Page 28 of It Happened Back Then
“Sure is, Chaos.” I watch him watch her walk to the back. He never takes his eyes off her and tracks every sway of her hips. As she disappears down the hall, I clear my throat, and he looks at me as I say, “Oh yeah. Nothing’s going on thereat all.”
Cole just smirks and grabs the rag again, cleaning the same spot, and then I see his smirk fade. He pauses, eyes downcast, his body suddenly tense, his expression nervous. I wait a moment to see if he’ll speak up, and when he doesn’t I say, “Just ask me, Cole.”
He looks up and his eyes are full of questions. “Think she’ll ever let someone in?”
He likes her.
I hold his stare. I don’t know Cole well, but he and Drake landed in Bluemoon after leaving their hometown in Florida behind. I respect their decision, and maybe even envy it. They just decided to one day take charge of their own destiny. From what Drake has said, Cole is not spontaneous, preferring order in everything he does, which means it took guts for him to uproot is entire life and move across the country.
And I’m sure meeting my sister has him spiraling. She’s the last one of us to ever walk the straight line.
“She’s a tornado, Cole. You never know when they’re going to happen. There’s little warning before the alarms areringing. They pop up out of nowhere, suck you in, and spin you around.” He holds my stare. “But sometimes the little warning is enough to get down to the basement, hold on tight and wait out the wildest ride of your life. Then, when the storm dies out, you rebuild.”
“I've never ridden out a storm before.”
“You're in Montana now, Cole. Tornadoes aren’t too frequent, but they’re bound to happen. And at the mostunscheduledtimes.”
We chuckle together as the jukebox begins to play “Wild Woman” by Riley Green.I lean around him as he glances over his shoulder, and we see Meadow choosing tunes. He huffs a laugh and shakes his head before looking at me with dazed eyes.
I give him a smug grin. “If you’re going to fall for Meadow Nilsson, you better be ready to hang on for dear life.
“I think I could handle a little weather.”
“Good. Because she’s worth it.”
A jingle of the front door has us turning to see who enters. And when I see Bennett strutting through, my heart rate increases. Our eyes lock, the corners of his mouth curving up as he walks closer. Everything about this man is absolutely stunning.
What the fuck are you waiting for, Blossom?
“Oh yeah, nothing going on there,” Cole whispers low, throwing my own words back at me.
I give him a side eye. “Mind your business, bartender.”
He chuckles and greets Bennett as he steps up beside me. “Hey man, how’s it going?” He reaches into the ice in front of him and pulls out a cold beer, popping the top and sliding it to Bennett as he sits in the seat next to me.
“It’s good, was a quiet night.” He glances at me with a smug grin. “Except for the text I just got.”
“What text?”
He smirks, clearly enjoying this. “From Meadow. It said,‘Your girl’s a few drinks away from dancing on tables. Come get her.’”
My eyes widen. “She didnot.”
“She did. With three exclamation points.”
Cole lets out a snort. “She wasn’t wrong.”
“Mind your business,” I mutter again, shooting him a glare.
Bennett leans closer, his voice low and playful. “So how many drinks awayareyou from dancing on tables?”
“That depends. Are you gonna catch me if I fall?”
He grins and knocks back a sip of his beer, eyes never leaving mine. “I’ll always catch, my girl.”
Those five words hit my heart. We haven’t had the conversation but hearing him say that gives me hope. The room tilts. He’s too close, and I’m too aware of the way his knee brushes mine under the bar. And I swear, I’m seconds away from telling him I’m ready.
He takes another long pull of his beer before standing. “Alright, let’s get you out of here before this becomesthatkind of night.”
