Page 38 of Wrecked
Surely that Taylor asshole wouldn’t come back, not at this time of night. He’d seemed pretty pissed when she’d refused to hear him out, though.
The banging came again, this time more insistent.
“Crap.” Grabbing Deke’s old baseball bat from under her bed, she crept down the hall to the front door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
Her visitor didn’t say his name, but he didn’t need to. That voice could only belong to one person. Unlocking the door, she opened it up, still shaky from the surge of adrenaline, and now also a good dose of excitement. “Hey.” She stared up at Cole, trying to read his expression. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
He didn’t speak for a second, just stood there, gaze roaming her body from head to toe and back again. “You in the mood for some company? I, ah, I brought dinner, if you’re hungry.”
He watched her, carefully, and damn, his eyes looked amazing, their color bright, even in the dim light. He wore jeans and a faded navy T-shirt that clung to his wide shoulders and biceps, and his fingers clenched and unclenched around the pizza box in his hands, making the thick veins in his forearms bulge under his skin.
“I’d like that.” His hair was damp, like he’d just come from the shower, and stuck up on one side as if he’d dragged his hand through it several times. Without conscious thought, she stepped forward and reached up on tiptoe to brush the wayward strands down. He sucked in a rough breath, eyes locked on her the whole time. “Ah…come in.”
He took a step forward, but then his gaze dropped a second before his hand snaked out, and he took the baseball bat from her, frowning momentarily before resting it against the wall by the door. “What’s going on? What’s with the baseball bat?”
Her face heated. “You banged on the door like you were going to break it down. You surprised me, that’s all.”
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“I’m fine, really. Do you want to watch a movie while we eat?” She quickly changed the subject. No way did she want Cole to know what was going on. Deke would just love an excuse to make her move out of the cottage, and he wasn’t above using Daniel Taylor and his harassment to do it.
“I’d like that.”
She smiled at him. Now that the shock of seeing him on her veranda was gone, she couldn’t conceal her pleasure that he’d come. “Tell me that pizza doesn’t have olives.”
His lips lifted on one side, almost a full smile. “Come on, you know me better than that. I know how fussy you are when it comes to pizza.”
“Extra cheese?”
“Of course.”
She grabbed a couple beers, plates, and napkins, then took a seat on the couch. Cole sat down beside her, putting the pizza on the coffee table and flicked open the box.
They each grabbed a piece. “I didn’t think I’d see you tonight. I’m glad you came.”
He ran a hand over his injured knee. “Yeah, sorry I’ve been scarce the last couple days. Shit’s been hectic at work. You know how it is.”
“I totally get it. I just got home a little while ago from some extra hours myself. A woman I met at the grocery store had a radiator leak.” Relief that he hadn’t been avoiding her washed through her.
His brows lifted. “You’re that busy? You could only fit her in after hours?”
Her tummy rumbled loudly, and she realized just how hungry she was. She shook her head. “It’s not that. I mean, yeah, we’re busy, but this job was off the books.”
He took a sip of his beer. “Why’s that?”
Piper took a bite of her pizza. Yum. “She’s a single mom. I saw her struggling with her kids in the parking lot. I helped her out, we got talking, then I noticed the leak and told her to stop by and I’d fix it no charge.”
Cole stilled beside her, and she glanced over at him. He was staring, eyes soft. “Yeah?”
“Mmm hmm.” She felt her face warm.
“That was a nice thing to do, Pipe.”
She shrugged and took another bite of her pizza before she forgot all about eating and climbed into his lap. Damn, it really was good. Groaning, she polished off her first piece in minutes. When she looked up, while reaching for another slice, Cole was still watching her, and he was actually grinning. Lips higher on the undamaged side of his face. Her heart flipped around in her chest.
“Good, huh?” The grin turned to a sexy smirk.
