Page 68 of Cole

As the elevator doors closed, Cole smiled to himself. For the first time in longer than he could remember, his thoughts weren’t centered on basketball or his next game. Instead, they were filled with the memory of expressive blue-green eyes and the promise of something real.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Annie smoothed the iron across the fabric of a sleep sack. This one was covered in hearts and would be up on her website in time for Valentine’s Day. Even though it was only the end of November, she had already started sewing with Valentine’s Day fabrics.

When she’d started out in her online business, she hadn’t thought that people would buy baby things for all the holidays, not just the major ones like Christmas and Easter. But they did, so now she tracked down material for all the cute and baby friendly holidays.

She was still making Christmas items, but only until the fifteenth of December, so orders would have time to arrive for Christmas.

Nyla let out a soft chuff, drawing Annie’s attention. Her ears were perked forward as she gazed at the big window facing out over the forest around her cabin.

The chuff turned to a low growl, but it wasn’t her threatening growl. More like an uncertain one. Like she didn’t know if she should be upset or not.

Annie switched off the iron, then moved around the end of her worktable to get closer to the window. When she heard the whomp-whomp in the distance, she felt a bit like Nyla, not sure if she should be upset or not.

Her dad was due home for Thanksgiving, but usually he arrived early on Thursday. It was only Tuesday. Too early for him to be arriving from New York City.

Moving away from the window, Annie sank down on her work chair. She supposed it was too much to hope that the details of her trip to LA would have stayed off his radar.

He’d known they were going, of course. But he hadn’t known she was attending the gala. No one but Cole had had that information until the last minute.

She had a feeling that her dad’s early arrival meant that he’d heard about it.

Annie felt a bit angry that the idea of her dad confronting her over the gala had the power to make her feel like a disobedient teenager. She was an adult, and she could make decisions about her own life.

She just wished her dad could see that.

The helicopter’s engine grew louder, then several minutes later, she heard it fade away again. How long would it be before she was summoned before her dad? How long until they locked horns for the first time?

They may have butted heads before, but this time, she had a feeling the confrontation was going to be worse.

What made it so hard was that she knew that her dad acted as he did because he loved her. But she needed him to loosen his hold just a little so that maybe she could have a future that consisted of more than just fabric and books.

Nyla let out a whine as she bumped Annie’s leg, clearly picking up on Annie’s apprehension about what was likely to come with her dad’s arrival home.

“It’s okay, girl.” Annie stroked Nyla’s head, fingers sinking into the silky fur. “We’ll be fine.”

Her phone buzzed on the worktable.

Dad:Meet me at the main house for dinner. 6 pm.

No hello. No explanation for his early arrival. Just a summons, as she’d expected.

Annie glanced at the clock. Four-thirty. Enough time to finish the sleep sack and mentally prepare herself. She returned to her project, movements more mechanical now, her earlier creative flow disrupted by the dread of what awaited her.

As she worked, Annie rehearsed potential conversations in her head. Maybe this time she could make him understand that her life was her own to live. Maybe this time he would listen instead of dictating.

By five-thirty, Annie had changed into a simple blue sweater dress and brushed her hair into a neat ponytail. Professional but casual—an armor of sorts.

Wrapped in a long wool coat, with Nyla by her side, the walk to the main house took about ten minutes, a path she could follow blindfolded through the woods. The evening air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and approaching snow. In the distance, the main house gleamed with warm light, a beautiful prison in its own way.

Annie paused on the edge of the walkway leading up to the back door. “Lord, help me find the words. Help him to hear me.”

It was something she’d been praying each day since her time in LA, aware that this moment had been coming whether she wanted it or not.

Squaring her shoulders, she continued forward, each step bringing her closer to the confrontation she’d been dreading since the moment she agreed to attend the gala with Cole.

What would her father say about him?

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