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“Okay.” Rachel swallowed and tried to push past the nausea that had crawled into her throat. Why did this bother her so much? They were friends. She’d accepted that and had moved on. She shouldn’t care. At all. “Well, that’s...great news! Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Of course, she hadn’t mentioned Andrew until a week ago, so who was she to throw stones? Relationships were private. Cole was a private man. He had the right to keep anything to himself for as long as he chose. Solid logic, but his secrecy bugged her. A lot.
Cole shrugged. “You’re hearing about her now, and—” Andrew’s cell phone buzzed, stopping Cole short.
“I need to take this,” Andrew said after glancing at the display. He stood. “Excuse me for a minute.”
She watched Andrew step away from the table. Refocusing on Cole, she said, “Go on. What’s her name? And what do you mean she’s the one for you? When...um, when did you meet her?”
“None of that’s important right now.” Cole angled his body toward her, so they were eye to eye, and clasped Rachel’s hands in his. The heat of his touch didn’t come close to thawing her sudden chill. “I’m a goner, Rachel. I’ve fallen in love and there’s no looking back.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“What do you think?”
Rachel stared into the eyes she knew so well. Eyes she’d seen filled with almost every emotion in the book. And now, she saw something intense and passionate lurking in the depths, along with a desperation that made her heart ache. In other words, she saw love.
Every instinct she had wanted to deny what she saw, but she couldn’t. “I think I have to meet the woman who finally captured Cole Foster’s heart,” Rachel whispered in shock. “I never thought...never...” She blinked. “Well, isn’t this terrific? I’m so happy for you.”
Leaning in closer, Cole plopped a friendly—brotherly—kiss on her cheek before easing away again. “You’re with Andrew and think he might be the one. I’ve fallen in love with someone I know is the one. I have a hunch,” he said with a wink, “that this Christmas will be very memorable.”
“Right. Memorable.” That was one description.
“You look a little pale, Rach. Are you feeling okay?”
“Oh, yes! I’m just...tired.” She gulped another large mouthful of coffee. “You know how traveling is.”
“I do.”
She tried to think of something, anything, to say to fill the gap, but couldn’t. Cole was in love. That was fine! Of course it was. She had Andrew, for crying out loud. “Um. Andrew should be back any minute,” she mumbled. “That was probably a business call.”
“Business on vacation, huh? He must be dedicated.”
“He is. He... I know he wasn’t on his best behavior at first,” she said, suddenly finding it very important to build up Andrew. For her sake or for Cole’s, she didn’t know. Even so. “But he really is a great guy.”
“I’m sure he is,” Cole agreed.
“Just...give him a chance before deciding you don’t like him. That’s all I ask.”
“I can do that. He took me off guard with that Kyle crap, but it’s obvious he cares a lot about you. The fact he does, and makes no bones about it, goes a long way for me.”
“So...are you saying you approve?”
“You don’t need my approval, Rach,” Cole said quietly. “You know that, right?”
Rachel shook her head, still trying to clear cobwebs. “Yeah. Of course I do.”
Cole beamed a smile. “Just like I don’t need yours.”
“Right. No approval necessary.” She sucked in a breath, taking the air in so deep it almost hurt. “But I’d like to meet your...girlfriend. I mean, if she’s going to be a part of your life...”
“I’d like that, too. Unfortunately, Cupcake—that’s what I call her—is a little shy. Might take some time, convincing her to agree to an introduction.” Pausing, Cole closed his eyes as if thinking something through. “Maybe if it were just you at that first meeting, that would be okay. Less...intimidating than introducing her to you and Andrew at the same time.”
“Sure,” she said without thought. Cupcake? He called her Cupcake? Cole didn’t do terms of endearment. Or he never had before. “Andrew can stay at the house.”
“He won’t mind?” The concerned pretense from earlier returned. “Gee, I don’t know about that. I’d hate to cause problems while you’re trying to...repair your relationship.”
“We’re fine, we’re not—” Screw it. Let him think what he wanted. Besides, he wasn’t wholly off base, even if Andrew hadn’t yet arrived at that realization. “That isn’t an issue.”
