CHAPTER SEVEN
Cole dropped his empty plate into the garbage, then sat back down beside Annie. She was still eating her lunch, even though she’d taken much less than he had.
“Are you planning to swim?” Annie asked, gesturing to his brightly colored shorts.
“I am,” he said. “But I assume you’re not?”
“Nope. Definitely not. There are fish in there.”
Cole chuckled. “Yep. There are fish in there. You don’t like that?”
Annie shook her head. “I like water and swimming, but not when there are other living creatures in the same water.”
“They won’t hurt you, you know,” Cole told her. “I don’t think there are any sharks or piranhas here.”
Annie tilted her head, which made the silky smooth sweep of her ponytail slip from her shoulder. She lifted her brows. “Can you absolutely, positively guarantee that?”
Cole found himself wishing he could guarantee that nothing would ever hurt her. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a guarantee he could make. “Well, I guess it’s possible some aggressive fish are in there, though I don’t think it’s too likely.”
“I’m not going to take the chance, so I’ll just sit here and watch the rest of you risk your lives for a little fun in the sun.”
When Cole grinned, Annie smiled back at him, her blue eyes sparkling. Ever since he’d met her, he’d tried to decipher her appeal.
She wasn’t the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, but there was something in her smile that captivated him. It was genuine and lit up her whole face.
Neither would he describe her as outgoing, but whenever they spoke, she was responsive and engaging. Never making him feel like he had to hold up the conversation on his own.
And while it might seem counter-productive, given how drawn he was to her, but he liked that she wasn’t overtly flirty with him. It made him feel like she saw him as more than a rich professional athlete.
He hadn’t anticipated, when they’d spoken for the first time about his order, that he’d develop a strong desire to continue contact with her. His plan had been to call her again when the orders he’d placed had arrived and he’d given them to the moms he’d ordered them for.
But then the next day, while attending a meeting, he’d seen a bouquet of flowers that included some blooms that were the same shade as the purple of the baby clothes Annie had shown him the day before. So, of course, after taking a picture of the flowers, he’d had to send it to Annie, which had led to a brief exchange of texts before his meeting.
And then the following day, she’d sent him a picture of a purple flower that she’d seen while out on a walk with her dog. It had looked like they were on a walking trail through a forest, so he’d had to reply and ask for clarification.
After that, he found himself searching for flowers to take pictures of so he could send them to her. That had led to a discussion on whether she liked being given flowers. Annie had admitted that she did like flowers but had no luck growing them.
And that’s how it had started. They’d continued to text every day, but on the days when he didn’t have other stuff going on, they’d have longer conversations. He’d video chatted with her to show her one of the babies wearing what she’d made, which had made it easier to video chat with her again.
He’d wondered how things would be if they got the chance to hang out in real life again. So far, things had been going as well as he’d hoped.
“I’m going to get in the water, Annie,” Benji said as he peeled off his shirt.
“Okay. Be careful.”
He rolled his eyes. “I will.”
Cole watched as the young man joined the other teens on the back of the boat. There were some large inflatables there that they jumped into the water with.
“How long are you home for, Cole?” Wilder asked. He and Lexi appeared to have their swimsuits on, so they’d probably be joining the others in the water at some point.
“Not quite a week,” Cole said. “Gotta get ready to report to training camp.”
“Are you playing in the pre-season games?”
“Yep. We’re going to be playing in Dubai.”
“Really?” Wilder sat forward. “I would have loved to visit Dubai, but just never got around to it.”
“I’ve never been there either,” Cole said. “Not sure I’ll get to see much of the city. Lots of PR stuff going on, I think.”
“Have you travelled much, Annie?” Lexi asked.
“Nope. Honestly, I haven’t travelled out of Idaho.”
“A homebody,” Wilder said with a nod. “We’ve got a couple of those in the family.”
“Who besides Charli?” Cole asked.
“I think Kayleigh would prefer to stay home.” Wilder leaned forward to look at his sister. “Right?”
“I don’t mind traveling with Hudson on occasion, but I definitely prefer being in our little home. It’s where I’m happiest, to be honest.”
“How about you, Hudson?” Wilder asked. “Do you enjoy traveling?”
“Pre-Kayleigh, I did a lot of traveling, and for the most part, I didn’t mind it. Now that we’re married, I much prefer being where Kayleigh is.” Hudson gave Kayleigh a look that was filled with his love for her. “So if I have to travel now, I like her to come with me if she can. But if she can’t, you can bet I’m trying to get home as soon as possible.”
Cole liked to see the affection between Kayleigh and Hudson, and he was happy that they’d found each other. They didn’t have kids yet, but he wasn’t sure if that was by choice or not. And it didn’t feel right to ask.
“Let’s swim,” Wilder said as he got to his feet. He turned to Lexi and held out his hand. “Wanna go?”
