All Chapters of BURN FOR ME.... Mr COLE: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

*1 MONTH LATER*The penthouse had changed. Baby monitors. Bottles. Onesies everywhere. And Damian Cole, walking around in sweatpants with a baby strapped to his chest. "She's asleep," he whispered when he saw me in the kitchen. Eliza. 4 weeks old. Dead to the world on his chest. I smiled. "You're good at this." "I'm terrified," he whispered back. Kissed her head. "If I breathe wrong, she wakes up." I laughed. Poured coffee. "Welcome to parenthood, Mr. Cole." His phone buzzed. He checked it with one hand. Board report. He swiped it away. "Not today." The doorbell rang. We both froze. Damian's eyes went dark instantly. He handed me Eliza. "Stay here." "Damian—" He was already at the door. Peeking through the camera. It was Malrik. And a delivery guy. With flowers. Damian opened the door. "What is it?" Malrik held up the bouquet. White lilies. "These came to the office. No card. Security flagged it." Damian took them. Sniffed. His jaw tic

*6 MONTHS LATER*No headlines. No threats. No guns in the kitchen drawer. Just us. Cole Vineyard. Saturday morning. Sunlight. Birds. And the sound of a baby laughing. "Again!" Eliza squealed from her play mat. 6 months old. Sitting up. Drooling. Damian was on the floor. In sweatpants and a Cole-Sinclair Charity t-shirt. Making stupid faces. "Boo!" He popped up from behind a pillow. Eliza shrieked with laughter. Liam was on the couch. "Uncle Damian, you're embarrassing her." "I'm embarrassing myself," Damian said. Not stopping. "There's a difference." He looked up. Saw me in the doorway. Coffee in one hand. Phone in the other. And his whole face softened. "Morning, Mrs. Cole." "Morning, Mr. Cole." He stood. Walked to me. Kissed me. Long. Slow. Like he had all the time in the world. Because for once, he did. --- *9:00 AM. KITCHEN.* Damian was cooking. Pancakes. Again. But this time he wasn't burning them. Eliza was in the hig

*5 YEARS LATER* *COLE VINEYARD. SATURDAY.*Chaos. Beautiful, loud chaos. "James! Don't throw that!" "Eliza, shoes off the table!" "Liam, get off the roof!" And in the middle of it all. *Damian Cole.* Barefoot. In jeans and a t-shirt that said _"Dad Jokes Are My Love Language"_. Holding a baby. Yes. A baby. "Mr. Cole," I called from the porch. "You have a baby on you." He looked down. At the 8-month-old on his chest. "Oh. Right. This is Aria." He kissed her head. "She likes me best." I rolled my eyes. "She likes everyone, Damian." "Incorrect." He walked to me. Kissed me. "She likes Daddy best. Because Daddy is best." Liam, 15 now, walked by. "Dad, your ego is showing." Damian flipped him off. Affectionately. --- *THE HOUSE.* It wasn't a penthouse anymore. It was a home. White. Big windows. Vineyard outside. Toys everywhere. Eliza, 6, was at the kitchen table. Drawing. "Look, Mom! It's our family!" The drawing: Me. Damian. Her. J

_3 DAYS AFTER NOAH ARRIVED_The house was loud again. But different loud. Noah didn't talk much. He watched. From corners. From doorways. Like he was waiting for someone to tell him to leave. Damian noticed. I noticed. Everyone noticed. "Hey," I said to Damian at breakfast. "He's not eating." Damian looked across the table. Noah was pushing eggs around his plate. Liam was talking a mile a minute. Eliza was drawing. James was feeding King Jr. under the table. Damian stood. Walked to Noah. Kneeled next to his chair. "You don't like the eggs?" Noah shrugged. "They're fine." "Then why aren't you eating them?" Another shrug. Damian sighed. Sat back on his heels. "Hey. You can tell me. If you hate it here. If you want—" "I don't hate it," Noah cut him off. Quiet. "I just... I don't know where to sit." Damian froze. "What?" "At dinner. At breakfast." Noah stared at his plate. "At my old house, I always sat in the same chair. By

_1 MONTH AFTER THE SCHOOL INCIDENT_Life was normal again. Or as normal as it gets with 5 kids and a golden retriever. Noah's eye healed. The bully was expelled. Liam and Noah were inseparable now. "Partners in crime," Damian called them. But something was off with Damian. For 2 weeks. He was distracted. On his phone too much. Coming home late from "meetings". And he kept looking at me. Like he was about to say something. Then stopping. I didn't ask. I knew better. When Damian Cole gets like this, he's planning something. --- _FRIDAY NIGHT. 6PM._ "Get dressed," Damian said. Coming into our room in a suit. No tie. As always. "Where are we going?" I asked. Wearing sweatpants. Hair in a bun. Aria on my hip. "Out." He took Aria from me. Kissed her head. "Malrik is coming to watch the kids." "Damian. It's Friday. We have pizza night." "Pizza can wait." He looked at me. Eyes dark. Serious. "Tonight is important." My sto