Chapter 16: Jealousy

That evening
Cole pulled up at the hall where the wedding practice would take place. He parked then unbuckled Emerald who was playing with his phone. He carried her inside and looked around for Harper; she wasn’t there yet. She didn’t need to be early or anything since she didn’t have an official place in the wedding anyways. He, on the other hand, was Harvey’s best man. “Glad you could make it,” Harvey said. Cole grinned, “You know I would show.” “I was doubting that since I heard that my sister was in town.” Cole sobered quickly; did Harvey still believe that he wasn’t over Harper? Was he actually over Harper? As a soldier, he refused to lie to himself; when he wasn’t around her, it was easy to pretend that he was over her, but with her so near now, he could see the glaring truth-no, he wasn’t over her. However, that didn’t mean that he was going to act up that. If he recalled correctly, she was the one who was packing and planned to walk out on him, he’d only left first to make it easier for himself. He turned to Harvey, “Harper spent the day at Paige’s. She was tired.” Harvey gave him a weird look then nodded, “As your best friend, I want you to be happy. If that’s with Kate, then so be it. But if not, then you need to stop playing around.” Cole glanced over at Kate. Was he happy with her? As a friend maybe but not more. “Yeah, I know,” was all he said before Harvey’s fiance made her way over. “Cole Martinson,” she said with a friendly glare. He gave her a side hug since Emerald was in his other arm, “Kira.” Kira was Kate’s older sister. “And this must be Emerald. I’ve heard all about this little pumpkin.” She proceeded to gush over Emerald who clearly enjoyed the attention.
Harper walked into the hall and immediately noticed Cole and a woman who was gushing over Emerald. Jealousy reared its ugly head, the bitch. But then she noticed Harvey standing nearby and he had eyes only on the woman. So she must be Harvey’s fiance. As soon as she settled down, another woman, clearly related to the first, sauntered over and gave Cole a kiss. If she was jealous before, she was downright pissed now. That woman had some nerve. But then she remembered she was the one who ultimately broke up with him. He had every right to move on. That did nothing to cool the simmering anger inside. What did was the knowledge that should she chose, she could do the exact same thing and Cole would be at her mercy. She saw the way he looked at her when she was getting out of the car earlier today. But she refrained from doing anything about it. She couldn’t lead him on to think that they could have something together for two reasons. One-she wasn’t sure she wanted them to be together again. Two-she wasn’t sure he wanted them to be together again. I mean, he was smiling over there. He looked happy. For all she knew, he could be in a happy relationship with the chick who clearly had no interest in Emerald.
She was broken out of her thoughts when Harvey spotted her. “Harper!” he called. Cole’s head snapped over so fast she winced. His eyes lit up and a slow smile spread across his face. “Mommy!” Emerald said. The woman who kissed Cole looked between her and him then glared at her. Okay, so this bitch really was gonna go there. Two could play at this game. Harper walked over, “Hi.” Harvey drug her into a hug, “Sis, how have you been?” “Good, good. You?” “Great! I want you to meet my fiance Kira. Kira, this is my little sis Harper.” Kira smiled a huge, genuine smile that reached her eyes as she grabbed Harper’s hands, “Oh my God, It’s so good to finally meet you! Harvey’s told me so much about you! I’m sure we’ll get along fine!” Harper couldn’t contain the smile on her face: Kira’s was contagious. She knew she instantly liked this woman. “It’s good to meet you too! Harvey talks about you nonstop.” Kira air-kissed Harvey who kissed her back for real. Yeah, they were in love. “Harper, this is Kate, Kira’s younger sister,” Harvey said. The woman pasted on a fake smile, “Nice to meet you, Harper. I’ve heard all about you.” Harper disliked the woman instantly; how could two sisters be so different? “Nice to meet you too. I didn’t know Kira had such a charming sister.” Kate glanced at Cole who looked downright amused. She glowered at him. Harvey seemed to notice the tension because he cleared his throat, “Well, uh, we’ll be starting in a few minutes once everyone arrives.” Kate didn’t seem to get the memo because she turned to Harper, “Are you the ex that left Cole and took his kid?” A low jab. “Kate!” Kira chided. Harper’s first response was to punch her in the face but Emerald was right there. “Kate,” Cole warned. Harper was glad she had an ally here but this was something she had to do on her own. She looked Kate right in the eye, “Yeah, why?” Kate clearly had not been expecting a straight answer because she stuttered before saying, “Well...uh...that’s….uh….awful!” “Yes, and I’m sure sending my infant over to Afghanistan to be with her father would’ve been much better.” She chanced a glance at Cole saw the conflicting emotions in his eyes. On the one hand, this was a painful topic to talk about, but on the other, he was proud of her comeback. Kate, sensing her defeat on the topic, huffed, “When is this practice going to begin? I can’t wait to dance with the best man.” She gave Cole a flirtatious smile which he returned with one of his own.
