by Dee Lagasse
Smirking, I turn just enough to catch her looking as I stand back up. Instead of quickly looking away or trying to play it off like she wasn’t just checking out my ass as I was bent over, Cole locks her eyes on mine and smirks when I’m standing upright again. Impressive.
With one hand cupping the cutout in the cardboard of the beer case, I use my free hand to motion for Cole to make her way down the stairs. “Pretty ladies first.”
Using the key fob, I open her door first then the door behind hers. Placing the beer on the floor behind her seat, I step back leaving her room to put her bag in too. After spending a few seconds fishing around the bag, she triumphantly pulls out the same black clutch she brought on our date Wednesday night. Once the bag of wine is tucked in next to the beer, I close the door and just move over slightly to her.
“Hey, I forgot something,” I say once we’re face to face.
“Please tell me it’s a kiss,” she asks, calling me out on my game in the best way.
“As a matter of fact…” I trail off while cupping her face in my hands.
Fuck the 70/30 rule. Brushing her lips with my own, I have every intention of keeping this kiss short and sweet. We have places to be, I have family and friends to impress…right now, it’s more about Cole knowing that I want to kiss her than the actual kiss itself, but the moment we connect, the combination of the vanilla from her lip gloss, the softness of her lips between mine and the connection between the two of us, I find myself staying in place longer than planned. Short and sweet turns into long and slow, until I force myself to pull away.
“As much as I want to keep kissing you, I’ve got a sister and some friends to charm tonight,” I tell her before opening the car door all the way.
She sighs contentedly as she slides down into the seat. Checking to make sure she’s in all the way, I close the door and make my way over to the driver’s side.
The ten minutes it takes to get to the cul-de-sac her sister Kinley and her brother-in-law Davis live on is filled with me desperately trying to keep my eyes on the road in front of us while Cole sings and sways along to songs by Florida Georgia Line, Devin Dawson, and Maren Morris as they play on the radio. How that girl doesn’t realize her very being is distracting as fuck is beyond me. Everything she does captures my attention.
Once we’re sitting parked outside the condo, Cole’s whole demeanor seems to shift instantly. Worry and panic wash over her face, as I reach over and take her hand in mine.
“Hey,” I say, getting her attention. “It’s going to be fine. I promise. Tucker already warned me that the guys are super protective of you. I have sisters. I get it.”
“No,” she shakes her head. “No, Pax. You don’t. Protective? No. They’re not just protective. They don’t think anyone from outside our little group is good enough. It just worked out for Kinley, Hollis, and now Ellis that they fell for a guy within the group. When I invited you, I didn’t think we would be…whatever this is…you’re going to get interrogated. They’re going to do everything they can to prove you’re a dick, because that’s what they do.”
“No one’s good enough for Cole,” I chuckle. “I’ll answer every damn question they have for me. I have nothing to hide. I’ll prove them wrong. I promise.”
“Where did you come from?” she asks, the unease on her face now mixed with a contradicting adoration in her eyes.
“Across the hall,” I laugh, pulling the keys out of the ignition. “Come on, pretty girl. Let’s do this.”
Chapter Thirteen
COLE
“Hellooooo,” I yell, announcing our presence after opening the door and letting myself into my sister’s condo.
“We’re in the kitchen!” a voice I recognize as my brother-in-law’s yells back from the far end of the house.
I lead Pax through the small hallway that brings us back to the kitchen. The apple theme of my sister’s kitchen always seems to stand out the most in the fall. There wasn’t much my sister “asked for” moving into the condo with Davis. The only thing she wanted was an apple kitchen, just like we had growing up at our parents’ house. Apple and farmhouse décor decorate the walls, the red-stained drawers, cabinets, and cupboards create a stark contrast against the bright white walls. Baskets of apples picked only a few weeks ago with our parents are scattered on the countertops. The scent of the cinnamon apple candle burning on the countertop only intensifies the effect.
