Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Wendy
Dinner smells incredible, but I can't stop sneaking glances at Cole. He's trying so hard to appear composed, but the way his jaw tightens every time he sets down his fork tells a different story. Ethan and I have been trading looks, silently agreeing to tread carefully. He hasn’t shared what their fight was about, and it's been such a long time since I've seen or heard from either of them, that I can't even begin to figure it out. I do know though, whatever happened with Callum has rattled him, and though I don't know the full story yet , I can feel the weight of it pressing down on him.
Ethan's charm is on full display as he jokes about some ridiculous client at work, pulling a soft laugh out of me. His hand brushes against mine when he reaches for the bread basket, and I swear I see his lips twitch into a knowing smirk.
"You're laughing at my joke, right, sweetheart? Not just the way I look devouring this garlic bread?" Ethan teases, flashing me an exaggerated wink.
I snort, rolling my eyes. "Honestly, the bread might be winning at this stage. But don't worry, your lame dad joke at the expense of a client is coming in at a close second."
Cole huffs a laugh under his breath, finally looking up from his plate. "You feed his ego anymore, he might not make it through the door after dinner," Cole teases.
I grin, relieved to see a flicker of his usual humor. "Oh, his ego could definitely be taken down a few notches, but I quite like how smug and confident he is. It looks good on him."
Ethan rolls his eyes at us, but sits back in his chair like a king surveying his kingdom. Cole smirks, and the softening to his expression that wasn't there before warms me even more.
After dinner, I start gathering plates but Ethan gently nudges me aside. "You sit, sweetheart. Cole cooked, I'll clean. You're the guest."
"Guest?" I raise an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure I've been kidnapped. I wasn't given much of a choice about showing up for dinner. I don't know about you, but where I'm from, that's not the definition of a guest."
Ethan chuckles, leaning close as he whispers, "Fine, then you're our captive princess. Now go relax with your Daddy while I pretend to be the domestic prince."
I snicker, but something about the way his eyes twinkle makes me feel all gooey inside. "Okay, okay. But if I hear you breaking any of these fancy dishes, I'm taking over."
Cole steps up to me, takes my hand and drags me to the living room with him. Even though he's right there, holding on to me, his mind is in a completely different place. He's staring down at his phone like it's about to burst into flames, and I have to suppress the urge to grab it from him and throw it against the wall.
"Hey," I say softly, sitting down with him on the couch.
He startles slightly, as though he forgot he brought me in here with him. "Hey."
There's a long pause where he doesn't say anything, his thumb swiping across the phone screen aimlessly. I wait, giving him space, but my concern grows as the silence stretches.
"You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to, but you can."
Cole exhales a sharp breath, running a hand through his hair. "I'm fine," he says, but the tightness in his tone betrays him.
I tilt my head, studying him. "You don't have to be. You know that, right? You have a pretty badass husband in the kitchen waiting to be the support you need," I say nodding my head to the door we'd come through before squeezing his hand tight. "And I know I might not look like much, but I'm a pretty damn good listener too."
For a moment, I think he's going to brush me off again. But then he sets his phone down on the coffee table and leans back, his eyes staring at the ceiling.
"Callum... he phoned me this afternoon. Looking for another handout." Cole shrugs before taking a deep breath. "I told him no, and he didn't like it. So he had some choice words to share with me."
I watched him carefully as he shared, and had to work hard to shove my own feelings deep down so I could be there for Cole.
I was in love with Callum once, or at the very least, I thought myself in love with him, even if it was a puppy-love kind of thing. But I soon realized he was, at his core, a very selfish person. The exact opposite of his big brother.
"He has this way of getting into my head," Cole says, his voice low. "He always has. I used to think it was my responsibility to fix all his fuck-ups, to keep him from falling apart. But no matter how much I tried, it was never enough. He always needed more."
The raw honesty in his voice tugs at something deep inside me. I reach out, placing my hand lightly on his arm. "That sounds exhausting," I say, softly.
"It was," he admits. "And still, I let him guilt me into helping him, over and over again. Today... it just reminded me of all the times I failed to stand my ground."
"You didn't fail," I argue, scooting closer so I'm almost on his lap. "You tried to help someone you cared about. That doesn't make you weak, Cole. It makes you human."
He looks at me then, his gaze searching. "How did you get so wise, babygirl?"
I laugh lightly, trying to ease the tension. "Lucky guess. I might not be super familiar with family drama myself, but I've also listened to my fair share of foster brothers and sisters."
He stiffens slightly at my reminder of how I'd grown up, but it's part of my past, and I don't want to bring an even bigger pall on the evening so I instinctively wrap my arms around him.
His own tighten around me before he places a soft kiss on the top of my head. "Thank you," he murmurs, so quiet I almost don't hear it.
Ethan's voice breaks the moment as he walks into the room. "Am I interrupting?"
I pull back slightly, my cheeks warm. "Not at all."
Ethan's eyes soften as he looks at Cole. "Feeling better now, babe?"
Cole nods, straightening. "I had the perfect remedy. A healthy dose of Wise Wendy."
Ethan sits beside him, placing a hand on his thigh. "Good. Does that mean we can get to the serious part of the evening now?"
I giggle and lean back in my seat. "And this wasn't serious?"
Cole glances at his husband before looking back at me. The expression on his face has butterflies going crazy in my tummy. "You didn't forget what we were going to talk about tonight, did you babygirl?"
Oh shit.
Right.
Our relationship. Or whatever the heck this thing between us is.
It's probably too late to feign a headache now, right?