My cheeks get even hotter. "You’ve seen that movie?"
"Little darling…everybodyhas seen that movie."
I hide my face behind my hands. Talking to Jules about it was fine because she’s a woman, too. But Cole is… aman. That just feels weird.
"Hey, what’s wrong?"
"I don’t want to talk about that movie with you," I reply through my fingers, shaking my head.
He laughs again, but a moment later, I feel his fingers on my hand before he gently pulls it away from my face. "We don’t have to talk about it," he says seriously. "You don’t have to do anything at all, Sophie. I will never push you into anything you don’t want to do."
I lift my gaze at him, but he’s already looking back at the road in front of us, and before I can say anything, I feel him intertwining his fingers with mine and resting our hands on my thigh.
My heart pounds like crazy. I don’t know if it’s because of his words or because he’s holding my hand, but I don’t want it to stop.
"Are your eyes still closed?"
I nod my head vigorously before answering with a laugh because it’s the fourth time he’s asked that. "Yes. Since forever."
"Good. We’re almost there."
I feel him steering the pickup around a curve again, and the road surface shifts. It turns a little bumpy, and the tires scrunch on gravel. I’m so excited that I barely notice Cole letting go of my hand. A few heartbeats later, he stops the truck, turns off the engine, and gets out.
"Where are you going?"
Instead of answering me, he slams the door shut. A moment later, he opens the passenger door, and I gasp in surprise.
"I’m going to unbuckle you now," Cole says right next to me, but I pay much more attention to the loud roar that reaches my ears. Then I notice that the air smells different. It’s cold and somehow… salty.
Without another warning, Cole lifts me out of the seat.
A soft yelp escapes me, but I keep my eyes closed and am already back on the ground before I can protest. He takes my hand, closes the door, and locks the pickup.
His next words sound like he’s smiling as he says them. "Do you want to walk by yourself or shall I carry you?"
"I don’t know," I reply because it’s incredibly windy and the ground feels uneven. "How far is it?"
"Not that far. But if I carry you, we’ll be faster."
I gather my courage and answer him with a still racing heart. "Then carry me."
Not a second later, he lifts me again. Instinctively, I wrap my arms around his neck and put my cheek against his shoulder.Immediately, his unique scent surrounds me, masking even the saltiness in the air, and I snuggle closer to him. With each step he takes, I care less where he takes me, as long as he’s holding me.
All too quickly, Cole stops. "I’ll put you back down."
My feet touch the ground, and his hands go to my hips, guiding me until I feel his body against my back.
My mind is all over the place. I’ve been holding Cole’s hand for what felt like hours, and then I’ve been carried by him. Just as I’m wondering how fast a heart can beat without harming itself, I feel his warm breath on my ear.
"Open your eyes, little darling."
TWENTY-TWO
COLE
I have no fucking idea what got into me this morning or whether I completely lost my mind, but when I woke up around six o’clock, I felt an urgent need to do something…good.
After I told Sophie about Jules’s and my past, it was as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. And the moment she asked me if she could hug me… It made me want to give something back to her, so I decided to surprise her with this trip.