She managed to achieve the exact feel she was hoping for, that’s for sure. I feel the same sense of “home” walking in here as I do walking into my mom’s kitchen. Which is exactly why I help myself to one of the still warm chocolate chip cookies cooling on the rack next to the oven.
“Okay,” my sister starts before I’ve even had a chance to introduce her to Pax. “I have to ask. Did you two plan your outfits?”
“Ha ha. No,” I deadpan, taking another cookie and handing it to Pax.
“Aw! It’s fate!” exclaims Ellis from the other side of the open concept kitchen.
Her choice of words causes me to look over and shoot her a warning glance. I know it tends to go without saying that best friends tell each other everything, but the last thing I want is for Pax to step back because he knows I’m showing my best friend our texts, even if it’s because we’re gushing over how cute he is.
“Here’s to fate.” Pax winks at me before extending his hand to shake my sister’s and then my brother-in-law’s hands. “Hi, I’m Pax, you must be Kinley and Davis.”
Ho. Ly. Shit.
I don’t hear him and Ellis exchange a banter of hellos, because I’m too busy basking in my moment of epiphany. I know exactly why Paxton Callaghan and his dark brown eyes seem so familiar to me.
“You’re Batman,” I gasp, wide-eyed at my revelation before saying barely above a whisper, “You saved me.”
A chorus of “oh my God” comes from my sister and Ellis. They had been at the gala. They witnessed a man dressed as Batman come sweeping in while I crashed and burned trying to confront a cheating douchebag. By the time the whole ordeal was over, I wasn’t in the mood to entertain anyone, never mind another guy, so when he asked me for my number, I said if we saw each other again, we would know it was fate. I went and said my goodbyes to my friends and went home right after.
He didn’t press it, he didn’t try to stop me or chase me. He just said, “Here’s to fate.”
As I start piecing together all the events of the last week, my heart starts slamming in my chest. From the gala to running into him at my mother’s office the next morning and then at Capparelli & Co. a few hours later, only to find out he lives across the hall from me. We had the best first date ever. He’s made a point to come visit me at work every night. He’s here, meeting my sister and our friends.
Here’s to fate.
“If I remember correctly,” he starts. “You were doing just fine on your own, Wonder Woman. I just came in with the assist.”
“Oh, don’t you even try to act humble right now. I was a mess.” I shake my head in disbelief, putting the bottles of wine I brought on the breakfast bar that separates the kitchen from the dining room. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything before now.”
“What’d we miss?” asks a voice from behind us, causing me to jump. Hollis Capparelli walks by, waving in passing. “Oh! Pax is here! This is my boyfriend, Chase. You already know Tucker and Lola.”
Hollis and Pax met quickly in passing in between Hollis and my sets at Capparelli & Co.
“Pax is Batman?” Davis shrugs when his sister goes up to him, pressing her cheek against his, as they both kiss the air.
It’s a Capparelli thing.
“And Mr. Perfection?!” She turns, wide-eyed, looking back and forth between me and Pax for confirmation.
“Mr. Perfection?” Her boyfriend, Chase, raises his eyebrows and turns to me for an explanation. He knows the nickname didn’t come from his girlfriend. Hollis Capparelli’s sun and moon both rise and set with Chase Merrimack.
<
br /> “What?!” I shrug. “Look at him.”
Tucker laughs, patting Pax on the arm a few times as he walks by. “Hey man. Hope you know you are never gonna live that nickname down.”
Carrying his blonde haired, blue-eyed five-year-old daughter in his other arm, he makes his way to the dining room and sits at the table. Pax’s eyes grow wide for a moment as he shakes Chase’s hand.
“Hey, Mr. Perfection. What’d you say your last name was?” Chase asks Pax, placing a case of beer on the counter next to the one Pax brought.
“I didn’t. But, it’s Callaghan,” Pax answers. I might be imagining things, but it seems like he’s suddenly nervous. With his hands at his side, I’m sure I’m the only one that notices, but his hands are bunched in loose fists and he’s rubbing his thumb against his index finger. I should have known this would be too soon.
