Page 351 of One More Kiss

Jules

Five days pass beforeI see Cole again. Not that I care. I spend my time living life to the fullest. I do all the touristy things in town. I take a dolphin cruise. I visit the old lighthouse and tour the museum. And I spend hours on the beach outside my cabin. In the evenings, I go out for dinner. Sometimes I end up at The Hole for drinks with Anna. We talk about her love life, the town, her career as a veterinarian, and anything but Cole. Not for lack of trying on Anna’s part. I think she just wants to keep the peace between two of her oldest friends. But she may as well give that up.

“If anyone knows why Cole’s being such a dick to you, it’s Deac,” Anna says over margaritas one evening. “But I doubt he’ll tell you. Bro code, or whatever.”

I shrug. “I don’t care what Cole’s problem is. I’m not here for him. I’m here for myself. I’m going to spend my time in this town enjoying myself.”

I mean it, too. Well, most of it. Truthfully, I do want to know what Cole’s issue is with me. But I refuse to ask him. He’s an adult. If something about me bothers him that much, he can come talk to me about it. I’m not about to spend my days worrying over it.

“Speak of the devil,” Anna whispers, taking a sip of her drink.

I follow her gaze and see that Cole has just walked through the front door of The Hole. My stupid heart jumps a little at the sight of him. I’d forgotten how good he looks. Good? Who am I kidding? The man is gorgeous. I wish he’d grown up to be ugly or lost all his hair. But no. He’s even more attractive than he’d been before. I watch as he makes his way over to the bar and sits on one of the stools. It’s obvious he hasn’t seen me here yet. If he had, I’m sure he would have scowled in my direction at the very least. But more likely, he would have turned around and left.

If the way he acted on the beach is any indication, Cole Parker doesn’t want to be around me. Which is just fine with me. I meant what I said to Anna. I didn’t come back to this town for him. And I certainly don’t care what he thinks of me. The first part is absolutely true. I’m still working on that last part.

It takes Cole all of seven minutes to finally notice me. I hate that I’m so aware of his presence. I especially hate that I’m so focused on a man whose opinion I claim not to care about. But I notice the second he sees me. His body goes rigid. I notice the split second of heat in his eyes before it turns to loathing. I hate the way my heart leapt at the first look almost as much as I hate the stab of pain I feel from the second one.

What the hell is wrong with me? I’m not here for Cole Parker. But I can’t deny his presence affects me. Which is why I make the decision to leave before he can. I make an excuse to Anna, but I can tell she knows I’m lying about being too tired to hang out tonight. She doesn’t press me on it though. Instead, she just gives me a sympathetic smile and makes me promise to hang out with her again soon.

---