Page 27 of Friend Zone to End Zone

“But it doesn’t mean he’s not.”

“Well, in his case it doesn’t mean anything, since I helped him with that, too.”

Cole had bought his six-thousand-square-foot home last year, and since he knew how much I’d always dreamed of having a house like his to decorate someday, he’d let me take over the interior design.

Sure, he’d had some say in his preferences—a sleek and modern design—but I’d done most everything else since he’d moved in during the middle of the football season and didn’t have the extra time to pick out the furniture and decor himself.

Those few months I spent decorating the home of my dreams had been some of the best months of my life. And every time I walked into his house, it always felt like it was partly mine, too.

Yet another reason why he couldn’t trade teams. I loved that his house was my safe haven from the world when I needed it.

“Well, if he’s not gay,” Hannah said, shrugging her slender shoulders over her gay theory being debunked. “Then I guess that just leaves us with the theory that he hasn’t ever wanted to date because he’s had a crush on someone he can’t have.”

“Or he’s simply been focused on being the best on the field for the past several years and is only making time for a relationship now.” Because if he had crushed on someone, I would know. We didn’t keep secrets from each other.

Well, for the most part, that is.

Not even Cole got to hear about all the things that had happened in my past. Some things were better left buried in my memories.

I nibbled on a carrot stick as I watched Cole chat with Mallory. His posture had relaxed since they’d first started their conversation and he was even smiling, too.

Maybe this dating-coach thing would be easier than I thought. Maybe all it took was a fresh haircut and a little nudge in the right direction for Cole to find the girl who would give him a reason to stay in Denver.

Mallory was certainly all smiles. And they would be cute together. With both of their darker features combined, their kids would be adorable.

Okay, so maybe I was getting a little ahead of myself in planning his wedding and family with Mallory already, but it could happen. All it took was one conversation to change someone’s life. And I knew how much Cole wanted to have kids.

While I was not cut out to be a mother—something I’d realized before I was twenty—Cole would be the best dad. He was fun and had lots of energy. Every time he helped me babysit my nephew and niece, he always talked about how he couldn’t wait to have his own kids.

Maybe Mallory would be the one to have that adventure with him. They could be like the new Tom and Giselle.

Just without the trading-NFL-teams part, since I needed him to stay here.

“Oh, it’s starting.” Hannah touched my arm, her excited tone breaking me from my thoughts. And when my eyes focused on the scene ahead, I saw that a preview of tonight’s episode was indeed showing on the huge flat screen TV on the wall. “Let’s grab our seats before everyone takes the good ones.”

Hannah was just ushering me toward the long white couch in the living room when I noticed Cole pull out his phone from his back pocket.

Was he getting her number?

Already?

And I didn’t know why but seeing him put her number into his phone sent a strange sense of dread through me.

Which was weird. Because this was what I wanted.

Right?

12

Arianna

“I sawyou got Mallory’s number,” I told Cole when we were back in his SUV after the party. “What did you think of her?”

He glanced away from the road as he turned onto I-70, driving from Sutton Creek to Denver. “She was nice.” He shrugged.

“Nice?”

“Yeah.” He glanced sideways at me as he drove.

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