Page 13 of Tricking an Introvert

Tessa

After a light breakfast, Cole went to get the car while Tessa waited with their luggage. Looking after his suitcase felt weird, strangely domestic.

She tried not to blush at the idea.

He just had the one case—predictably, Michael had sold every single book Cole brought with him.

The shiny royal blue Tesla hummed as it slowed down and stopped right in front of her.

Cole opened the door and came out, wearing sunglasses and a light striped shirt—he’d left his suit jacket in the back of the car. He’d rolled his sleeves to his elbows. Tessa was pretty certain she was drooling, and she didn’t even care.

Cole fitted her three cases at the back. “Jesus, you came on the train with all these?”

Tessa shrugged. “I managed. The case with my banners and display is pretty light even though it's big.”

And it beat the alternative: having to fly.

“Why not rent a car?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t drive often—no need in the city—so I’m a bit nervous behind the wheel.”

He nodded like he understood, leaving it at that. Most of her acquaintances would have showered her with advice and encouragement she didn’t need. No wonder Cole was so easy to speak to and demanded so little of her energy.

She followed him around, eager to help lift or fit the suitcases, but he was annoyingly efficient.

He circled the car and placed his own luggage on the back seat, as the trunk was almost full. Then he opened the passenger door. “Hop in.”

“Did you just open my door? Is that still a thing?”

Cole grinned. “I’ve seen some dudes do it in old movies.”

Inside, the car was sexy. She’d noticed how spacious, clean, and beautiful it was the previous night when she’d sat in the back; Michael had taken the passenger seat in the front. Now she noticed the lines of the dashboard and the comfortable seats, the luxurious finish of the leather and fabric.

“It’s such a nice car. I bet it’s worth a fortune.”

“It’s Michael’s, technically,” Cole confessed. “He isn’t much into driving either.”

They had a strange dynamic. “So, you share cars and bicker like an old couple. You’re a lot more than employer and employee. Or old friends.”

He nodded. “Yeah, Michael is my brother. I mean, he might as well be. In our teens…well, I spent a lot of time at his place for years—and then he spent time at mine. We went to college together, and after seeing him get that first contract with a publisher sophomore year, I started to look into ways to help him make his dream come true: marketing, social media, that sort of thing. He hates sharing information about himself, so managing a blog, website, and social media profiles was a pain. I did that for him. His publisher noticed and offered me a contract that allowed me a lot of freedom; I made it clear Michael would be my priority, and he’d already signed for a series with another publisher. That meant I wouldn't be exclusive to them; I didn’t have to sign a non-compete. Fast forward ten years, and we’ve basically spent our lives together.”

“Codependency.” The word was out of her mouth before she knew it. Dammit. She backtracked, “Sorry, I meant…”

Cole laughed it off. “You can say it. We are totally codependent. It’s not healthy, but I don’t think we even know how to stop. I want to remove all obstacles in his way. He lets me. That means neither of us really pay much attention to our own lives. I guess it works for us.”

Tessa shrugged. “It sounds like your average married couple dynamic, minus the sexy bits. If it’s okay for most adults out there, why not you?”

He laughed. “Indeed. Even if taking that role for each other makes it hard for either of us to have relationships outside of us.”

She could imagine. “Have you ever thought about just throwing in the towel and asking him out?”

Cole glanced at her over his sunglasses, smiling. “If I were gay, I still couldn’t. Brothers, remember?”

“Right.” She had a little brother. They certainly didn’t take care of each other like that. She loved Lewis; he turned up a few times per week, and they met up a couple of times per month for pizza and poker at his place, but they’d never been at a Tesla-sharing level. Not even a beat-up-Chevy-sharing level. She let him borrow her sofa, some games and movies, but that was about it. “Shame, though. You’d make one hot couple.”

“Oh, you think we’re hot?”

She rolled her eyes. Like he didn’t know.

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