Every member of the Remington family had warmed up to Cole since he’d saved Reese’s life that day not so long ago. They accepted him into the fold even though Cole didn’t seem like he was quite sure he wanted to be there.
“Did you mean what you said about the possible gossip?” he asked in a skeptical voice.
I nodded firmly. “I absolutely meant it.”
“Then have dinner with me at Charlie’s before we go to The Mug And Jug,” he said huskily.
My heart skipped a beat, but it only took that single heartbeat to realize that he wasn’t asking me out on a date.
He’d mentioned last night that he wanted to do something nice for me to pay me back for staying with him when he was really sick.
This was probably thatsomething nice.
Cole Remington would never be interested in a woman like me in a dating sort of way.
Still, I was happy that he’d asked. I liked spending time with him, and it would be good for him to spend some time in town.
Iwantedto be able to call Cole Remington my friend.
Yeah, he was still blunt and sometimes came off as a little grumpy, but I was starting to like him way more than I should.
I did find him gut-wrenchingly attractive, but I was sure I’d get over that in time. If I saw him often enough, certainly I’d get numb to his hotness eventually, right?
I honestly didn’t care about the town gossip. Asher and Cole were the hot topics right now, but people would findsomething else to talk about in the future once the topic got old. They always did.
The silly town gossip was never going to rule my life or make my decisions for me.
It was also never going to make me decide who to call a friend.
“I’d love that,” I said softly as I smiled at him. “I’ll meet you at Charlie’s. What time?”
“Text me your address,” he replied. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
We’d exchanged numbers so he could contact me about his future work projects.
I shook my head. “You don’t have to do that. I can drive.”
I lived in town. If it was warmer, I could actually walk to Charlie’s.
“I’m taking you to dinner,” he said gruffly. “I’ll pick you up and take you home.”
I nodded because I really had no reason to argue. I’d been trying to save him some effort and time, but I had no objections to riding with him.
“Please call me if you need anything,” I said as I put on my jacket. “I know you feel better, but you’re not completely recovered.”
He was still coughing occasionally, and he could use more rest.
He stepped a little closer as he asked, “Do you always worry about men you barely know?”
God, he smelled good. I wasn’t sure what kind of cologne he used, but it was like an aphrodisiac for me. One whiff of Cole’s masculine scent had my brain immediately filled with thoughts about hot sex and multiple orgasms.
And that was very unusual for me.
“I’d worry if anyone I knew was sick,” I told him. “I can’t help it. I guess I’m a worrier.”
A small smile formed on his lips, which made him even more attractive.
It was the first time I’d seen anything even resembling a smile on his face.
