How Many Chances (8 page)

“Back off G.I Joe,” she snapped at him as she turned to face him. She pinned him with a look that even he knew
not to mess with her. He glance over her shoulder and she knew he was looking at Cole for instruction on what to do next.

Ally turned to Cole and stared at him too.

“Ally please,” Cole said, giving her a pleading look but he knew she was in no mood to co-operate.

“Can you ask your goon to get out of my way?” she said calmly staring Cole in the eye.

He knew this was an argument he wasn’t going to win. So he looked at Nick and gave him a nod. Nick immediately stepped back out of Ally’s way.

She looked at Nick once more and then with one more glance towards Cole
she turned and walked out the door. Slamming it firmly behind her.

She stood out in the huge hallway
for a few moments and took a calming breath before she made her way to the elevator doors. She was so angry and she needed to get out of there and clear her head.

She pressed the
call button and waited. But nothing happened. She pressed again and again but there wasn’t a sound.

To her horror,
tears pooled in her eyes as she pressed again and again. A soft sob escaped from her mouth as the tears trickled down her cheek.

Suddenly she felt
Cole’s two big arms envelope her in an embrace, pulling her to his chest and holding her tightly. Ally began to sob harder.

“Shhhh,” Cole cooed as he turned her in his embrace
to face him and pressed her cheek against his chest. “Please don’t cry,”

“I… tried … to … press… it…” she s
obbed, each worded punctuated by a gasp for breath. “But… it …didn’t…work…”

“I know sweetheart,”
he replied and a slight laugh escape from his mouth. “You need a key to operate it.”

“Then why did you let me leave,” Ally said looking up at him in disbelief.

“You really think I would let you walk away that easy? When will you get it into your head woman? I love you and I am going nowhere. And neither are you. This is for keeps”.

Ally began to protest but Cole quickly sealed her mouth with his. And once again she surrendered herself to Cole embraces. She just wasn’t strong enough to fight him. She loved him too much.

Ally woke the next morning
and was confused by her surroundings. Over the past few weeks she had woken up in so many different place, she didn’t know where she was half the time. As her sleep fog began to clear, she remembered exactly where she was, and sighed deeply.

She turned over in the bed to
find Cole but his side of the bed was empty. She sat up and looked around the room. She noticed more art work lining the walls, something she hadn’t notice the night before. She could see their clothes still on the floor where they had fallen last night as they stripped each other before they made love and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

She threw the bedclothes back and
slid her feet out on to the floor. She headed for the bathroom, thinking maybe Cole would be there. But it too was empty.

She stood in the middle of Cole’s beautiful, snow white, bathroom and thoug
ht about what she should do. The bathroom was almost an exact replica of the one in his home in Dublin, only the shower and the bath were much bigger, and without the James Bond concealed door. She reached in and switched on the shower.

When the water was just right
, she stepped beneath it and closed her eyes, as the hot water danced against her body. She quickly washed with the body wash and shampoo that was already in the shower. It smelt of Cole and it made her smile.

When she was
finished she stepped out and dried herself before she wrapped Cole’s fluffy bathrobe, which was hanging on the back of the bathroom door, around her and walked out into the bedroom.

“JESUS CHRIST!” Ally screamed with fright when she came face to face with Nick standing in her bedroom.

“I am sorry Miss Brody,” Nick began, apologising quickly. His eyes looked everywhere except at Ally. His faced had turned a bright shade of red.

“Don’t you knock?
” Ally snapped back at this man, who was fast becoming her least favourite person ever.

“I did!
” he replied sharply, finally letting his gaze meet hers. “I knocked several times, but when you didn’t reply, Mr Thomas told me to come in and check on you.”

Ally sighed and rolled her eyes. Cole really needed to learn to relax.
He needed to stop constantly worry about her. He would give himself a heart attack.

“Well I am fine, as you can clearly see,”
Ally said as she pulled her dressing gown tighter around her body. She sighed deeply. “What did you want me for anyway?”

“Mr Thomas asked that you get ready,” he explained. “
He will be back shortly and he wants to take you to breakfast.”

“Where is he?” Ally asked surprised Cole had just left.

