How Many Chances (20 page)

“Jesus, Ally,” he cried out as she brought her tongue back up his cock until she reached the tip once again. She flashed a look up at him through her long eyelashes before she took his throbbing cock into he
r mouth and slowly slid her lips down his entire shaft taking him deep in her mouth.

Cole to
ok hold of her head as he gently rocked in and out of her mouth. She sucked hard and she could taste little tiny droplet of salty wetness in her mouth. She knew he was close.

Suddenly he pulled himself from her mouth and reaching down he grabbed her
. With once swift movement she was back up on the bed and he was climbing on top of her and between her legs.

He slid
his cock into her slowly, knowing if he did this fast it would be over, He pulled her closer to him and claimed her mouth with his as he began to thrust into her with slow, steady movements.

“Ally, baby,” he panted as he pushed into her deeper. “I fucking love you.”

Ally smiled as her eyes held his, both now gasping for breath. He pushed into her again and again as Ally cried out but Cole claimed her mouth with his and her cries were lost.

Once again her orgasm
ripped through her body as Cole slammed into harder and harder until he came, pumping his hot load deep inside her before he collapsed on top of her. He buried his face in her chest and held her tightly.

“Cole,” Ally whispered as she softly brushed his hair. He didn’t respond. Ally could feel his breathing change once again and she knew something was wrong
. “Please talk to me.”

But he didn’t say a word.
She could feel his body shake and she knew he was struggling hard to keep his emotions in check.

“Cole, baby,” she whispered softly and she drew him close
r to her. “It’s okay. It’s me. Please don’t hide from me. It’s okay to let it out. Let it go.”

Suddenly a heart breaking sob escape from deep within Cole as he buried h
is face into her deeper.

“It’s okay,” she cried a
s the tears trickled down her face. “I have you. I love you so much.”

They both lay wrapped in each other’s arms, both consumed with grief. Cole for the child he had just lost and Ally for the man she would have done anything for
, to take his pain away.

When they both had cried until there were no more tears. Cole wrapped Ally in his arms and
held her to him so tightly.

“Please don’t ever leave me.” He whispered sleepily. “I have lost Ben and my heart felt shattered, but if I didn’t have you too. My life would not be worth living.”

“We are forever, Cole,” Ally sighed as her eyes grew heavier. “It’s me and you against the world.”

The
y both drifted off to sleep, each lost in their own heart break. But stronger then they had ever been before.

When Ally woke, Cole was already up and dressed. She couldn’t help but think just how sexy he looked dressed in his black suit, white shirt and black tie.

He turned and saw her watching him and he smiled brightly
.

“Good morning, gorgeous girl,” he chirp
ed as he straightened his tie in the mirror on the back of the wardrobe door.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Ally asked sitting up in the bed
and staring at Cole.

“I
feel great,” he said with a smile and Ally was surprised. If she hadn’t have spent the night before comforting this devastated man she might have actually believed him. But she knew he was putting up a front and she sighed. She still wanted to talk to him. She needed to know what he was thinking. But she knew his wall was up and she wasn’t sure how to get past it.

“I have a
few meetings today,” Cole said walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed next to Ally. “I know we were to stay here till the weekend. But I was thinking maybe we could go home tonight.”

“Okay,” Ally was surprised by his request.
But she decided she would go alone with whatever mad him happy. “But I promised your Mom I would do lunch with her before I went back.”

“Ring her and asked her to meet you today.” Cole suggested
, and again Ally was completely taken back by his happy, upbeat mood. “I am sure she would love to come into London for the day and meet you for lunch. It might be fun.”

“Okay, I will call her,” Ally nodded
completely confused by this up beat behaviour.

“Okay, I will get through these meetings a
s quickly as possible,” he leaned over and kissed Ally softly on the lips and then smiled at her. “Then we can go home and start planning our wedding.”

Ally smiled but she was thrown by Cole’s behaviour. It almost seemed like
yesterday hadn’t happened.

He stood up and walked to the door.

“Cole,” Ally said nervously, unable to say nothing any longer. “What about Steph and Ben?”

“What about them?” Cole said
, stopping at the door and turning back to Ally, the look on his face completely unreadable.

“Well,” Ally swallowed and half regretti
ng bringing them up but she had now so she continued. “What will happen to them now?”

“I have no idea,” Cole replied
with a shrug. Though he was looking at Ally, he was miles away in his head. “She has been given two weeks to get out of the house and the bank accounts have been closed.”

