Cole & Jamie

Chapter 31

Cole had truly taken care of everything. Once we landed we were immediately chauffeured to the hospital with plans for our driver to take our luggage back to Cole's place. I almost asked if he'd also hired someone to unpack it for us.

His money could buy almost anything under the sun, except a way to clear this near standstill we were trapped in.  

"Just an FYI if you ever do anything like that again Jackson is fully prepared to stomp you out," I told him as we sat in the after-work traffic.

Cole laughed at the threat. Without a hint of fear, he replied,  "I can't say I blame him. I hate having made such a terrible first impression on your friend."

I shrugged. "Lucky for you, you have plenty of time to make up for it. And Jackson is a big fan of yours. I think he was more upset that I didn't tell him about you being you than the whole supermodel ex-girlfriend thing."

He laid his head on the headrest. "That saves me from one friend at least. Still not going to stop Trish from murdering me."

"I didn't tell her," I admitted.

"You didn't?"

"No. And I'm not going to."

"Oh," he muttered shocked by admission.

It's what's best. Trish is fiercely protective of me, we're all good friends now and I knew if I told her about this that would quickly change. She would never see him in the same way. And I could not spend the rest of my life breaking up fights between them. 

"She doesn't need the stress right now." Or a murder charge.

"Right," he agreed, relieved to live another day. "We should stop by the gift shop to pick up something for the baby."

"That's a good idea." Traffic continued to move slowly causing me to get antsy in the back seat. I wiped a hand across my face. I hoped Trish would attribute my appearance to COle and I's whirlwind travel day, not four days of rotting in bed.

"How was your meeting?" With everything else happening, I had completely forgotten to ask how his meeting with the Star Power executives went.

"I took the job."

I gasped. "You did?!" Embracing him, I cheered, "Cole that is amazing."

He chuckled. "Sugar is very persuasive. And I'll deny it if you ever tell her, but she was right. It's some of the easiest money I'll ever make."

Imagine me having the opportunity to even talk to Sugar made me shake with excitement. I gave him a peck on the lips. "I'm so happy for you."

"You're just happy that you'll get to hang out with Sugar." He knows me so well.

I shrugged. "Added bonus."

He sighed. "It's going to take some adjusting. I'll be traveling more, things may get chaotic for a little while."

"Are you worried for me or yourself?"

He held my hand. "Both maybe? It's been a long time since I've worked on anything, and I know it can take up a lot of my time. My job has gotten in the way of my relationships before."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm not planning to leave you just because you have to work," I assured him. "It's going to take some effort but we're going to make it work."

My words had the desired effect, comforting him. "Rose will be excited, she loves working on these types of things. I hope she doesn't try to put me in anything too crazy."

Suddenly it dawned on me that I may get to see Cole in a suit weekly. Yeah, I think I was going to like this job a lot.

After what felt like years in city traffic we finally made it to the hospital. Our once small town hospital wasn't so small anymore. Some time in the last few years, McKenzie General Hospital had gotten a full renovation changing everything I had ever known about the place.

We made a quick stop at the gift shop buying every baby balloon that the shop had.

Once the nurse at the front desk put her tongue back in her mouth she was finally able to point us in the direction of Trish's room. I rolled my eyes as we got on the elevator. "Is this what life with you is going to be like?"

"Probably," he replied, "Unless I become really ugly."

I looked up at Cole's nearly perfect face. He was a classic kind of handsome, it was never going to go out of style. "I guess we should be grateful she didn't faint."

"I could go into hiding," he suggested. "I have plenty to do at home."

"You're basically a hermit as it is." If he goes into hiding, I'll never be able to get him to go anywhere. "That won't work."

"Well, I guess you're stuck with me exactly as I am."

"Fine, that's how I wanted you anyway."

"Mimi!" Michelle jumped out of her grandmother's lap and made a running start to what I assumed would be my arms. The little speed demon zoomed right past me and jumped onto Cole sending all of the balloons straight to the ceiling."Cole, you're here!"

He patted her back as she squeezed him around the neck. "Wow, Michelle you've gotten strong."

"Yeah, I've got muscles." She flexed her tiny four-year-old arm making the entire room laugh.

I stepped toward the bed where Trish held a small bundle of blankets. "I thought I told you to squeeze your legs together until I got here."

She smiled, clearly exhausted. "Sorry, I tried to hold off but Malcolm was ready to see the world."

Trish stared down at her newborn. Cooing, she said "Isn't that right, handsome? Do you want to hold him?"

"Of course." I immediately scooped her precious new baby into my arms, making sure to protect his head and neck. He looked so sweet. Eyes closed, Malcom slept with his face scrunched up. He already had a thick head of hair just like Michelle did and the sweetest rounded cheeks like a cherub. "He's adorable."

Trish grinned, stating proudly. "I make pretty cute babies." She stretched her arms over her head. Wincing, she slowly lowered them back down. "Joe went to buy me a sushi platter to reward me for all my hard work."

"A whole platter?" I said, impressed.

"Yep, and I'm going to eat the entire thing. I had to suffer for nine long months without so much as a California roll. This is all for me."

Cole stood over my shoulder looking at the baby. "Do you want to hold him?"

"Yeah, sure." We did an awkward swap, me taking Michelle and him taking the baby. Cole's handling of the baby was just as awkward as our hand-off. He stood stiff holding Malcolm close to his chest.

"Cole, you can relax a little. He won't break," Trish told him.

Cole chuckled, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "I guess you can tell I don't hold babies often."

"Hardly ever from the looks of it," she joked. Trish fought to keep her eyes open as she spoke, "I figure if we can handle one, we can handle another."

"You say that now," her mother laughed from the corner. "You and Joe picked the best time to do it. It's better to change one diaper than two."

I hadn't thought about having babies, or even marriage, in I didn't know how long. The two things were never something I yearned for. Sure I thought about them from time to time even more so when Tony proposed and then all I could think about was how much I didn't want those things with him.

Now it was all I could think about. My future came hurdling at me full force in this hospital room. Marriage, and kids, and schools, and minivans—we would never have a minivan. My head was swimming with it all.

Michelle's hand on my cheek brought me back to the present. "Mimi?"

I exhaled. "Yes, Doll?"

"Can Malcolm come to our sleepovers?"

"Of course, as soon as he's big enough."

"I'm going to remember that," Trish said with her eyes closed.