“There was an urgent matter he needed to attend to,” Nick replied, and once again he didn’t look at Ally. And she wasn’t sure but she thought he suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “I will leave you to get dressed.”

Without looking at Ally again he turned and mad
e his way out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Ally walked into the wardrobe and rummaged through her clothes looking for something to wear. Cole wasn’t happy she had insisted on unpacking herself the night before. But this was an argument she was not backing down from.

She pulled on her best jeans and a teal coloured top that brought out the blue in her eyes perfectly. She dried her hair and left it down in soft waves. Then she added a little bit of makeup.

She walked to the
full length mirror and checked her reflection. She smiled to herself. She was happy with her appearance. She had just walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed to put on her shoes, when her mobile rang. She picked it up and seen Caitlin’s name flash on the screen. Ally smiled as she pressed the accept button and brought the phone to her ear.

“Hiya,” Ally
chirped happily down the phone. She was relieved to talk to her friend and for a few minutes pretend her life was still normal.

“Hey sweetie,” Caitlin said, but her tone instant
ly made Ally feel uncomfortable. Something was wrong. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am okay,” Ally replied nervously. “Why wouldn’t I be ok? It something wrong?”

“Have you seen the papers?” Caitlin asked.

“What papers?” Ally replied, her heart started beating rapidly in her chest.

“She didn’t see the papers,” Caitlin said, speaking to someone else who was there with her.

“
Did Cole?” Ally could hear Nathan asking in the back ground.

“Where is Cole?” Caitlin asked, turning her attention back to Ally.

“He had to go out this morning,” Ally replied, feeling totally confused. “Caitlin, what has happened?”

“Don’t freak out, okay,” Caitlin said. But before she could say another word, Cole’s voice echoed throughout the apartment. Calling her name again and again.

“There you are!” he exclaimed as he burst into the bedroom. Then he spotted the phone in her hand. “Who are you talking to?”

“Caitlin,” Ally replied, looking at Cole in complete confusion. “Cole, what is it? What’s going on?”

He didn’t reply. Instead he took the phone from Ally’s hand and put it to his ear.

“It’s me,” he said in an impatient tone. “No, but I will tell her now.”
Ally watched Cole in disbelief as he said goodbye to Caitlin and hung up the phone. He looked at Ally and took a deep breath.

“Some
thing has happened,” Ally said, feeling her inner alarm bells going off. “Hasn’t it?”

“
Okay, I don’t want you to freak out,” Cole said as he nervously pushed his hands through his hair. He was struggling for the right words to tell her. “When I woke up this morning, Nick informed me some of the tabloids had run a story.”

Ally’s stomach turned immediately
. She thought of the day before and the cameras flashing and bouncing of the car. She also knew by Cole’s stressed out look on his face, she was really not going to like what was printed.

“
I have taken care of it,” Cole reassured her, but she was barely listening to him. “This will never…”

“I want to see them,”
she demanded, not giving him a chance to finish what he was saying.

“
They are just trash, Ally,” Cole began to protest.

“I don’t care,” Ally said staring blankly at Cole.
She was not going to back down. “If there is something written about me, I want to see it.”

Cole sighed, he knew she would not be pleased with what had been written. In fact, if he was honest
he was afraid it would be enough to make her bolt again and he was sick with worry.

“Cole, please,” she said, sensing his reluctance
. “I you want me in this relationship. You can’t hide things from me. You promised, no more secrets.”

Cole sighed and ran his hands through his hair once again. He knew he had no argument.

“Fine,” he finally said, hold
ing out his hand to Ally. She reached out and took it and let him lead her from the bedroom.

Nick was waiting in Cole office, which was located in a room just off the dining room. He stood up and shifted nervous when Cole walked in with Ally. Ally blushed as she remember
ed the way she snapped at him when she found him standing in the bedroom.

Cole led Ally to the table which was covered in the newspapers. The first thing that jumped up at Ally from the papers was the headline, ‘Thomas’s Other Woman’.

Ally could feel her heart pounding hard in her chest. It was her worst fear realised. She didn’t want to be the other woman. She thought about the night she had told him this very thing. The next morning they spilt up. And Ally realised that this was what he had been afraid of all along. She had told him she would never be the other woman in any child’s life.

