Six

Butterfly!" A childish squeal filled the mall, and it gained the attention of the fellow shoppers.

I rubbernecked over my shoulder and glanced down to take in the beautiful sight of grey orbs, sparkling with excitement.

"Hey..." A sweet smile graced my cherry lips as I recognized who she was, and she grinned, showing off her white canines. "It's you again."

She manoeuvred her way to my front with her hands still gripping my thighs tight in a warm embrace. I placed a hand on her head and ruffled her pigtails.

"Yes, me again!" She let out a shout of glee and a blush spread up her neck, staining her white cheeks.

She released my thighs and reached her hands up, wiggling her fingers and gesturing for me to pick her up. I glanced around, looking for the father of the little child who had grown accustomed to me after meeting me just once.

I heaved her off the floor and popped out my hip to balance her on it.

"Her daughter is so cute!" A teenager gushed to her friends from behind me, and I spun to a pair of blond girls. "They are even wearing matching colors."

I glance at her dress, noticing she had a purple dress that mirrored mine.

"I bet she looks like her dad. Her skin is as white as snow." The other one chipped in after they waved at us with puppy dog eyes.

They were right. Her skin was whiter than usual, and I guessed her mother was Irish or something.

"Well, well, well... I didn't know you kidnapped children, too." A husky voice sounded from behind me, and I jerked, swivelling to face him and almost dropping Snow.

I secured my hands around her, and my heart picked its pace at his sly smile. Darn it! How did he always make my heart gallop with just a smile?

"Uhm," I tittered, unsure of what to say as I dropped the kid on the floor. "She came to me. At least, I didn't leave her to wander. What if she had gotten lost?"

Cole's face hardened, and I suddenly regretted what I said. I gulped, managing a small smile at him.

"I mean, she-" I was halted in my tracks.

"Daddy," Snow looked up at her father, who was in a pair of carton brown shorts and a grey t-shirt. "Does this mean butterfly is a bad woman?"

My eyebrows slowly knitted into a frown as I looked down at the child.

"What?" Cole cocked his eyebrows.

"You said she was a jerk earlier, and that was why you were going through her -"

Cole planted a hand against his daughter's mouth and pulled her close to him with a titter. My face flushed with heat. How was I a jerk?

"Yes, she had left you in the hallway without giving you a butterfly kiss." Cole puckered his bottom lip and tilted his head as if sympathizing with his daughter, who was now folding her arms against her chest.

Giving her a tight-lipped smile, I wondered if that was the reason she called me a butterfly. It was. My stomach churned when I felt Cole grazing my skin with his eyes.

"Aww, I'm sorry. I was in a haste, and I had something urgent to take care of." I cupped her cheeks, and she grinned again, sliding her hand into that of her dad.

My phone vibrated in my bag, and I fished it out, taking a gander at the caller ID. It was Shelly.

"I have to go," I said, offering a friendly expression to Cole and then averting my gaze to his child. "Bye, butterfly."

"Bye!" She beamed, waving at me. "Daddy, can I get some ice cream?"

I walked away from him and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I gripped my stomach to stop the spiralling of my intestines. Was it the incident that happened between us that made me feel so uneasy around him?

My phone vibrated again, and it was Shelly. Tapping on the answer button, I held it to my ear. "Vanessa on the line."

"Hi, baby girl. I got your message about getting a new job!" She sounded excited more than ever with a thick country accent. "Howdy?"

Shelly had been my companion since the day she applied for a job at Lola's event and planning company. She was from Texas, and it wasn't hard to decipher, especially with the way she spoke.

"I'm er, I'm good," I responded and felt a burning sensation at the back of my neck. I rubbed at it.

"Are you home?" She asked, and I glanced over my shoulder in search of the gaze that burned my skin.

My eyes met with Cole's, and my heart leapt. He held the eye contact for a minute, hypnotizing me with those beautiful whirlpools he had for eyes. He looked away from my face and turned his back against me.

My eyes travelled down to his buttocks, and a sheen of sweat broke out on my forehead. Why was a man's ass moulded so perfectly? I was sure he took his squats seriously, unlike me.

"Babe?" Shelly called out from the other side of the phone, bringing me back to earth.

"Yeah, I went to get some work pants, and I want to pay for them," I answered, walking back to where I was hugging Snow earlier to pick up my basket. "Then I'll head home."

"Okay, I'm leaving mine now. See ya in a bit," She said, and my phone vibrated, notifying me that the call had ended.

****

"Just one date, c'mon." Shelly clamped her palms together, begging me to go on a date with a friend of hers.

"I don't want to, I'm going through a messy breakup at the moment, and you know it," I stated, turning a bowl of chopped chicken into an empty pan.

"Oh, please. Sheldon is somewhere piping our-sorry, my boss with her legs raised in the air while you're here sulking and being a misery gut." She raised her hands in the air with a knife in one hand, blowing out an exasperated breath, and then resumed chopping the spring onions.

Shelly had decided to spend the weekend at mine. She had arrived at my house before me yesterday and gave me a speech about why I shouldn't keep humans waiting. It was funny. I mean, she called me when I was at the mall and still expected me to be home before her. Funny.

"Tell me, when was the last time you got laid?" She broke my reverie, and I snapped my neck in her direction, turning scarlet.

Pictures of how Cole had spread my ass cheeks that night flashed in my head, and I blinked rapidly, feeling sick in my gut. "Why-why are you asking that?"

She squinted her eyes in scepticism and paused mid-chopping the bell pepper. "Don't tell me you had sex with Sheldon."

"No!" I screamed in defence, feeling the walls of my throat constrict. "And that's why I'm not a bastard like Sheldon, I want to heal." I broke a seasoning cube into the meat and stir-fried it, hoping she wouldn't ask me that question again.

"Okay, you don't have to date this guy... Just be friends with him and maybe -"

"Maybe nothing. I do not want your friend."

"He isn't my buddy, but he lives on the same street as me." She explained, grabbing a green pepper and slicing it open.

My phone vibrated on the kitchen island, and my eyes raced to the screen. I rinsed my hands under the faucet and wiped them against my apron. Picking up my phone, my heart did a summersault.

I tapped on the green answer button and then held it to my ear, listening to his breathing and getting a tingly feeling in between my thighs.

"Vanessa?" His groggy voice makes my stomach flip and the way he called my name...

"Good day, sir." I greeted, managing to sound normal.

"I had gotten an invitation asking all the partners to attend a swearing-in of a new CEO, and I want you to come with me," he said.

"Okay," I responded, and the call went off.

Partners... This meant one thing, all the top companies would be there. I gulped, staring into nothingness.