Chapter 6
LUNA
After tossing and turning all night, I got out of bed early, got ready for the day, and then made my way next door to the animal shelter. I made a point of keeping myself busy to try to forget about the offer Cole made to me last night.
It’s crazy, and I’m sure in the light of the day, he’s had a change of heart.
The bell over the front door rings, and I close Olly’s cage. He came in two days ago, and I’ve been trying to give him extra belly rubs.
Leo swirls around my feet, and I pick him up as I walk to the front of the shelter. “Good morning—”
I have a smile on my face, but it freezes when I see Cole standing next to the counter. As soon as I see him, the kiss from last night comes to mind, and my whole body reacts. “Hi,” I say, almost shyly.
He comes toward me, reaches for Leo, and holds him in one arm as he reaches for me. “Good morning,” he says huskily before leaning in and kissing me.
I lean into him and get lost in the kiss.
I shouldn’t make it this easy for him, but the attraction is like nothing I’ve felt before. As soon as he breaks the kiss, breathlessly he asks, “Did you decide?”
Automatically, I tense. “Cole—”
He holds up the hand that is not holding Leo. “I know. You need time.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “What are you doing here?”
He shrugs. “I have some people coming in and wanted to let you know.”
I look around the shelter. “People coming here?”
Before he can explain, the front door opens, and three men walk in.
Cole walks over to each of them, Leo still on his arm, and shakes their hands. He brings the men back over to me. “Luna, this is Brick, Axel, and Mike. Guys, this is Luna. She’s the one in charge. She’ll tell you what she wants done.”
Surprised, I ask, “What I want done with what?”
Cole smiles at me. “These guys are here to help fix up the shelter. Besides the flooring, the walls, and some shelves, what else do you need?”
My mouth hangs open as I stare at him. He reaches up and cups my chin. “Luna, I also have some people coming in for interviews this afternoon.”
I shake my head. “No, I can’t afford to hire help.”
His hand slides to my shoulder. “Yes, you can.” He looks at the three men.
“Hey, guys!” He points toward the back. “Luna and I are going to take a little walk. To get started here, I wanna replace the floor, get new counters, paint, and install some shelves.” He looks at me.
“What do you think about putting some animals out here during the day? We can build an area with a climbing tree and toys and stuff. It will be enclosed so they’re safe. ”
I barely stutter out the words. “That sounds, uh, amazing.”
He grabs my hand. “Great, let’s talk.” He talks to the men but doesn’t take his eyes off me. “Guys, we’ll be right back.”
He puts his hand at the small of my back and leads me out the front door to the sidewalk. He looks at me worriedly. “You okay with all this?”
I open my mouth and then close it, unable to put into words what I’m feeling.
He frowns. “Luna, you’re scaring me. Talk to me. Are you okay?”
I blink at him. “Yes, I’m okay. This is… this is amazing. But I can’t afford any of it. I’m barely able to pay you the rent that’s past due.” I put my hands on his chest when he comes toward me.
Cole stops, even though we both know he can break my hold. I take Leo from his arms, wanting to hold on to something. He cups my face in his hands. “Hear me out. You don’t owe rent. You are now the manager of the building, and I won’t be charging you for your apartment or the shelter.”
“Cole—”
He stops me. “And before you say it, this is not part of the deal. This is me wanting to do something for you.”
Before I can process that, he nods. “And yes, you need to hire some people. You need to have time to run more adoption events or community involvement, and if you’re always here, taking care of the animals, working to pay for food, you can’t do that.”
“But I don’t have the money.”
He huffs out a breath and pulls his phone from his pocket. He opens the images app, finds the picture he’s looking for, and holds it up to me. “This is the money I donated to the animal shelter this morning.”
My mouth drops when I see the amount. I can run the shelter for three years on that amount. I’m about to tell him that when he continues. “And the shelter will receive ten thousand dollars a month. It’s already set to automatically be deposited.”
I bring my hands up to my mouth. “Oh my God, Cole…”
He takes a step back. “All of this is for you. No strings attached. Whether you say yes or no, this is happening.”
I bring Leo up against my chest, and he stretches in my arms. “I don’t know what to say.”
He shrugs. “Thank you is all I expect.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
He pulls me against him, and Leo meows loudly to make sure his presence is known. Cole and I both laugh. He looks down into my eyes. “Your cat is a cock block.”
I blush and look toward the door of the shelter. “This is too much, Cole. You know that, right?”
He shakes his head. “Not for you it’s not. You deserve this and more.”
I shrug. “The animals do.”
I know I need to say more, but he pulls a small notepad from his jacket pocket. “Here. Make some notes. I want to know what you’ve imagined this place can be, and I’m going to help you make it happen.”
Cole scoops Leo out of my arms and then hands me the notepad. His knuckles brush my chest, and I suck in a breath at the contact, but Cole acts as if he doesn’t notice. I clear my throat. “Why are you doing this?”
He squints at me. “You want the truth?”
I nod. “I always want the truth. Even if it’s hard to hear, I want the truth.”
He blows out a breath. “Because I want you. I want your dreams to come true, but…”
I hold my breath. “But what?”
He shrugs. “But I also want you to live the life you want… and I’m hoping that by hiring help and quitting your job at the diner, it may free up some of your time.”
I gasp. “Quit my job at the diner? I have to make money.”
He chuckles. “Luna, that money is for you to pay yourself and the employees.”
An uneasiness comes over me. I don’t think I can give up a guaranteed source of income. Can I trust Cole? I literally met him yesterday.
He reaches up and brushes the pads of his fingers along my cheek. “Come on, honey. We’ve got lots of work to do.”
He takes off his jacket as we walk back into the shelter. He’s looking around, but I can’t take my eyes off him. He’s rolling his sleeves up, baring his tattooed forearms, and I’m watching him like I could just eat him up.
He taps the notebook in my hand. “Get to work. The quicker we get through work, the quicker we can get to our date.”
I put a hand to my chest, right over my heart, and it’s thumping erratically. “Date?”
He looks into my eyes and nods. “Yeah. Will you go out with me tonight?”
I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, he steps toward me. “Please? I probably should have asked you last night. I shouldn’t just assume you’re free, but it would mean the world to me if you would join me for dinner tonight.”
A part of me wants to say no. I’m scared and know that Cole could hurt me, but there’s also a part of me that really wants to go on this date with him.
I pull my shoulders back. “Okay, I’ll go out with you.”
His smile widens, and his black eyes practically glow. He leans toward me and kisses me thoroughly, grunting when he pulls away. “You won’t regret this, Luna.”
I look down at the notebook in my hand and act as if I’m trying to think about what I’m going to write. In fact, I’m thinking I’m pretty sure I’m going to regret this, but I’m going to enjoy it as long as it lasts.