She finally realised why Cole had kept the secret for as long as he did. She had really left him no other choice. He loved her and he knew he would have lost her.

She looked up at him and her heart ached to see the worry and fear clearly written across his face. Her eyes filled with tears and she quickly blinked them back.

She knew he was waiting for her to bolt. And if she was honest, part of her wanted to. She just wanted to fall in love and live happy ever after. And yet with Cole, it was always so complicated. But she loved him. She truly did

True she didn’t want to be the other woman. But she also didn’t want him to be any other woman’s man. He was hers. They belon
ged together. She smiled at him reassuringly.

“I have sorted this,” Cole said again. “This has been taken care of.”

“Okay,” Ally said and smiled. She glanced back down at the rest of the papers. None of the pictures were clear but still she knew it was her and she felt a little sick. She needed some air and a little time to clear her head. She knew Cole would object but she needed some time to herself. She thought best how to broach the subject.

She was about to speak, when Cole began to talk first.

“I was thinking we could go grab some breakfast,” he said, his eyes constantly searching Ally’s face for some clue as to what she might be thinking.

“Actually,” Ally began, taking a deep breath. “I was thinking of going for a walk, you know clear my head.”

“Well I will get my coat and go with you,” Cole said walked towards the door.

“Well,” Ally continued. “I was thinking of going alone.”

“Why?” was all he could ask. His heart sank. She was bolting again. He knew it.

“I just need some time to clear
my head,” Ally reassured him. “I promise I am okay. I just need a little time and space.”

“You need time and space?” Cole repeated, he sounded a little hurt.

“Yes,” she replied as she reached for his hand and squeezed it softly. “Is that okay?”

“Sure,” he kissed her on the forehead and smiled at her but Ally could see his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Cole sat back behind his desk and didn’t make eye contact with Ally as he asked Nick to provide Ally with a key for the elevator and the code to get up and down. Ally felt like she had been punched in the guts. She watched Cole as he gathered up the newspapers and threw them in the trash.

Ally went to speak again but she stopped herself. He was sulking and she was not going to be drawn into another argument.

She turned and followed an equally unimpressed looking Nick to the elevator, stopping on the way to grab her bag and her jacket.

When they reached the elevator door, Nick gave her a key and a card with codes on it.

“You will need these to get up and down in this lift,” he explained without once making eye contact with her. Then he reached into his coat pocket, pulled a card out and finally allowed his eyes to meet hers. “This is my phone number. I want you to programme it into your phone. Put it on speed dial. If you need anything or run into any problems, ring me immediately.”

“Thank you,” Ally smiled brightly at Nick, surprised by his gesture. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. “That is very kind of you.”

“It is my job,” he replied without missing a heartbeat.

“I knew that,” she lied and frowned.
Asshole
she thought to herself just as the lift doors opened.

She turned and looked back at him just as the doors were closing and was surprise to see a small smile on his lips.

“Ugh!!”She growled when the doors were finally closed. What was it about this guy that rubbed her the wrong way? She wasn’t sure but one thing she did know was he seemed to feel the same way about her.

As the elevator came to a stop on the ground floor, Ally suddenly regretted her decision to go out alone. What if there were photographers
waiting for her and recognised her from the car.

She stood as the doors opened and considered typing in the code to go back up.
But she couldn’t face Cole and smug Nick just yet. So she took a deep breath and stepped off the elevator. She was relieved as she stepped out through the doors of the building that there was no one except the couple of passer-by’s going about their normal day. 

It was cold out and there was tiny flakes of snow blowing in the air. Ally pulled her coat tighter around her and turned left and began walking.

It was her first time in London but she had a great sense of direction and she paid attention to markers so she would be able to find her way home. She walked along Bayswater Road until she passed Marble Arch, and kept going until she reached Oxford Street.

She walked along
, taking in every sight, sound and smell of London. Stopping occasionally to peer through the shop fronts. There were lines of red double decker buses, black London taxis and so many people Ally felt almost lost in the crowd. But in no time at all she had fallen in love with London.

After window shopping for an hour she felt famished. She stopped in to a small deli and bought herself a sandwich
and a bottle of water, before she started walking back towards Cole’s penthouse.