As Logan chuckled and walked over to his desk, Cole continued. “That’s where I met Rachel, for your information.”
Now that was an interesting detail he didn’t know. Surprised, he turned to face Cole. “Really?”
Cole nodded as he moved backwards toward the door and opened it. “Really, really.”
Logan’s mouth fell open and then he laughed. “You’ve managed to shock me. Something I didn’t think you had in you anymore. Bravo, brother.”
Cole shook his head. “Unlike yours, my behavior remains a mystery to most.”
Logan pretended to stifle a yawn. “Yeah, yeah. Well, either way, we’re doing something right. ’Cause you got the girl, and I got the boy.”
“That we did,” Cole agreed with a smile Logan figured matched his own smug one.
Then he fingered the edge of the paper and thought, What the hell. “You’re right. Normal isn’t me. Do you think Rachel would be upset if we all catch up next week?”
“No, not at all. Actually, we all have dinner on Monday nights. You two should come.”
Logan thought about it for a second and then said, “Let me talk it over with Tate, but I don’t see why not. Meanwhile, I have a weekend to plan.” Before Cole shut the door, Logan asked, “Hey? Leighton & Associates?”
“What about them?”
“Who’s their best personal injury guy?”
Cole appeared to think it over and then snapped his fingers. “Finley. I’ve worked with him a couple of times.”
“Okay,” Logan said as he pulled his phone out to store the name in his notes. “Thanks. Oh, and Cole?”
“Yes, Logan?”
“Thank you. For everything.”
Cole gave him an understanding smile and left the office, shutting the door on his way out.
* * *
Tate had just stepped out of the shower when he heard his phone ringing from the vanity. He grabbed a towel from the rack and made his way over to it to see Diana’s number flashing across the screen.
Not exactly who I want to speak to right now, he thought as he wrapped the towel around his hips and picked the cell up. When it kept ringing, he looked at himself in the mirror and made himself answer.
“Hello.”
“Tate?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Hey.”
He closed his eyes and told himself to have some patience. “Hi, Diana.”
There was an awkward pause, and he wondered for a moment if she’d hung up until she asked, “How are you?”
Her question was almost timid, and when Tate opened his eyes, he asked himself, What kind of man do I want to be? He ran a hand through his hair and thought of the way Logan had extended an invitation to his father, which had him softening toward the woman at the other end of the phone.
“I’m doing much better,” he told her, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Oh, that’s good.”
“It is. I go back to the doctor today.”
“Good,” she rushed out and then added, “I’m glad.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, and while the silence this time remained awkward, there was no simmering rage like there used to be.
“Okay, well, that was all. I just wanted to know… I—”
“Diana?” he interrupted, gripping his hair in a fist. Fuck. When did talking to her become so difficult?
“Yes, Tate?”
“I never got a chance before I left the hospital to say thank you.”
“Oh,” she breathed softly into the phone. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Yeah, I do. Thank you for relaying my wishes that day. I know it wasn’t easy.”
She laughed then, and Tate leaned against the wall as the sound that had once been so familiar filled his ear. “That’s an understatement if ever there was one.”
“I suppose it is, huh?” he chuckled.
“Ahh, yeah.”
When their shared laughter dissipated, he waited.
Then she whispered, “Be happy, Tate. You deserve it.” Right there in that moment, Diana sounded more sincere than he’d ever heard her before.
“I am. He makes me happy.”
“Good. Okay. I don’t want to hold you up any more than I already have…”
“Diana,” he said again and thought he heard her sniff through the phone.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for calling.”
There was a definite sniff this time as she answered, “Thank you for answering.”
“Bye,” he said softly, and she told him the same.
As he hit end on the phone and lowered it to the sink, he quietly studied his reflection. He liked the man staring back at him. The one he was when he was with Logan. He respected him, and as he lathered up his cheeks and his jaw to shave, he vowed to do whatever he needed to in order to always be that man.