“You don’t mind my attention, though, right?” He breaks into a crooked grin. “Because it’s not going away anytime soon.”
I give him a shy smile. “I don’t mind it from you.”
“Good.”
He gets back to work, chopping a tomato while regaling me with stories from the game. He’s complaining about the reaction time of one of his defensemen when Ava climbs into the seat next to me and interrupts him. “Before we get any further, what are your intentions with my sister?”
“What kind of question is that?” I sputter, my cheeks heating.
Cole chuckles as he pulls a pan out of a cabinet and sets it on the stove. “I like that question more than your brother point-blank threatening to saw off my balls with skates. And I’d probably be arrested if I repeat what Kennedy said to me.”
He turns to the stove, muttering something about a whisk and rolling pin.
“Oy,” I mutter, resting my forehead on the counter.I didn’t think it was possible to turn any redder, but I prove myself wrong. At least the marble cools my heated skin a bit.
“It’s a fair question, though,” Cole continues with an easy smile. “I have no nefarious intentions. All I want is to make her happy. Happily ever afters exist outside of books, you know.”
It’s a simple statement, but it has me melting in my seat, nonetheless.
“That’s so sweet.” Ava pouts, her lip stuck out and everything. “And you guys are being safe? Condoms and all of that fun stuff?”
The sip of wine I’ve just taken comes sputtering out. “Ava.”
“What?” She uses my shock to steal a sip of my wine. “I tried to talk to you about this earlier, but you shut down any reference to your sex sheets.”
Cole throws his head back and laughs. “Sex sheets?”
“Don’t ask.” I shake my head. “I don’t have enough wine for that.”
Ava thankfully switches her line of questioning to one that doesn’t make me homicidal, and within minutes, the two of them are debating which one of Ed Sheeran’s albums deserves more hype and whether Nike or Adidas has the better running shoe.
Cole’s boiling water for the pasta when Goose howls and butts his head into his owner’s thighs. Ava jumps in her seat, scanning the room with a frown.
“It’s how he politely requests to go outside,” I clue her in. “Apparently.”
She lifts a hand to her chest. “I really hope he doesn’t do that in the middle of the night.”
Cole chuckles. “Nah, he’s a good sleeper. My, will you turn the water to low once it starts boiling? I’m going to take him out.”
Ava nearly trips herself as she scrambles out of her chair. “I’ll do it. I’ll take him out.”
“Are you sure?”
She nods with far too much excitement for a college student who’s volunteering to do a chore. “Yep. It’ll be good training for when I get my own dog.”
I open my mouth to remind her that she barely knows how to feed herself, let alone another living thing, but decide it’s not worth it. That may be a lesson she has to learn the hard way.
As the door clicks shut behind Ava and Goose, I blurt out, “My mom’s coming to town tomorrow.”
Cole snaps up straight, abandoning the garlic he’s crushing. “Wow. Okay. Why’s she coming?”
I swirl my wine, watching the liquid as it coats the side of the pristine glass. “I guess Ava called her last week, and when my mom found out she’d be in Boston, she decided to come in for a family dinner.”
He leans against the counter, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “I didn’t realize the two of them were close.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re close,” I explain. “But Ava looks up to my mom in a weird way. I think she sees her as more of a cool aunt. The one who shows up with amazing stories and gifts and showers her with affection but then leaves again for God knows how long. And I don’t have it in me to ruin the illusion.”
Head tipped back, I finish the rest of my wine in one go.
