Page 62 of Second Chance Wedding
Later that same evening, Cole quietly slid the patio door open and stepped through onto Analise’s back deck.
Her head lifted, and he saw her startle when she saw him.
“What are you doing here?”
He closed the door behind him. “I texted Ben to check and see how dinner at your parents had gone. He mentioned it was rough and how you wound up having Chinese for dinner. We always have too much food, so I brought some pumpkin and pecan pie for you both.”
The flames in the fire pit lit her face. Ana was beautiful inside and out, and while she might look fine, he could tell the day had taken a toll on her.
The shadows in her eyes weren’t due to the flames, and her fingers plucking at the blanket covering her legs was another familiar tell depicting her stress level.
“That’s kind of you. Thank you. For that and for checking up on Ben.”
“Mind if I have a seat?”
“Actually, Cole??—”
Cole quickly sat down beside her before she could ask to be alone and send him on his way.
She’d been alone long enough. To his way of thinking, it was past time she had someone she could lean on. Rely on. And he was more than up for the task. “It’s chilly out here.”
He lifted the blanket draped over her legs to slide beneath so they sat hip to hip, and it covered his legs as well.
“You aren’t cold,” she said dryly, giving him a side-eye.
He grinned at her and winked as he draped an arm around the top of the settee. “Despite those glares you’ve given me, I’m not only here for Ben. How bad was the dinner?”
A huff left her, and after a moment of consideration, she shook her head. “I’m okay.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said softly. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t help to talk about it.”
Another sound left her, low and revealing. He silently urged her to give, just a little. To let down the walls she’d built over the years.Come on, baby girl.
“What happened today at my parents is whatalwayshappens,” she said after a long stretch of silence. “We talk, we fight. End of story. I shouldn’t have gone at all. I knew better. But I thought after what my mom said at Quinley’s bridal shower that maybe we could finally sit at a table and remain civil. My mom was fine, but my dad… Joke’s on me.”
“What was the fight about? Fess up, baby girl.” Cole studied her profile, determined to not miss a flicker of expression that might clue him in to her feelings.
Ana wasn’t always the most forthcoming when it came to her emotions. He hadn’t realized she’d held so much back fifteen years ago, but now that he knew, he wouldn’t make the mistake again.
He needed to pay attention, draw her out when she couldn’t find the words. Help her to express herself so that he knew how to help her when it was all said and done.
“Me and Ben, and…us.”
Ana rolled her head along the cushioned seat, and her gaze narrowed on him.
“Why are you smiling?”
His grin widened, and a low chuckle escaped him as he lowered the arm he’d draped along the back of the settee to grasp her shoulder and tug her tight against his side. “Because you just admitted thereisan ‘us.’”
“I did no such thing,” Ana said, the words preceded by a huff.
“That’s what I heard,” Cole said. “Tell me what your parents said that upset you.”
She made a soft growl of unease and faced the fire again, his question enough to distract from the fact he had his arm around her.
He had no doubt Ana wished he’d leave her be so that she could soothe the wounds of the day the way she always had: alone. But he wanted answers. And to be the person she felt secure enough to talk to about such things now and in the future.
“Ben casually mentioned you by name,” she said after minutes of silence. “Which wasn’t missed by my father, who then questioned Ben like he was on the witness stand. The snowball quickly became an avalanche when Ben revealed that he’d stolen your limo.”
