“Would you…would you like to dance with me?” I ask, summoning every ounce of confidence I possess.
“I’m not really a dancer,” he confesses, making my heart sink. “But for you, I’d dance all night long.”
He lifts me from his lap with ease, and once he’s on his feet, he takes my hand and leads me toward the dance floor.
There are a few other players dancing with their girls, and we slot right in beside Fletch and his wife, Reese. Not that they pay us any mind; they’re too lost in their own little world, as am I two seconds later.
It doesn’t matter that the song is upbeat; Cole wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his body as if we’re about to start slow dancing.
“Hey,” he says, gazing down at me as we move together completely out of sync with the music.
“Hey. Are you having a good night?”
“It keeps getting better and better,” he confesses.
“Well, considering it started with a win, I’d say you’re doing pretty good.”
“Whirlwind, you have no idea.”
I smile up at him, my heart thundering in my chest.
“I like celebrating wins with you.”
He smiles, and it sends fire racing through my veins.
“I like doing anything with you.”
43
COLE
I’m practically crawling out of my own skin as Freya and I ride the elevator to the top floor of my building. It’s not my usual one, seeing as that is now down for maintenance. We have to ride the one that is shared with the other top-floor apartments.
“Do you know your neighbors?” Freya asks as I tug her past the doors.
“Nope. Never met them.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me,” she mocks.
“The only person I know in this building is Melvin,” I confess.
“Good. He deserves to be known.”
“He’s a good man. Nice family.”
“You’ve met them?” she asks, sounding surprised.
“No, but I feel like I have. The way he talks about them…there’s so much love there.”
“The perfect kind of family.”
“The kind I always dreamed of.” I hate the darkness that creeps into my tone. This has been a good night; there shouldn’t be a place for it.
“It’s never too late,” Freya says positively as I tap my key fob against the door that’ll allow us into my apartment foyer, where our unusable elevator sits.
I let her soft voice wash away the feelings that thinking about family dreg up and focus on getting her inside and away from the rest of the world.
The moment we’re in and the door closes behind us, I breathe a sigh of relief.