“Not yet,” she told him with a shake of her head. “You go ahead.”
Wilder didn’t argue. Instead, he peeled off his shirt, then headed for the back of the boat, where he dove into the water. When Aiden decided to join Wilder, Cole stood up and removed his tank top to follow them.
He should probably put sunscreen on, but he didn’t bother. In the past, he hadn’t burned too easily, so he hoped he wouldn’t that day either.
Glancing over at Annie, he found she was looking at him. When she met his gaze, her cheeks flushed red, and she quickly looked away.
Cole grinned as he headed for the back of the boat. He didn’t want things to be awkward between them, so he’d refrained from making a cheeky comment. Though he had been sorely tempted to tease her.
With two long strides, he dove off the boat and plunged into the cool water. When he broke back up through the surface, he shook his head to get rid of some of the excess water in his hair.
Glancing around, he spotted Wilder and Aiden holding onto an inner tube and he stroked in their direction. The teens were also clustered around another inner tube and a floating chair.
“You managed to talk Annie into joining us this time, huh?” Aiden said as he ran his hand through his hair. “Guess she’s falling victim to your charm.”
“Or your money,” Wilder added.
“I don’t think it was either of those,” Cole said as he flipped onto his back and hooked his arm under the inner tube. “Pretty sure her main reason for coming is Benji. Plus, her other two friends came.”
“It seems you’re pretty friendly with her,” Wilder said with a curious lilt to his voice.
Cole couldn’t deny that, so he didn’t even bother trying. “Yep. I ordered some things from her online shop.”
“Didn’t she say she sews baby and women’s stuff?” Aiden asked.
“Yep. And I decided to throw some business her way by placing an order for some baby stuff for a couple of teammates whose wives had just had babies.”
Wilder gave a laugh. “Did you even know anything about what babies need?”
“Nope. I didn’t have a clue,” he admitted. “Which is why she ended up calling me to clarify my order. We’ve talked a few times since then as well.”
Cole figured that he didn’t need to hide anything. Was he curious about her? Definitely. Was it a romantic curiosity? At times, it seemed that way to him.
For now, he was glad to have a friend who didn’t seem overly wowed by his fame or fortune. Either that or she was a talented actress. However, he didn’t think that was the case.
“Lexi really likes her,” Wilder said. “She’s come by the rink several times with Benji, and they’ve been working on a new skating costume for Amelia.”
Cole knew all that already because of the conversations he’d had with Annie. She’d been a little nervous about tackling a type of project she’d never done before.
But what he’d admired about her was that even though she was nervous about it, never once did she say she wanted to give up. He really liked that quality about her.
He’d learned early in his life that giving up never moved a person forward in life, so he was glad that Amelia didn’t let the unknown challenges hold her back.
“So you’re really not interested in her romantically?” Wilder said.
“I don’t know. She strikes me as someone who would want a relationship to be serious,” Cole said. “And given my schedule during the season, it’s probably not the best timing to start something serious right before I’m back to work.”
The truth was that there was something about Annie that drew him in, which was why he hadn’t seemed to be able to cut off contact with her yet. Since she hadn’t seemed interested in flirting with him, it was possible that she really only wanted a friendship.
“You never know, Cole,” Aiden said, his voice thoughtful. “Sometimes the best things happen when you’re not looking for them.”
Cole splashed water at his friend. “Don’t get all philosophical on me. I’m just enjoying the summer before the season starts.”
“Well, now that she’s on our radar, we’ll be sure to let you know if she goes on any dates.”
Cole frowned at his friend. “And what would you expect me to do with that information? I don’t live here.”
Wilder splashed him. “Maybe we’ll just have to give it a whirl to see what your reaction would be.”
His whole life he’d had siblings, which meant that he was well versed in how to avoid raising their suspicions. Which, in this case, meant to not protest what they were teasing him about. “Just make sure you don’t tell me on game day. You know, just in case you’re right. You wouldn’t want me to go into a game upset.”
Wilder rolled his eyes. “I’ll be sure to do the fans a favor and hold that news until after you’ve played.”
“I’m sure they’ll be appreciative,” Cole said.
The truth was, he’d always done a pretty good job of leaving any emotional upheaval or upset behind when it was game-time, so he wasn’t too worried.
A splash drew their attention to the boat in time to see Skylar and Lexi surface in the water. Aiden and Wilder immediately abandoned Cole, with Aiden grabbing the inner tube and towing it behind him as they swam to where the ladies were.
Cole watched them for a long moment, then he tipped his head back. Closing his eyes against the bright sun, he tightened his core and lifted his legs to the surface. Unfortunately, he’d never been able to float on his back without considerable effort, so that position didn’t last too long as it just wasn’t relaxing.
