Ashley's heart cracked.Of course.She'd seen it at the department dinner - how hard he tried to mirror his brother's careful grace.The beginning of a transformation she couldn't bear to watch complete."Cole-"
"But you."His forehead dropped to rest against hers, snowflakes melting between them."You see right through me.Always have.It terrifies me, Ashley.The way you look at me sometimes, like you know exactly who I am.Who I could become."
If he only knew.She closed her eyes against fresh tears, remembering the Cole from her future - the one who'd learned to wear his brother's mannerisms like a second skin."I need you to stay yourself," she whispered."Promise me that.No matter what happens, stay who you are."
When she opened her eyes, his expression was raw, confused."What are you talking about?"
"Nothing.Everything."Her hands slid up to frame his face, memorizing the sharp line of his jaw, the way his pulse jumped under her touch.She could feel him trembling, though, from cold or emotion, she couldn't tell."I just need you to know that I love you exactly as you are.Not who anyone wants you to be.Not who anyone needs you to become.Just you."
Something broke in his expression.His hands tangled in her hair as he kissed her, desperate and deep.She tasted snowflakes and tears and truth on his lips.When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing hard.
"Stay," he breathed against her mouth."We'll figure it out.The research position at Harvard - we'll find a way.Just...stay."
Ashley's heart squeezed painfully.She wanted to.Oh, how she wanted to.But Dale's death date loomed in her mind, a clock ticking down to inevitable tragedy.How could she stay and watch it happen?Watch Cole slowly become someone else in the aftermath?Could she be the one to prevent it?
The hubris of her actions so far had not been lost on her, and she knew nothing anymore.
"I can't."The words felt like glass in her throat."What happened in the lab-"
"Was real."His grip tightened in her hair."Don't you dare try to dismiss it.You felt it, too.I know you did."
Fresh tears spilled down Ashley's cheeks."I'm so sorry.I never meant-"
"Stop apologizing."He kissed her again, softer this time like he was trying to erase the guilt from her lips."We all made mistakes.But Ashley..."He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes."Running away won't fix them."
She stared up at him, at the snowflakes caught in his eyelashes, at the raw honesty in his expression.This was her Cole - burning bright and real and completely himself.
How could she leave when he was looking at her like she was everything?
"I don't know how to stay," she whispered, the confession breaking something loose in her chest."I don't know how to watch-" She caught herself."I don't know how to do any of this."
"Then we'll figure it out together."His hands slid down to frame her face, thumbs brushing away fresh tears."Just don't run from me again.Please."
"I won't.Not now, not ever."The promise sat right on her tongue, true and terrifying all at once.
He kissed her then, sealing her promise with a warmth that made her toes curl.Finally, she was finally in his arms.
"Come inside," Ashley offered softly, tugging at his hand."You must be freezing."
Cole's eyes widened slightly."Your parents-"
"Already know someone's on the porch.Mom's probably been watching through the kitchen window this whole time."A laugh bubbled up, surprising them both."Besides, you can help us fix the pie dough I murdered."
The warmth hit them like a wave as they stepped inside.Her mother had tactfully busied herself with the oven, but Ashley didn't miss the small smile playing on her lips.Flour still dusted the counter where she'd left their earlier attempts.
"Mom," Ashley said, her voice steadier than she felt."This is Cole."
Her mother turned, wiping her hands on her apron.Her eyes moved between them, taking in Cole's snow-damp hair, Ashley still wearing his coat, their joined hands.Her smile widened."The physicist who's been making my daughter question her life choices?"
"Mom!"Ashley was fighting a grin now too.
"I prefer to think of it as expanding her horizons," Cole replied smoothly, and Ashley's heart did a funny little flip at how easily he stepped into this moment."Though I have to admit, quantum mechanics isn't usually this intimidating."He gestured at the disaster zone of flour and dough.
Her mother laughed."Well, come on then.Show us if physics translates to pastry."
What followed was possibly the most surreal hour of Ashley's life.Cole Westwood - brilliant physicist, notorious heartbreaker, the man who'd just poured his heart out on her snowy porch - was elbow-deep in pie dough, following her mother's instructions with the same intensity he usually reserved for complex equations.
"It's all about the right ratio," he was explaining earnestly, measuring butter with scientific precision."Like molecular bonds, but with butter and flour."
