Something inside me cracks at her words, which is why I avert my gaze while a soft and broken laugh leaves my throat. "Fuck… You got that from Jules, didn’t you?"
"Yes," Sophie whispers.
I look at her again. Look into her amber eyes that are way too kind to see that I’m not the right company for her. That I’m not the good guy in this story, and most of the time, I have no fucking idea what I’m even doing because I basically haven’t given a shit for three years.
Nodding, I set the tumbler down. "Come here."
She closes the distance between us, kneels beside me on the couch, and wraps her arms around my neck to press herself tentatively against me. The gesture is so gentle and pure that I almost hate myself even more. Nevertheless, I return her embrace, burying my face in her hair, closing my eyes, and breathing in her wonderful scent.
"Cole?" she murmurs after some time.
"Hmm?"
"Jules loves you. She’s certainly not going to leave you for good."
I have no idea how she comes up with that, but her words make it hard to breathe.
"Thanks for the hug, darling," I murmur, and Sophie nods at my shoulder. But neither of us lets go.
TWENTY-ONE
SOPHIE
I don’t know where I got the courage to ask Cole if he wanted a hug, but he looked so sad after Jules left that my heart ached. And I, too, needed some comfort after the story he’d told me. It hurt to hear that neither of them grew up with their parents. That they had to take care of themselves at such a young age and didn’t even have a home. My mother may not have done everything right, but not having a mother at all is much, much worse. I now see them with different eyes and understand why their bond is so strong.
Also, something has changed between Cole and me since that moment. I can’t put my finger on it, but since that hug, which lasted so much longer than the one between Jules and me and felt completely different at the same time, I no longer feel like he doesn’t want me to be here. And I like that. A lot, actually.
When Cole wakes me up the following morning, it seems as if only a few hours have passed. The pale daylight streamingthrough the open door into my room confirms my suspicion that it must still be very early.
Worry creeps up my spine, but Cole looks down at me with a broad grin. "Come on, get up. We’ve got to go."
Confused, I look after him as he turns and leaves the room. "Why? Where to?" I yell while I free myself from the blanket to follow him.
He stands in the open kitchen, fully clothed, making us some coffee. "I’m not gonna tell you."
I’m not sure how to feel about that. "Is it… a surprise?"
"Yep." Cole turns back to me and holds out a coffee cup, still flashing that grin that makes strange things happen to my heart.
"I don’t know if I like surprises."
He chuckles as I take the cup from him. "I’m pretty sure you’ll like this one."
I feel a knot in my stomach as I get into Cole’s truck, but I keep it to myself. "Where are we going?" I ask instead after I’ve fastened my seat belt.
Cole starts the engine, which awakes with that roar I’m starting to love, shifts the gear lever, and then steers the vehicle on the road. "You’ll see when the time comes."
For a moment, I wonder if that’s really Cole sitting next to me. I’ve only been with him for a little over three days, but I’ve never seen him so…cheerfulin all that time. He smiles and even turns on the radio.
I wish Jules were here to tell me what’s going on with him.
She called last night to assure us that she had landed safely, and then told us how exciting it all was. Her mother looked a lot like her and was kind and loving, and Jules even has two little sisters. The phone call only lasted a few minutes because Jules was so agitated. But it was obvious how happy she was, and that,in turn, made me happy. And even though Cole looked a little sad again after they hung up, he seemed happy for her too.
"Donuts?" he asks out of the blue.
"What?"
"I asked whether you want donuts. Have you ever had any?"
