Take A Chance (Lake Placid Series Book 4)

by Natalie Ann

“Don’t be jealous, Amber,” Dena said.

  “Why not? You are,” Amber said to Dena.

  “Not really.” At Amber’s stare, Dena relented. “Well, sort of. I mean it’s Cole. All the women around here have their eyes on Cole. Still, he’s not my type, so I’m not that jealous.”

  “What do you mean by Cole?” Rene asked. Geez, what didn’t she know about him? As if she wasn’t insecure enough about herself and dating, now they were making it sound like she was dating a superstar and paparazzi were going to be showing up, snapping their pictures soon. “And how did you find out anyway?” she asked Amber.

  Amber waved her hand. “It’s a small town. I hear things. Things like he was all over you yesterday afternoon while you were playing darts.”

  Rene’s face turned red. “I wouldn’t say he was all over me.” Even if she did like the way he felt up against her when he was teaching her to throw the dart.

  “Pleeeease. We’ll get to that in a minute. Back to what Dena meant about Cole. You’re dating him, so you know he’s hot. That’s simple enough. He’s sweet, he’s considerate, and he’s the protector all rolled into one. He’s perfect.”

  “Not perfect,” Dena said. “Aren’t you the one who said he’s a wild ride and no one’s been able to hold on yet, but plenty have tried? There has to be a reason for it.”

  “I think he just wants to play the field,” Amber said. “Be careful, Rene. You’re too sweet for someone like him.”

  “Hey, now,” Rene said, getting defensive. “Why are you being so hard on him? Who says I’m not just out there playing the field too?”

  Both girls burst out laughing. Yeah, it was a pretty funny comment, even if she tried to be serious when she said it.

  “So how’s he in bed then?” Amber asked, lifting her eyebrow.

  The heat rushed from her chest to her neck and filled her face. “What? That’s none of your business,” Rene said. She should have never said what she did. Now things were getting more personal. Then a thought popped into her head. “Have either of you two slept with him?”

  Dena looked at Amber, then back to Rene. “Nope. Not me. Not Amber either, though from what I heard in school, not from lack of trying.”

  “I was sixteen and everyone wanted him back then.” Amber turned to Rene. “I haven’t actually tried since high school. I just want you to know that. He’s never had any interest in me anyway.”

  “Thanks,” Rene said, feeling somewhat better. Maybe. Then again, maybe not, because this was a conversation she wasn’t sure she wanted, but now it was hard to stop it from continuing. “I mean there’s nothing I could do if you did sleep with him. It would have been before my time.”

  “It would have been awkward.” Amber sighed, dropping her shoulders. “Listen, Rene. Cole is a great guy, he really is. He’s got a heart of gold. Like we said, he’s a bit of a wild one, though. He’s never been serious about anyone and hasn’t dated anyone local in years. Sure he dates, and sure he takes women home, but nothing long term.”

  “He told me,” Rene said.

  “Really?” Dena said. “Wow, okay. That’s something. Maybe this is different, Amber. Did you think of that? Cut Rene some slack. Maybe she has her own super powers. The powers to bring Cole McGuire down.”

  This was getting too ridiculous for Rene. “No powers here. We’re old friends. I’m new to the area and we’re dating. Nothing more than that. Nothing that either of us is looking at as anything more.”

  At least that was what she kept reminding herself. She didn’t need the girls to tell her what Cole was like.

  “We’re sorry,” Amber said, coming forward and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “We’re just watching out for you. You’re so sweet and naive. We just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  There was no use debating the description they just gave her. It was all true. “Thanks, but I’m good. I can take care of myself.”

  “If you say so,” Dena said.

  ***

  Cole was getting off shift and heading home, but decided to stop and see Celeste quickly since he was hungry.

  “When were you going to tell me I was right and you were wrong?” she said the minute he opened the door.

  “What are you talking about?”

  She walked forward and filled a travel mug for him, then handed it over along with a cinnamon bun. “Asking Rene out. I heard you’ve been on a few dates already.”

  He took a sip of his coffee, then a bite of the sugary treat, making her wait before he answered. “I didn’t ask her out.”

  “Yet you’ve been on two dates with her?”

  “How do you know that?” he asked.

  “Please! How did you always know about my dates?”

  Small towns, he knew. Most likely, more than one person had told her. “She asked me out,” he said quickly. He guessed Celeste was the best person to talk to about this.

  “Really? Good for her. I’m glad to know she’s come out of her shell.”

  “Not as much as you think, but she’s trying.”

  “She’ll come out more so with you. Is that what this is about?”

  He should have known his sister would see that. “For her, I think it started that way. For me, I’m not sure. I agreed to it, hoping to prove you wrong. That there’s nothing there for us.”

  “And yet, it’s only proving me right, isn’t it?” his sister said, smirking at him.

  “At the moment. It’s been two dates. Nothing serious.”

  “How often do you talk to her?”

  “At least once a day. Not much, really. Could just be a text or something when one of us is on break, with the way my shifts are.”

  “Hmm,” Celeste said, going back to organizing her breakfast ingredients. Her guests would be down soon. “How does she feel about your work?”

