“Just you. Who knew that beneath all the pads and sky-high walls, you were such a softie, Cole Hansley.”
“Shhh, don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my reputation as a hardass goalie.”
“Something tells me that you wouldn’t be too bothered.”
“Guilty. I’ll happily tell the entire world that I’m falling head over heels for you.”
My chest contracts as my heart swells.
“Where do we go from here?” I ask. It seems too easy to attempt to ignore Rowan and his games and continue as if it never happened.
“I’m sure Hailee has a plan,” Cole says, dragging me back to his chest. “I can wait to hear it, though.”
“Yeah, me too,” I sigh, snuggling back against him.
We endup putting a movie on, and we spend the afternoon twisted together on the couch. When Cole starts to get hungry, he places an order for more food, and Melvin makes sure that it gets to us safely.
Ignoring the chaos swirling around outside, we have the best day together.
I open up more about my life on the road with the Rusty Trinkets. I try to avoid talking about him, but seeing as everything was literally about him, it makes it pretty hard. I talk about the places I visited, those I barely caught a glimpse of and would love to travel back to one day. And Cole dives into some of the darker times of his childhood that I’m pretty sure he’s never spoken about to anyone before. With every word that leaves his lips, I feel closer to him. Our connection is growing right before my eyes, and I couldn’t be happier.
It isn’t until the sun sets that we finally agree to let the outside into our peaceful little bubble.
Despite Cole saying that he’s reassured Mom, I still need to speak to her myself.
After locating my dead cell in my purse from last night, I charge it up, ignore all the notifications, and hit dial on her number.
“Freya.” She pants down the line as if she just ran a marathon to get to it.
“Hey,” I say, guilt swirling inside me for not calling earlier. I was…distracted.
“How are you, baby? Is Cole taking good care of you like he promised?”
A smile spreads across my face as I curl my legs beneath me on Cole's swivel chair and spin myself so I’m looking at the view of the city beyond.
“Yeah, Mom. He’s incredible.”
“Oh my gosh. Is it true?”
I frown, hating that she might have fallen for some of the lies about me that are circling.
“Is what true, Mom?” I ask, sounding exasperated.
“That you and Cole are together?”
A laugh puffs out of me. Of course, out of everything that’s been said, that is the only thing she cares about. I bet Dad is losing his mind at the thought of his favorite hockey goalie one day being his son-in-law.
Unable to stop it, hope and excitement for the future flutter inside me. Is that the direction we’re heading in? I have no idea. I briefly think about a conversation not long after I first started, where Cole adamantly said he didn’t want kids. Maybe that was true. Or maybe that was his fear speaking. Either way, it doesn’t change how I feel about him or wanting a future together. Right now, the only thing I want is him.
With a smile stretching across my lips, I give my mom the exclusive answer.
“Yes, Mom. We’re together.”
“Oh my god,” she squeals. “I knew it. I knew it. But I still needed to hear it from you. Oh my gosh, I’m so excited for you, Freya. Cole is so wonderful. And the way he looks at you, the way he treats you and talks about you…oh, it’s just everything I always hoped you’d find.”
I’ve always known that my mom is an old romantic. The contents of her bookcase are clue enough, but hearing the joy and excitement in her voice right now? Well, it just confirms it.
“The instant he called me this morning, I knew you’d be okay.”
