over at him. His jaw is hard again, and he’s wearing an expression that’s obvious even in profile. He doesn’t look glad.
He looks murderous.
But thankfully, he changes the subject so neither one of us have to tiptoe through that mess anymore.
“What about sisters or brothers? Any of those?”
“I’m an only child.”
“Lucky.”
“Growing up, I always wished I had a sister. Maybe that’s why Chelsea and I are so close. She’s an only child too. We’ve been friends since high school.”
He looks at me for a long moment before turning his attention back to the road. “You two must share everything.”
“Yes. Well, not everything.”
His voice drops. Without looking at me, he says, “I don’t mind if you talk to her about me. I know she’s important to you. And I trust both of you.”
“Really? You trust us?”
“Yes.”
“But you only met her the one time. And you and I haven’t exactly spent a lot of time together either.”
“I know people. When they’re good, when they’re bad, when they can be trusted, and when they can’t. And both of you can be.”
I study his profile, fascinated by him but also confused. “Did you get all this insight into human nature in business school?”
His lips lift in a brief, enigmatic smile that looks very similar to the ones his pal Axel produces. “Not exactly.”
When I stare at him silently for too long, he chuckles. “Don’t overthink it.”
“I wouldn’t have to if you tell me what you mean.”
“Some other time.”
From the way he says that, I get the distinct feeling that time will never come. But I don’t insist.