Page 47 of Thunderstruck
I clear my throat. “So.”
Carissa smiles. “So. Your friends really do look out for each other, don’t they?”
I nod right before I catch a hint of wistfulness in her words. Jealousy. But I have no idea if she’s jealous of my friends or something else. Just in case, I say, “Freya has been like a big sister to me ever since we met several years ago. She can be overprotective, but I love her.”
To my delight—or maybe concern—Carissa’s smile brightens. “You have a princess for a sister, huh?”
“Don’t tell my Gramps. I think he’s secretly in love with her and wants her to become my new grandma.”
Carissa snorts and covers her mouth. “How old is your grandpa?”
“Forty-five years older than Freya, give or take, though you’d never guess it. He has the energy of a man half his age, which is probably what fuels his delusion.”
“He sounds great.”
“Do you…” I stop myself before the rest of the sentence comes out. I can’t ask that! It would be doing exactly what I shouldn’t do.
But Carissa tilts her head, a question in her eyes. “Do I what?”
I’m too tired to pretend I don’t want her to come with me. At this point, I might as well let Carissa see the whole of my life now that she’s seen the ugliest parts. If my curse or my anxiety haven’t scared her off, maybe nothing will. It feels selfish to hope she’ll want to be my friend even with the threat of tabloids looming over us—I should probably call Ethan before it gets too late—but it’s been a while since I had to deal with anything too prying. It would be nice to have someone else going through it with me.
“Do you want to meet him? My Gramps?” I gesture to the street ahead of us. “He and my dad live just around the corner.”
I’m already regretting this, but Carissa eagerly shifts the car into gear again and asks me where to go.
I guess I’m bringing a woman home to meet my family for the first time in…ever.
Chapter Fourteen
Carissa
This is a badidea. I know it’s a bad idea, but as I pull into the driveway of a house that’s at least double the size of Cole’s, I’m practically brimming with excitement. After everything I witnessed over the last twenty minutes, the chance to see where Cole came from is one I don’t think I could pass up. There’s so much more to this man than what I first saw, and everything I learn about him makes me like him that much more.
That’s exactly why this is a bad idea, but I’ve never been good with self-control.
“So I should probably tell you some things,” Cole says, shifting in his seat to face me.
I raise my eyebrows. “What things?”
He grimaces and glances at the house. “I’ve, uh, never brought anyone home. A woman, I mean. Outside of myfriends.”
A thrill runs through me at the thought that I’m special enough for him to invite me into this part of my life, but I tamp it down. “We are friends, Cole.”
“They’re not going to think so.”
“What about your ex? You guys dated for like four years.”
He cocks his head, a bit of a smile tugging at his mouth. “Have you been reading up on me?”
I shrug, trying for nonchalance, but I can’t fight the grin that spreads across my face. “I might have. I was curious.”
“Curious like you were when you walked into a locker room full of naked men?”
Heat flashes across my face. “Okay, when I said that, it was more in reference to what the guys would do. Not because I wanted to see anything.” And thank goodness I didn’t. While I’m no stranger to human anatomy—thank you, college classes—I have no desire to see more of the Thunder than I already do. I’m an admirer of the human form, but not to that extent.
Cole chuckles. “Whatever you say. And no, Sage never met my family. She rarely came to California, and when she did, she only ever wanted to spend time alone with me. Even my friends barely interacted with her.”
I wrinkle my nose. “And you never saw any red flags there?”
