“So?” he said, taking Saylor’s hand. She wove her fingers with his. “What did you decide?”
“You mean besides the fact that you’re amazing?” she said.
“There is that. But what are we doing next?”
A dozen scenarios wafted in her brain, each one sounding calmer and cozier than the last. While she’d love to search out each and every one with him, the same anxiety she’d left her parents’ home with reared its head once more. Her smile dropped, and she watched her feet as they walked for fear she might slip on her way to the car. “Don’t hate me, but I should probably get going.”
“I see how it is.” Cole’s words were playful, but they didn’t mask the disappointment resting behind his eyes. Thinking of their mistletoe and of his heartfelt conversation and company, she didn’t blame him. He was probably on the same thought train.
“Sorry. My brother is at my parent’s house, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for Parker to stay there much longer.” It’d already been a few hours.
“Let me guess,” Cole said, squeezing her hand. “More drama.”
She exhaled. “More drama. A man in and out of jail for drug use isn’t exactly a perfect role model.”
“Sounds like he’s an example of how Parker shouldn’t behave. You could look at it like that. Jack was on drugs and turned his life around.”
“Jack?” she asked, remembering their friendly encounter earlier.
“Look at him now, reliable worker, superb grandfather. There’s hope yet.” Cole nudged her with an elbow.
She chewed her lip, nodding, not looking at him. Maybe he was right—just like her parents. Maybe she was too anxious. She released another breath, stopping at her white Chevy Cavalier.
“This you?” he asked.
“This is me.”
They lingered for several seconds, neither of them wanting to move.
“You sure you have to go?” Cole asked.
Saylor peered up at him, willing the words to come, to forget her worries and leave Parker to her parents. Them, she trusted. But Greg? Her mom said he was clean, but Saylor knew better. She knew he had a bad habit of neglecting things and letting them lie around—things little boys shouldn’t see or touch. What if Parker stumbled across something accidentally?
“I’m sure.”
Cole tipped her face to his with a cold finger, but his lips were anything but cool against hers. They speared heat directly down, firing through her in every direction.
“See you later,” he said, opening her door, closing it after she slipped in.
He waited just outside, hands in his pockets and giving her a great view of his midsection from her vantage point in the drivers’ seat. She turned the ignition. The dreaded whirring began, before the engine died completely.
“Oh no,” she said, embarrassment climbing from her stomach to her ears. “Not now.”
She tried again, praying it would turn. Again, the engine died.
Cole bent, knocking at her window with a single knuckle. “Get your hood,” he said through the glass.
Mortified, Saylor bent for the lever at the floorboard beneath her seat. A hefty click replied, and Cole lifted the hood before she got out again.
“Could be your fuel pump,” he said after a quick inspection of Saylor’s car’s inner parts.
She shivered, her chin starting to judder. “Fuel pump? You sure?” She wasn’t entirely sure what went into fixing something like that, but it didn’t sound good.
“Pretty sure,” he said, slamming the hood down. Of all things, he was grinning. “Looks like you aren’t going anywhere.”
His smug leer made her nerves tingle. The embarrassed tension drained from her muscles. She didn’t know who moved first before she found herself in his arms.
“You smell good,” she told him, inhaling his cologne through his coat.
“And you’re cold.” His warm breath stroked her cheek.
His heartbeat drummed in her ear. Her knees weakened, and she almost caved. She could text her mother, remind her not to leave Parker alone. She could extend her evening.
“I suppose I don’t have to leave right this second.”
Cole’s brows leapt. “Are you sure?”
“Hang on.” She pulled out her phone and shot a quick text to her mom. Everything going okay?
Everything is fine. We’re all watching a movie. Have fun and enjoy yourself.
She exhaled, and the motion slackened the urgency within her. A movie seemed harmless enough. She was worrying for no reason.
The smile she offered Cole only inserted the relief deeper within her. “Looks like we’re good. What should we do?”
“We could go to my place and watch a movie until it’s time to watch the ball drop,” Cole suggested. “I’ve got Amazon Prime. I bet we could find something we’ll both like.”
Movies meant snuggling and hopefully more kissing. “Sounds good to me,” Saylor said, dusting her hands.
“What about my car?”
“I’ll give you a ride home. You should be fine to leave it here until tomorrow, if you’re okay with that. I’ll help you get it into a mechanic.”
“Wow. That’s great of you.”
“Of course.” Cole’s hand slipped into hers. He guided her toward his truck a few rows up in the lot.
Once again, Cole’s truck started on its own before they even made it there. Saylor’s brows rose. She would never fail to be impressed by a vehicle’s capability of automatic start, especially since her car didn’t currently start at all.
“You’re spoiled,” she said
He grinned. “I know.”
Cole opened the door for her, waiting until she hefted herself up via the side handle before closing it again. Heat was already spewing from the vents. How nice would this be, to drive a pre-heated vehicle?
They really didn’t discuss it, or plan on making out right there in his truck in the parking lot. But after climbing in where it was already so warm, after Cole’s hesitation at the wheel, and the smoke-eyed smirk he gave her, after the way Saylor naturally found herself leaning in for a better view of the mischievous glint in his dark eyes, they magnetically ended up with his hands on her face, with hers in his hair, with their lips entwining while soft music serenaded in the background.
