She frowned. “But your knee…?”

  “I’ll be fine. We’ll go to LA, to Griffith Canyon. That way, you still get some of a workout, and I’ll get some exercise in, too. We’ll get some alone time, and maybe spend the night in LA for a real live proper date. Not to worry, I’ll take you somewhere low profile. No one will recognize you. What do you say, Echo? Want to spend the day with me?”

  “You know what? That’s the best thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  “You mean all those times I called you a goddess weren’t enough?”

  She laughed as she turned back toward her car. “Nope. So who’s driving, me or you?”

  I might have suggested the fun run for Echo’s sanity, but I had a great day, too. We took the east trails and just meandered. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so relaxed with anyone.

  It was on our way down when she veered into difficult territory. “So, can I ask…? I mean, I know my family is a big ol’ horse pill to swallow, but your dislike of them seems to go deep. Can I ask why?”

  I sighed. I’d been expecting this question eventually, and I wasn’t sure how to answer. But I wasn’t going to lie to her. “Back in school. There was a girl. Missy. Her family was rich and did not approve of her choice of boyfriend. It was like an eighties movie, where the evil villain father offers money to stay away.”

  “And of course you declined politely.”

  I loved her automatic assumption. “Yep. Unfortunately, Missy didn’t decline. Her father gave her the option of staying with me and losing her all-expenses-paid trip around the world, or dropping me and getting her inheritance early.”

  “Oh, shit, Cole.”

  “You can guess where this is going. It didn’t end well. And that shit hurt pretty bad.”

  Echo scratched her nose. “Well, her stupid loss is my gain.”

  I smiled at that, even though the twinge of guilt niggled at me. Our relationship was on the borderline of my ethics. We’d had something before we were in the coaching relationship, sure, but it was still dicey. And if not unethical, it would still be juicy gossip. We would need to be careful to protect what we had. “What about you? I can guess that your family must have run off most boys, but I’m sure one or two slipped past the cracks.”

  She flushed and immediately turned to look away. “Not exactly.”

  “Oh, come on. Give me a chance to say the their loss thing.”

  She licked her lips and I stopped.

  What wasn’t she telling me? “Out with it, Echo.”

  “There was no one before you, Cole. You were my first.”

  My jaw dropped. “Wha—? Hold—” I shook my head to try and get my mind clear. “Explain.”

  She drew in a breath, as if trying to find the right words. “Well, I dated some in high school and college, but you’ve seen my family. None of those guys could hack it, or wanted to bang the ice-queen. I was never comfortable enough with anyone to try. And then I met you and it felt like you basically set my panties on fire.”

  She was a— we’d had a one-night— “Echo, you were a virgin that night?” I shouted it out too loudly.

  “Go on, Cole, I don’t think they heard you in the Valley.”

  “Sorry. I’m sorry. I just can’t believe—”

  “It’s true.”

  I ran my hands through my hair and paced as I tried to come to terms with the numerous ways we’d had sex. I’d given her a hell of a crash course. Damn. I really wished I’d known. “Echo, that’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to tell somebody. Your first time is supposed to be with someone special.”

  She laughed. “Well, for starters. It felt special with you. The moment you kissed me I knew it was different from every single guy I’d ever kissed. Second, That’s a little antiquated of you. And finally, I didn’t wait for marriage or something. I just needed the right dude.”

  The guilt wormed its way through me. “But, Echo, I wasn’t gentle.”

  “And I didn’t need gentle. Cole, that was the most perfect night of my life. And then everything went to hell.”

  And I’d been a total asshole to her. “Shit, Echo, I’m sorry. You should have told me.”

  “Why? So you could make me feel weird about it? I know you wouldn’t mean to, but you would. Or worse, you wouldn’t have slept with me.”

  I laughed harshly. “Oh, from the moment I saw you, I was desperate. I would have still slept with you if you wanted me.” I shrugged. “I’m a guy. A hot, unattached woman wants to sleep with you, you do it.”

  “Guys.”

  “What can I say, we’re simple creatures. But seriously, though, I would have been gentler, or like made my bed or something. Something to make it special in some way.”

  “Weren’t you there? That night was hot. It was the after part that sucked.”

  Yeah, the part where I’d been a complete and total asshat. “Well, let’s not do that again. But now it looks like I’ll need to do that night we met all over again. You know, retrace my steps. All so I can interject a little romance into the process.”

  We made it nearly all the way down the hill before my knee started to protest, and I needed a rest. She helped me into a sitting position on the trail to try and help me massage it out. “Was it high school, or college, that did your knee in?”

  Shit…another reveal I wasn’t in the mood for. Better to do it now than wait. Hell, the woman just told you she’d been a virgin when you slept with her. Suck it up.

  “It had been not great before, but I was in the car when my parents’ car was T-boned on our way to Alex’s cross-country meet. I survived. They didn’t.”

  “Oh, my God, Cole. I am so, so, sorry. I had no idea.”

  I nodded a thanks.

  “Can I ask? You miss it, running?”

  I nodded. “Every day. But I have coaching now. It’s not the same, but I turned it into a career.”

  “And a damned good one at that.”

