Chapter Twenty

Early the next morning Tess woke to a hammering on the door. Rolling over, she pressed the button on her phone causing it to light up. 7 am. She'd been up half the night with Freddy and managed to get him settled back to sleep at 5:30 am she'd been hoping to sleep until his next feed at half-past nine. Pulling the pillow out from under her head, she stuck her head under it, willing whoever it was to go away.

Bang, bang, bang came the knock again. Louder this time. "Tess, it's me."

Recognizing Cole's voice, she jumped up and scurried past Freddie's door and peeked inside, he was sleeping peacefully.

Of course.

She made a beeline for the front door, smoothing her hair down as she went. She must look a fright. Three hours' sleep will do that to a girl.

She flung the door open, "Shhh..." She hissed. "Freddy's still aslee—"

"Tess this is Marigold."

A goddess in a gray tweed suit jacket and matching pencil skirt stood in the doorway, blocking the early morning sun. The light at her back created a halo of bright yellow around her head. She smiled wide, revealing a row of impressively dazzling white teeth and stuck out a hand. Tess, suddenly aware that she was braless and dressed only in a satin nightgown with her post-baby belly pushing obviously against the material, turned and ran back to her room without saying a word.

In the safety of the bedroom, she silently cursed Cole under her breath. What sort of dip shit, brings his conquest over to visit the woman who just had his child?

She pulled on a pair of denim shorts which still didn't fit right and an old tank top. Slipping the band from her wrist she twisted her hair up into a topknot and secured it.

Standing at her bedroom door, she took a deep breath, while she mentally prepared and then strolled out into the kitchen as though she had not a care in the world.

"Sorry 'bout that. You caught me in my nightclothes. Would you like a coffee?" She smiled brightly at Marigold.

Vaguely aware of the quizzical look on Coles' face as he took in the scene, she wondered what he was expecting?

A catfight?

Dream on.

No man was worth fighting for.

If he had to be convinced to love you, he didn't.

Simple as that.

"That's alright. I'm sorry we barged in here so early but I really have to get to work soon but I was just dying to meet you and Freddy." Marigold said.

Tess picked up the kettle and filled it up at the sink. "How lovely. And why is that?" She asked as she turned on the stove and placed the kettle down.

"Why is what?" Cole asked. "What do you mean?"

"I just wondered why she would want to meet me. That's all."

Marigold peered out at her from behind long, supermodel lashes. They were so thick, Tess would be forgiven for wondering if she'd actually strapped the dead carcass of a spider to each eye.

"I want to see the woman who has tamed Cole Washington of course," Marigold said. Why did her voice sound almost like she was singing? Didn't she have any sense of how damn early it was?

Tess busied herself with getting coffee mugs out of the overhead cupboard. Really, she was avoiding eye contact. The longer she looked at this gorgeous creature with the long legs and tiny waist the more she wondered how she'd held Coles interest at all. No matter how briefly.

"Oh, I didn't really tame him. He was boring when I met him." She said sweetly and shot a smirk at Cole.

"Still caught your interest." Cole shot back.

"I like her Cole. I really like her. Now I know why you fell so hard." Marigold laughed. "She's got sass."

Tess wasn't expecting that. Wasn't this the part where she lost the guy she loved to his ex-girlfriend?

Shouldn't they draw swords at this point?

Or at least baseball bats.

"I never said I fell hard." Cole frowned at Marigold.

"Kind of think you did. I distinctly remember a phone call where you were sobbing and asking why she'd left? What did you do wrong?" Marigold gave Cole a playful push but he wasn't smiling this time.

His eyes darted over and met with Tess's "That never happened. I don't cry." He said but his skin tinted a pale shade of red.

Marigold rolled her eyes. "Okay fine, he may not have been crying but the rest's true. I promise, every word." She held her hand up as though taking an oath.

"Really?" Tess asked and watched the playful exchange between them. Surprisingly Cole had been telling the truth when he said they interacted like brother and sister. She didn't feel threatened by this development at all. She should have. Marigold was one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen and was surprisingly pretty cool. Not at all like Cole had described her. "So was that a yes to a coffee?"