Harper wanted to roll her eyes but before she could, Harvey announced the beginning of the practice. So, like the good sister she was, she took a seat with Emerald and watched the wedding that would happen tomorrow play out. Cole was Harvey’s best man and Kate was Kira’s maid of honor so they were thrown together a lot. It kind of irked her. After the practice, Kira invited her to get a drink and chat. She left Emerald in Harvey’s care. On their way out, Emerald saw Cole taking Kate to the storage room in the back. Her gut clenched; of course they wanted a few minutes alone after all the groping she’d done on him during the practice dance.
Cole was going to have it out with Kate. Like they say, no better time than the present. “Ooh, a dark room for a quickie,” she said, running her fingers over his crotch. He shivered, from revulsion, but she thought otherwise. “Kate,” he ground out. Of course, she thought her advances were having a mind-altering effect on him. If he was being honest with himself, he was far more comfortable with her as a friend. Sex with her had long ago stopped being thrilling; it was simply the consistency he craved. He held her at arm’s length, “We need to talk.” “We do? Can’t we let our bodies do the talking?” He shook his head, “Look, I don’t know what you believe my relationship with Harper is, but I can assure you that it’s not what you think.” She rolled her eyes, “Oh really? It doesn’t look that way from her end.” “Harper’s? Please. She’s the one who broke up with me, not the other way around.” “Yeah, and now she realizes what she missed out on and wants you back.” He rolled his eyes, “Even if that was true, that doesn’t mean I want to get back with her. Also, we’re not even dating.” She stamped her foot, “You don’t need to keep pointing that out!” “It seems I do since you apparently feel the need to grope me during the practice.” “I wasn’t doing that for her; I just like the feel of your body.” “Kate, I want no drama tomorrow at the wedding. It’s not about you vs. Harper, it’s about your sister and my best friend.” “Yeah, yeah.” “Lastly, if I ever wanted to be with you, like officially, you’d have to come to terms with the fact that Harper will always be in my life because we share a daughter.” Kate crossed her arms as a sheen of tears clouded her eyes, “Yeah, I get it. Harper’s miss. perfect and I’m the petty one.” Now Cole felt bad. Was that how he saw them? He curled his fists; yes, yes he did. He did still see Harper as the standard to which all women needed to measure, forgetting that she had her own set of flaws. He sighed, “Let me take you home, okay?” She nodded. He took her home. When he arrived, she was asleep. He picked her up and carried her inside, taking her to her room where he laid her down and took off her shoes. When moonlight glowed through the sheer curtains and cast a glow on her face, for one moment she did look breathtaking. Then her eyes opened and she had that seductive look on her face. Of course, the “I’m asleep, carry me to bed” thing had been fake. Ugh. She ran her hand up his crotch, again, and purred, “What are you waiting for handsome?” “Kate-” Before he could lie and say he was super tired, his phone rang. Thank the Lord! He pulled it out and saw Kira’s name flash on the screen. He raised an eyebrow; why was she calling him? “Kira?” “Yeah, Cole?” “Where are you?” “A club.” “Why are you at a club?” “I invited Harper out to get to know her!” She had his full attention. “What’s wrong?” “Uh-hum, well, see, here’s the thing: she’s a lightweight. So she’s pretty drunk right now and keeps asking for you.” “Which club?” When he got the club name, he promised to be there soon. When he turned to Kate, she was glaring at him. “You asshole!” He sighed, “I’ll see you tomorrow at the wedding.” and left.