Break In Two (43 page)

New Year's Eve was unusually warm for that time of year. Janet and Ted had invited Claire and Cole to a party at a swanky club, Rain. Claire and Janet spent the afternoon shopping and getting their hair done for the big party. Claire left her hair down but had the chocolate brown colour freshened up and it was s
tyled in long, sexy waves. Janet opted for blonde highlights and an up-do.

Cole got showered and ready to go at the hotel. Ted had taken him along earlier to the tux rental shop, where he was picking up his own tux. Cole rented a black dinner suit with a white shirt and a black silk tie. When he was ready, he checked the time. He didn't need to be at the house for another half hour, so he decided to go for a walk and see if he could buy some flowers.

He found a flower shop a few blocks away and decided to get a bouquet of red roses for Claire and white for Janet. The ladies in the store gawked shamelessly at him as he made his purchases and left. He looked like James Bond come to life, with his confident stride and calm demeanour.

He walked along down the street, taking in the sights as night fell over London. He sighed, realizing he would have to leave in two days and Claire wouldn't be with him. There were no seats left on his flight so she wouldn't get back to Colorado until January 5th. He wished he could stay so they could travel together, he had spent enough time away from her for one lifetime. But if everything went well tonight, he would be leaving England an engaged man.

When he reached Janet and Ted's, he jogged up the steps, his heart racing with a nervous energy. He knocked on the door and it was opened almost immediately by Ted, dressed in his tux.

Ted looked at the two packages of flowers, "For me, Cole? You shouldn't have."

Cole laughed and stepped inside, taking off his overcoat.

"You ready, buddy?" Ted asked him quietly.

Cole tapped the breast pocket of his jacket, "I'm all set. Thanks again for running me around town to find a ring the other day, Ted. I really appreciate it."

"Glad to do it. Ought to score me some points with the wife when she finds out how romantic I can be," he said with a wink.

"I'll make sure I put in a good word for you. So are the ladies almost ready?"

"Who knows? They've been in the bathroom giggling away for an hour now. I seriously can't imagine what could possibly take so long, when they already had their hair done at a salon."

"Women are a mystery for many, many reasons," Cole said, nodding his head in wonder.

"You can say that again," Ted said in agreement. He then turned and yelled down the hall, "Ladies! You were already beautiful when you went in there. If you don't come out soon, Cole and I will need to shave again before we can leave!"

A moment later the door to the bathroom opened, and Janet and Claire came walking down the hall.

Ted let out a puff of air, "I take it back, you're worth the wait." He gave Janet a kiss.

Cole swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes off Claire, "Wow, Ms. Hatley, you look amazing," he said as she stopped in front of him.

She was stunning in a strapless mini-dress in peacock blue with a contrasting high-cut cocktail length overlay in black lace. Her dress showed off her curves perfectly without being at all revealing. From her hair falling softly around her shoulders to her strappy black heels, she had a classic, romantic look. Cole stared at her, trying to memorize every detail of how she looked at that moment. Best of all, was the expression on her face. Her eyes were smiling as she took in the sight of him in his dinner suit.

Cole reached down and picked up her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, giving her a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. His smile said everything he was thinking. He was completely in love with this beautiful woman standing before him.

He lifted the two bouquets off the table and handed each of the sisters their respective packages, "Happy New Year," he said.

"Flowers? Look Ted. Cole bought me flowers," Janet said, opening the top of the package, "Roses, even. I can't remember the last time anyone gave me roses. Can you, Ted? Can you remember the last time anyone gave me roses?"

Ted gave Cole a dirty look.

"Sorry, man," Cole said, "I'm the new guy here, so I'm still trying to impress everyone."

Cole's eyes grew wide as he glanced over at Claire, "Not that I'm going to stop trying, Claire."

Claire reached up and kissed him on the mouth, "Consider me impressed. Don't let Thoughtless over there worry you about some non-existent bro-code."

"Thoughtless? Thoughtless?" Ted replied, looking shocked, "If it weren't for me, Mr. Perfect over there would be wearing jeans and a t-shirt."

"True. Thank you, Ted," Cole said, holding his arm out for Claire, "Shall we go?"

"Yes," Janet and Claire replied together.

The party was in full swing by the time the foursome arrived. The ladies were dressed in all manner of eveningwear from elegant to more on the wild side. The nightclub shimmered with silver and gold decorations set up for the event. The music was pumping out of the speakers as they checked their coats and found their way through the crowd to their table. Several of Janet's colleagues sat around the table already, deep in conversation. Claire recognized most of them from Christmas dinner. They stopped talking when the newcomers arrived and greeted them, Janet making introductions. One of Janet's work friends, Cynthia, couldn't keep her eyes off of Cole. Her mouth practically hung open as she stared at him. Claire couldn't help but to laugh to herself. She really couldn't blame her.

Glasses of champagne were being passed around by waiters dressed in white tails. Cole took two and passed them to Janet and Claire, then grabbed
two more for himself and Ted.

