Page 115 of Cole

Annie felt sick to her stomach as the unraveling she’d feared began. Getting to her feet, she hurried to where Cole stood.

As she neared him, Cole held out his arm, sliding it around her and drawing her close. He bent his head and whispered, “Relax, love. I’m here for you. Nothing your family does will scare me off.”

Tears pricked Annie’s eyes as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. Some of the anxiety and worry she was experiencing melted away.

“Julian, if you can’t be polite to our guest, you can take your dinner in your room,” her dad said.

“Want to hide me like you hide Annie?” Julian challenged. “It hasn’t worked before. Why would it work now?”

“Why don’t we go sit down?” Elizabeth suggested, obviously trying to stop things from escalating.

Annie and Cole followed her dad and Elizabeth into the dining room. Benji fell into step beside Cole, while Julian ambled along behind them.

As they moved into the dining room, Cole’s hand found the small of her back, a steady presence that anchored her amid the strange undercurrents swirling through her family.

“Everything okay?” he murmured, pulling out her chair.

“I’m not sure,” she whispered back. “Something’s off.”

The formal dining room gleamed with candlelight, the table set with fine china and crystal that reflected the flames indancing patterns. The aromas coming from the kitchen let Annie know that once again their cook had outdone herself. Normally, her stomach would have growled in anticipation. But that night, her appetite had vanished.

Elizabeth directed each of them where to sit, with her and Annie’s dad at each end of the oval table. Annie sat to her dad’s left, with Cole beside her. Julian was opposite her, next to Benji.

Once they were all seated, the servers brought in their first course.

Annie relaxed a little more when Julian seemed willing to hold his tongue, even though he had one of the servers bring him another drink. The momentary lull in confrontation would undoubtedly not last long.

She, Cole, and Benji kept up most of the conversation, with Elizabeth participating just enough so that no one could claim she wasn’t a good hostess. But even though she was interacting with them, her stepmom’s attention kept flitting to her husband, frowning each time he pulled out his phone.

Her dad seemed on edge, his usual commanding presence fractured by whatever was occupying his thoughts.

“Is everything alright?” Annie finally asked during a lull in the conversation, unable to bear the strange tension any longer.

“Of course,” her father replied too quickly. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“It’s New Year’s Eve, darling,” Elizabeth said with a smile that seemed forced. “Everyone’s just… reflective.”

Annie wasn’t convinced. She glanced at Cole, who seemed unusually quiet as well. His eyes met hers briefly before darting away, focusing intently on cutting the perfectly cooked prime rib on his plate.

“Right,” Julian slurred slightly, raising his wineglass. “Reflective. That’s exactly what I’m doing. Reflecting on another year of family secrets.”

“Julian,” their father warned, his voice sharp.

“What?” Julian challenged, leaning forward. “Are we pretending everything’s normal for Cole’s benefit? Because I think he deserves to know what he’s getting into with this family.”

Annie felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. “Julian, please—”

“It’s fine,” Cole interrupted smoothly. “Every family has its complications.”

Julian laughed, the sound hollow. “Complications. That’s one way to put it.”

“Perhaps we should change the subject,” Elizabeth suggested diplomatically. “Cole, you grew up in Serenity, right? What was that like?”

Cole accepted the lifeline, launching into stories about growing up in a large, blended family. Annie watched as he skillfully navigated the conversation, drawing Benji out about school, asking Elizabeth about her charity work, even managing to elicit a grudging comment from Julian about his latest business venture.

Her father remained largely silent, though Annie caught him studying Cole with an intensity that made her nervous. When his phone buzzed again, he excused himself from the table.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “I need to take this.”

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