“I’d also hate to upset him by taking up too much of your time,” Cole said in complete and utter sincerity. “From what I gathered, Andrew appears to have a jealous nature.”
“Now that Andrew is aware you’re in love with another woman,” Rachel said, nearly choking on the admittance, on the reality of the situation, “I expect the jealousy to fade.”
Cole hesitated, as if mulling over the idea. Finally, he nodded. “Well, then, I’ll set something up. Just try to keep your schedule open. Convincing my Cupcake to step out of her shell won’t be all that easy. And while she isn’t impatient, exactly, once she makes her mind up about something, she can be rather determined.”
“What is she? Shy or bossy?” Rachel said the words that popped into her head, even though she probably shouldn’t have. “Because by your definition, she’s both, and honestly, I haven’t met very many people who fall into both categories.”
“Let’s call her...complicated. That’s a good word to describe this particular woman.”
“Complicated?” She snapped her mouth shut and silently counted to ten. Cole jumping through hoops to please some shy, determined, complicated woman didn’t sound encouraging. It was annoying. And the image, the very thought of it, rubbed Rachel in all the wrong ways. “I already don’t like this woman,” she muttered.
“What’s that? I couldn’t quite hear you.”
Gripping her coffee cup so hard that her knuckles ached, Rachel forced her mouth to move into a smile. “I said that I can’t wait to meet this woman.”
“I knew you’d be excited for me.” Cole reached over to tug a lock of Rachel’s hair, just as she’d seen him do a thousand times to his sister, Haley. “Thank you for being such a wonderful friend.”
“Forever friends,” she said, using their childhood phrase. As the words left her lips, the last bit of hope—hope she hadn’t known still existed until that second—fizzled out.
Suddenly, she sort of wished she’d chosen Hawaii.
* * *
An hour later, Cole watched Andrew and Rachel leave the coffee shop, unsure of what, exactly, had propelled him to create a pretend girlfriend. The touching had irritated him, though he didn’t have the right to be irritated. Andrew’s posturing had, surprisingly, been more amusing than infuriating. Well, except for the comment about Cole’s career.
Even so, he hadn’t reacted to the push—Rachel had done that for him—and Andrew’s apology had seemed sincere. At that point, the tension emanating from Andrew had lessened, and Cole saw a glimmer of the real man Rachel had brought with her to Steamboat Springs. And damn if he didn’t begin to like him...just a little.
Cole certainly had no intention of making up a woman—a special woman, no less—when Andrew had then asked about his relationship status. But Rachel stepped in, answered in the negative, and that—yep, that was what had done it—had compelled Cole to lie. She’d been so sure, so damn positive in her response, that Cole had wanted to shake her up and prove that she didn’t know every microscopic detail about him or his life.
The maneuver had worked, too. If Cole was a betting man, he’d have wagered cold, hard cash that she’d turned green with envy over his declaration.
If she was in love with another man, why would she care if Cole was seeing someone? She wouldn’t. Or, he corrected, she shouldn’t. By the way her skin had paled a good two shades and her stunned expression, not to mention the wobbly state of her voice, Cole had to believe she did, indeed, care. He couldn’t deny his satisfaction over that.
But he’d lied, and that bothered him. So now he had to decide what to do about the fabrication. Confess the truth or keep the pretense in play? Hell. Lying didn’t sit well with him, but Rachel’s reaction, especially her whispered statement, “I already don’t like this woman,” egged him on, teasing him with the possibilities of what both could mean.
Cole stood, waved goodbye to Lola and headed out into the December night, thinking through those possibilities. What he’d said wasn’t a complete untruth: there was a special woman in his life. A woman he loved, a woman he saw himself quite capable of spending the rest of his days with, having children with, growing old with and every last thing that entailed.
Rachel, of course.
A plan, crystal clear in its clarity, formed in Cole’s mind. He could use his real feelings for Rachel, along with what she believed to be true, and enlist her help in wooing “the woman of his dreams.” If Rachel was jealous, if she did hold more than friendship for him in her heart, wouldn’t that be enough to propel her to act? Maybe.
