“What’re you thinking about?” Liam asks as we weed his garden.
“I’m wondering what kind of plants these are,” I say, holding up one of the weeds.
“They’re weeds. Crab grass, mint. Dad used to grow a lot of mint. But it likes to spread and take over everything!”
I laugh softly and wonder if that’s what Cole is doing to me. Spreading through my mind like mint, killing every other thought, until all I can do is think of him. If he actually minds me being here, if he likes having me here at all, if any part of him ... if any part of him misses me, wants to know me better than we’vegotten to know each other through the dinners where Liam and I talk with a few words of input from Cole.
Could he want more?
Would it actually be good for either of us to ease the tension that constantly snaps in the air around us? Could we do as well together as I think we could?
Or is it all just a fairy tale?
Chapter 6 - Cole
I fish at the river at the edge of my property with my closest friend. Ronnie and I went from drinking buddies to pool buddies to fishing buddies, and developed a real friendship about ten years ago. He’s been through everything with me, whether I wanted him around or not. He’s Liam’s godfather and more of an uncle to my son than anyone else.
Sofia is entertaining Liam, walking with him along the bank and pointing out turtles, cool rocks, anything she can find to entertain him. Ronnie nudges me. “She’s something alright.”
In her loose fitting, very comfortable looking shirt and her shorts, I can’t disagree. I still feel our kiss, feel it and her questions weighing on me whenever I see her. Creating distance hasn’t helped. The crush was supposed to wear off, instead it’s just knotted through my chest.
“And she’s staying with you?”
“The guest house,” I correct.
“Same shit. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought of a few things you’d rather enjoy than her company,” he teases.
I narrow my eyes at him, then hear Sofia. “Oh, be careful. The water’s moving fast. The current will carry you away, little man.”
“I’m a good swimmer,” Liam argues.
“I’m sure you are, but I’m not quite as strong, so let’s stay on the beach,” she laughs.
Long legs, soft curves, and her softness doesn’t change the obvious. There’s no way for us to be together. It’s simply not possible. The age difference, our differing histories, the fact I have a child. I have nothing to offer her except my guest house. That’s the only thing that will be good for her.
“Come on, man,” Ronnie says in a softer voice. “She’d be good for you and you’d be good for her.”
I snort.
“I’m serious. She’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Ronnie says as he reals in a fish so small we have to throw it back. “She’s been pricing businesses in town, almost pitting them against each other so they’re all lowering their prices to try to get her attention. She’s working the bankers too. I hear them grumbling about how she seems to know all the fine print and won’t just take an answer and move forward.”
I glance at her before my own line gets a tug. I focus on it until I hear a splash and Liam yells.
“Sofia!” His voice cracks. “Sofia, no—!”
I spin toward the sound as he runs to the edge, panic taking over. “Get up!” he yells, frantic. “Sofia, get up! Please—keep your head up!”
My eyes flash to the water where Sofia’s pushing herself up and spitting out water. The river looks gentle and shallow, but it’s at least ten feet deep and the current at the bottom is always triple what’s on top.
Ronnie’s up and out of his chair at the same time. I narrow my eyes on Sofia. “Keep Liam out of the water.”
Then I dive in. It’s that easy. I simply slip right out of my shoes and I’m in. Sofia’s grabbing at anything she can reach, gasping and sputtering between her coughs and yelps. She’s not exactly fighting the current, but she’s trying to save herself which is more than I can say for plenty of people. It’snotwhat I want to say for her.
I swim to her quickly with the current’s help and wrap an arm around her slender waist. I haul her against me and she grips my shirt like she needs it to live. I swim diagonally to the water’s edge and power us all the way to the beach, hauling her up into my arms so her damp, shaking body presses against mine. She pants in my ear, summoning dirty thoughts that calm my adrenaline and nearly send my mind spiraling into another vein of thought entirely. Liam is still yelling and shouting. Ronnie’s keeping him out of the water barely.
We reach solid ground and I set Sofia down. Her knees buckle and she nearly goes down again. She’s shaking so badly I’m sure she’s about to collapse, but I catch her hands and hold her steady.
I look them over first. Aside from a few shallow scratches, they’re fine. Then I check the rest of her—her sides, her back, her neck—quick, careful, methodical.
