“Are you really going to be one of those puck bunnies?”
“I’m not a puck bunny.”
"I'm just saying, you deserve someone who's actually going to be here. Someone reliable." He reaches across the table, his hand covering mine. "Someone like me."
I pull my hand back. "Cole, I appreciate the coffee, but I'm not interested."
“He’s going to leave, and I can’t promise I’ll still be around,” he says.
I laugh. “Good.”
“Ah, you say that now, but you know you’ll never be happy with a guy like that. I can give you the total package. Nice house. Nice car. Kids. The picket fence. All of it.”
He’s using my drunken confession against me. One night, I was feeling a little melancholy and told him all about my dreams for the future.
"Take the hint, Cole. Leave me alone. I don’t want the white picket fence with you. I didn’t want it then. I was drunk. You were there."
"Damn, Sutton. I'm just trying to look out for you."
"I didn't ask you to."
Other students are starting to look.
"You're making a scene.” He says it with a smile that reminds me of a snake—if snakes smiled.
"No, you're being an asshole." I stand up, gathering my things. "Don't talk to me again. Don't sit with me. Don't buy me coffee. We're not friends. We're nothing."
His face flushes red. "You're such a bitch."
"And you're a creep who can't take no for an answer." I sling my bag over my shoulder. "Stay away from me."
I walk out, my heart pounding, very aware that half the coffee shop just watched me tell off Cole Crawford.
His father is some hotshot doctor, and his mother is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. They can very easily make my life hell.
Everyone in this damn town is connected to money.
My hands are shaking as I get to my car. I sit in the driver's seat, trying to calm down.
I have no idea why Cole is coming around now. When I ended things, it wasn’t a big deal. He could have any woman on campus. I’m not special.
But I am the one who doesn’t want him, and that makes him want me even more.
Yeah, me.
When I get home, I need a minute to compose myself before going inside. The last thing I want is for Declan to see me upset and have to explain about Cole. Between him, Bree, and his father, it feels like the entire universe is against us.
Rude.
But when I walk in, Declan's not home. The house is quiet except for sounds coming from the kitchen.
I drop my bag by the stairs and head toward the noise, expecting to find one of the guys making food.
Instead, I find Bree.
She's standing at the counter in nothing but one of Holden’s shirts that barely covers her ass. Her legs are bare, her hair is perfectly tousled, and she's humming while she makes a sandwich.
Making herself completely at home in my house.
