CHAPTER 7
My parents insist on checking in with me so frequently that my eye twitches. My cell rings and I pick it up. “I’m still fine, Ma. Cole’s taking good care of me.”
“Thank God!” She blares into the phone. I pull it back from ear a little, so I don’t go deaf. Ma is one of those people who talks louder on a cell phone. She acts like it’s a tin can on a string and practically screams into the thing. “I’m having palpitations out here worrying about you. I can’t stand you living so far away. Come home, Anna. Your old room is—”
I groan, “Ma, I’m fine. Really. And what happened could have happened anywhere. It’s not like the whole stalker thing was random. He went to your house for Chrissakes. He seemed sane to you, too.” I shouldn’t have said it. Reminding her of her conversation with Edward is like a kick to the gut. Apparently his obsession with me was worse than anyone thought. When the police starting questioning my family, my Ma recognized him.
Ma’s voice shrinks back to a muffle. “I didn’t know, honey. I swear to God, I had no idea that he—”
I cut her off, “That’s the point. Nobody knew and it could have happened anywhere. I’m safe here, Ma. I’ll be at Cole’s for a few more days and then I’ll move back in with Emma.”
I don’t pull the phone back in time for the wave of tyrannical threats that spew from the tiny speaker. I open my mouth to respond, but Cole snatches the phone from my hand.
He speaks over Ma, “Anna’s not going anywhere, Mrs. Lamore.” He says it so calmly, so certainly. I cock my head at him and feel extra stubborn. I don’t doubt for a second that he thinks I’m staying here indefinitely, but I feel like I need to get on with my life. It feels like I’m hiding here.
I can still hear Ma yelling back, “She better not!”
“I assure you, she is staying here with me, and if she insists on leaving, I will deposit her on your doorstep. She’s not going anywhere alone until Edward is behind bars. You have my word on that.” Edward’s out on bail, which is why things are kind of hard right now. No one wants to leave me alone so that he can take another go at me.
Ma’s voice lowers and I can’t make out what she’s saying. Cole avoids my angry gaze until he hangs up.
Cole sighs and hands me back my phone. “When were you going to tell me this marvelous plan?”
I squirm on the couch and pull my knees into my chest. “Never.” I knew he wouldn’t like it.
“I thought so.” He sits down next to me. “You can do anything you want, but it’s so far from smart that I can’t let you go back there. He’s out on bail. Edward could come after you again.”
“He won’t” I say, staring straight ahead.
“You don’t know that.”
“Cole,” I take a breath, and look at him. “I don’t want to hide for the rest of my life. I want to get on with things and that means going back to normal.”
“What if normal where here, with me?” His eyes are like twin gems, deep and clear. His voice is so sincere, so loving. Cole hasn’t mentioned the proposal since that night. Too many things happened.
My lips tug into a small smile. I lean my head against his shoulder. “Tell me what that would look like. Things are changing right now. I don’t even know what tomorrow will be like and neither do you. It makes it hard to dream right now.”
His arms wrap around me. “All I do is dream, right now. I dream about having you in my bed every night and seeing your beautiful face every morning. I dream about that lawsuit vanishing and having that part of my life over. I dream of being someone else’s son, with someone else’s name…” he strokes my hair as I listen to him. He breathes, “All I do is dream. I’m living in a fantasy world as long as you’re next to me. I can’t stand the thought of you leaving.”
Silence fills the room. It’s not the awkward kind, it’s the peaceful kind. Cole wraps his arms around me tighter and holds me like that for a second. When he moves to release me and get up, I stop him. My fingers brush his forearms and press him against me. “Hope is important, Cole. Don’t feel bad about that. As for your name, have you thought about what you want to change it to?”
He looks down at me and smiles. “Dude. You inspired me and I had to pick that one. People can call me Mr. Dude, the artist.”
I laugh way too loud and smack his arm. “You can’t change your last name to Dude! Besides, if I said yes, that’d make me Mrs. Dude and I am so not doing that.”
Cole grins. He sits and pulls me onto his lap. I turn to face him. His face is a breath from mine. “Oh? So you’ve thought about that a little bit, have you?”
I nod. “A little bit.” My heart is pounding.
“And that’s the only conclusion you’ve made?”
“It’s a pretty good conclusion, right? There’s no way in hell people are going to call me Anna Dude.” I laugh and he smiles. It makes the corners of his eyes crinkle the way I Iove.
“So, then what would you have me do?”
“Pick a name that suits you, one that makes sense, and that you’d be happy to have.”
“I’m not sure there is a name like that, Anna.”
I want to smile, but I try to hide it. Taking his face in my hands, I say, “Lamore.” I swallow hard, letting the idea sink in. I take a breath. The feeling that I’m falling won’t hush. My stomach is in my throat. “I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I know I want you in my life. I like my last name and what it stands for. Lamore’s think love is worth fighting for, that love is worth more than life, that—”
He cuts me off with a kiss. Cole’s lips press hard against mine and he pulls away grinning. “I would love to take your name. Wedding or not.” He’s not certain that I’ve accepted his proposal.
“Oh, there’ll be a wedding. I thought I had to know everything before I got married. I thought that my life was going to be laid out for me, that I’d go to college, graduate, get a job, get married, have kids—in that order—but it didn’t happen like that. I don’t have much, but what’s mine is yours…” he’s still quiet, watching me. I want to choke or run or jump out the window. I blabber on, adding, “If you still want me.”
Cole’s eyes remain locked on mine. Without a word he stands up, with me on his lap. I scream as he chucks me in the air and catches me. He makes a very loud, happy, sound that almost sounds like a whoop, and whirls around with me in his arms, spinning in circles. We both laugh and scream. I cling to his chest and close my eyes, but it doesn’t stop the joy from bursting like fireworks inside of me. By the time he falls onto the couch, my face hurts from smiling so hard.
I giggle, “Mr. Lamore, you’re going to be a handful.”
“Likewise, Mrs. Lamore.”