  “She’s fine with it,” he said, mumbling.

  “Imagine that,” Celeste said, giggling.

  “For now,” Cole clarified. “Again, it’s been two dates in a little over a week. I’m sure it will wear on her.”

  “Stop looking for issues and just enjoy what you’ve got.”

  That was the problem, though. He was enjoying it more than he thought he would.

  After he brought Rene home yesterday, he’d expected to just drop her off, but instead she invited him in. “My grandmother is at Nick’s right now. We’ve got some peace and quiet if you want. Or you don’t have to,” she said, rushing out fast.

  “No, I’d like that.”

  He’d shut off his truck and together they made their way into the house. He hadn’t been in there in years, but not much had changed really.

  She took her jacket off and hung it up, then reached for his. He liked that she didn’t spend a lot of time getting ready for their dates. She looked good and put together, but not overly made-up. Just jeans and a sweater, this time with knee-high boots.

  He tried not to groan when she bent over and flashed her butt at him to unzip her boots and take them off. Instead, he shifted his eyes and toed his own boots off.

  “Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked.

  “Nah, I’m good.”

  “We can sit on the couch and just relax and talk if you want.”

  He was kind of hoping for more than that, but didn’t say anything and realized she wasn’t that type. It was hard to break a lifetime of dating experiences compared to what he had with Rene now. “That’d be good.”

  “So I was thinking…maybe next week I could cook dinner for you at your place? We don’t have to. It’s just you’ve taken me out a few times and I’d like to do something for you.”

  “I’d like that, if you don’t mind.”

  “I know you don’t start your rotation until next Sunday, right? So we could do either Friday or Saturday.”

  “Either works. Why don’t we play it by ear? There’s time yet.”

  “Okay,” she said, starting to fidget on the couch. He wasn’t sure what her problem was. She was
acting nervous for some reason. Nothing like she’d been when they were out. Then again, they were in the house alone. Besides being in a vehicle, this was the first time they’d been together alone.

  “I’m not going to jump you. Not unless you want me to,” he said, laughing. “You can relax.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Sorry. I guess I keep thinking my grandmother is going to walk in, even though I know she won’t. She loves to embarrass me.”

  “That’s Trixie. Come here,” he said, standing up and pulling her up next to him.

  She easily gave over to him, more so when he wrapped his arms around her. “How do you like the way things are going right now?”

  She lifted her head up and looked at him. “I like it. It’s working. Though it’s only been two dates. What about you?”

  “It’s working on my end, too. So just relax.” He lowered his head and lay his lips over hers and proceeded to kiss her longer and harder than he had in his truck on their last date.

  He took it as a good sign when her hands started to roam up his back and then under his shirt, touching his skin. She was slowly testing him and he had a feeling she wasn’t quite sure she was.

  After a few minutes, he eased back. Her eyes were glossy, her lips were swollen, and she was panting out slow and steady. “I should go home and get ready for work. I’ll call you when I’m on break.”

  She pushed back out of his arms and nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was so late. I didn’t mean to keep you.”

  “You didn’t,” he rushed out to assure her. “I wouldn’t have come in if I didn’t want to. If I didn’t want to get my hands on you.”

  She flushed again, as he expected. “Maybe I wanted you to put your hands on me,” she said shyly.

  Okay, that was good to know. Good to hear. “Until next time then.”

  “I’m not looking for problems, Celeste,” he said, addressing his sister just now. “I’m just trying to watch out for her and her feelings.”

  “At the expense of your own,” she said. “For once, put yourself first, Cole. She’s an adult. She’s intelligent. I’m sure she is going into this with her eyes wide open.”

  “I think so, too,” he said.

  That was the problem. His eyes had never been this wide open.

  What We Do

  The next morning Cole was just getting off his shift. He drove home yawning, glad it was the final day of his rotation this week. Four days to sleep and catch up on chores. Maybe spend some time with Rene, and even take his chopper for a spin if the conditions allowed.

  He pulled into his garage and was just hitting the close button when he heard another car approaching. Walking out the side door, he watched as a BMW pulled to a stop.

  Once he saw the visitor, he realized this wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. Seriously, it was barely six thirty in the morning.

  “Let’s go in the house for this talk, Nick,” Cole said, getting ready to be read the riot act. Since he’d done it enough to anyone who dated Celeste, he recognized what was about to happen to him. Payback was a bitch, he was thinking.

  “I won’t take up too much of your time,” Nick said. “I know you just got off of work. I’m sure you want to get some sleep.”

  “It can wait. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, maybe?”

  “No. Thanks, though. Like I said, I won’t take much time. I’m assuming you know why I’m here.”

  Typical good guy Nick. Can’t even come over angry, has to be polite about it. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  “Then I’ll cut to the chase. Rene is pretty soft. Naive and young at heart. I’m not sure she knows what she is getting into with you.”

  “What’s that?” Cole asked, trying not to get angry, but he was. Nick wasn’t saying anything he hadn’t thought of himself, but it was different when someone else came at you with the hit.

  “I mean no disrespect. Especially to someone carrying a gun.” The slight smile wasn’t enough to change Cole’s opinion of this conversation. “It’s just that I worry about Rene. She’s not very…worldly. She’s used to leading with her heart and not her head.”