“But she will have nothing.” Ally said surprising herself.

“And that’s my problem how?” he asked in a callous tone Ally had never heard from Cole before.

“Well it’s not,” Ally said, her voice suddenly becoming smaller. “But what about Ben?”

“What about him?” Cole sighed sounding a little impatient with Ally. He pinched the bridge of his nose to relieve the tension that was building up in his head. “He is not my responsibility. He isn’t mine so why should I care about him.”

“
But Cole, you loved him.” Ally said completely shocked by what Cole had just said.

“Yes,” he replied and looked directly at Ally. “And look where that got me. Everyone said I needed to not get attached. To have a DNA test, even you. But I
thought I knew better. And now I look like a complete fool.”

“You were
just taken in by that bitch,” Ally said getting up out of the bed and walking towards Cole. She took his face in her hands. “The only thing you are guilty of is having a good heart and being a good man. You fell in love with that little boy. You shouldn’t beat yourself up over this.”

“Well it won’t happen again,” Col
e said looking Ally straight in the eye, a strange expression on his face.

“Well of course it will never happen again,” Ally smiled and kissed him tenderly. “You have me now and I would never lie to you like she did.”

“No,” Cole replied taking hold of Ally’s hands and taking them from his face. “I mean I will never fall in love with a baby again. Because there will be no more babies.”

Ally looked at Cole in confusion. She knew he was upset but he word
s completely stunned her.

“I never wanted a family Ally,” Cole explained. “Children complicate things
. Besides I have a demanding job. I travel a lot. It will be hard enough to leave you when I go away on business. But to leave you with a child. What sort of a father would that make me?”

Ally was speechless. She had no idea where this had come from. She had never really thought about a family before but now it
was taken off the table. Was it something she was prepared to give up? She wasn’t really sure how she felt.

“Look I am going to be la
te,” Cole sighed as he looked at his watch. “Call Mom and see if she is free. I am sure she would love to go to lunch with you. I will be back by six at the latest. I will arrange the flight for about eight o’clock and we can go home to Dublin.”

He kissed Ally on the lips and turned and walked out of the bedroom leaving her standing in the middle of the room in complete and utter shock.

Ally turned and headed to the bathroom and turned on the taps in the shower. Then she turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She barely recognised herself. She was pale and thinner. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed with red from all the crying she had done in the past few days.

Suddenly the room felt like it was spinning and she gripped the sink to steady herself. She pinched her eyes shut and took
deep, slow, steadying breaths.

Ally knew she need to learn to keep calm and not get so upset. Ally was always the same when something bothered her. Even as a child when she was stressed out or anxious she would vomit.

But she had never reacted as badly as she had to all the upset she had been through the last couple of weeks. But then she had been through quite a lot.

W
hen the feeling of nausea and dizziness past she turned and stepped into the shower. She felt lifeless and hollow. She replayed the conversation she just had with Cole in her head over and over again.

She stood beneath the water and she thought about his word
s. Could she give up a life with kids for a life time with Cole Thomas? The truth was she couldn’t imagine living with anyone else. He was her other half. He completed her.

By the time she climb
ed out of the shower she felt so confused. She loved Cole, there was no question of that. But he had just unilaterally made the biggest decision of both their lives, and Ally was angry.

When she dried herself she stood in the wardrobe staring at her clothes blankly in her bra and panties lost in a world of her own.

Suddenly her phone started ringing from the bedroom and she rushed out to answer it before it rang off.

“Hello.” Ally answered as she flopped onto the bed.

“Hi, Ally.” The voice at the far end of the line chirped. Ally instantly recognised the voice of Cole’s mom, Ella. “Cole called me and said you were hoping to meet up for lunch today. I am actually heading into London this morning on some errands. I would love to meet you at, say twelve thirty.”

“That sound
s perfect.” Ally replied and despite her down beat mood, she couldn’t help but smile at the idea of lunch with this lovely lady. “Where would you like to meet?”

“How about I stop by and collect you,”
she suggested. “Then we can decide where to go from there.”

“Perfect,” Ally replied happily.

“I will see you at twelve thirty,” Ella said happily before she hung up. Ally stood up and walked back into the wardrobe with a little more purpose.

At exactly twelve thirty reception called up to say Ella was there and waiting in the car. Ally grabbed her bag and, waving goodbye to Annette, she made her way down to the reception and out into
the waiting car.