"Thank you, you're a lifesaver. The people at work wouldn't want to be around me without it." Marigold said.

Was it possible that this was the bad side of Marigold?

God help her.

Tess scooped the instant coffee into the mugs and Marigold's eyebrows shot to the ceiling. But she was polite enough not to say anything. She poured the boiling water in on top and stirred them around with a tiny silver spoon.

"I have to admit I've been interested to meet the woman that Coles father would have rather Cole reproduced with," Tess said as she handed Marigold the coffee mug.

Marigold let out a delicate little laugh if you could call it that. It was more like the sound a thousand butterfly wings would make if the fluttered together. "That ship has sailed I'm afraid. Cole and I are never going to be a couple. I'm not his type." She inspected her coffee. "Could I bother you for some cream?"

Tess opened the refrigerator and pulled out the cream, passing it to Marigold. "I find it hard to imagine that you aren't every man's type," Tess said with a smile. She wanted Marigold to know she wasn't attacking her or doubting her but it had to be said. She passed Cole his coffee.

"I do alright in the male suitor department but Cole was never interested. He likes adventure and risks and nature." Marigold screwed up her nose like she was discussing broccoli.

"You don't like nature?" Tess asked.

Cole laughed out loud and nearly spat his coffee. "There is nothing natural about Marigold." He teased.

"No kidding Mr. you are seriously asking for it." Marigold scolded him. "But no, I don't like nature. I get that it's a necessity for us to live, trees and air and all that jazz. As long as it stays outside and I stay inside, everything's fine."

Tess stared at her. How could someone just not like nature? How bizarre. "What don't you like specifically?" She asked her.

"How long have you got?" Cole asked and rolled his eyes.

"It's either too hot or too cold outside in the elements to start with." Marigold started a count on her well-manicured fingers. "If it's windy or rainy it messes up my hair, or too humid. I hate that. There are bugs, and animal, eww I hate animals, they have this weird odour. Then there's—"

"Alright, I think she gets it." Cole interrupted.

Marigold turned to Tess as though Cole wasn't even in the room. "Anyway, one of the reasons I wanted to pop in and say hello was to see if you liked the baby's room?"

Tess looked confused. Why would she care about that?

Cole obviously picked up on it and interjected. "Marigold's responsible for the mural."

Tess's mouth fell open. "You painted the mural? It's gorgeous, you're a genius. I really love it."

"Oh goodness no," Marigold explained. "I work at a gallery. But not the artsy stuff. Too messy for me. I'm in charge of the buying and selling of multi-million-dollar artworks. I commissioned a local artist for the mural."

"Well thank you, it's gorgeous. I only wish I could take it with me when I leave." Tess said.

"That's why we were meeting so often. I wanted to be hands-on with the project." Cole said.

"He had a vision of how he wanted it apparently." Marigold snarled but then smiled so they knew she was kidding.

Tess stood with her hands wrapped around her cup of tea. No coffee for her while she was feeding Freddy. She sipped at her cup, upsetting the steam and releasing it into the air. She blew the top, cooling it down.

"You just going to drink that with the bag hanging in it like that?" Marigold asked.

"Yes. And then later I might go for a walk. In nature and I may not even wear shoes." She widened her eyes as if she was doing something daring.

Cole and Marigold laughed. "Oh yeah, that's gross. You guys are a perfect match." Marigold said to Cole. Before standing up from the counter. "Well, I really need to get to work."

"I'll walk you out." Cole went to jump up but Marigold put her hand on his shoulder, pushing him back into his seat. "You're not the butler. I'll find my own way out."

Marigold sashayed over to Tess, swaying her hips seductively and making Tess feel even frumpier than she already had. She leaned in and gave Tess a hug. Not a polite, hug your auntie type of hug, but a real, warm genuine squeeze. She leaned in and whispered in Tess's ear. "He acts like a jerk but he's one of the good guys and he thinks the world of you."

"Okay, I'm out of here," Marigold said louder now and waved her hand with her long delicate fingers.

"Sorry, Freddy had a rough night and you didn't get to meet him. We can take a rain check though if you'd like to come back for dinner one night?" Tess asked.

"Splendid," Marigold said with a smile as she walked out the door.