"Do you need me?" he asked in a low tone and I shook my head.
"No. It's okay. I can do this," I told him and meant it. Whatever happened, I was just glad that all the secrets were out in the open.
Jasper cocked his head and regarded me thoughtfully before nodding a little, apparently convinced.
"I'll go check on Jacob," he said and left Cole and I alone to talk.
Slowly, I walked over to my husband who was sitting on the couch waiting for me. Perching myself beside him, I gave him a regretful look.
"Cole, I really am sorry for lying to you," I began sincerely.
He turned to me with a bittersweet smile but cupped my cheek tenderly.
"I know," was his reply. "I know why you did it. And I don't hate you for it, Skye."
My smile was grateful and tremulous. "We don't deserve you," I told him, something I had said a dozen times before when we had been a threesome.
Cole put his arm around me and pulled me to his side. "I want a fresh start. So bad. It's been almost three years of hell, Skye," he sighed, squeezing my shoulder. "Let's just be happy now. Can we do that?"
I hugged him back, burying my face in his chest and inhaling his scent. My body felt so light, the weight of my burdens leaving me all at once. I was thankful. So thankful that we had all found our way back to each other and could now give our best to Jacob.
He shifted slightly and I smirked a little, remembering what I had interrupted when I had arrived ten minutes ago.
"You know...if you want to pick up where you left off with Jasper, it's totally okay with me."
Under my cheek, his heartbeats accelerated.
"Skye...I feel really strange about this," he confessed. "I mean, we're married now..."
I lifted my head and gave him a reassuring smile. "So? Does it make you love me any less?" I asked. "I may be the woman you adore the most in this world but Jasper is your soulmate."
Cole widened his eyes at me. "What?" he let out a laugh.
I shrugged. "I believe it. What the two of you have, baby...Jasper and I never had." A sigh escaped me. "We fell in love and he was absolutely crazy about me but...maybe he couldn't stay in love with me after the whole stroke thing. Maybe when I left him and broke his heart, he couldn't bring himself to fully commit to me again even though he tried." I rubbed my husband's thigh. "Sometimes things just don't work out. And it's okay. I'm not in pain anymore, Cole."
Standing up, I smoothed my palms over my work skirt and breathed deeply.
"Go to him. I'll look after Jacob. God knows how many moments I have missed with him because of this guilt thing. And then I'll take some time to myself. Hog the bed for once."
Cole started to smile at me. "Skye, you're the best," he told me affectionately.
I turned to go and then threw him a look over my shoulder. "So...am I going to need headphones?"
The laughter that escaped his mouth was one of the beautiful ones I had heard in a long, long time.
****
Chapter Thirty-Three
Cole
Soulmate. I found the concept kind of funny. I never believed in such things. Fate. Destiny. You find a person you feel love for and if they feel the same, you stick with them. That was my outlook on relationships. But Skye had a different outlook. She believed Jasper and I were meant for each other. And that she and Jasper had outgrown their relationship. I didn't think that was the case at all but I had to respect her decision and hoped they would learn something from this rift that existed between them and be able to bridge the gap soon. Learning was part of loving, right?
However, the only kind of learning I was interested in tonight had to do with all the contours of Jasper Wells' deliciously hot body.
I was done with all the talking. Done with the pining and waiting. Done with hashing things out and healing. Just done.
I was ready to be owned by this man tonight.
The realisation occurred to me then that we had never actually broken up with each other. I'd been forced to say goodbye to him. And he hadn't wanted to break up with me either. Circumstances had gotten the better of us. And now, the three of us had ended up at exactly the same place where we had first started this relationship together, a full circle. But this time, there would be no messing it up. We had all learned from our mistakes. And we were not going to repeat them. Hopefully.
I had been so confident about the two of us finally having sex tonight but when I reached his bedroom and found him already in there, I couldn't take another step. He wasn't really waiting for me. Just watching TV. The room Jasper occupied was very masculine and simple in decor with grey and white colour schemes. It suited him.
He glanced at me with a smile and flicked his eyebrows at me. It made me bite my lip to keep myself from grinning like an idiot.
"Hey, baby. You forgot this," Skye's voice came from behind me and I turned to find her in the doorway holding out my phone.
I took it from her with a murmured thanks and for a moment, she just stood there looking at Jasper and I before closing the door.
"Have fun," she called out cheerfully from the other side.
After her footsteps had retreated, Jasper and I exchanged a look and then he started to laugh, his chest shaking with the movement.
"What?" I asked as I
