Chapter 35 #2
The fear I had felt in that hospital hallway had been raw and terrifying. During those endless minutes when I thought something might have happened to him, something deep inside me had cracked open, like ice breaking after a long winter.
I depended on him—on his presence, his friendship, his strength that had slowly woven itself into the fabric of my life.
Somewhere along the way, he had become more than just a friend. He had become my solace, my quiet place—the one person who could calm the chaos inside my mind without even trying. He had become my strength on days when I did not have the energy to be strong for everyone else.
And the truth that scared me the most was that my feelings for him were no longer just friendship. They had not been for a while. The phone call about his accident had forced that realization into the open and made me understand just how important he had become to me.
After my shower, Geeta placed a plate of food in front of me at the dining table.
“What’s wrong, Didi?” she asked, her brows wrinkling.
“Nothing, Geeta,” I said, forcing a small smile while playing with the food on my plate. “I just realized something today.”
I avoided her gaze, pushing the food around without really eating.
I tried to keep my mind away from Cole.
But the thought came anyway.
He was with Stephanie.
I had pushed him away. And now I had lost my chance.
After lunch, I went outside with the children.
Emma ran around the backyard with Oreo, her tiny feet stumbling through the grass while Lucas chased after her with exaggerated seriousness.
Their laughter filled the warm afternoon air.
Soon they were tackling me onto the grass, giggling uncontrollably as they tickled my sides.
I laughed with them, letting myself fall back against the soft lawn while their little hands poked at me.
Their joy wrapped around me, and for a moment, I forgot everything else.
I allowed myself to simply be their mother.
After I put the children to sleep that evening, I headed back to the restaurant.
Jack and I continued working through the updates and paperwork that had piled up during the week. Other than telling me that he had dropped Cole home from the hospital, Jack did not say much else.
I did not ask.
I was not sure I trusted my voice if I did.
By eleven o’clock, a restless energy coursed through my body. No matter how hard I tried to focus on the numbers in front of me, my mind kept drifting back to Cole.
I wondered if he was resting.
If his injuries were hurting.
If he was thinking about what had happened earlier.
Jack left around that time, telling me that Maureen was waiting for him at home. I told him I would stay a little longer and change the bulbs hanging above the pool tables before leaving.
At midnight, I headed toward the pool tables, carrying two new bulbs from the storeroom.
Will stood near the front door, flipping off the lights. “I’ve locked the front door and turned off the lights,” he said. “You sure you don’t want me to hang around?”
“I’m sure,” I replied, leaning forward to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Drive safe. I’ll leave right after I do this. Don’t worry.”
After Will left, the restaurant fell completely silent.
I climbed onto one of the pool tables and began changing the first dead bulb hanging from the ceiling.
The glass fixture gave a soft clink as I twisted the new bulb into place.
I carefully crossed the table toward the second light, balancing myself as I reached up to screw the bulb in. My back faced the front door.
I was almost finished when a sudden noise from the kitchen shattered the silence.
I startled.
My hand slipped.
My foot slid off the edge of the table.
A yelp escaped my lips as my balance gave way.
My heart lurched into my throat.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact.
Waiting for the hard floor to slam into me.
But it never came.
Instead, strong hands caught me.
For a heartbeat, I hung there, suspended between fear and relief, my breath trapped in my chest.
Slowly, cautiously, I opened one eye.
Then the other.
And found myself staring straight into Cole’s ocean-blue eyes.
My stomach fluttered instantly, a rush of heat spreading through me as my pulse raced so fast it felt as if it might burst out of my chest.
The entire world seemed to disappear.
All of it faded into the background.
All I could see was him.
The way his eyes searched mine.
His arms held me close.
I tried to look away.
I tried to move.
But I could not.
Our eyes stayed locked together.
“Cole… are you in here?” Stephanie’s voice floated in from the distance.
The spell shattered instantly.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to look away. I tried to straighten up so I could step down, but his arms still held me. When I looked back at him again, I saw it clearly in his eyes.
The same emotion I had seen before.
The same look I had once seen in Caleb’s eyes.
And in Harper’s.
Desire.
Want.
A second later, he gently set me down on the floor.
“We’re in here,” he called out.
I stepped away from him, quickly touched my hair, smoothing it down, and composed myself as my heart continued racing.
Stephanie appeared a moment later.
“There you are!” she said brightly. “Oh, hi Jiya. We were going back to the apartment when Will said you were in here. Can we grab some food before we head back?”
I nodded quickly.
“Help yourselves. I was just leaving.” I plastered on a polite smile before turning away.
I walked quickly to the office, grabbed my purse, and asked Cole to lock up and drop the keys to Jack before heading toward the door.
As I stepped outside into the cool night air, one thought kept repeating in my mind. I really should have left when Jack did.