Chapter 25 #2
“Oy,” I mutter, resting my forehead on the counter. I didn’t think it was possible to turn any redder, but I prove myself wrong. At least the marble cools my heated skin a bit.
“It’s a fair question, though,” Cole continues with an easy smile. “I have no nefarious intentions. All I want is to make her happy. Happily ever afters exist outside of books, you know.”
It’s a simple statement, but it has me melting in my seat, nonetheless.
“That’s so sweet.” Ava pouts, her lip stuck out and everything. “And you guys are being safe? Condoms and all of that fun stuff?”
The sip of wine I’ve just taken comes sputtering out. “Ava.”
“What?” She uses my shock to steal a sip of my wine. “I tried to talk to you about this earlier, but you shut down any reference to your sex sheets.”
Cole throws his head back and laughs. “Sex sheets?”
“Don’t ask.” I shake my head. “I don’t have enough wine for that.”
Ava thankfully switches her line of questioning to one that doesn’t make me homicidal, and within minutes, the two of them are debating which one of Ed Sheeran’s albums deserves more hype and whether Nike or Adidas has the better running shoe.
Cole’s boiling water for the pasta when Goose howls and butts his head into his owner’s thighs. Ava jumps in her seat, scanning the room with a frown.
“It’s how he politely requests to go outside,” I clue her in. “Apparently.”
She lifts a hand to her chest. “I really hope he doesn’t do that in the middle of the night.”
Cole chuckles. “Nah, he’s a good sleeper. My, will you turn the water to low once it starts boiling? I’m going to take him out.”
Ava nearly trips herself as she scrambles out of her chair. “I’ll do it. I’ll take him out.”
“Are you sure?”
She nods with far too much excitement for a college student who’s volunteering to do a chore. “Yep. It’ll be good training for when I get my own dog.”
I open my mouth to remind her that she barely knows how to feed herself, let alone another living thing, but decide it’s not worth it. That may be a lesson she has to learn the hard way.
As the door clicks shut behind Ava and Goose, I blurt out, “My mom’s coming to town tomorrow.”
Cole snaps up straight, abandoning the garlic he’s crushing. “Wow. Okay. Why’s she coming?”
I swirl my wine, watching the liquid as it coats the side of the pristine glass. “I guess Ava called her last week, and when my mom found out she’d be in Boston, she decided to come in for a family dinner.”
He leans against the counter, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “I didn’t realize the two of them were close.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re close,” I explain.
“But Ava looks up to my mom in a weird way. I think she sees her as more of a cool aunt. The one who shows up with amazing stories and gifts and showers her with affection but then leaves again for God knows how long. And I don’t have it in me to ruin the illusion. ”
Head tipped back, I finish the rest of my wine in one go.
“She’s not a bad person, even if she wasn’t the best mom.
She’s just a trust fund baby who doesn’t know the meaning of the word responsibility.
Yeah, I spent more time with babysitters and teachers than I did with her, but at least she made sure I was supervised.
And I had a roof over my head and good food on the table.
That’s more than a lot of kids can say.”
Cole stalks over to me, his jaw clenched and eyes heated. And damn if it doesn’t feel good to have someone else get riled up in my defense. He pulls me into his arms, and I rest my cheek on his chest, letting the steady beat of his heart soothe me.
“Providing the bare minimum doesn’t excuse her being a shitty mom. She left you in a situation where you had no choice but to depend on yourself. And while it’s not bad to be independent, you shouldn’t feel like that’s your only option.”
“I know,” I mumble into his shirt, allowing myself to be vulnerable in the safety of his arms. “I wish you didn’t have that dinner meeting with your agent tomorrow.”
He latches on to my arms, untangling himself from my hold. “You want me to come to dinner?”
I flush under the intensity of his stare. “Yeah, but you have your meeting. I get it.”
“I’ll reschedule it.”
“You said it was important,” I argue, searching his face for some indication that he’s kidding.
It’s about details of his contract, which sounds like a big deal, although I’m only getting the hang of the actual game, so behind-the-scenes stuff is far above my pay grade.
“I’ll be fine. Promise. I’ll just get really drunk and hope for the best.”
My blasé act doesn’t fool him. “Do you want me at dinner? Yes or no?”
“Well, yes. But that’s not—”
“Then I’ll be at dinner.”
It’s overwhelming how inherent it is for him to be there for me.
To show up. To strive to make sure that when I say I’m okay, I actually mean it.
It’s overwhelming how much he cares. For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel like I have to deal with life on my own.
And as strange as it is, simply looking at him is like coming up for fresh air after hours underwater.
I’m not sure if it was his throaty laugh or aggravatingly attractive smirk, or maybe his insistence on making himself a part of my life, but somewhere along the way, the spiky walls surrounding my heart opened up just enough to let him in.
Not trusting myself to speak, I simply wrap my arms around his neck and capture his lips in a long, drugging kiss.
We break apart at the sound of Ava cautiously opening my apartment door. “You guys aren’t naked, are you? Because I don’t want to be scarred for life when I walk inside.”
Cole laughs into the crook of my neck. “Will you tell me what the hell sex sheets are later?”
I grin as his throaty chuckle vibrates through me. “Deal. And Cole?”
He lifts his head, his amber eyes locked on mine with an intensity that makes my heart skip a beat.
“Thank you,” I breathe. “I know I could handle tomorrow on my own, but I’m really glad I don’t have to.”