He smiles and adds, “I don’t, but I will.”
I rip my hands out of his grip and shove his away as fast as possible. “So you’re engaged.”
“No, I’m not, but I’m sure that one day you’ll marry me.” The confidence in him is sexier than I’ve ever thought it could be.
The independent woman in me is screaming to be repulsed by his attitude. Instead, I find myself intrigued by it. “Oh, really?”
Chapter Three
Cole
I can’t believe the way I’m behaving, but all I can think about is getting her out of here and putting my baby inside of her. If Jason spoke this way to my sister, I would have knocked his ass out. I just can’t help myself.
Fuck, she’s special. I feel it deep within me. Aviana’s eyes scorched my skin, branding me hers the second she lifted them up to meet mine. She’s pissed at me, but I deserve it. I want her to fall in love with me because I’m sure I’m already half-way there.
My father used to say that he met my mother and fell for her in a heartbeat, but I didn’t believe it until they died. She’d been the only one to strike him as different, perfect. And they lived that way, in love until their last breaths. In fact, my mother passed first from her injuries hours before my father.
The second he woke up, he asked about my mother. We couldn’t hide the grief. His last words to me were, “I love you kids, but I can’t exist without your mother. My love is too strong. Never settle for less. Please, Cole, take care of your siblings.” An hour later, he succumbed to his injuries.
Now, I get what he truly meant in full force. Aviana is that love for me. My body went from not caring if women even existed to be obsessed with one woman in an instant.
The door opens, but I’m too busy staring at her. It’s probably just her friend. “What the fuck, Cole?” Bishop shoves my shoulder, nearly knocking me off my chair. I deserve it too.
“I knew you’d come to check her out,” he snarls. Fuck. I totally forgot about him seeing her first and professing that he loved her.
“You two know each other?” Aviana shouts. Her eyes narrow, and she glares at us.
Bishop leans on the bar and smiles at her, making me want to slam his head on the surface. “Yeah, this asshole is my brother. He wants to see if you’re good enough for me.”
I look at her, trying to find the words to say he’s lying, but I falter, and she lets me have it. “What? So everything you just said was a fucking ruse. You wanted me to fall for your bullshit lines, so you could prove to him that I’m not good enough. Get out! Both of you leave me alone.”
She storms into the back and hollers, “Maurice, I’m gone for the night. Just a heads up, you have two players out there looking for some action.”
A big older man comes out of the back and shakes his head. He could be her father, but I don’t see a resemblance. “Damn, I’ve never seen her so rattled. Not since her parents ran out on her. And I can see why. You’re back. I thought she told you she wasn’t interested.” That catches my attention. Bishop said she wanted him. Fucking drunk liar.
“She’s not pissed at me. My brother, though, she’s ready to deck his ass,” he laughs out, poking my bicep.
“You need to take your drunk ass back to the hotel.” I get up and walk out of the bar. There’s no way I can just let her walk out of my life. I have two days to convince her to give us a chance, but I will have to move my schedule around and stay if that’s what it takes.
I want her more than I want my next breath, but I’m not going to feel guilty about it. I love my brother, but I’ve been taking care of him all this time. It’s time I took care of myself.
There’s a small parking lot behind the bar, so I make my way there to stop her. Hopefully, she’s not that damn fast, or I’m going to have to get her address from her boss.
As soon as I step around the building, I see a couple of college boys in their polos and shorts approach her. They look like the fucks I saw earlier. “Ah, so fucking hot. How about you join us, baby?”
“Get away from me,” Aviana orders as I move toward them.
“Come on. You wanted our tips at the bar. Well, we got more of that where it came from.” His hand reaches out and touches her bicep.
She yanks her arm away, but I lose my shit and rush the fucker, sending him to the pavement. His boys back up as I start whooping his ass, punching him in the face and gut.