Ignoring the burn of something I refused (once again) to admit was jealousy, I fiddled with the files, trying to remember what I’d been in the middle of doing before Cole turned a client meeting into a date.

“Hmm.”

My head jerked up at the noise.

Simon was standing in the middle of the studio staring at the door.

“Hmm, what?”

He shrugged before slowly turning his gaze on me. “Cole rarely does that.”

Not that I cared . . . but, “Does what?”

“Asks clients out. Did it once a few years back, but she was a regular and they dated for about six months, I think.”

I snorted. It was hard to believe Cole lasted six months with a girl.

“I’m saying”—Simon stepped toward me, sounding just as impatient as Cole had sounded earlier—“perhaps he just did it to piss someone off.”

Someone as in me?

I made a face, staring at the door where he’d left. “How very mature,” I muttered.

“What happened between you two?”

“Nothing,” I hurried to assure him. “Absolutely nothing.”

Now it was Simon’s turn to snort. “Funny how absolutely nothing can make the most laid-back guy I know act like a pissy little fucker.”

“Funny, that,” I murmured, looking down at my work and refusing to look back up again until I felt him leave.

It would be an understatement to say I was glad when Thursday rolled around. I jumped on a bus that took me to Portobello. I sat at an angle at one end of the beach promenade and began to sketch the houses along it where the land curved around the sand and water stretched out in front of me.

It was peaceful and for a little while I didn’t think about my family or Cole or anything upsetting.

I thought Friday was going just as well until later that evening Rae invited me out for a drink. I wanted to say no because I knew Cole would be there, but I’d already declined the previous night and I knew Rae wouldn’t take no for an answer again.

Weirdly, Rae’s friendship had come to mean something to me. I was lonely in Edinburgh and she was the only thing keeping me from feeling not so lonely. I didn’t want to inadvertently push her away in my bid to avoid Cole.

To my everlasting relief, however, I discovered Cole wasn’t at the pub. Just Simon and Tony.

Rae and I sat down with a fresh round for the boys. “Where is His Gorgeousness tonight?” she asked.

Simon grinned. “Getting sexier. He, Cam, and Nate are at that judo tournament in London. They get back late tonight.”

Curiosity got the best of me. “Judo?”

Rae nodded. “Our boss is a badass. Not only is he a kickboxer, but he has a black belt in judo with some number attached to it or something. I don’t know. Suffice to say he’s good at it. His brother-in-law, Cam, and Cam’s best mate, Nate, are also black belts. I think Nate coaches.”

Well, that explained Cole’s fantastic body.

Clearly I wasn’t the only one who thought he had an amazing body, because Simon started laughing at the glazed look that had come over Tony’s eyes. “Snap out of it, man.”

“Sorry.” Tony smiled wickedly. “I just got lost in the picture of those three throwing one another around.”

The others laughed, but Rae sensed my confusion. “Cole’s brother-in-law is this rugged, sexy guy in his late thirties. Nate’s the same age, I think, but he’s—”

“Fuck me,” Tony interrupted. “Nate is fuck-me gorgeous.”

“And straight,” Rae said, causing Tony to stare stonily at her. She turned to me. “Cam married Cole’s sister years ago when Cole was fourteen or fifteen or something. Jo is a female version of Cole—so fucking beautiful you want to hate her. But she practically raised Cole on her own, so she’s kind of awesome. She also gave birth to the most disgustingly cute little wretch ever. Her name is Belle, she’s nearly four, and she could charm your last tenner off you.” Rae pulled out her phone and started flicking through it. “Here.” She put it up to my face, showing me a photograph of Cole laughing as he held a stunning little girl with a mass of strawberry blond curls in his arms. She had her arms wrapped tight around his neck while her head rested in the crook of it. She was facing the camera wearing this wide, delighted grin.

My eyebrows drew together. The image of Cole as an adoring uncle pricked at something inside me. “They look close.”

“Oh, they are.” Rae put her phone away. “I tease the shit out of him about it. Big fucking softie. He’d kill for that wee girl. For all of his family.”

“Aye, they’re close,” Simon agreed.

“Fucking Brady Bunch.” Rae grunted.

“Jealous, darling?” Tony raised an eyebrow at her.

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

As I listened to my new friends tease one another, I began to feel a little uneasy. The idea of Cole as a family man just didn’t sit right with the person I’d drawn in my head. I began to worry my lip between my teeth.

“What about you, Shannon?” Simon’s voice jerked me out of my grim thoughts. “Will we get to meet any friends and family from Glasgow?”

I tried not to visibly tense. “I’m not really close to my family.”

He nodded as if he understood. “What about friends, then?”

Friends?

No. Unfortunately I’d lost most of those . . .

*   *   *

I sipped at the glass of wine I’d poured myself. I was almost ready for my first night out with the girls in ages, and I was giddy with excitement. I couldn’t wait to catch up with them in Merchant City, have some good food and a few drinks, and party the night away. It felt like forever since I’d blown off some steam.