“Oh, shit. I put the pan on.”
He spins around and quickly lifts the frying pan from the stove as it billows with smoke.
“Whoops,” he says shyly.
“So, back to my offer of help…” I tease.
“I’m making you breakfast,” Cole states, having abandoned the pan and turned the stove off.
He spins back to me, wraps his hands around my waist, and lifts me from the floor.
After setting me on the kitchen counter, he turns back to what I think is pancake batter.
“You can tell me what to do to ensure I don’t fuck it up any more. But first, coffee?”
“Please,” I say, watching as he gets the machine going. “Aren’t you meant to be resting with those?” I ask, nodding at the ice packs strapped to his knees.
“Meh. I wanted to make my girl breakfast. I can rest later.”
“Your girl?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“Uh…” He stills before lifting his hand to drag his hair back. “I’d like you to be, if that’s okay with you.”
How is this giant of a man so freaking soft and cute?
“I’ve never had one before,” he adds, only making him even more adorable. “Always wondered what the fuss was all about, but I think I get it now.”
“You think,” I ask as he holds my coffee out for me.
“Yeah. I never understood why men suddenly stopped caring about themselves and instead focused on making a woman happy. I thought it was crazy.
“Well, call me crazy, because all I want is to see you smile, and I don’t care what I have to do to make it happen.”
“You don’t have to do anything. Just be you.”
His eyes bounce between mine. “The problem is, that’s never worked for me before.”
I reach for him, cupping his jaw.
“That’s on them, Cole. Not you.”
His lips twitch into an unsure smile as he leans into my touch.
I lean forward and press my forehead to his. “I’ll be your girl,” I whisper. “If you’ll have me.”
His eyes hold mine; no words are said, but they’re not needed.
“So, what are you trying to make?” I finally ask, breaking the silence.
“I was attempting to make you pancakes,” he says, confirming my suspicions.
“Okay, are you ready for instructions?”
He stands back and nods. “And if it still goes wrong, I’ll take you out for breakfast.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I say confidently. Of course, I am aware of the fact that I’m saying this to a man who managed to destroy something that just needed warming up in the microwave, but I’m feeling confident. “What are you doing with the pancakes?”
“Um…” Cole looks around. “Fruit,” he says, his eyes landing on the bowl in the middle of the island. He really hasn’t thought this through.
