Page 93 of Stolen Summer
I’d fallen for the rich boy.
And damn if he wasn’t hot as hell.
I wanted to blame the heat. It had to be screwing with my hormones because I had to be losing my mind.
“What’s wrong with the AC?” I hollered from the balcony once he hung up.
The sun glared into his eyes, and he lifted a hand to shield the light. “It went out last night. I have a call in for someone to come out and look at it. And this heat isn’t helping.”
Was that who he was on the phone with? Whoever it had been, they hadn’t left a positive impression on Cole. He sported his grumpy frown. “It broke on the hottest day of the summer so far?” My voice carried down to him.
“Just my fucking luck. Do you want to go out? Get some drinks at some place that has air?” he suggested.
I shook my head. “No, no really. I’m not much in the mood for socializing. I’d rather drink here.” And because my voice was still strained, I trotted down the balcony steps leading to the pool area. Cole waited with his drink and his frown. “Have you figured out what you’re going to do about your problem?” I sat down at the pool’s edge to dip my feet and legs into the coolish water. Between the sun and the water heater, the temperature wasn’t as cold as I craved, but it was better than being scorched to death.
Cole’s shadow loomed over me, providing a slice of shade. I had a suspicion the move had been done deliberately. “Which one?” he grumbled, looking miserable in the afternoon sun.
“Your father,” I replied, reaching up and taking hold of his wrist. I tugged at it, signaling him to sit beside me.
He took my cue, scrunching up his sweatpants legs just below the knees before sinking his feet into the water. “Rileys are notorious for disregarding problems.”
“We could go to Vegas and get married,” I suggested, mostly kidding.
The glance he slid me should have been concerning, but my body only seemed to want to lean in. “Don’t tempt me,” he said softly.
My heart rate kicked up in my chest. “Why do I get the feeling if I was willing you would marry me to spite your father?”
Cole had a darkness in him, but I wasn’t afraid, not of him. It did make me wonder what happened to him to cause such damage. “Don’t mistake my motives, Killer. They would be purely selfish. You’re not wrong about me.”
“Perhaps I’m not wrong about who you are, but you’re also not entirely like I assumed.” I moved my legs in gentle circles in the water.
His brow lifted. “A rich asshole?”
“No, you’re certainly that, but…there’s more to you under the surface. You just need to look a little deeper, something I doubt very many people get the chance to uncover.”
“For good reason. They get hurt. If you knew what was best for you, Killer, you’d get as far away from me as possible while you still can.”
Too late. My heart was already tied up over him. I couldn’t walk away now.
If I’d known that admitting I had feelings for Cole would make things awkward, I might have continued to bury the truth. He started to pick up on it, giving me odd looks, inflating the weirdness coming from me. I was the one being awkward, but I suddenly didn’t know how to act, didn’t know how to deal with these emotions swimming within me, no longer willing to be ignored.
I nursed my second drink of the day, not trusting myself to get drunk despite wanting to dull everything I felt. After checking in with Frankie, I stayed in my room, basically avoiding Cole.
Something was going on with me today, and I couldn’t puzzle it out. Perhaps it had to do with Frankie’s near-death experience or that it should have been me in the hospital bed instead of her. Or maybe it had to with the light-bulb moment when I realized I had feelings for Cole and was unsure what to do with them.
I couldn’t just do nothing about any of it.
My life already had so many regrets.
Would I keep playing it safe? Would I continue to have to live with remorse? Would I let my life pass me by without risks? Yes, I could get hurt, but the last few weeks had taught me I could suffer by being cautious.
I had to do something.
But what I wanted might be another mistake. It might also be exactly what I needed. The thing about regret was that you never knew the choices you made were wrong until too late. But I’d rather regret the things I’d done than those I was too scared to try.
Rolling off the bed, I padded into the bathroom to wash cold water on my face for the tenth time today. Ever since I’d woken up, I couldn’t stop picturing Cole by the pool. Something about his mood pulled at my heart. He was upset, but it was more than that. Something else gnawed at him. Something from his past, and seeing the torment shadowed behind steel and armor made me want to break through the shield he erected around himself. I’d only really taken notice of the cloud of darkness he carried. Perhaps I hadn’t because it wasn’t always so evident.
I had one myself. I didn’t know why it took me so long to recognize what also lived in me.