THE PRICE OF BEING WANTED
1894 Words
Sunday lunch at the Cole family home had one rule.
Work stayed outside.
Adrian broke it within twelve minutes.
His phone vibrated beside his plate.
He glanced down.
Marcus.
Client moved Tuesday’s meeting to 8:30. Need you there.
Adrian typed a reply.
Sophie kicked him under the table.
He looked up.
“What?”
“Mum said no phones.”
“I own part of a company.”
“And?”
“Companies don’t stop because Mum made roast chicken.”
Their mother appeared from the kitchen.
“I heard that.”
Adrian immediately put his phone away.
Sophie smiled triumphantly.
“Coward.”
“I respect my mother.”
“You fear your mother.”
“Same result.”
For a few minutes, Adrian felt like his old self.
Not The Stud Man.
Not the successful entrepreneur.
Just Adrian.
Then his mother looked at him.
“So, when are you bringing someone to Sunday lunch?”
Sophie nearly choked.
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Mum.”
“What?”
“Please don’t.”
“I’m asking a question.”
“You know the answer.”
“I don’t.”
“Never.”
His mother frowned.
“Don’t say that.”
“Fine. Not anytime soon.”
“You’re thirty-two.”
“Thank you for reminding me.”
“I would like grandchildren before I’m too old to chase them.”
Sophie raised her hand.
“Why is this his responsibility?”
Their mother pointed at her.
“You too.”
Sophie immediately concentrated on her food.
Adrian laughed.
Then his mother became serious.
“I worry about you.”
“Why?”
“You work too much.”
“I’m doing well.”
“Money isn’t what I mean.”
Adrian sighed.
Here it came again.
Happiness.
Everyone seemed determined to find something wrong with his life.
“I am fine.”
His mother studied him.
“You used to want a family.”
The words caught him unexpectedly.
He looked down at his plate.
That Adrian seemed like someone he’d known years ago.
A man who had imagined a wife.
Children.
A house filled with noise.
Someone waiting when he came home.
“I used to want lots of things.”
His mother reached across the table and touched his hand.
“One bad woman shouldn’t decide what you want forever.”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“This isn’t about Vanessa.”
“Then why did you immediately know who I meant?”
Silence.
Sophie looked between them.
“Mum.”
“I’m only saying—”
“I know what you’re saying.”
Adrian pulled his hand away gently.
“And I’m happy with my life.”
Nobody challenged him.
That almost made it worse.
⸻
By Wednesday, Adrian had buried the conversation beneath work.
The new client demanded changes.
Marcus wanted expansion.
Their investors wanted growth.
Adrian wanted all of it.
Ambition was easy.
Ambition never asked him to be vulnerable.
That evening, he attended a networking event in Canary Wharf.
He planned to stay an hour.
Three hours later, he was still there.
A woman named Evelyn stood beside him near the windows.
She was attractive, successful, and direct.
Exactly Adrian’s type.
Or what had become his type.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” she asked.
“I do.”
“Where did we meet?”
Adrian hesitated.
Evelyn laughed.
“Terrible.”
“Conference?”
“Wedding.”
“That was my second guess.”
“You flirted with my friend.”
Adrian smiled.
“Did I?”
“You absolutely did.”
“Did it work?”
“She still talks about you.”
Adrian took a sip of his drink.
“Hopefully positively.”
“Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
Evelyn leaned closer.
“She said you’re addictive.”
That word stayed with him.
“Addictive?”
“She said being around you makes a woman feel like she’s the only person in the room.”
Adrian smiled.
“That sounds complimentary.”
“I haven’t finished.”
“Of course not.”
“She also said the moment she starts believing it, you disappear.”
His smile faded slightly.
Evelyn watched him.
“Accurate?”
“I don’t promise anyone anything.”
“I know.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I didn’t say there was one.”
She moved closer.
“Maybe I like dangerous hobbies.”
Adrian laughed.
He should have enjoyed the conversation.
Instead, he remembered Lauren.
You’re trying very hard not to let me hurt you.
He pushed the thought away.
“What are you doing after this?” Evelyn asked.
Adrian looked at her.
A familiar road opened in front of him.
Drinks.
Flirting.
A taxi.
A night that would feel exciting until morning.
Then another name in his phone.
Another woman who knew exactly what he was willing to give.
Adrian suddenly felt tired.
“I have an early meeting.”
Evelyn raised an eyebrow.
“Is that rejection?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Now I’m offended.”
“You’ll recover.”
She smiled.
“Maybe your reputation is exaggerated.”
“Maybe.”
Adrian left alone.
Again.
He told himself it was because of work.
He knew better.
⸻
Friday evening, Ollie appeared at Adrian’s apartment carrying takeaway and beer.
“I didn’t invite you.”
“You’ve been ignoring me.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“You’re always busy.”
Adrian opened the door wider.
“Apparently nobody believes that anymore.”
Ollie entered.
They ate in front of the television.
For almost an hour, neither discussed anything important.
Football.
Work.
Marcus.
