Opening my eyes, I fumble with the screen on the dash until I find something to turn on.
Top hits, it says.
A soft and sad melody plays through the speakers, and I recognize it immediately. A Taylor Swift song that no doubt documents one of her many failed relationships. I turn the dial, the volume coming across a bit louder. I never understood why people give her so much shit for dating. I can't imagine how hard it is to live under such scrutiny, let alone try to find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with while living your life under a microscope. Things are hard enough as a non-famous person.
Gentle rain trickles down onto the windshield of the car, and the wipers automatically turn on to wipe it away. Across the way, a familiar blonde bombshell stops near the entrance of Bram's Diner. I hold my breath and watch her reach toward the door and hesitate.
She keeps her attention focused on the inside of the diner before a long moment passes, and she loosens her grip, letting go altogether. She takes a cautious step back and out of the way, letting another patron pass her and enter Bram's.
Without even thinking about it, I shut the ignition of the car off and shove my phone in my pocket as I slip out and into the street. I jog across the street with zero cares about the traffic that slows to avoid hitting me.
"Cora," I call out once I'm on the sidewalk near her.
God, even her name is beautiful.
Cora turns toward me, her brows pinched together momentarily before she activates her chipper persona. "Alec, hey, what are you doing here?" She crosses her arms over her chest like she's either cold or shielding herself in some way.
I slip out of my jacket and toss it over her shoulders, not allowing her to protest. "Here." I guide her under the awning as the rain picks up its pace. It's only temporary, the rain always is, but that doesn't mean it won't soak us while it's here.
"Thanks," she says.
"June's working." I throw my thumb toward the diner. "You going in to see her?"
Cora chews at the inside of her lip, and it's everything I can do not to reach out and graze her cheek to stop her from hurting herself. She shrugs. "I was going to, yeah, but she's working, so I figured I better not bother her."
I lean against the brick building and study her every move—the rise and fall of her chest, the way she clings to my jacket, the anxious energy that's usually a steady flowing positivity. "What's wrong?"
"What?" She narrows her gaze for a split second. "Nothing's wrong. Why do you think something's wrong?"
She's lying, that much is completely obvious. But it's not exactly my place to push the issue. She doesn't owe me the truth.
"Okay." I hold up my hands. "Nothing's wrong." I pause and then add, "But you know you could tell me if there was, right?"
Cora glances at the ground like she's contemplating something, and I wish like hell I could read her mind and figure out what it is. Surely by now, she can recognize my feelings, that I would do anything for her. But I shouldn't assume, not when I hold myself back from acting on it because if I did, June's guys would castrate me. Maybe my feelings aren't as obvious as they seem, which is a good thing since I'd like to keep my dick intact.
"Yeah." She forces a smile. "How's work going?"
Her attempt at changing the subject isn't lost on me, but I decide to entertain her. "Oh, you know. The usual. Get bossed around by one of June's grumpy men, try not to get stabbed or shot."
Cora chuckles. It isn't much, but it's something, and I take that as a win. "Yeah, sounds like a good time."
I lift my shoulder. "It isn't all bad." Especially when my workdays bring me the opportunity to see her, but I won't tell her that, not when it wouldn't do either of us any good.
Cora steps a hair closer and leans into the wall.
"You sure you don't want to talk about what's bothering you?" I ask her, my gaze trained on hers despite the strong pull to glance at her pretty pink lips. The shade looks a bit pinker than usual, and I want to ask her if it's new. I don't because that would be crazy. What guy notices those types of things?
"It's just been a long week, and I could really use a hug," she admits.
Like my body was fucking made for this very moment, I do the thing I absolutely should not—I stand and extend my arms. "Come on, bring it in."
Her blue eyes flicker through her lashes up at me. "You serious?" A bit of a smile flashes across her face, exposing those perfect teeth of hers. If she gets any prettier I'm going to die of a fucking heart attack.
"Deadly," I confirm and cup my fingers to motion her toward me.
Cora narrows her gaze and sighs, kicking off the wall and moving into my embrace. She's a bit stiff at first, but the second her arms go around my waist and mine around her shoulders, she relaxes and lays her head on my chest, the perfect height for me to rest my chin on the top of her head.
Cora exhales again, and I do everything I can to somehow relieve her of whatever torment she's experiencing.
