Page 68 of Thunderstruck
“I would offer to coach you on how to make friends,” Liam says, “but I’m leaving on tour in less than a week.” He pulls Kasey tighter against his body, both their expressions falling. I’m going to assume neither wants to be apart from the other.
Seriously, I know Liam has a ring. He just has to ask the question. It wouldn’t solve the problem of being separated while he’s on tour, but at least he would have a fiancée waiting for him when he got back.
“I could help,” Bonnie says with a warm smile.
“You have reshoots this week,” Hank tells her and kisses her hand.
While I appreciate her offer, Bonnie is similar to Carissa in that she is beautiful and kind. Essentially a magnet for men. The guys would be nice to me only when she was around or to get an in with her, despite the fact that she’s in a surprisingly committed relationship for how short it’s been.
“If only you knew someone friendly who could help you,” Derek says with such a thick layer of sarcasm that I’m surprised he’s not physically dripping with it.
I narrow my eyes at him. He glares right back in a clear challenge. “Do you have something to say, Riley?” I know he does, or he wouldn’t have pulled the others into this conversation. Is this why he didn’t give me a solution last night?
He leans against the mini fridge and shrugs. “If you knew someone with access to the Thunder who could help you connect with your teammates, maybe you would have more success.”
I curse under my breath.
“Maybe I could help.” Carissa sounds wary, but her expression carries more than a hint of excitement. And while a thrill rushes through me at the excuse to spend more time with her, she knows as well as I do that we shouldn’t be finding excuses to be together when it’s going to be hard enough to keep a friendly distance between us.
But the idea does have merit. Of course Carissa could help me connect with my teammates. They already love her. But if I spend time with her, it’s going to get increasingly difficult to keep my hands to myself, and that would undo any progress I might make with her help.
“That’s a great idea, Carissa,” Derek says. “Though I warn you, Cole is stubborn and can be a difficult man to work with.” With the way Derek is smirking at me, I know it won’t do me any good to explain why I wouldn’t want a reason to spend time with Carissa. Derek probably figured out within seconds of our arrival that I’m into her, and now he’s trying to push us together because he thinks that’s what I need.
I certainly don’t need any help in that regard.
Carissa blushes a deep crimson as she smiles at Derek, sparking to life a nauseating jealousy in my gut that shouldn’t be there because I know Derek would never put himself between me and someone I like. At the expense of his own happiness, he has a habit of looking out for everyone but himself.
Not that I think he has any interest in Carissa. But I still don’t like the way he smiles right back at her.
“I think I have a pretty good idea of the man Cole is,” Carissa says. “I can handle him.”
Oh, she thinks she can handle me? She’s mostly seen me at my weakest. It’s a bad idea to give Derek more motivation to push us together, but I can’t stop the playful glare I give Carissa as we gaze at each other across the patio.
Her eyes glitter as she returns my glare with her own, her lips twisting up in a smile she seems unable to fight. Dang, she’s beautiful. I knew that from the beginning, but everything new I learn about her makes her all the more appealing. Her determined, feisty nature is especially attractive, in part because I know she’ll never turn it into a weapon.
“Okay, whoa,” Liam says, breaking the moment. He’s glancing between us, his eyebrows high. “Are you two like—”
“No,” Carissa and I say at the same time.
“We work together,” Carissa says. “That’s it.”
Even I don’t believe her.
“‘Work together,’” Liam repeats, resting his chin on Kasey’s shoulder. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
Rolling my eyes, I stand and make my way to the mini fridge to give myself an excuse to look away from Carissa and cool down a bit. “Kasey,” I say as I go, “will you kindly tell your boyfriend that he is way off the mark?”
“Is he?” Derek murmurs, stepping aside to give me access to the fridge. “Because I’ve never seen you look at anyone like that. Not even Sage.”
I grab a bottle of water and drain it in one go. I’m delaying the inevitable, but I need a second to figure out what to say to Derek that won’t give him too much hope but also won’t be a lie. “We won’t work,” I mutter when I’ve swallowed the water.
Derek frowns. “Why not?”
Too many reasons to list them out. “Trust me. We’ve agreed it’s better for us to be friends, so don’t gomaking any schemes.”
He scoffs, the sound overly dramatic. “Me? Make schemes? Never.”
I point at him. “One of these days you’re going to fall in love with someone who drives you crazy, and don’t be surprised when all of us start meddling.”