Or it could backfire. Send her scurrying even deeper into Andrew’s arms, into a future with him, and—like she’d done before—away from Cole. But hell, what did he have to lose?
If he did nothing, he’d gain nothing.
The snow still fell as he walked toward the sports store, where his truck was parked on the street out front, and a magical—dare he say, Christmassy—feeling wove in and wiped out his inner Grinch. He had to try. Had to see if he could resurrect the flame between them.
And if he couldn’t? If Rachel loved Andrew, if he made her happy, then nothing Cole did would change that. But maybe, if luck was with him, the process would allow him to put the past to rest. So he could move on and get Rachel out of his head.
Once and for all.
Chapter Three
Rachel finished loading the dishwasher with the breakfast dishes and faced Andrew, who had just returned to the kitchen after taking a phone call. “What do you want to do today? The snow’s falling a little too thick for skiing, but we could walk around the town, take in the sights, look for a tree...do some Christmas shopping. Whatever you want.”
“I’m sorry, Rachel, but that was the office,” Andrew said, gesturing toward his cell. “There are some issues with a potential client that will likely require my attention.”
“Oh.” Rachel fought off her disappointment. Andrew owned a management consulting firm, and she was already well-versed in the putting-plans-on-hold department. He was busy, traveled extensively and rarely made it through a meal, let alone an entire day, without an interruption. “Well, you warned me this would be a working vacation. Is it serious?”
“Maybe. Too soon to tell yet, but we should probably—”
“Stay in today,” Rachel finished his sentence for him. “That’s fine! We can dig out the Christmas decorations, so they’re ready to go when we find a tree, watch some old movies, play a board game.” An idea occurred to her. A nice, homey, tradition-filled idea. “Hey! Feel like baking some sugar cutouts?”
“You’re amazing, do you know that?” Approaching her, Andrew dropped his phone on the counter and pulled her into a hug. “You’ve never given me grief over my job, over the demands placed on our relationship because of it. I appreciate that in you, Rachel.”
“I’m glad you’ve noticed,” she joked, standing up on her tiptoes to brush her lips over his cheek. “Because sometimes, your job is a pain in the butt.”
“I know it seems that way, especially since your schedule is typically so clear,” he said, referring to Rachel’s careerless life. “But the company is in a crucial period right now. We’re growing fast, which is good, but I have to ascertain we’re able to sustain the growth, see to our existing client base, bring new clients on board, all while expanding and training staff.”
His comment burned, a little, even though she knew he hadn’t meant any harm. She kept herself busy enough with her parents’ social events, where her attendance was deemed mandatory, charitable causes and their functions—of which, there were plenty, and the odd class here and there, when something pulled at her interest.
But Andrew was right. Her schedule was infinitely clearer than his.
“I understand all of that, Andrew, which is why I don’t give you grief.” She appreciated his appreciation, but she’d enjoy his undivided attention a bit more. Especially now, on their first full day in Steamboat Springs. “So...what will it be? Cookies, decorations, games or a movie?”
“Cookies sound—” Andrew jerked to grab his phone, but it wasn’t his cell buzzing. It was Rachel’s “—delicious. Go ahead and get that. I’ll search the cupboards for ingredients.”
Nodding, Rachel answered without looking at the display.
“Hey there, Rach. How’s your morning treating you?” Cole asked, jovial as all get-out.
The sound of his voice—the rich, deep ring of it—sank in like butter melting on a hot, fresh-off-the-griddle pancake. That, along with his upbeat mood, caused her attitude to dip another degree. Still, she kept her tone chipper when she said, “Wonderful. How’s yours?”
“Good. Real good, in fact.” Someone said something on his end that she couldn’t quite catch, but she heard enough to know the speaker was female. Was it her? The complicated, shy-yet-determined Cupcake? “Haley says hi,” Cole said. “And wants to know if you have any clothes you’re angling to give away.”
Haley. Cole’s sister, not his girlfriend.
