Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
COLE
All you had to do was ask
“Cole, would you please go check?”
“On what?” I looked over at my mother from where I sat at the dining room table.
We’d finished eating and things were quieting down. Tommy had been dispatched to do homework. Haven had gone back to his house with Elsa, and Jude had left to pick up Kendall. That man was so whipped. We were all still amazed by it.
“I just want to make sure Adele is all situated in the barn. She rode home with Elsa and Chloe. Chloe is already back here,” my mother explained.
“How do you know?” I asked, hoping to get my mother off this track.
“Because I saw Chloe come in,” my mother explained, undeterred. “I don’t think Adele had enough time to get settled in. I just want to make sure she has everything she needs. I packed a little bag for her of—”
I was incredulous as I almost goggled at my mother.
She ignored me. “Towels, linens, and so on. Honestly, I was so busy today. I meant to check on the apartment, and I didn’t.”
I knew my mother had ulterior motives for this, but it was fine. Well, fine-ish. I wasn’t going to admit to her I wanted to see Adele again. I calculated it was better to go along with her request than resist.
“I’ll go.” As I stood from the table, I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know, you could ask Lincoln or Grady or Asher.”
“Uh-huh. I could. But you’re right here. The bag is in the mudroom off the kitchen.” Her lips curled in a satisfied smile.
Biting back my sigh, I left, picking up the definitely-not-small bag on my way out.
I loved walking outside in the late evening in Alaska.
It was peaceful. As I walked the short distance from the main resort over to the old barn, a pair of owls in the trees exchanged calls.
A raven flew above, its black form barely visible in the almost darkness.
Its wings made a soft swoosh in the air above me.
As I approached the barn, my pulse began to kick faster with anticipation a spur in its flanks.
Just play it cool, I told myself.
Dude, you can’t play it cool with Adele. It’s impossible.
You might want to ponder what that means.
For fuck’s sake. I was having silent conversations with myself. I definitely didn’t want to ponder that issue.
When I peered up at the windows in the upper floor of the barn, light shone out. A moment later, I was standing in front of the door at the top of the stairs. I actually had to take a slow breath to try to calm my pulse before I lifted my hand, curling my knuckles and knocking lightly.
“It’s Cole,” I felt the need to announce. “My mom wanted me to check on you, and I have some things for you from her.”
I heard the sound of footsteps, just barely above the pounding rush of blood in my ears.
Adele swung the door open. Her auburn hair was twisted into a messy bun with tendrils dangling down around her cheeks and her neck. Her hazel eyes were bright, and her cheeks were a little flushed. What she was wearing was unremarkable—just a T-shirt and a pair of swingy sweatpants.
“Hey!” Her eyes widened slightly before dipping down to the bag I held in my hand, which, to be honest, was huge.
“Your mom sent me stuff?”
I took a breath, clearing my throat—for fuck’s sake—so I could speak. “She did. She wanted to make sure you had everything you need. She said she didn’t have time to check on the place earlier today.”
“Oh.” Adele’s gaze softened. “Your mom is such a sweetheart.”
“Absolutely,” I agreed. That was easy enough.
We stood there for a beat before she swung the door open wider. “Come on in.”
I glanced around, taking in the space that was so familiar.
There wasn’t much to it—just a large living room and kitchen area with one bathroom and three bedrooms. Just enough for our family to crowd in here.
But after the fire and after everything that happened, it had at least been home, because we’d needed that.
“What’s in the bag?” Adele asked.
“Well, I didn’t look, but she said towels and linens. Lord knows what else, Adele.” I gave her a lopsided smile as I shrugged. “Take a look.”
Her fingers brushed mine as she reached for the handle of the bag. That subtle touch was like fire licking over the surface of my skin, the heat radiating outward in a blast through me.
She set the giant duffel bag on the coffee table and unzipped it. There were, from what I could see, probably eight towels in there and multiple sets of sheets.
“And—oh—she sent a picture over.” Adele pulled it out and held it up. It was a photograph my mom must have taken at some point of the waterfall that was our resort’s namesake when the sun was setting. “It’s so pretty.”
“That’s my mom for you. She also told me to make sure you know you can stop by for breakfast, lunch, or dinner anytime. It’s available for staff.”
“Really?”
“It’s my mom. Of course.”
“Well, that’s good,” she said, “because I realized when I got back this evening that I have no groceries, and I rely on good coffee in the morning.”
I felt almost goofy, but all I could do was smile. Because whenever I saw Adele, I just wanted to smile. I had to clear my throat again and stuffed my hands in my pockets. I was uncharacteristically nervous around her.
“So, uh, how was card night?”
Adele beamed. That was probably the first time I’d seen her smile like that. It cracked right across her face like the sun bursting over the horizon on a cold winter morning, when you really wanted that kind of light and warmth.
“I loved it.”
“Nice,” I said, feeling my own smile stretch in response. “That’s awesome.”
“It really is. I like it here.”
“Well, I might be biased, but this area is pretty awesome.”
She bit her lip, one hand lifting to spin a loose lock of hair around her finger. “It is.” She blinked up at me. “So, about what you said earlier…”
I cleared my throat again, trying to remember what the hell I’d said earlier.
“Oh. That.” I want to kiss you.
Why the hell had I said that? I knew I meant it, but I didn’t go around saying things like that. Ever.
“I…I want to kiss you too.”
I didn’t know what I expected Adele to say—seeing as nothing that happened with Adele fell in the category of expected—but it wasn’t that. My mouth dropped open as she looked back at me, her cheeks flushing a little pink.
“I mean,” she rushed to clarify, “you don’t have to kiss me right now. But if you want to kiss me right now…”
“I want to kiss you,” I said flatly. “All the time.” We were firmly in the category of unexpected here.
The flush on her cheeks deepened, and I finally felt like I was getting my footing underneath me. Maybe just a little bit. Because I could tell this surprised her. For reasons I didn’t care to contemplate, proving to her just how fucking sexy she was mattered more to me than I could’ve said.
I didn’t want her to look doubtful. To look worried. To be surprised that anybody could want her and want to kiss her so much that it was a physical ache inside of every cell.
I didn’t know who put that uncertainty into her thoughts, but I wanted to make them pay dearly and regret it for the rest of their life. Maybe it wasn’t even a person. Maybe it was just the world. Because the world was kind of an asshole to women, generally speaking.
“All the time, Adele. I’m not crazy. I’m not going to just kiss you at the kitchen table or in the coffee shop or anytime I see you anywhere. But if you’re wondering if I want to? That is a yes every time. Ten out of ten times. Every time I see you, I want to kiss you.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Really?” she breathed.
“Absolutely. So, about that…”
Somehow, my hands came out of my pockets. I reached for one of hers, catching it in mine. “The question is—do you want me to kiss you?”
“I just said I did.” She blinked, biting her bottom lip. The sight of her pretty white teeth denting the plump surface? Sweet fucking hell. My knees nearly gave out.
“Well, to be more specific, do you want me to kiss you right now?”
She blinked up at me before she said softly, “Yes, please.”
“All you had to do was ask.”