"To new beginnings," he said, lifting his flute to them.

The three repeated the toast and they all downed their champagne.

A remix of Daft Punk's
Get Lucky
started to play, and Claire pulled Cole onto the dance floor to take a spin. "We've never danced at a club before. I want to check out your moves."

"That's a lot of pressure for a guy," Cole said, leaning into her ear so she could hear him.
 

Claire grinned at him as they moved their bodies along with the sexy beat. She was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable he seemed on the dance floor. He held her hips lightly with his hands and swayed with her. He spun her around and moved in close to her, keeping things just this side of indecent. His hands slid down her bottom and to the tops of her thighs.

He could feel that she had suspenders holding up her thigh high silk stockings, he gave a little groan, "I really want to see what's under that dress."

"Play your cards right and I might let you," she teased.

Cole grinned and then kissed her. They stayed on the dance floor for a few songs flirting and letting the music ignite a feeling of excitement in them.

"Let's go get another drink," Cole called to her, as they made their way through the crowd.

Claire flagged down a server with a tray of cocktails. Cole spied the buffet table, "Let's go get you something to eat. We need to fatten you up a bit. You're still too damn skinny."

Claire slipped her hand into his as they walked over to the buffet table. Suddenly, she stopped short as she realized they were about to walk right up to Luc. He was standing near the table, talking with a group of well-dressed party goers. He stopped speaking when he saw her, his eyes smiling at her as he looked from her to Cole. He excused himself and strode over to the pair.

"Claire, you look lovely," Luc said, kissing her on both cheeks, "And this must be the man yo
u couldn't get off your mind."

Luc extended his hand to Cole, "Luc Chevalier, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Cole shook his hand, looking slightly confused, "Cole Mitchell."

Claire spoke up, feeling rather awkward, "Cole, Luc is the friend that I made on the flight to London. He has some interesting insights into the female mind."

"One could say I am a student of human nature, but that my observations are not always welcome," Luc added.

Cole remembered the conversation that he had with Claire about why she really left Colorado. He felt suddenly very uncomfortable, knowing that this man was aware of their break up.

The three stood in an awkward silence for a moment.

"So, Luc, is this one of your clubs?" Claire asked.

Luc nodded, "It is my most successful one actually. I'm very happy with how it is doing," he paused and then shook his head a little, "What a strange coincidence that we keep running into each other."

Claire smiled, "I think it must be because I had a lot to learn from you and tonight because I owe you an apology. I'm sorry I stormed off on you, a lot of what you said was true."

"You don't have to apologize. I was being brash," Luc shrugged. "But more importantly, it looks like things have turned out the way you hoped."

He turned to Cole, "I am happy for you both. Cole, you are a lucky man. Claire is an extraordinary woman."

Cole reached around her waist with his arm and pulled her to him, "That she is, Luc. Thank you. This is an amazing club, by the way. I've never seen anything like it."

"I can't take credit for it. I have an excellent team," he paused, "...and I see one of them trying to get my attention right now. I must excuse myself, it's not all pleasure for me at an event like this. Happy new year to you both," Luc smiled warmly and patted Claire on the arm.

To Cole he said, "Take care of her."

"I will," Cole replied.

As Luc walked away, Claire looked up at Cole, trying to gage his mood. He smiled down at her, "It's okay, Claire. I'm totally fine." He gave her a little peck on the forehead.

"I'm glad. When we saw him, I was worried it would ruin our evening."

"No chance of that, Gorgeous. Now, let's eat."

As the clock neared midnight, Claire noticed that Cole seemed a bit distracted and was checking his watch a lot.

"Are you feeling okay, honey? You seem quiet. Do you need to go back to the hotel?"

"I'm great, really. I could use some fresh air though. Would you mind coming out onto the balcony with me for a bit?"

"Sure," Claire responded, grateful at the thought of getting out of the now stuffy nightclub.

As they walked through the door, a rush of cool air hit their faces. The sound of the music became surprisingly quiet as the door closed behind them. Cole held Claire's hand as they walked to the opposite end of the balcony. The club had an excellent vantage point of London's South Bank, creating a romantic backdrop.

"That's better," Cole said, taking in the fresh air and the quiet. He shrugged off his dinner coat and wrapped it around Claire's shoulders, "Here," he said quietly, "I don't want you to get chilled."

"You always take such good care of me," Claire said, turning to face him.

Cole leaned down and kissed her softly, "It's one of the only things I want to do, Claire. I want to take care of you and protect you and love you."

"Good, because I want to let you," she said, teasing him.

Cole smiled at her joke and then his smile faded.

Cole swallowed hard, his heart pounding as he stared at her, "Claire, I had a good enough life before you came along. I had my family and the ranch and I thought I was happy. But when I met you, I realized how much was missing. You are the sexiest, most beautiful and fun woman on the planet. You're so smart and you have the most generous nature of anyone I've ever met. When you left, it was the worst moment of my life because I knew without a doubt that you were the only woman I would ever want to be with and you were gone."