  “I think you’re biased.”

  She took my hand and intertwined our fingers. “Damn straight I am. I could not have gotten a coach with a nicer butt.”

  “You, woman, are incorrigible.”

  “I know.” She paused, and then added softly, “And, Cole?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you for telling me.”

  “You, too. But I wasn’t kidding about the romance. I’m going to shower you with rose petals. Romance, coming right up.”

  She laughed. “Well, how about for now, we settle for a kiss. And you can make it up to me later.” She winked at me.

  Dick hard. Stupid dick.

  23

  Echo

  By the time the party rolled around, I was ready to pull my hair out. For starters, my family had kept me hopping, and I hadn’t been able to see Cole yesterday. But also, the planning had somehow fallen to me.

  “What do you mean, you need me to work with the caterers and cleaning staff?” I asked my mother over breakfast. Gage and Fox were still in bed, and I hadn’t seen my father yet, but chances were, he, too, was still asleep.

  “Your father had a rough night last night,” Mom informed me. “I called to make an appointment for tomorrow, but they don’t want him to wait that long. They want to see him today. So I need you to show the catering people where to set up and make sure that the cleaning staff focus on the public areas first.”

  “If the doctors are that worried about Dad that they don’t want him waiting till tomorrow for an appointment, don’t you think having fifty people over to the house might be a bit much?” I asked. “Why don’t you just cancel the party until Dad’s feeling better and—”

  “We are not canceling at the last minute like this,” my mother put her foot down. “We don’t want to worry anyone or cause concern. Now, will you help or not? It would be tremendously appreciated if you would—”

  “Of course, I’ll help,” I snapped. “I always help, you know that. But that doesn’t mean I agree with what you’re doing or that I’m going to sit by without saying something. You won’t tell me what it is the doctors have said. And you won’t tell anyone else that he’s sick at all. How long do you think you can keep this up? Don’t you think everyone else has a right to know?”

  Mom’s brow furrowed. “Don’t you think it should be up to your father when and how he tells people?” she asked. “Don’t you think he has a right to his privacy? To not have everyone sticking their noses in and offering their advice? Second-guessing every personal decision he makes?”

  I fought the anger and the worry and the helplessness. My first instinct was to call Cole. But no. I needed to learn to manage the stress on my own. That meant no Jen, either. The two of us hadn’t had a chance to download since my night at Cole’s. Jen had her suspicions, though, since Gramps called her that night after me. She’d pressed me for details via text for the last two days.

  Who was he and where’d I meet him? When would Jen get to meet him? And had I mentioned anything to my parents yet? I sighed, eager for the day to be over so I could go back to my regular training sessions with Cole, wondering if and how they might change now that we were involved. Of course, thinking about him made me wonder what I was doing. But with him, it was easier to be present.

  I certainly didn’t want a freaking media circus. Right now, we made no sense, and yet, in some ways, being with him was the only thing in my life that did make sense, the only thing I felt I had any real control over or say in, the only thing right then that was mine.

  The noise from the garbage disposal jerked me back to the present moment as my mother tidied up her own dishes and put the rest of what she’d made on a tray to bring up to my father.

  Cole

  * * *

  I arrived later than planned, as part of the second wave of guests. Echo had texted and told me not to come early. I glanced around for her but didn’t find her in the crowded sitting room or the dining room where the table had been removed and extra seats brought in.

  The number of people I recognized barely broke double digits. The number I had ever met fit on one hand, and there was no one there I was comfortable approaching. I started to regret showing up at all. But I’d promised Echo I would, and wasn’t going to abandon her to this lot, or something like that. Besides, she had been right about it being appropriate for her coach to be there, given the accomplishments they were celebrating were the result of our work on the track.

  I moved to the bar to get a drink, and instantly regretted the decision. There were too many bottles to choose from, and all of them individually were more expensive than the entire contents of my own liquor cabinet combined.

  “I’ll take a…uh…Scotch,” I finally requested, my voice trailing up with uncertainty and hesitation.

  “Is there a brand you would prefer, sir?” the bartender asked.

  “Uh… surprise me,” I told the man with a grin I hoped looked more casual than uneasy.

  The bartender handed me a glass with a finger of amber-colored liquid. “It’s an eighteen-year-old single malt.”

  “Uh. Thank you,” I said with a nod. I was pretty sure the glass cost more than my rent. Now, all I had to do was find someone I knew.

  I knew enough to sip the Scotch and was glad I did. It burned on the way down, but sat smooth and warm in my belly. I still couldn’t believe Echo’s parents had hired caterers for a family party. This was worse than Missy’s parents.

  A man to my right inadvertently bumped me and turned to apologize.

  “I’m so sorry about that. I hope I didn’t spill your drink.”

  Colleague or associate? “Not enough in here to spill, unless I turn it upside down,” I explained, raising the glass tumbler for the man to see.

  The other man laughed more than he needed to, but it did serve to put me at ease.

  “Rick Becker,” the man introduced himself. “I’m one of the supplier relations guys over at Legacy Sports.”

  “Cole. Cole Jackson. I’m…uh…I’m Echo’s coach,” I responded, shaking the man’s hand.