Sophie’s terrible taste in men.
Then Ollie ruined it.
“What’s happening with you?”
Adrian groaned.
“Can everyone stop asking me that?”
“No.”
“I’m fine.”
“You haven’t been out properly in weeks.”
“That used to be something you complained about.”
“I’m adaptable.”
Adrian leaned back.
“Maybe I’m bored.”
“With women?”
“With repetition.”
Ollie nodded.
“That makes sense.”
Adrian looked at him suspiciously.
“No lecture?”
“Do you want one?”
“No.”
“Then no.”
They sat quietly.
After a moment, Ollie said, “Do you remember university?”
“Unfortunately.”
“You were obsessed with finding the one.”
Adrian laughed.
“I was young.”
“You were twenty-four.”
“Exactly.”
“You used to say you wanted three children.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Why does everyone remember this?”
“Because you said it constantly.”
“I did not.”
“You had names.”
“I absolutely did not.”
Ollie grinned.
Adrian threw a cushion at him.
For the first time that evening, they laughed properly.
Then Ollie’s expression softened.
“You know there’s nothing wrong with changing what you want.”
“Thank you.”
“But there’s also nothing wrong with admitting you still want something.”
Adrian looked toward the windows.
“I don’t know what I want.”
It was the first honest answer he had given anyone in months.
Ollie didn’t make a joke.
“That sounds more believable.”
Adrian took a drink.
“I know what I don’t want.”
“What?”
“To become that man again.”
“What man?”
“The one who waits for messages. Worries when someone’s distant. Rearranges his entire life because he’s afraid she’ll leave.”
Ollie nodded.
“The old Adrian.”
“He was pathetic.”
“No.”
Adrian looked at him.
“He wasn’t.”
“You saw what Vanessa did.”
“I did.”
“She was embarrassed by me.”
“That says something about Vanessa.”
“She cheated.”
“That also says something about Vanessa.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
Ollie continued.
“You keep acting like being hurt proved something was wrong with you.”
“I don’t.”
“You built your entire life around proving it wasn’t.”
Silence.
Adrian looked away.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Maybe.”
Ollie stood.
“But here’s something I do know.”
He picked up his jacket.
“The old Adrian got hurt because he loved the wrong woman.”
Adrian said nothing.
“The new Adrian makes sure nobody gets close enough to become the right one.”
The door closed behind Ollie a minute later.
Adrian remained on the sofa.
Alone.
Again.
⸻
The following Saturday, Marcus persuaded him to attend a charity event at a luxury hotel.
“No disappearing,” Marcus warned.
“I don’t disappear.”
“You disappear whenever you’re bored.”
“Then don’t make it boring.”
Marcus rolled his eyes.
The ballroom was elegant.
Champagne.
Music.
Businesspeople pretending they weren’t networking.
Adrian was halfway through a conversation when a woman nearby caught his attention.
Not because she was trying to.
Because she wasn’t.
She stood with two colleagues near a display, listening as a man spoke.
Elegant.
Dark hair falling over one shoulder.
Simple black dress.
No desperate glances around the room.
No performance.
Then the man beside her said something.
She laughed.
Adrian found himself watching.
Marcus noticed.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“You’ve been staring at that woman for thirty seconds.”
“I haven’t.”
“You have.”
Adrian looked away.
“Do you know her?”
Marcus glanced across the room.
“Amelia Grant.”
The name meant nothing to Adrian.
“Marketing consultant. Brand strategy. Very good.”
Adrian looked again.
Amelia turned at almost the same moment.
Their eyes met.
Adrian gave her the smile that usually worked.
The one Ollie called unfair.
Amelia looked at him.
No blush.
No smile.
No second glance.
She simply turned back to her conversation.
Adrian stared.
Marcus started laughing.
“What?”
“Oh, this is excellent.”
“What is?”
“She ignored you.”
“She didn’t ignore me.”
“She absolutely did.”
Adrian picked up his drink.
“I don’t care.”
“Of course not.”
He looked at Amelia again.
This time, she didn’t look back.
Something unfamiliar stirred inside him.
Not desire.
Not yet.
Curiosity.
For years, women had been getting easier to understand.
Adrian had learned the looks.
The signals.
The games.
He knew when someone wanted him.
And he had become very good at knowing what happened next.
But Amelia Grant had looked directly at him as if Adrian Cole were simply another man in another room.
No reputation.
No fascination.
No Stud Man.
Nothing.
Adrian smiled slowly.
“Don’t,” Marcus said.
Adrian looked at him.
“Don’t what?”
“I know that face.”
“What face?”
“The one that says you’ve just found a challenge.”
Adrian took a sip of his drink.
Across the ballroom, Amelia laughed again.
He watched her.
Maybe Marcus was right.
Maybe it was only curiosity.
Maybe Adrian simply wasn’t accustomed to being ignored.
Whatever it was, one thing had become certain.
For the first time in years, Adrian Cole had noticed a woman who hadn’t noticed him back.
And The Stud Man didn’t like that at all.
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