Flipping over onto his stomach, Cole swam toward the boat. He glanced over to see the teens still floating together. Last time, they’d asked to be pulled on the tubes, so Cole assumed they would do the same that day at some point.
When he reached the boat, he lifted himself up onto the platform, then shook his head again as he reached for his towel. After drying off, he draped the towel around his shoulders. Gripping the ends of the towel, he made his way to the covered portion of the boat.
“How’s the water?” Hudson asked as Cole sank down beside Annie.
“It was cool and wet,” Cole said as he used the towel on his hair, then picked up his tank top. “And not a single fish tried to eat me.”
When Dawn and Andrew chuckled, Cole figured that they knew what he was referencing.
“There’s always a first time,” Annie said. “I have no desire to have fish nibbling on my toes.”
“But think of the money you’d save on pedicures,” Dawn told her, leaning over to bump her shoulder against Annie’s.
Cole was a bit surprised Andrew hadn’t joined them in the water. He looked like he was dressed for a swim with loose, brightly colored shorts. He also wore a button-up shirt open over what looked like a tank top. Dawn was dressed similarly, though she had a pair of denim shorts on. She didn’t look as ready to swim as Andrew did.
Andrew kept glancing out at where the teens were swimming, though occasionally, he scanned the water around them.
“Are you a cop, Andrew?” Cole asked.
“Previously,” Andrew said. “I’m in security now.”
“Do you find it hard to leave the job behind?”
The corner of Andrew’s mouth lifted in a sheepish smile. “Yeah. You could say that.”
Cole moved his gaze to Annie’s friend. “What do you do, Dawn?”
“Actually, Andrew and I work together. It’s how we met.”
“Love on the job, huh?” Hudson said. “That sounds familiar.”
“Is that how you two met?” Dawn asked.
“Something like that,” Kayleigh said. “Hudson came from the head office when the resort was having some problems. I’m the manager, so we had to deal with each other.”
“And fell in love in the process,” Hudson added.
“Did they give you any issues about working together and being in a relationship?”
“No,” Hudson said with a grin. “My boss is my dad, who also happens to be the owner of the company. Another point in our favor was that my dad really liked Kayleigh.”
“Is it okay for you two to be in a relationship while working together?” Kayleigh asked.
Cole sensed Annie tense beside him as Dawn and Andrew exchanged looks. When he glanced at her, he saw that her gaze was on the couple.
“Our boss isn’t a huge fan of relationships between employees,” Andrew said. “So we try to keep it on the down-low.”
“That must be challenging,” Kayleigh said with a frown.
“It can be,” Dawn admitted. “But it’s worth the hassle. Right, babe?”
Andrew nodded, his mouth quirking up once again. “Definitely, sweetheart.”
Cole sensed there was something weird going on, but he didn’t press for answers. They were Annie’s friends, and they didn’t owe him their life stories. Especially since he wasn’t going to be in the area to continue to cultivate a friendship with them. For some reason, he didn’t think that they’d be interested in the type of friendship he was currently building with Annie.
Soon, the teens returned to the boat to ask Cole to pull them.
“Is that safe?” Annie asked.
“We did it the last time we came out here,” Benji said. “Nobody got hurt.”
Annie looked at Cole, then at Andrew and Dawn. After a moment, Andrew nodded. “He’ll be fine.”
“We wear life jackets,” Amelia said. “Uncle Cole wouldn’t let us on the tubes without them.”
Annie’s gaze returned to Cole, her brow still furrowed. But finally, her shoulders slumped, the fight going out of her. She turned to Benji. “You promise to be careful?”
“I do.”
“Your mom would kill me if something happened to you,” Annie said, with a shake of her head.
Benji grinned. “Nothing will happen to me.”
The last time the teens had tubed, they’d obeyed his rules, so Cole didn’t have a problem hooking the tubes up for them. But even though he trusted the teens, he still checked over their life jackets and reviewed the rules.
“These four kept things safe last time,” Cole said to the two teens who hadn’t been with them previously. “I trust they will do that again. You have one chance to prove yourself to me. Don’t mess it up, or you’ll all be back on the boat.”
Cole turned his gaze to Layla, who nodded, then gave him a thumbs up.
As the teens were getting themselves situated, Wilder joined him at the steering wheel, a big grin on his face.
“You sound a lot like Dad,” Wilder said. “That was definitely a dad lecture if I ever heard one.”
Cole grinned. “Yeah. I guess it was.”
Someday maybe he’d have kids of his own to lecture, but that wasn’t in his immediate future.
“Want me to drive?” Wilder asked.
“I don’t know.” Cole gave him a skeptical look. “Don’t do anything crazy. I don’t want to have to ban you from future boating events.”
Wilder lifted a hand. “I’ll be good. I promise.”
Cole narrowed his eyes at his older brother for a long moment, then he stepped away from the wheel. He told him what he’d done on the previous trip as far as speed was concerned, then he went to stand at the back of the boat.