  “Well, you’ve done a wonderful job with her,” Becker told me. “She’s a talented, talented young woman. I’ve worked with her in arranging sponsors for a number of her charity runs the last few years. I knew she’d raced in high school and college, but when word went around that she was going to be looking at the Olympics, I was amazed. I know that I couldn’t go back to something I hadn’t done for a while like that and do better than I had before, even if I was as young as you guys.”

  “Cole,” Rory Coulter’s voice sliced through our conversation.

  “Rory,” Rick Becker greeted the older man with a smile and a handshake. “You look as fit as ever. Like you could run a hundred yards and hardly break a sweat.”

  “Thanks, Rick. Mind if I borrow Cole here for a minute?”

  “Please,” Rick backed off. “We can chat more later,” he told me. “I know some folks who might be interested in getting your professional opinion on a few of their products while they’re still in development. Sports drinks and protein shakes and stuff. Trying to customize them for the sport or workout, or something like that. I’ll find you.”

  I nodded even as I mourned the loss of my escape route.

  Rory’s face was a mask of determination. Whatever he was determined to do, the prospect left me dubious. I raised my glass of Scotch and finished the last of it, slipping the empty glass back to the passing waitstaff. Rory led me to the private balcony facing the extensive grounds, and I suddenly wished I hadn’t had that Scotch.

  The balcony and adjoining room were in sight, but out of earshot.

  “I want to know,” Rory began with a quiet calm that didn’t bode well, “where you were Tuesday night?”

  I knew where this was going. Not my first fucked-up, rich-people rodeo, old man.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I was at home,” I told him. “I stayed in that night, played some video games to unwind. Though I’m not sure why you care.”

  “You didn’t head out with Echo and Jen, or something like that? Take the girls out on the town so you could get them drunk and…”

  “Aaand, I’m done.” I said, moving to brush past Rory. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to your ridiculous insinuations.”

  “The only thing you’re done with is coaching Echo.” Rory said, grabbing my arm with an iron grip. “You are an employee. And it is not your place to tell any of us what she will and won’t run. Those aren’t your calls to make. We are the fucking Coulters.”

  “Those are my calls to make. That’s the job description of a coach.” I goaded him as I wrenched my arm free. “As her coach, it is my job to decide what is best for her. Physically, for her chances of success. And I, at least listen to her and to what she wants, and don’t try to bully her into doing things that couldn’t be farther from her goals.”

  “You manipulate her,” Rory accused. “You are trying to get inside her head and manipulate her affections. Turn her against her own family. But let me tell you something. Not on my watch. You are not good enough for her, and you need to stay the hell away from her. She is where she belongs. What’s the magic number? How much is it going to take to make you disappear?” He swept his hand out to point at Echo in the sitting room, chatting with a young man. Or they had been chatting. Now they were staring at me and the old man as we argued… Just like everyone else.

  Bryce and Tami had arrived, and Tami poked Bryce with her elbow.

  Rory was still talking, but my attention was now on Echo. The guy she was with wore a navy blazer, and had one of those haircuts that probably cost as much as the blazer. And the way he looked at me… That was probably the kind of guy she should go out with. Not the guy who’d taken her virginity and didn’t even know.

  “Hey, Cole, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Bryce said as he walked out, reaching out and taking my hand to shake. “I was hoping we could have that talk about that foundation I’m working on. Is now a good time?”

  “Actually, Bryce—” Rory tried to interject, but Bryce ignored him.

  “Come on. Let’s head out front, where we won’t have to worry about getting too loud and making a scene,” Bryce insisted, as he placed a hand on my shoulder and led me through the hallway towards the kitchen and away from the rest of the party guests. Tami swooped in behind him to see if there was anything Rory needed. A refill, something to eat? She led him in the opposite direction, towards Brent’s study.

  I fumed quietly as I let Bryce lead me out of the house and into the garden.

  “I have never…been so…” I sputtered and shrugged off Bryce’s hand.

  “I’m sorry about all that,” Bryce apologized. “Gramps can be…well, the word asshole comes to mind. And when it comes to Echo… He’s…protective. He means well.”

  “He does not ‘mean well’,” I snapped. “He means to be in control, and when he doesn’t get his way, he bullies people into submission. And you all just let him get away with it! Fuck it. I’m leaving. This was a mistake.”

  “Cole!” Bryce called to me, but I had already found a way out of the garden and onto the lawn, bypassing the house altogether. Echo was clearly busy.

  I was an idiot. It was true that I’d been wrong about the Coulters in general. They weren’t all money-grubbing, condescending bullies who would trample over anyone who stood in the way of them getting what they wanted. But Rory Coulter had extra of what the others lacked on those fronts.

  I should’ve known better about the old man. I saw how little Brent and Julia paid attention to what Echo really wanted and needed. They were distracted. Brent was clearly ill, but their daughter needed them. She let them lean on her too much. But, for her own grandfather to be such a…a…royal ass. She might put up a stink to him about not wanting to do something. But if I hadn’t put my foot down as her coach, I was willing to bet she would have caved. She would’ve been training for the marathon or half-marathon at the expense of what she enjoyed.