“Holy shhhh….ugar cookies!” Chase catches himself as he’s about to curse, mouthing sorry to his brother, his wide eyes match the ones Pax had only a few moments before when he returns his attention back to Pax. “Did you go to BU?”
“I did,” nods Pax, a small smirk spreading across his lips, his confidence coming back as if he knows where this is leading. Chase also went to Boston University, so it makes sense they might recognize each other. I really hope this isn’t a bad thing.
“Dude,” Chase says, looking at Tucker. “You didn’t tell me the Pax working for you was Paxton Callaghan.”
“And you didn’t tell me,” Pax starts laughing. “Your brother was the Chase Merrimack.”
Pax’s sudden nerves make sense immediately.
He must have realized Chase is Chase Merrimack, two-time Super Bowl winning former wide receiver for the New England Patriots. Growing up with Chase, I just don’t see him like that. He’s Tucker’s big brother, Hollis’s soul mate, my pseudo-big brother…Sure, we are all incredibly proud of him, but no rings, no matter how many diamonds are encrusted in them, would ever change that he is just Chase around here.
But I’m obviously missing something right now. Why is Chase so damn excited about who Pax is?
Seeing the confusion written all over my face, Chase laughs, looking back and forth between me and Pax.
“Oh man. You don’t know who you’re dating, do you, Coley?” Chase asks, calling me by the name only my closest friends get away with calling me. “You humble son of a bitch. Your boyfriend over here played for the US national team in the World Cup, not once, but twice. You know, just the biggest sporting event in the whole world.”
Pax doesn’t correct Chase when he calls him my boyfriend, but shrugs. “Says the guy with Super Bowl rings.”
“I’ll bet that Cole hasn’t told you she has a winning Patriots Super Bowl pendant too,” Hollis laughs, boasting on my behalf like a proud mama.
“What? How? I’m going to need more than that,” Pax says, taking a beer from Davis’s hand.
“For a few years, we had one friend playing on the field.” Davis points to Chase before pausing and dramatically pointing to me. “And the other one cheering on the sidelines.”
“You were a Patriots cheerleader?” Pax asks dubiously, as if the thought of me cheerleading baffles him.
“Yep. For four years,” I tell him, pouring myself, Hollis, and Ellis each a glass of wine.
“Chase was a team captain and Cole was a line captain,” Ellis pipes in, lifting her head from the coloring book Lola handed to her when she sat down at the table. Noticing the wine, she nods and smiles before she continues to color the ocean on the page she and Lola are working on.
“The Seahawks Super Bowl was both of our last games.” Chase raises his beer to me in solidarity.
Raising my glass of wine to him, I bring it down to take a sip.
“As stimulating as the Chase and Cole showcase is, can we just go pick some fucking pumpkins?”
With all the commotion going on, I hadn’t noticed Travis come into the kitchen. His comment is laced with annoyance as he stands in the corner, his eyes pointed as he grills Pax. The irony of this moment isn’t lost on me. There was a point in time I would have lived for this.
Travis Lindsey had been my biggest crush from the time we were six all the way until we started sleeping together with the agreement we would never tell anyone.
I’m pretty sure I fell in some version of love with him the very first time I slept over at Ellis’s house when we were kids.
It was my first time sleeping over somewhere other than my grandparents’ house and he found me crying on the stairs. Instead of making fun of me like I thought he would, he asked me with absolute concern, if he needed to wake up his mom and dad. In true Cole fashion, I tried to brush it off and act like I was fine.
He rolled his eyes, silently calling me on my bullshit. The first time of many, many times. Sneaking us two orange creamsicles, he sat with me and didn’t say a word while we ate them. By the time we were done eating them, I felt safe enough to finish out the night. And the next morning, when his dad found the wrappers on the top of the trash, Travis took the blame for the both of us. In a way, we’ve been playing cat and mouse, hiding from the world since that day.