She hadn’t been kissed like this in a long time. And boy, could Cole kiss. He had the right tempo and crescendo, from insistent, to slow and deliberate, and Saylor kept time with his lips, enjoying every minute.
Someone hammered on the hood of his truck. Saylor jerked away with a squeak to find a group of younger men jeering and giving the thumbs up.
“Way to go, boss!” one of them called.
Embarrassment hit her cheeks in a rush. “Employees?” she asked, touching a hand to her swollen lips.
“Yeah.” Cole rubbed a hand across his jaw.
A few of the others called out, mumbling things to each other and bursting into laughter.
“I’m docking their pay.” He gave them a flat wave, gesturing for them to move on.
Saylor laughed to break some of the tension, and also because she knew he was joking. In all honesty, she didn’t care that she’d been caught kissing Cole. Her heart grew two sizes in her chest, pumping harder and edging into her disbelief. Could this really be happening? Could she really find someone who would last, who would want her as much as she wanted him—for as long as she wanted him?
Cole shifted the truck into gear, and they drove in awkward silence, neither of them willing to break it first. Saylor wanted to tell him everything she could about herself, and to know everything about him in return. She wasn’t kidding when she said she fell hard and fast and didn’t let go easily. She felt the plunge happening now, her own desperate leap from a bridge over a vast chasm with no bottom in sight.
She’d pushed Caleb away because of that, because of her fierce tendency to fall and hold onto him as her only source of support. She’d probably pushed David away similarly
as well. Why did she think she stood a chance with Cole?
He pulled into a posh complex titled Aspen Ridge Apartments, and her stomach cinched tighter as he parked in one of the numbered stalls. 3B. She suddenly wasn’t sure how wise this decision was. This was so much more to her than a casual date or a make out session, and she wanted to make sure he knew as much. She also wanted as much out in the open from the start as she could offer.
“Cole? I hope you don’t mind, but I would like to, well, I have something I want to say.”
He let the pickup idle. The sound of the vents filled the space between them. “Something on your mind?”
She chewed her lip. “Um, you. Since we met, actually.”
A smile eased the concern on his expression. “I like that.” He rested an arm on the console between them. Saylor fisted her hands in her lap, not giving in to the desire to meet him halfway.
“The truth is, I can’t let myself get too far in with you,” she said. “Not until I know where this is headed. I’m sorry. I just want to be as honest as I can from the start.”
Cole sat back. “I understand. I’d like to know where we’re headed as well, but all I can tell you right now is that I really like you, Saylor. From the minute you hurdled the fence at the mall and caught my arm.”
A different kind of heat flushed to her hairline. She dipped her head to hide her smile. “I still can’t believe I did that.”
“I kept cursing myself for finding you attractive because I figured you were probably married. But when I found out you weren’t, I allowed myself to hope in a way I hadn’t for a long time.”
Air escaped her lungs and entered again. She was breathing, pulsing. She was awake. Not dreaming. “Me too,” she told him, shifting in the seat to face him directly. Shades of night swarmed around him, bringing out his features in a different way, darker and more alluring. His intent gaze centered on her, eager, hungry for what she had to say.
She took heart in that.
“I care about you too,” she said. “A lot. And I want you, more than I probably should. I want to see if love is possible for us, the lasting kind where people work through the hardships and grow closer because of them, not farther away. I don’t want to fail at love again.”
His hand reached out and stroked the skin just below her wrist. “You didn’t fail, Saylor. You were in fifty-fifty relationships, where one or both partners give only fifty percent. Marriages that last—love that lasts—happen when both people give one hundred percent. That’s what I’ve heard anyway.”
His touch sent a charge into her pores and straight up her spine. “Then I want a one hundred percent kind of love.”
“So do I.”
“Am I in stalker territory to say I want that with you?”
His eyes were burnished in the darkness. “Not if the other person wants it with you, too.”
Her throat closed. “And—do you?”
She knew it was direct, but she didn’t want to mince words. She had to know, before this got any farther than it already was. This had all happened so fast. She realized she was basically asking for commitment. Yet, it seemed so right.
“I’m willing to give it a try, if you are.”
This time she mimicked him as he leaned across the console. She closed her eyes and released a breath. “I’m not sure I can handle any more of you, Cole Osteen. Every kiss drives you deeper into me.”
He slid his hand to her neck. “I know the feeling. But I can’t seem to stop myself.”
Saylor’s heart pounded. Her lips parted. Her lids fluttered, waiting, aching. Yet, he didn’t close the distance.
Instead, his hand withdrew from her neck. The heat of his body withered, and he cursed, “You’ve got to be kidding me,” under his breath.
“What?”
Saylor opened her eyes to find a woman watching them through the windshield. She was blonde and a prissy kind of beautiful, with perfectly curled hair, made even more perfect by the placement of her gray beanie with a trendy button strapped along one side. A silver purse slung over one shoulder, and she folded her arms, glaring at them from her position on the sidewalk.
