Page 33 of Cole

“Yeah. I guess you couldn’t even come home for Christmas or New Year’s because your team usually plays on or around those holidays.”

“Did you watch our Christmas games?”

“Yep. Benji always insisted.”

“And your parents didn’t mind?”

“No.”

“You said something about Benji’s mom,” Cole said. “Is she not your mom?”

“She’s my stepmom, and Benji is my half-brother.”

“Is your mom still in your life?”

Annie shook her head. “I haven’t seen her since I was a little girl. Elizabeth—Benji’s mom—was actually my nanny.”

“So your dad fell in love with the nanny?”

With a grin, Annie said, “Yep. He sure did.”

“Didn’t you say you had an older brother, too?”

“I do, but he doesn’t live around here.”

“Did he go to school in Serenity?”

“No. When we moved here, my parents decided that we’d be taught at home.”

Cole was super curious about Annie’s family, because it seemed that her dad wasn’t around much.

Shrieks drew their attention, and Cole turned to verify they were shrieks of delight and not something more.

Sure enough, they had picked up enough speed that the tubes were moving more quickly through the water. Not as quickly as if they had been towed behind a speedboat, but the teens were still clearly enjoying it.

“You sure you don’t want to go for a ride?” Cole asked. “We could go together, and I’ll tell Wilder to take it slow.”

Annie’s brows lifted, then she gestured to herself. “First of all, I’m not exactly dressed.”

“I thought maybe you’d actually worn your swimsuit underneath your dress.” Cole paused, not wanting her to think that he was considering what she might be wearing under her dress. Because he hadn’t until that moment.

Blinking, he said, “I know some people wear their swimsuits under their street clothes.”

Annie frowned. “I can see why they’d do that, but putting dry clothes on over a wet swimsuit doesn’t sound terribly comfortable.”

“Sometimes, if the day is hot enough, your swimsuit will dry before you put your street clothes back on.”

When he saw one of the newcomers tumble off the side of one of the inner tubes, Cole yelled for Wilder to stop. The boat immediately slowed, then they began to turn to return to the other teen, who was leaning back in his life jacket while he waited for the pickup.

The next little while was spent getting the teens set up once more, and then they were off again.

Cole was glad that Annie had stuck close to him so they could chat more. He would like to spend more time with her before he went back to LA, but the idea made him pause.

Was that what friends did?

He watched her as she stared out at the teens, who were once again having fun. Some of her light brown hair had escaped her braid and fluttered in the breeze created by the boat’s movement. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at the fun her brother was obviously having.

Cole felt something stir within him, and he quickly looked away from her.

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