“Lovely to see you again, Ally,” Ella exclaimed as Ally slipped into the back seat next to
her. “How have you been?”

“I’m good,” Ally replied with a smile but the look on Ella’s face made Ally’s smile fade a little.

“What’s happened?” Ella asked immediately sensing something was very wrong. To Ally’s horror tears filled her eyes but she quickly blinked them back. But it was too late, she had seen them and reached out and took Ally’s hand. “It’s okay, you can talk to me and tell me how I can help. I know exactly where to go for lunch. And you can tell me everything.”

Ally smiled and instantly felt better. She really liked this lovely woman. She thought of her own mother and wondered if she had have been still alive, would she have had the relationship
with her she believed she would have with Ella. Her Mom was her Mom. She there were times Ally felt like she was in her way too. Now at least, she knew why. She knew Cole’s mom was different. She was special.

Ella brought Ally to a small little Irish pub
and Ally was surprised that the lady behind the bar knew Ella. The two ladies greeted each other very warmly and Ella introduce Ally as her future daughter-in-law. Then she explained the woman, whose name was Eve, was one of her best friends and was once Ella’s roommate when they were both young, free and single when Eve was fresh off the boat from Ireland.

Eve showed them to a private little alcove
at the back of the pub and gave them both a menu and left to get them both a drink.

“So tell me,” Ella said once they were both alone.

“I really don’t know where to start,” Ally replied not knowing what she should or shouldn’t tell her, after all she was Cole’s mom. How could she betray Cole by turning to her about their problems?

“How about at the beginning,” Ella replied, reaching over and talking Ally’s hand. And before Ally knew it she began to talk and told Ella everything.

“Oh sweetheart,” she exclaimed when Ally was finished telling her, her story. “No wonder you are so upset.”

“Ella I don’t know what to do,” Ally replied honestly. “I love Cole so much, but he is shutting me out. He has made this huge decision for us both and it’s like I have no say. I love him so much and I can’t imagine spend
ing my life without him. But I don’t know if children are something I want to give up.”

“Ally,” Ella said taking her hand. “Cole is hurt. He feels embarrassed and angry, probably with himself as much and that god awful Stephanie girl. He doesn’t know how to deal with his feelings so he has put his barriers up. But he loves you Ally. I could see that in his face when he came home before Christmas and told us he met the woman he was going to marry. Please, just give him
some time.”

“I will give him all the time he needs,” Ally said with a smile. And she meant it.
“Ella, I love Cole. I will give him whatever he needs.”

When they had finished their lunch, Ella dropped Ally back to Cole
’s apartment.

“Please k
eep in touch,” she said as she hugged Ally tightly. “And remember I am only ever a phone call away if you ever want to talk. And anything we discuss will always be between us. I promise you that.”

“Thank you Ella,” Ally replied with
a grateful smile. “I promise I will make sure Cole visit’s more often.”

“I know you will,” Ella laughed. “I am so glad he has you. I don’t have to worry about him anymore. I know he is in good hands.”

Ally hugged Ella once more before she climbed out of the car and headed into the building, giving Ella one last wave before she disappeared in through the doors.

She knew she still had to sort things out with Cole, but she promise
d Ella she would give him time and that was just what she intended to do. She knew she could do this for him. She could do this for them both.

When she got up to her apartment she found Annette in Cole’s wardrobe packing their belongings. She explained Cole had asked her that morning to make sure they were packed and ready to leave once he got home.

Despite Annette’s protests, Ally insisted on helping the girl pack and together they had it done it no time at all.

When they were done, Annette asked Ally if she fancied some tea. Ally
said yes but only if she would join her for a cup then explained she needed to make a couple of calls first.

Ally made a quick call to both Hannah and Caitlin informing them both she was coming home that night and she would catch up with them for lunch the next day. Both wanted to hear all about the proposal and what the hell had happened with Sean Fitzmaurice. She promised she would tell them everything tomorrow before she hung up.

She called up Nans phone number and stared at it for a few minutes before she closed up her phone and slid it back into her pocket. She couldn’t face talking to Nan just yet. Despite Cole’s insistence that Nan knew nothing, Ally still had her doubts. She would wait till she got home and talk to her face to face.

She joined Annette in the kitchen and was greeted brightly by the girl when she spotted Ally walking into the kitchen. Both girls sat
on the high stools at the breakfast counter and chatted happily as they drank tea and tucked into a plate of chocolate chip cookies.