Page 28 of Cole

“Let’s eat,” Cole said. “I’m starving.”

And with that, they emptied out the coolers that sat on the table in the center of the covered area of the pontoon. In addition to Benji and Amelia, Layla was there with her boyfriend, and there were also two other teens.

Skylar and Aiden were both there, along with Lexi and Wilder. The one couple that Annie didn’t know well were Kayleigh and her husband, Hudson. Though Kayleigh was similar in height to Annie, she had a figure that Annie could only dream of.

And even though she didn’t have a swimsuit on, she had no problem wearing clothes that showed off her shoulders and legs. Annie felt a moment of envy, but she pushed it to the side, reminding herself as she often did, that she was fine just the way she was.

God had made her perfect, and in judging herself, she was questioning God. Kayleigh was also perfectly made. Just how God wanted her to be.

Once she had her food, Annie settled on one of the bench seats next to Dawn. Andrew was on Dawn’s other side, where he was talking with Hudson. Benji sat beside Amelia, who had Lexi on her other side.

Annie was a bit surprised when Cole sat down beside her. She was still a little mystified by Cole’s interactions with her, and his apparent enjoyment in talking with her.

She wasn’t going to actively push him away, but Annie figured that once the basketball season was back in full swing, he would just naturally drift away.

That was hard to think about, but it made sense. And since she was prepared for it, it wouldn’t really bother her. Life would return to what it had always been, but she’d have the memory of the few great moments she’d spent with Cole.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Cole dropped his empty plate into the garbage, then sat back down beside Annie. She was still eating her lunch, even though she’d taken much less than he had.

“Are you planning to swim?” Annie asked, gesturing to his brightly colored shorts.

“I am,” he said. “But I assume you’re not?”

“Nope. Definitely not. There are fish in there.”

Cole chuckled. “Yep. There are fish in there. You don’t like that?”

Annie shook her head. “I like water and swimming, but not when there are other living creatures in the same water.”

“They won’t hurt you, you know,” Cole told her. “I don’t think there are any sharks or piranhas here.”

Annie tilted her head, which made the silky smooth sweep of her ponytail slip from her shoulder. She lifted her brows. “Can you absolutely, positively guarantee that?”

Cole found himself wishing he could guarantee that nothing would ever hurt her. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a guarantee he could make. “Well, I guess it’spossiblesome aggressive fish are in there, though I don’t think it’s too likely.”

“I’m not going to take the chance, so I’ll just sit here and watch the rest of you risk your lives for a little fun in the sun.”

When Cole grinned, Annie smiled back at him, her blue eyes sparkling. Ever since he’d met her, he’d tried to decipher her appeal.

She wasn’t the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, but there was something in her smile that captivated him. It was genuine and lit up her whole face.

Neither would he describe her as outgoing, but whenever they spoke, she was responsive and engaging. Never making him feel like he had to hold up the conversation on his own.

And while it might seem counter-productive, given how drawn he was to her, but he liked that she wasn’t overtly flirty with him. It made him feel like she saw him as more than a rich professional athlete.

He hadn’t anticipated, when they’d spoken for the first time about his order, that he’d develop a strong desire to continue contact with her. His plan had been to call her again when the orders he’d placed had arrived and he’d given them to the moms he’d ordered them for.

But then the next day, while attending a meeting, he’d seen a bouquet of flowers that included some blooms that were the same shade as the purple of the baby clothes Annie had shown him the day before. So, of course, after taking a picture of the flowers, he’d had to send it to Annie, which had led to a brief exchange of texts before his meeting.

And then the following day, she’d sent him a picture of a purple flower that she’d seen while out on a walk with her dog. It had looked like they were on a walking trail through a forest, so he’d had to reply and ask for clarification.

After that, he found himself searching for flowers to take pictures of so he could send them to her. That had led to a discussion on whether she liked being given flowers. Annie had admitted that she did like flowers but had no luck growing them.

And that’s how it had started. They’d continued to text every day, but on the days when he didn’t have other stuff going on,they’d have longer conversations. He’d video chatted with her to show her one of the babies wearing what she’d made, which had made it easier to video chat with her again.

He’d wondered how things would be if they got the chance to hang out in real life again. So far, things had been going as well as he’d hoped.

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