  “That’s funny. I think I would say the opposite.”

  “I get that. Most people see that side of her, but it’s not the true Rene. She’s always so worried about hurting someone’s feelings that she ends up the one hurt in the end. I’ve seen it before time and again. I just don’t want to see it now.”

  “Why do you think I’m going to hurt her?” It was a stupid question, Cole knew. He’d been telling himself for weeks this wouldn’t work out. He didn’t know why he was trying to fool himself otherwise.

  “Because you’re you and she’s her. There’s nothing there to bind you two. Yes, that sounded really ridiculous on my end. I can’t explain it,” Nick said, running his hands through his hair. “I just worry about her. She’s my baby sister. You know what that’s like.”

  Nick’s stare didn’t help any either with a statement that felt like a hit below the belt. “I don’t know what is going on with us, so don’t ask my intentions. We’re two consenting adults that went on a few dates. Nothing more. I think you’re jumping the gun here.”

  “But you didn’t respond to my remark about knowing what it’s like, protecting your sister.”

  Damn Nick for being so persistent. “You’re right. I do know. I also know that I ended up having to back off and let Celeste make her own decisions in life.”

  “Is that your nice way of telling me to mind my own business?”

  “You can take it any way you want.” Cole sighed. “Listen. I get where you’re coming from, I really do. I’ll make a promise to you to keep her feelings front and center in all my decisions and actions. Does that make you feel better?”

  “It does, except I knew you’d do that anyway.”

  “Then why are you here?” Cole asked, getting frustrated.

  “Because it’s what we do. We watch out for those we love and make our voices heard. You heard me. I heard you. The rest is up to you. Just don’t piss me off.”

  Cole watched Nick walk out the door. At least Nick didn’t threaten to have his badge like Caleb did when Cole was warning Caleb to stay away from Celeste. That was something, at least.

  ***

  “Hey, pipsqueak,” Nick said.

  “What are you doing here?” Rene asked. It was the end of her shift and she was just walking up front with a patient when Nick walked in.

  “I’ve got a meeting with Max in a few minutes. Are you done for the day?”

  “Yes, that was my last patient. Max is still doing a procedure in the back room with Amber. He might be a bit longer. I think they’re running behind. Why are you meeting with him?”

  “I’ve got time. No worries. Why don’t you take me to your office and we can chat while we wait? Max is going to go over a few concerns I’ve got with the new software I’m working on.”

  “I thought I was helping you with that?”

  Nick had been picking her brain for months on this software his company created.

  “No offense, but there is only so much you can help me with. Max has a better understanding of the medical and technological stuff at the same time. I’ve got some of the changes running in beta right now, and I’m coming up with things to address.”

  She grunted, but didn’t argue with him. “Come back to my office, then. I’ll hang out with you until he’s done. Dena is at the hospital right now doing rounds, so we’ve got some privacy.”

  “How’s it going?” he asked her after he shut her door.

  That move surprised her. Nick was never one for needing privacy. “Good. Work is great. I love it. It’s so fascinating. I’m learning something new every day.”

  He smiled. “You look to me like you’re playing dress-up for Halloween in your scrubs.”

  “That’s not very nice, Nick,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “I know. I can’t seem to wrap my mind around you doing this. Too ma
ny years of seeing you with your nose in a book and your glasses falling down your face.”

  “I’m not the same person I was years ago. You need to realize that I’m an adult.”

  He snorted. “Older brothers never realize that. You’re always going to be a pipsqueak to me.”

  “I used to love it when you called me that. Now I don’t think it applies so much anymore.”

  “Probably not,” he said, looking around her office. It seemed he had something on his mind, but wasn’t talking. She’d never known him to be that way before.

  “Is something wrong with Mom or Dad?”

  “No, why do you ask? Don’t you talk to them all the time?”

  “I talk to Mom every few days. Dad, not as much. I mean, not as much as you do since he’s running your company. Why are you acting so funny then?”

  He sighed. “I hear you’re seeing Cole McGuire.”

  “Yes. Do you have a problem with that?” she asked. Nick had never gotten in the middle of her private life before and she couldn’t believe he would dare do it now.

  “Not really.”

  “You’re lying. What’s the big deal?”

  “How much do you know about him?”

  “Enough,” she said. She went to pull her chair out to sit down, but it slipped from her hand and hit the wall loudly. Nick only lifted his eyebrow at her.

  “He’s really not your type.”

  “And you know my type how?” Now she wished she’d thrown the chair into the wall on purpose rather than sitting down in it.

  “I know you. You aren’t the type that’s out for a good time.”

  “Really? So I’m a boring bookworm in your mind. I can’t find a man attractive and ask him out.”

  “You didn’t ask him out, did you?” Nick asked, his eyes wide and his jaw dropping…almost looking horrified over the possibility.

  “Why is that so hard to believe?”

  “Seriously, you did?”

  “Yes,” she said, narrowing her eyes.

  “Shit,” he mumbled.

  “What? What did you do, Nick?” she said, slapping her hands on her desk and leaning forward.