Chapter 14 #3
“Likewise,” I said. Cole didn’t strike me as much of a fro-yo guy.
Was it possible he was on a date too? I leaned forward to look around the shop, searching for who he could be with, but there were so many teen girls here, any one of them could be with him.
Something clenched in my stomach at the idea of him sliding into a booth with someone, laughing over swirled flavors and adventurous toppings while I was stuck here explaining to Mitch that I just wanted to go home.
“Who are you looking for, Princess?” Cole asked quietly. I swore I saw Mitch lean forward in his seat like he was trying to hear.
“Your date. Surely you’re here with someone.”
“I’m here because you are. Stalker, remember?” Amusement was bright in his eyes, and I felt a surprising swell of relief over the fact that he wasn’t here on a date with someone else. Or, if he was, I was choosing to pretend he wasn’t.
Mitch slammed his spoon down. “Okay, what is this?”
Cole looked mildly surprised. “Conversation?”
“This is inappropriate,” Mitch said. “We’re in the middle of something.”
Cole glanced at the half-melted yogurt. “Yeah, I can see that.”
Mitch straightened, clearly trying to reclaim control of the situation. “We’re on a date.”
“Really?” Cole asked, sounding genuinely curious. He turned to look at me. “That true, Imogen?”
It was obvious he’d seen Mitch for what he really was at the coffee shop the other day.
I still wasn’t sure why he’d stepped in like he had, but he wouldn’t have done it if he thought I was interested.
I was sure he had no idea why I ever would have agreed to this date and I wasn’t sure I wanted to try to explain it to him.
But what could I say when Mitch was sitting right there?
This was a date, regardless of how much I hadn’t wanted to be on it.
And even if I admitted to Cole that I hadn’t wanted to come on this date, but had been steamrolled by Hilary into saying yes, he probably would have just called me weak for giving in.
There was no winning here. So I just nodded. A muscle feathered in Cole’s jaw. I could practically feel the disapproval coming from him as he stared at me, but there was no way for me to fix it now.
“And we’d prefer to be alone,” Mitch said pointedly, because apparently he had a death wish. Cole looked at him again, his expression far more irritated and murderous when directed at my date. Without even saying a word, he made Mitch cower away again in fear.
“Relax,” Cole said flatly. “I’m just waiting for my cousin to finish getting her food and then I’ll leave you two to whatever riveting conversations I’m sure you’re having.”
His cousin. I could almost sigh with relief, although I wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t here on a date, he was here with Katie. That also explained why he would be at a frozen yogurt shop at all, because I really couldn’t imagine him coming of his own volition.
“Why don’t you go wait for her at the counter then?” Mitch suggested. “I’m sure she’d prefer that.”
I stared at Cole with bated breath, waiting for him to straight up punch Mitch in the booth right now. To my surprise, though, he just looked amused.
“I think she can handle it on her own,” he said.
Then he dragged his gaze toward me, giving me a pointed look that had my heart beating just a bit faster.
“She can handle herself,” he said, and I got the idea that he wasn’t talking about Katie anymore.
I jumped as I felt his leg brush mine under the table.
At first, I thought it was an accident, but it stayed there, the warmth of it pressing softly against my skin. I never wanted him to move.
“Okay, I’m ready!” a cheerful voice said as she walked up, completely breaking me out of my spell.
I jumped in my seat, putting an inch of space between me and Cole, the room suddenly feeling much colder than it had a second ago.
I looked up to see Katie walking toward the table, her smile bright.
“Oh hey, Imogen! Are you guys joining us?”
Cole stood up, looking at me with a pinched expression. “Nope. These two are on a date.” His tone was unrelentingly mocking. Then he put a hand around Katie’s shoulders, guiding her away from our booth. “We can’t bother them.”
He pinned me with a stare that had that heat swelling in my chest again.
Katie’s gaze bounced between the two of us like she was trying to solve some kind of mystery.
Cole broke eye contact first, turning and guiding her toward a table.
He stopped to drape his coat over the back of his chair, looking my way one last time.
His jaw was clenched, his nostrils flared slightly as he drew in a breath, but once Katie sat down, he followed suit, leaving me back at the table with Mitch and his cup of melted vanilla frozen yogurt.
Mitch slumped a little in his chair, muttering something under his breath about how much he hated that guy, while I exhaled slowly, finally feeling like I could breathe again.