55. Cole
After I finish,Riley is silent for so long that it terrifies me.
I just unloaded my entire heart to her, but for the first time in my life, I’m not sure if I said the right thing. I’m not sure if there’s anything else I should say, or if another word might only make things worse.
I’ve always known how to handle myself in any situation, always prided myself on being able to manage whatever came my way. But as I gaze at Riley, desperately wanting her to believe me, all of that confidence slips away.
There are tears in the corners of her eyes. Did I just make her cry? Is she upset? Did I just fuck up again?
I open my mouth, not sure what else is going to come out—probably a babbling mess of nonsense, to be honest—but before I can stammer a single word, Riley leans up to kiss me.
We stay there for a few moments, locked in a deep kiss. All I can think about is how soft her lips are against mine, the scent of her floral shampoo that I sought in the sheets of my empty bed for weeks until it faded, the way the breeze stirs her hair against my neck.
Then she withdraws. I brush the loose locks behind her ear, almost dazed.
“I thought you always knew what to say,” she says, a gentle, teasing note in her voice. Her eyes are still watery, like she might cry despite her smile, but I’m starting to think that’s a good sign. “I thought you were always in control.”
My shoulders drop in relief. “Well, things change. And I’m willing to give up a little bit of that control if it means I can have you in my life.”
She lets out a shaky breath that might be a laugh.
“I can’t control everything,” I admit. “I finally understand that. I was… I was wrong.” I pause, letting my fingers fall from her hair to her jawline, my thumb brushing along her chin. “Life is unpredictable. Over the past few weeks, I’ve realized that there are only a few constants.”
“Oh? And what are those?”
“I love Archie,” I say simply. “And I love you. Those truths will never change, even if everything else does. You once said you felt sorry for me because I only had room in my heart to love one person, but that’s not true. I love you so damn much, Riley. I started falling for you the first day I met you.”
She beams, pressing the palm of her hand over the back of mine. “I love you, too.”
I bend down to kiss her again, a deeper, hungrier kiss, and she reciprocates eagerly. She lets out a squeal of surprise as I scoop her up into my arms, carrying her back toward the service road and the waiting car.
“What are you doing?” she yelps, laughing.
“I need to be inside you,” I growl. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. Every single thing about you.”
“We just had sex,” she jokes, clinging to my shoulders like she’s afraid I’m going to drop her.
But I won’t. I’ll never let go of her. Not in a million years.
“Yeah, well…” I chuckle. “That was before you were mine.”
She sighs softly, melting a little in my arms. “Yours, huh?”
“Yup. All fucking mine.” I set her down gently in the passenger seat, planting a light kiss on her forehead. “And I plan to keep you in bed all day.”
* * *
Riley
When we arrive backat Cole’s house, it’s quiet. There’s no laughing, no hollering, no patter of tiny footsteps charging through the house, which mean’s Archie definitely isn’t here.
Cole heads into the kitchen, then returns to the foyer, brandishing a note written on a small legal pad.
“Kerry took him to the zoo.” He smiles fondly. “We’ll be hearing about that for ages.”
“Oh, for sure.” I grin. “He’s going to imprint on at least two animals.”
“Maybe he’ll grow up to be a veterinarian,” Cole says, setting the legal pad on the hall table. He turns back to me, and I’m half expecting him to take me into his arms again, to rush me straight upstairs and throw me onto the bed.
I’m fully expecting it, if I’m honest. Eagerly.
But what he says next surprises me.
“I want to show you something.”
“Okay,” I say, hesitant.
He starts up the stairs, and I follow him. He doesn’t stop on the second floor, where his bedroom, Archie’s room, and my old room are located. He continues to the third, which I tended not to venture onto during my time here.
On the third floor, to the left, is an exercise room where Cole would work out in the evenings. There’s a small library across the hall, and one door down from that, an extra, unused office space.
Cole approaches this room, which I’ve only seen once, during my initial tour of the house. He holds the door open for me with a sweeping gesture.
I step inside, and immediately, I’m taken aback.
The old desk and filing cabinets have been moved out of the room, leaving it open and airy. The hardwood floors have been cleaned and polished, and the high ceiling repainted.
Tucked into the bay window opposite the door, bathed in sunlight, is a brand-new easel, a fresh, blank canvas sitting in its tray.
There are a few more folded easels leaning against the wall, and a caddy full of paints beside them, more colors than I’ve ever seen in my life—cadmium red, ultramarine blue, at least fifty different shades that I never would’ve been able to afford on my own.
And most heartstopping of all, spread across the walls are a hundred little sketches, most of them basic doodles in pen or pencil, drawn on scraps of paper or restaurant napkins. I recognize them—they’re my drawings.
All of the little pictures I scribbled onto any available piece of paper. My absent-minded artwork, of little birds and Archie’s smile and Cole’s profile and the sheep from the petting zoo. He kept all of them, every single one.
My mouth falls open, and I turn in a small circle, taking it all in. It makes my heart ache, but in a good way.
“I had this room converted into a studio for you,” he says. “A place where you can do your art. A place where you can do what you love.”
I shake my head, overwhelmed. “I can’t believe this,” I say hoarsely. “This is… this is…”
He only just got me back. This is something that must’ve taken time. Weeks, even, to renovate the entire room like this. Up close, some of the handiwork on the floor, the paint on the ceiling, even looks like it was done by an amateur, rather than professional hands.
He did some of this work himself.
This entire time, he’s been actively opening up his life to include me in it more fully. Doing all of this work, in the hopes that I would be back someday.
I turn to him. My voice, when I speak, is a mere whisper. “What would you have done with this studio if I didn’t say yes?”
He shrugs and says, “I would’ve kept it just like this. A monument to the only woman I’ve ever wanted to spend my life with.”
I take a few steps toward him, like a sleepwalker moving through a dream.
“The woman I love,” he says softly.
I pull him as close to me as I can physically manage, reaching up to kiss him. He kisses me back, then rests his forehead against mine, closing his eyes.
For a moment, we hold each other, swaying slightly in the light of the room. I close my eyes, too, basking in the warmth from the sun and the fact that this is finally real. We’re back together.
We’re doing this.
“Thank you,” he says eventually, breaking the serene silence. “Thank you for giving me a second chance.”
“I couldn’t have done anything else,” I confess. “All this time, I never really stopped loving you.”
I open my eyes, and see the small smile cross Cole’s face. “I’ll probably never deserve you, angel. But I want to spend the rest of my life trying to.”