Chapter Sixteen
Cole hit the sidewalk Monday morning with brisket in his belly and Maddie consuming his thoughts. But unlike usual, he didn’t try to push her image away. She’d come to check on him last night, had brought him peace after a tiring and emotionally turbulent day. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so well, knowing she would stay if only for a little longer.
Because she cared.
His heart swelled in his chest and he drew in a deep breath of brisk October downtown air. Yeah, it tasted awful. Yeah, the cold bit his lungs. But who could complain when life was finally starting to look up?
Though, there was the whole matter of Tyson. From what he could get out of Maddie, things between them still hadn’t clicked. Would it be wrong to step in and swipe her out from under his nose? As he pondered the thought, conflicted, a couple emerged from a shop ahead of him. He had his arm around her, she was snuggled into his side to keep warm. Their laughter echoed on the brick storefronts around them.
That. That’s what Cole wanted. Someone to laugh with, to hold close, to adore. To be adored by. He’d denied himself the chance for too long, afraid his past would drive them away. But the bandage had been ripped off thanks to Sheridan Realty, his past fueling the town’s rumor mill. Maddie had to have heard something by now. And yet she hadn’t shunned him, hadn’t treated him any differently than usual.
Maybe it was time to tell her the truth. Surely she would understand. And if she didn’t, well, then it was never meant to be.
Tonight. I’ll tell her tonight.
Determination lifted an invisible weight long carried on his shoulders, and Cole resisted the urge to run off and buy her flowers. No, it was too soon for that. Better to be honest with her, gauge her reaction, then see if she felt the same way about him as he felt of her. Because there was no denying it—he was falling for Maddie, harder every day.
If only his new shop would hurry up and get off the ground. He knew it would take time. Heck, his grandfather warned him it could take months, even a year before business settled into a predictable routine. But these rumors weren’t helping matters any.
A man stepped out of the shop beside his as he approached and offered him a tight smile. “Morning, Granville.”
“Morning, Mr. Smith.” Cole racked his brain, trying to think of the aging frame maker’s first name. Sam? Walter? Whatever it was, Mr. Smith had been none-too-pleased to learn that a guitar store was going in on their quiet street. Had expressed his concerns about the noise nearly every day since Cole first put signs up in the window, advertising lesson opportunities. To date, he’d kept the noise low and always on the opposite side of the shop, so he had no idea what had Mr. Smith scowling like an English Bulldog this morning.
“Seems someone tripped the alarm last night. Yours, then mine.”
“Oh no.” Cole’s gaze shifted to his shop. The window was intact, the front display looking unblemished. “Was anything taken from your place?”
“No, but I thought you should know so you can look yours over.”
“Thanks a lot.” Cole headed for his door but paused when he realized Smith was following.
“I don’t really care what you do in that shop of yours,” Smith said in a low voice. “Or what you’ve gotten yourself into in the past. But this shop is all I have. If you’re mixed up in some kind of trouble, well, you’d best be taking it elsewhere.”
With that, the man turned and shuffled back into the Frame Gallery, the door snicking shut behind him. After a moment, Cole shook off his surprise and turned toward his own place. It was going to take more than tripped alarms and scowling shop owners to keep him from his dreams. Robberies, however, would be tougher to overcome.
“Nice talk, Smith,” he muttered under his breath. “Let’s not do it again any time soon.”
…
Maddie climbed the steps to her apartment Monday night, looking forward to a long, hot soak in the tub. Her place might be the size of a postage stamp, and far from glamorous, but in the tub she could close her eyes and pretend she was anywhere. Tonight, her imagined destination would probably also harbor one too-sexy-for-his-own-good southern boy, who’d consumed her thoughts most of the day as it was.
But when she drew near the landing and spied a pair of familiar cowboy boots perched on the second to top step, daydreaming took a back seat to worry. And maybe a bit of embarrassment, over being caught thinking about him.
“Cole? What are you doing here?”
A half grin, but still he did not rise. “Guess I lost my way.”
Worry rattled her again. Something was bothering him, something pretty big for him to be sitting here, waiting for her. She decided to play dumb, let him talk when he was good and ready.
“Well, can you lose it a little to the left? I’d like to get inside and out of these shoes.”
His right brow twitched as he shifted on the step, his gaze following her as she brushed by. Maddie felt her cheeks warm. Ha, as if I had a chance. The very thought of her, Cole, and clothes coming off, though, had her all sorts of flustered. She fumbled with her key not once but twice, then struggled to put enough weight behind her usual door-shouldering maneuver.
“Here, let me get that for you.”
Cole rose and came to stand beside her, his tall, lean frame easing into what little space was left. She squeezed against the outer wall, trying to give him room, and savored the scent of his cologne. Lord, he smelled good. All sandalwood and man.
You should be thinking of Tyson, whispered her conscience.
You should shut the hell up, she mentally whispered back.
With a grunt and twist, the door was opened all too soon. Maddie offered him a smile and led the way inside, flipping the light switch as she wondered what they’d talk about tonight. One of his new students? A story from his past? Maybe a confession about what really happened the night of his eighteenth birthday?
The door clicked shut behind her. Maddie tossed her purse into its usual spot on the counter and turned to ask how his day was. The light flicked off and suddenly Cole was there, standing less than an arm’s length away, hiding in the shadows cast by the room’s tiny nightlight. Oh yeah, something was definitely wrong.
“You want to talk about it?” she whispered, reaching out to brush a thumb across his cheek. Even in the dark she could see the dark circles under his eyes.
Cole leaned into her touch and raised a hand to cover hers. “Not really.”
“Long day?”
He snorted. “More like long life.”
“So I’ve heard.”
His eyes narrowed. “You did, did you?”