The teens had situated themselves, two on each ring. Cole lifted his thumbs in the air and received cheers from the teens.
As the boat moved forward with a slow acceleration, Cole braced his feet and gripped the smooth metal railing. He kept watch over the teens for a moment, waiting to make sure they started out okay.
“They look like they’re having a lot of fun.”
Annie’s soft voice had Cole turning to find her at his elbow. Smiling, he leaned a hip against the rail, then crossed his arms. “From my personal experience, I can say with great certainty that they are.”
“You used to boat a lot?”
Cole nodded. “Yep. Back then, we had a boat of our own that we kept here. During the summer, we were out on the water a lot.”
“I’ve been on boats before,” Annie said. “Just not being pulled on an inner tube.”
“Well, on the tube would be good for you. I doubt anything would try to nibble your toes when you’re moving like that. Actually, you’re not really in the water.”
“I see that,” Annie said. “But I envision them all ending up there at some point.”
“Yep. They will,” Cole agreed. He turned his attention fully to her. “How are you enjoying the afternoon?”
A smile brightened her features. “I’m really enjoying myself. It’s such beautiful weather to be out in.”
“Up here, you’ve got to enjoy the nice days while you can.”
“Do you miss having winter in LA?”
Cole shrugged. “Can’t say that I do. I mean, I don’t hate winter or anything, but it’s not my favorite season. How about you?”
“I don’t mind winter, although I don’t love walking Nyla when it’s super cold.”
“It’s been awhile since I’ve been here during winter.”
“Yeah. I guess you couldn’t even come home for Christmas or New Year’s because your team usually plays on or around those holidays.”
“Did you watch our Christmas games?”
“Yep. Benji always insisted.”
“And your parents didn’t mind?”
“No.”
“You said something about Benji’s mom,” Cole said. “Is she not your mom?”
“She’s my stepmom, and Benji is my half-brother.”
“Is your mom still in your life?”
Annie shook her head. “I haven’t seen her since I was a little girl. Elizabeth—Benji’s mom—was actually my nanny.”
“So your dad fell in love with the nanny?”
With a grin, Annie said, “Yep. He sure did.”
“Didn’t you say you had an older brother, too?”
“I do, but he doesn’t live around here.”
“Did he go to school in Serenity?”
“No. When we moved here, my parents decided that we’d be taught at home.”
Cole was super curious about Annie’s family, because it seemed that her dad wasn’t around much.
Shrieks drew their attention, and Cole turned to verify they were shrieks of delight and not something more.
Sure enough, they had picked up enough speed that the tubes were moving more quickly through the water. Not as quickly as if they had been towed behind a speedboat, but the teens were still clearly enjoying it.
“You sure you don’t want to go for a ride?” Cole asked. “We could go together, and I’ll tell Wilder to take it slow.”
Annie’s brows lifted, then she gestured to herself. “First of all, I’m not exactly dressed.”
“I thought maybe you’d actually worn your swimsuit underneath your dress.” Cole paused, not wanting her to think that he was considering what she might be wearing under her dress. Because he hadn’t until that moment.
Blinking, he said, “I know some people wear their swimsuits under their street clothes.”
Annie frowned. “I can see why they’d do that, but putting dry clothes on over a wet swimsuit doesn’t sound terribly comfortable.”
“Sometimes, if the day is hot enough, your swimsuit will dry before you put your street clothes back on.”
When he saw one of the newcomers tumble off the side of one of the inner tubes, Cole yelled for Wilder to stop. The boat immediately slowed, then they began to turn to return to the other teen, who was leaning back in his life jacket while he waited for the pickup.
The next little while was spent getting the teens set up once more, and then they were off again.
Cole was glad that Annie had stuck close to him so they could chat more. He would like to spend more time with her before he went back to LA, but the idea made him pause.
Was that what friends did?
He watched her as she stared out at the teens, who were once again having fun. Some of her light brown hair had escaped her braid and fluttered in the breeze created by the boat’s movement. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at the fun her brother was obviously having.
Cole felt something stir within him, and he quickly looked away from her.
This wasn’t what he needed right then. His focus needed to be on the upcoming season, not on trying to juggle burgeoning feelings for a woman who was very different from the ones he usually spent time with.
He needed to get back to LA and get their communications back to text messages with the odd video chat thrown in. Once he was in the swing of training and games, he wouldn’t have as much time to spend thinking about or talking to Annie.
Distance would give him the ability to keep things at a friendship level. Maybe once the season was over and his decision was made about his future, he could consider a deeper relationship.
Provided Annie was experiencing similar feelings.
Cole glanced back at her again, his heart skipping a beat when her gaze met his. Her smile held so much genuine joy, and it wrapped around him, making him smile in return.
Yeah… maybe he was in more trouble than he’d thought.