“We both know better than that.” Cole shifted one of the bags from the throbbing fingers of his right hand to Shrek’s untiring grasp.
“I go where my editor sends me.” Rick shook a finger at him. “Now quit dodging my question.”
“I believe Brooke already told you the answer to that question. We definitely aren’t friends.”
“Then why are—”
“We’re much more than friends.” Cole raised his voice, wondering if Brooke was listening inside the apartment door. “I’d say we’re crazy about each other. But Brooke would say we drive each other crazy.”
Titters of laughter rippled through the crowd.
“Are the two of you getting married?” asked a woman from the back.
Cole scrunched his shoulders up and let them drop. “She turned me down, but I haven’t given up.”
“She turned down your proposal?” Rick asked, one eyebrow arched in doubt.
“It’s hard to believe, right?” Cole gave a conspiratorial wink. “What girl wouldn’t want to spend the rest of her life with a hot-tempered, sarcastic guy like me? I was hoping to change her mind, but I’m afraid you guys aren’t helping my cause. So I’m going to have to ask you to leave. My security team will be here any minute.”
“You can’t force us to go anywhere,” said a male voice, and several others shouted their agreement.
“I’m afraid I can,” said Cole. “I’m sure none of you would really be surprised to learn that, as of noon today, I own this entire apartment complex. So you can leave now, or my security team can escort you off the grounds when they arrive, which should be about five minutes from now.”
A chorus of grumbles arose, but Cole only chuckled at them. “Seriously? You have nothing to complain about. You got your scoop and now you have an excuse to go home and enjoy your weekends. Your editors can’t ask you to break the law, can they, Rick?”
Cole could barely see the red glow on Rick’s cheeks in the fading sunlight. “Let me cover the wedding and all is forgiven.”
“Sorry, Rick.” Cole increased his volume, hoping Brooke would hear him. “But if I try to make any decisions about this wedding by myself, there won’t be one.”
“Sounds like you’re hen-pecked already, Cole.”
Cole kept his grin steady, even though Rick’s remark confirmed what he’d already been thinking.
It’s a good thing we only need to be married for five months. There’s no way I could act like this the rest of my life.
“The coast is clear. Will you open the door please?” Cole’s muffled voice filtered inside the apartment.
Brooke stood on her bare tiptoes to look through the peephole as he thudded against the door with his shoulder. Miraculously, the landing appeared to be empty, except for him.
“Why should I let you in?” she asked, still peering out. “You keep trying to make decisions about my life without asking me.”
“But, I have something for you.” He lifted the reusable grocery sacks toward the peephole.
“What’s in those?”
“Open the door and I’ll show you,” he said in a teasing, sing-song tone.
Her eyes crossed, trying to discern the contents of the bags through the distorting lens. “If I let you inside, do you promise you won’t try to talk me into getting married?”
“Ow! I think my arm is about to fall off… literally.”
“Gracious!” She flipped the deadbolt and swung the door open, reaching to relieve his prosthetic arm of its burdens. “Here. Hand those bags to me! I didn’t know you were straining your arm.”
“Not Shrek. He’s perfectly fine.” Cole strolled inside like he owned the place and dumped all the sacks on the table, arranging them in a perfect line. “It’s my real hand whose fingers are about to fall off.”
Though he’d tricked her into letting him in without making a promise, she was already having a hard time holding onto her anger. After all, he had gotten rid of all those reporters.
Leash trailing behind him, Cole’s huge dog came to sniff her hand. From his intense stare, she had the distinct feeling the dog was assessing her worth, yet his tail was wagging. He pushed his head under her hand, and she obediently rubbed his ears.
“You’ve made a friend for life.” Cole returned to take the leash off.
“What did you say his name was?”
“I call him Gus, but his real name is Argus.”
The huge dog edged closer and pushed against her leg, almost knocking her off balance.
Cole chuckled. “Watch out—he’s a leaner. And he’s stubborn. Plus, he slobbers a lot. But other than that, he’s a great dog.”
Cole directed Gus to lie down close to the door, and he obeyed… eventually… after nosing around a bit.
“I see what you meant by stubborn. I like dogs, but I doubt one would be happy staying in the apartment all day.” The thought reminded her of his earlier announcement. “By the way, why did you buy these apartments?”
Cole’s dimples winked at her. “I don’t own the apartments.”
She refused to be swayed by his adorable, lopsided smile. “So you lied? And earlier you were fussing at me about lying.”
