“Okay,” she says with a gentleness in her tone. She doesn't elaborate, doesn't say anything else. She simply sits there and stares at me with a small spark of hope shimmering in her eyes.
And in this moment, I make a promise to myself and silently to her.
I will never let that spark diminish from her eyes.
I will help her feed and cultivate it until the only thing she sees is the good this world has to offer.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ELLA
Cole steps to the side, holding the door open for me as I step across the threshold. There’s another couple waiting to get through and I give the woman a small smile and move aside to wait for Cole. He stops next to me, his arm brushing against my own. A gasp escapes me and I quickly look up at him, my lips parting involuntarily.
“Can I be honest?” He asks me, his voice soft and gentle as he turns to face me. I shift my body, so we’re standing toe to toe. He lifts his hand, his fingertips brushing against the side of my face as he pushes a stray tendril of hair from my cheek.
“Yes,” I whisper, silently begging for nothing but his honesty.
The ball in his throat rolls as he swallows roughly. “I’m not ready for the night to be over. I’m not ready to take you home yet.”
A wave of excitement washes over me, my heart picking up the pace in my chest as it begins to thrum harder. “Neither am I.”
The softest smile breaks out across his lips. Cole folds his arm, offering me the crook of his elbow as he holds his palm against his abdomen. “Would you like to go for a walk with me?”
I can’t decipher whether I’m nervous or excited; maybe a mixture of the two. My heart beats harder. Fast. This is a chancemoment, one I’m not quite sure I want to slip away. Pulling my lips between my teeth, I roll them together before releasing them. I exhale, rolling the dice, and thread my arm through his, linking us together.
“Lead the way.”
Cole’s smile doesn’t falter. His scent—leather and bourbon—infiltrates my senses. My eyelids flutter shut, only for a fraction of a second as my mind catalogs the way he smells. We fall into step together while Cole guides me away from the restaurant and through the parking lot. It’s a short walk to the water and he leads me toward a path through the trees.
As we reach the edge of the clearing, Cole comes to a standstill, kicking off his boots and releases my arm. I watch him for a second, studying the way his shirt tightens around his muscles as he bends over, takes off his socks and grabs his boots. I slip my own feet from my boots and collect them before we’re both standing upright again.
“Shall we?” he questions me as the moonlight dances across his face, illuminating his bright blue eyes. Cole moves his hand in a sweeping motion, gesturing toward the path that leads into the sandy area along the bend.
My eyes trace his facial features, memorizing the arches of his eyebrows and the way the smallest dimples form in his cheeks when he smiles. “We shall,” I say quietly with a nod, holding my boots by my side and walking past him.
Granules of sand tickle the spaces between my toes as they sink beneath the surface with every step. My footsteps are light as I pad across the powder, following along the path until it leads to the deserted beach along the riverbend. A few pieces of driftwood are sticking out of the ground and I move around them as we head down to the water.
The waves are gentle, caressing the shore as it dances across the tan sand. A soft breeze drifts past my face, swirling straywisps of hair that broke free from my hair tie. Dropping my sandals onto the ground, I grab a handful of my dress, lifting it higher up my calves before stepping into the river. The water is crystal clear and cool, shifting around my ankles as I wade in a little farther.
A sense of peace and calm settles over me, soothing my soul. My eyes fall shut and I inhale deeply, tipping my head back. Since I moved back to Silverspur Springs, I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Jacob to change his mind and show up. For everything to go up in flames.
Moments like these are few and far between. They are fleeting and I grasp at them like sand running through the cracks between my fingers. If I can get one second of peace, one heartbeat where everything is calm, I hold onto it as tightly as I can, holding my breath until the moment passes.
And then I exhale, feeling reality awakening around me.
Slowly opening my eyes, I turn back to look at Cole, expecting him to be standing with me, but he isn’t. He’s at the edge of the water, the breeze tousling the waves on top of his head, brushing strands of hair across his forehead. His hands hang loosely by his sides and his gaze penetrates mine.
Vehement emotions swirl within the depths of his irises as he watches me with his lips parted.
“What are you doing?” I question him, my voice breaking into jagged shards over my words.
The slightest creases form around the corners of his eyes as his cheeks lift. “Savoring the view.”
I tilt my head to the side with butterflies fluttering to life in my stomach. “Of the river?”
Cole chuckles with a tenderness as he shakes his head once. His feet begin to move, his strides long as he closes the distance between us. He steps into the crystal clear water only coming to a stop as his toes brush mine beneath the surface.
“The view of you.”
