47. Jenny
JENNY
“What do you want to do today, babe?”
I opened my eyes. Cole was next to me, eyes on my face.
“Were you watching me sleep?” I pulled the covers up to my chin. “Oh no—was I snoring?”
He gave me a broad smile, the smile I loved. “Not at all. Maybe a little drooling, but that’s it. I swear.”
I swatted him. “I don’t drool.” I wiped the corner of my mouth, just in case.
“Of course not. I was just teasing you. I like watching you sleep. You’re so peaceful. You look like a little kid.” He pulled me close against his warm, muscular body and peppered my cheeks and shoulder with kisses. “Mmm, you smell good. And you’re so warm.”
“It’s because I’m next to you.” I nestled against his massive chest. Although I had no business being in his bed, reuniting with Cole was healing my heart.
He held me tighter, and we were quiet for a minute.
“I’ll ask you again: what would you like to do today?”
I looked up at him shyly. “Whatever you want to do.”
“That’s the perfect answer, Jenny.” Cole waggled his eyebrows. “Because I have the whole day planned. Let’s get dressed. We have places to go and people—er, things—to see.”
I scrunched my nose up. “We do? What sort of things?”
“It’s all part of my master plan.” He shooed me out of bed. “Hurry, okay? We don’t want to be late. And wear sneakers, babe. We’re walking.”
Curious, I hustled through my morning routine, throwing my hair up into a ponytail and going with minimal makeup. I was almost done with a few swipes of mascara, a little lip gloss, and blush. But when I went to apply my eyebrow pencil, I winced.
Eyebrows made me think of Auntie Theresa.
I’d sent her the money, of course. I couldn’t risk her reappearing at Fifty Liberty, bullying Amari, and causing a scene. After I’d sent it, I’d forcefully pushed her from my mind. If I didn’t think about her, it was like she didn’t exist.
Except that was a Jedi mind trick that could only get me so far. If she showed up again—if she told Cole about my past—it would break me. It was bad enough that she was colluding with Cole’s father, but that was just another thing I refused to think about.
I tossed on a pair of tights and a tank top, hoping Cole liked it when I dressed like Sporty Spice. As instructed, I wore sneakers. When I reached the kitchen, his eyes lit up. “You look hot,” he said immediately.
Sporty Spice FTW!
“Thanks. You look pretty good, yourself.” Cole wore a tight-fitting T-shirt, dark jeans, a pair of Nikes, and an enormous platinum watch. He hadn’t shaved, so a dark scruff colored his jaw. Yum. ”Are you sure you want to go out?” I asked, a hint of flirtation creeping into the question.
“Not when you look that good—but like I said earlier, I made a plan.” He held out his hand for me. “Let’s go have some fun.”
My heart soared as I went to him. Cole laced his fingers through mine, and right then, I was the happiest girl in the whole world.
Amari had coffees waiting for us—did I mention that it did not suck to be wicked rich? And the sun was shining as we exited Fifty Liberty. Cole kept his arm firmly around me as we navigated the sidewalks. He led the way, and as we headed down the Central Wharf, I couldn’t help but grin. “Are we going where I think we’re going?”
Cole flashed me the lopsided grin that I loved. “I’m not telling.” But soon enough, we reached the entrance to the New England Aquarium. “Ta-da!” Cole pulled me through the crowd to the Harbor Seal exhibit, where my favorite seals shot back and forth inside the tank. The spotted, pudgy seals were playing, zipping around in the cold water. There was Tuba, Chewbacca, and Reggae, all doing laps.
“Aw, you remembered.” Tears sprang to my eyes. I’d shared this place with Cole when we first started dating. It was one of my favorite places in all of Boston.
Cole laughed. “The fact that you’re obsessed with fat, spotted seals isn’t exactly something that would ever slip my mind.”
Warmth spread through me, and I leaned against him. He wrapped his arm around me, and I savored the moment, taking a picture with my mind’s eye. I would never forget this. His simple act of kindness—his simple act of seeing me—made me feel like a million bucks.
Scratch that. It made me feel like a billion bucks.
One of the aquarium workers brought out a tub of fish to throw to them. The seals lined up, eager for their snack. “They seem like they know what they want,” Cole said.
I looked up to find him staring at me. “Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “They make it seem simple, huh?”
He shrugged. “Maybe it doesn’t always have to be so complicated,” he said gently.
“Yeah… maybe.” I snuggled against him, relishing his warmth. I didn’t want to think about anything other than being with him at that moment because, really, it was all I had.
“Do you want to get some breakfast?”
I grinned. “I’d love to.”
“Great, I know a place.” We said goodbye to the seals and headed back down the sidewalk. Cole took a right and led me into the Leather District, where a few nightclubs, furniture stores, and upscale private residences lined the streets.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re almost there. Come on.” We stopped about two blocks away at a little diner I’d never seen before.Dinky’s, the sign read.
I peered through the dirty window and raised my eyebrows at Cole. “You’re taking me to Dinky’s Diner?” I asked. “Doesn’t really seem like a place for billionaires.”
“Wait until you try the home fries.” Cole opened the door for us, and a tiny, wizened old man whooped from behind the counter.
“Look what the cat dragged in!” the man yelled. “I thought you’d gotten too big for your britches and forgotten all about us!”
“No way, Dinky. How could I forget about you? This is Jenny, by the way. She’s never eaten here before.”
“She’s in for a treat.” He puffed out his chest. “Two specials?”
“Sound great,” Cole said. “Can we take a booth?”
“Sure thing, kid.” Dinky seemed to perform ten tasks at once. He refilled coffees for the customers sitting at the counter, poured us two glasses of water, brought us place settings, and fired up his grill.
Dinky’s was sparsely furnished. It had an immaculate white floor, frayed red plastic booths, and a framed picture of Big Papi on the wall. “How’d you find this place?” I asked Cole.
“Dinky’s been here forever,” he said. “My mom used to work here on the weekends when she was in college. She brought me here once when I was a little kid, and I never forgot it.”
My heart melted. Cole didn’t talk about his mom much, just that she’d passed away when he was young. “Aw. That’s nice.”
He nodded but didn’t say more. He did, however, reach across the table and squeeze my hand. Sometimes, people said things without saying anything.
I squeezed his hand back.
At that moment, Dinky delivered our food. Scrambled eggs, buttered white toast, and a pile of crunchy-looking hash browns beckoned from our plates. “This looks perfect,” I said and dug in.
Cole took a large bite of hash browns and moaned. When he finished chewing, he gave Dinky a thumbs-up. “Doesn’t get any better than this,” he said.
I forked some and tried them myself. Flavor exploded into my mouth, comforting, savory, warm, and the perfect texture. It was like eating a potato breakfast hug. “Ho my frickin’ God, why are these hash browns so good? They’re magic!”
Dinky gave us a chef’s kiss from behind the counter. “It’s my secret recipe. Works every time!”
We cleaned our plates. Cole tipped Dinky generously, but the old man waved it away. “I don’t want your money! Just come back with the pretty lady again real soon.” We promised, thanked him, and headed back out to the bright, warm day.
“That was awesome,” I said. “Bonus points because there wasn’t any micro-basil or avocado ice cream.” I made a gagging face.
“Ha, I knew you’d like Dinky’s.” Cole threw his arm around my shoulder again. The easy camaraderie was back between us as though it had never left. The coldness between us, the awkwardness when I first returned—all that felt like it had happened to somebody else.
“I loved it,” I said.
And Dinky’s wasn’t the only thing that I loved.