“What is she doing here?” he grumbled.
“Who?” A dozen scenarios shifted and shuffled like a deck of cards in Saylor’s brain.
Cole slammed the button on his pickup, killing the ignition. He gave her a single, exasperated glance.
“My ex-wife.”
Chapter Fifteen
Cole didn’t miss the widening surprise in Saylor’s gaze. “Did you know she’d be here?”
Something hitched in her voice. It wasn’t as warm and inviting as it had been when she was sharing her hopes of a future with him. What awful timing on Brooke’s part, to ruin such a perfect moment.
That was so like her. Cole had told her no in every conversation they’d had since Christmas Eve, and she still wouldn’t take a hint. He had to make himself clear, once and for all.
“Hang on,” he said, sliding out of the pickup. He should have left the ignition running so Saylor would stay warm, but he wasn’t thinking clearly at the moment, and it was made all the worse by Brooke’s interruption. He’d been close to telling Saylor he was falling in love with her. He’d meant it when he said he wanted to try, to see where things were going, that he hoped for a one hundred percent relationship with her.
While he wasn’t sure whether he was in love with her yet or not, there were certainly things he loved about her already. Her spunk, her passion for her son, the flush of pink in her cheeks when she caught him watching her. He loved that she was independent, she was using her computer skills to try to build a life for herself without her loser ex-husband. He loved kissing her and holding her in his arms.
If Brooke hadn’t interrupted them, he could have told her that.
Of all things, Brooke smirked as though she just won a bet. “Are you on a date?”
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
She pouted her bottom lip. “You keep ignoring me.”
Cole was flabbergasted, which wasn’t a word he claimed lightly. This was utter and complete nonsense. Any sane person would take his response to her and read it loud and clear for the message it was: he wasn’t interested.
Not Brooke. Spoiled, indulged, Brooke just had to get her way.
“Listen,” he said, tucking his hands into his coat pockets. “I know you want a second chance. But it’s not going to happen. Things between us weren’t good. They certainly won’t be any better a second time.”
Brooke closed in, taking the front of his jacket with her gloved hands. Cole pried her hands free, ready to push her away once and for all when the passenger side of his pickup opened and Saylor slipped out, slamming the door behind her.
“Saylor. Saylor, wait!”
“What is she, a pirate?” Brooke said derisively. Then she lifted her voice loud enough for Saylor to hear. “You mean she didn’t know you agreed to meet me here tonight?”
Cole glowered at her. “We’re done. We are so done,” he said, turning and leaving Brooke alone on the sidewalk. He half suspected she would follow him, but to his relief, he ran alone.
Saylor made her way down the street, her face tucked into her fur-lined hood. The jacket looked thin and old—it couldn’t be that warm. Cole’s feet hammered the snow, steering clear of the cars along the street.
“Saylor!”
She didn’t turn.
He could imagine how it looked back there. Taking her to his apartment for the first time, sharing his feelings, then having his ex show up and claim he invited her there, too.
“Saylor, wait!”
She wiped at her eyes and faced him, pelting him with burning resentment. Her cheeks and nose were painted red from the cold, and her hair caught in the wind, making her appear even more enticing. Making him feel worse about all of this.
“I can’t believe I fell for it,” she said.
“Fell for what? I didn’t invite her over.” He had
the wrong tone, and he knew it, because Saylor turned her back to him and continued walking.
Cole caught up again, taking her by the arm.
She shook him off. “Am I a game to you? A joke?”
“No.” The opposite.
“I told you how David broke my heart. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to open myself up to you. I should know better by now.”
“She just showed up. I swear,” he said, calming his voice to a more believable level. “She’s been badgering me since Christmas to get back together.”
Saylor quieted, folding her arms over her chest. Her breath was visible in the chilly air. “Are you getting back together?”
“No,” Cole said a little too adamantly. That had always been a fault of his, getting overexcited easily, especially when he was as frustrated as he was right now. “And I’m about to make that very clear to her, just as soon as I take you home.”
Saylor sniffed. “I called my dad. He’ll be at the Chevron on the corner in a few minutes.” She gestured in the direction she’d been walking. The Chevron’s blue awning spilled light over vacant gas pumps.
Cole’s head spun. This was not how this evening was supposed to go. He’d intended on curling up on the couch with her, on watching movies until it was time to watch the ball drop. He’d wanted to kiss her at midnight, to ask her to officially be his girlfriend. Why did Brooke have to show up?
“See you later, I guess,” she said, turning away from him again.
The motion hit him in the gut. “At least let me walk you the rest of the way and wait with you.” She shouldn’t stand there alone, not this late. Not when he’d asked her on a date.
“No thanks.” The sadness in her eyes, the resolve there to leave him behind here for good, stopped him. “Goodnight, Cole.”
And she left him behind on the sidewalk.
Chapter Sixteen
Saylor curled up on her mom’s couch beneath a wool blanket, a pack of Oreo’s resting on her knee, and stared at the poor, dismembered Christmas tree meeting its demise. Her mom had been pulling it apart piece by piece, tucking it into its large box to be saved for next year.
All I Want For Christmas: Holiday Romance Page 10