I blink. I didn’t realize that. All this time I’ve been passing my ex’s apartment building to get to Cole’s duplex down the street, not thinking of him once.
“Oh yeah? Good.”
“They’re all boys,” Dad mutters. “None of them deserve to go near her. They don’t know how to treat her right. Her heart’s too big for them to handle.”
I freeze, disbelief rocking me to my core. I can’t believe what I overheard. Indignation burns through my veins at the idea that they get to decide anything about my love life out of a misguided sense of protecting me. It’s absolute bullshit.
What’s next, a fucking dowry?
As surreptitiously as I can, I peek at the guys. They’re unaware I’m listening.
Cole’s jaw clenches. His broad shoulders are rigid. He sets his beer down on the table, shoving a hand in his pocket and swiping a hand over his mouth.
My heart pangs watching his composure threaten to break. I want to go to him, wrap my arms around him to take away his distress. It kills me to be a few feet away and act like nothing’s wrong. He catches my eye, hard gaze losing some of its edge.
“Right,” he says stiffly. “Not good enough for her.”
“It’s hard having a daughter,” Dad replies, oblivious to the irrevocable doubt he’s clearly put in my boyfriend’s head. “No one ever feels worthy.”
“Don’t say that, Dad. If my kid’s a girl—which will obviously be the best damn thing to happen to me—I already know I’ll end up in jail for murder,” Benson says.
Dad chuckles. “Good luck. I won’t be able to bail you out. We’ll be sharing a cell.”
“I’m going to get another drink,” Cole says before walking off.
There are too many people around for me to tell him to come with me. I send him a text instead.
Eve:Meet me behind the rentals shed.
Cole:Be right there.
Before I go, I consider storming over to Dad and Benson to give them a piece of my mind. I waver only a moment, deciding it’s more important to check on Cole.
No one notices me slipping away from the party in the fading twilight blanketing the lake. I head down the beach to the water sports area where people rent canoes, kayaks, and paddle-boards to take out on the lake. I’m only waiting a few minutes before Cole finds me there.
He eats up the distance between us with powerful strides. “Hey. Everything okay?”
“I’m fine. You’re the one I’m worried about. I heard what Dad and Benny were saying.”
Even in the near dark, I’m able to tell when he’s upset. His brows pinch and he squeezes the back of his neck.
“You heard it all?”
“Yes.” I hold his sides. “Don’t listen to them.”
He curls his fingers around my upper arms as if he’s afraid to break me. “How are we ever going to tell them if they’re lumping me in with any other guy they think doesn’t deserve you?”
I shake him. “I don’t care what they think. You make me so happy. I lo?—”
I break off, throat constricting. Not yet. I’m not ready to tell him he means so much to me. That being with him has shown me what being in love truly is. He’s had my heart for months—years if I count all the moments in our life he’s stolen pieces of it with his charming smiles and loyal friendship.
Cole makes me feel cherished in a way I’ll never find with anyone but him.
“I love being with you,” I finish.
His eyes swim with reverence as they bounce between mine. He cradles my face, swiping his thumbs over my cheeks.
“I love being with you, too,” he rasps. “You’re the one who decides if I’m worthy enough for you. Not your dad, not your brother—only you, Evie.”