Beyond the fact that he looks like an Italian model, his dark black hair and his facial hair always clean and trim, his body still in perfect shape from his years as a Marine, and his arms covered in the shades of the black ink of his tattoos, he has made it very clear over the years he would move mountains for me. He was my prom date, he’s always my plus one to weddings...but it was his idea to keep what we were doing a secret.
At first I thought it might be because he didn’t want everyone in our business, to make sure it was going to work out, kind of like what Ellis and Tucker are doing now, but it never went beyond calling each other late at night or the fail-safe date option when the occasion called for it.
When I realized it was more for me than him, I shut that part off. Or I tried to. Our agreement to never let feelings get in the way of what we were doing was the biggest piece of bullshit I had ever heard. But I deserved to be with someone that made me feel like more than just his fallback plan.
Everything is still so new with Pax, but I have felt more in the last week than I have felt in the last four years. Beyond that, I know the feelings aren’t one-sided. That has to mean something.
If Pax wasn’t here in this kitchen, nothing would change. It would be the same cycle of acting like we’re friends, until it comes time to fuck. And I deserve more than that.
Thankfully, Chase takes it upon himself to introduce Pax to Travis. Unlike everyone else, instead of offering his hand and being welcoming, Travis acknowledges him by rolling his eyes, and shaking his head, unimpressed.
“So, I’ve gathered.”
I should have known by the way our conversation ended earlier in the week that he would be less than friendly tonight. After going back and forth, fighting via text all day Thursday, I finally called Travis Friday morning when I knew his shift at the police station was ending, all but demanding he meet me for breakfast so that we could talk face-to-face.
At first, he tried to continue keeping with the story that he was just pissed that I didn’t come out and tell him beforehand that I was going out on a date because of our deal. Even after me repeatedly telling him that the only reason I didn’t say anything was because I didn’t know until the Wednesday night after our date that I had any intention of pursuing more with Pax, he still seemed to hold a grudge. It wasn’t until I said, “Who knew a booty call would cause so much drama,” and he scoffed did I get the sense that there was more to it.
“I was just a booty call, right? Please tell me I’m looking at this the wrong way, Travis.”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to hear, Cole. But that won’t change a damn thing, will it?” he said, looking everywhere except at me.
“No feelings,” I said. “That was our deal. That was your deal. Honesty and no feelings.”
“Yep. It was,” he agreed, tossing a bunch of
dollar bills on the table before getting up, pushing his chair in, making it very clear he had no intention of continuing this conversation. “Looks like we both fucked that one up, huh?”
Chapter Fourteen
Pax
I’m not too sure what Cole had been stressing about. Everyone in her circle of friends had welcomed me with open arms. Well, everyone except Travis. But I’ve got a feeling there’s more to that story.
Aside from the obvious sizing me up when he first got there, I caught him watching Cole a few times. There was something more than protectiveness in his glances. The jealousy was a given, but there was more. Maybe, sadness? I couldn’t read him. I just knew it was more than just a good friend watching out for her.
After spending an hour to and from the pumpkin patch in a small SUV with Kinley and Davis, Kinley gave Cole her sisterly seal of approval by asking me if it was too soon to have dinner with their parents this week.
“We’re supposed to have a family dinner sometime this week. I know Cole won’t put you on the spot, so I will.”
The color had instantly drained from Cole’s face. The sigh of relief when I gave Kinley my number and told her to “just text me the details” was the cutest thing I’d ever seen in my life.
Within about a half hour, she asked if Tuesday at seven would work. When I confirmed that it would, Davis pulled me aside and told me that their mom was the hard one to sell.
“Patrick will put on a tough guy act, but as long as you treat his daughter right, you’ll be fine. Bring flowers or red wine for Helen though. She’s the one you need to work hard to impress.”
We ended up next door at Chase and Hollis’s house while we carved pumpkins. Or I should say, while I carved the giant pumpkin Cole and I decided we would carve together. She did help me pull all the guts though, filling a whole Tupperware container with the innards of the pumpkin, promising to make me roasted pumpkin seeds.