Rachel laughed, in relief and in humor. Last year, when Haley had stopped by for a visit, she’d raided Rachel’s closet, oohing and ahing at the designer labels. She’d been so excited, Rachel had given her a boxful of outfits: dresses, shirts, pants and a couple of jackets.
Rachel didn’t need them. Her mother shopped to show her love...and she shopped a lot. Which, Rachel supposed, said something. “Tell Haley to stop by whenever,” she said. “My closet is her closet.”
Cole relayed the information. Haley squealed and jabbered something else. Rachel smiled even broader. She adored Cole’s family. For a long while, when she was younger, she’d pretend they were her family. Her parents, her brothers, her sister.
Well, except for Cole. She’d never thought of him as her brother.
“Believe it or not, the reason for my call has nothing to do with my sister’s fetish for clothes,” Cole said, returning his attention to Rachel. “If you’re available—and I’ll understand if you’re not, seeing this is last minute—I thought we could meet up for lunch.”
“Lunch? Today?” Andrew, she saw, had found the flour and sugar. She pointed toward the cupboard that held the mixing bowls. “As in, you and I? Or will your significant other be joining us?” No way, no how would she resort to calling a stranger “Cupcake.”
“I believe she will be present, yes.”
“Really? That fast? I thought you said it would take some time to convince her to meet me. Since she’s so shy and all. Or did I misunderstand you?”
“What can I say? Women are a mystery. Just when I think I have one figured out, they veer off course and I have to start from scratch.” Exhaling a short, noisy sigh, Cole continued, “I gotta say, Rachel, you females are a confusing lot. Say one thing when you mean another. Speak in code half the damn time, and usually, we poor men are left in the dark.”
“Uh-huh. You ‘poor men’ rule the world, rarely call a girl when you say you’re going to, and usually, leave us poor women wondering what we did wrong to elicit such behavior...and scrambling to figure out what we can do to fix it.”
“Sweetheart,” Cole said in that drawling way of his, “the perception might be that men rule the world, but the facts are that women rule the men. Your team has the upper hand in every negotiation with my team. Ask Andrew if you don’t believe me.”
“I’ll do that.” Huh. If that were the case, then why did Rachel forever feel as if she were on the losing team? “Later. But only if you ask your sister.”
“Deal. I’ll be interested in hearing his take,” Cole said with a chuckle. “About lunch?”
“Well...” Rachel stalled, unsure if she was prepared to meet Cole’s Cupcake just yet. “Andrew and I are baking cookies and we might...um...bake a lot. So not really sure if today—”
“Go, Rachel,” Andrew said, pausing his search of her cupboards. “I’ll probably be tied up soon enough with work, anyway. I’m sure we can get at least one batch of cookies baked first.”
“One sec,” she said to Cole. Then, covering the phone with her hand, said to Andrew, “Are you sure? I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”
“Lunch with Cole and his girlfriend, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m sure.” He opened a drawer and discovered the measuring spoons. “You can get out of the house for a bit and I can focus on my job without feeling guilty. Seems like a win-win situation. On all accounts.”
“Right. Win-win.” Discouraged and, not that she’d admit it, somewhat annoyed, Rachel nodded and put the phone next to her ear. “Lunch is fine, Cole. When and where? Foster’s?” she asked, referring to the family-owned restaurant and pub. Where else would they go?
“No,” Cole said after the briefest of pauses. “Let’s go to Dee’s Deli. Say one o’clock?”
“Um. Sure. I’ll see you then.” Hanging up, Rachel smiled absently at Andrew, who was now organizing the items he’d placed on the counter. It was cute. And...homey. “All set.”
“Good. Are you excited to meet Cole’s better half?”
“I’m more interested than excited. As far as her being his better half? I’d say that remains to be seen.” Her irrational irritation at the whole mess broke free with, “He calls her Cupcake. Cupcake! Isn’t that ridiculous? She isn’t a toy poodle, for crying out loud.”
“Perhaps she resembles a toy poodle, hence the nickname?”
“What?” Rachel tried to picture that possibility and came up blank. “You mean if she’s petite and has curly hair? Or...I don’t know, Andrew. How can a woman resemble a poodle?”