She nodded, brushing her thumb across his cheek again.
“Whatever they told you…it wasn’t true.”
“You calling your grandfather a liar?” She grinned.
“My grandfather? When did you…?” Understanding dawned on his face. “Last night. The brisket.”
Maddie shrugged. “We had a few minutes to kill. He cares a great deal for you, you know.”
“And you?”
“I guess Tom and I have gotten along well enough in the past.”
Cole chuckled and moved his hand from over hers to the small of her back. “I mean do you care a great deal about me, too?”
Crap. Apparently it was confessional night at the Frye house. As much as she wanted to change the subject, or throw out a snarky comment to distract him, she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. Instead, she met his gaze and nodded.
“Even knowing what you do about me? About my past?”
“You were innocent, Cole. Trying to do the right thing. It just…”
“Backfired.”
“Horribly,” she added with a grimace.
But rather than be bothered by her added commentary, a look of relief settled over his features. Cole drew her close and placed a cheek to the crown of her head. Maddie wrapped her arms around him, savoring his warmth.
“It’s been so long since anyone has looked at me without judgment in their eyes,” he whispered. “I don’t want to lose your friendship, Maddie.”
Friendship. Though it shouldn’t have, his comment stung, confirming her earlier suspicion. Coworkers? Yes. Friends? Absolutely. Lovers? Not in the cards. But she’d just have to learn to be okay with that, because she’d grown far too fond of him to want to lose what they did have together.
“You won’t.”
He drew back, his gaze searching hers. For what, exactly, she didn’t know. She was here, wasn’t she?
Cole’s gaze shifted to her lips.
Friends, she reminded herself. Don’t let your imagination run wild.
His hand snaked into her hair, freed after her shift of its usual messy bun, to gently cup the nape of her neck. Okay, so this wasn’t something she’d done with other male friends. Maybe it was a Texas thing?
“I’ve fallen for you, Maddie.” His lips lowered to within a whisper of hers. “Coaching be damned, I want you all to myself.”
Maddie stood there in utter shock. Had she heard him right, or was this all some grand illusion?
“Really?”
“Mmm-hmm.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, to her cheek, to the hollow beneath her ear.
“But I’m—”
“Don’t.” He drew back, his face unusually serious. “Whatever it is you were going to say, it’s a lie, all a lie you keep telling yourself. You’re not too fat, too thin, too short, too tall. You’re not too intimidating, too confident, too curvy. You are 100 percent real in a world full of imposters and fakes, and I think that makes you absolutely perfect.”
“But…you haven’t seen all of me.”
A crooked smile stretched his perfect lips. “We can remedy that, you know.”
“What, now? Tonight?”
She stepped away to collect her thoughts and looked to her bedroom door. Had she made the bed this morning? Picked up the dirty clothes off the floor?
Shaved her legs?
“Unless, of course, you don’t want to.” His words said he understood, but his tone was thick with desire.
The same desire she’d been fighting since he’d stepped foot into her kitchen.
“I do. Of course I do, it’s just…” She wrung her hands, grateful for the dark. Darn, a little notice before springing this on her would have been nice. Time to mentally prepare.
“You’re nervous.”
“Well, duh.” A nervous laugh escaped her.
“Then how about we take it slow for now? Go with the flow?”
He took her hand and pulled Maddie into his arms. His velvet voice greeted her ears as Cole began quietly singing a Journey song she’d admitted to being one of her favorites the last night they’d worked together, and the two began swaying to their own private dance. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Oh yeah, she’d take this over some stuffy gala any day.
His hands slid to her hips, and a shiver rattled through her. They felt…good there. Right. Her mind began to race, thinking of other places those skilled hands would feel. Even as those thoughts filled her mind, the doubts and insecurities of her past tried to claw their way to the forefront.
No. That was then, this was now. Cole had fallen for her. Her! And he’d just called her absolutely perfect. If that wasn’t a confidence builder, what was? If a guy like Cole said he wanted her, then it was high time she learned to listen and let go of her past.
“I’ve always loved your voice,” Maddie said as the song came to a close.
“You do?”
“Mmm-hmm. Could listen to it all night long.”
Cole bent to press a kiss to the hollow beneath her ear. “All night long, huh?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Maybe that, um, remedy of yours is something I’d like to learn more about.”
“Oh yeah?”
He pulled back to study her for long moment, his big, blue eyes heavy-lidded with desire. She dug deep for her bravado and slipped out of his grasp, angling for the kitchen. “Uh huh.”
“Um, Maddie? If memory serves, the bedroom is that way.”
“You’re right.” She plucked her cell phone from her purse and sent a quick message to Kayla, asking her to cover breakfast in the morning. Everything was prepped and ready to go, nothing but pastries and cereal planned, anyway. Message sent, she returned to Cole. “And now we won’t have to rush what happens in there nearly as much.”
“I rather like the sound of that.”
He pulled her close and sealed his approval with a kiss. And another. And another. He really was the best kisser she’d ever met. She would have gladly stood there all night, making out in her dining room, if she hadn’t already spent the past few hours on her feet.
“Cole?”
“Hmm?” he asked, his lips softly gliding over her own.
“I really would like to get out of these shoes now.”
He chuckled, the sound warming her far more than any heater could in this lonely old apartment.
“Right. How about you lead the way, and I’ll help you with that.”
Maddie liked the sound of that. Yes, she was scared out of her mind—it’d been forever and a day since anyone had seen her naked, let alone touched her. But this was Cole, the sweetest, most caring man she knew. She had no doubt in anything they did together he’d treat her like royalty, bedroom adventures included.
That thought kept her from making a run for it. Instead, she intertwined her fingers with his and led the way toward her bedroom.
“I’d love it if you would.”