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Mira: Hahahaha. Poor baby. See you soon.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
MIRA
The drive upto Bluebird took much longer than the usual thirty minutes, her thoughts racing ahead of her while she clutched the steering wheel. Thoughts like:Should I have worn my red underwear? Does my breath smell okay? Why don’t I have any mints? What the hell am I doing?
Cole had only been in Red Falls for three days, and her life was already in complete upheaval. She barely functioned, focus a thing of the past. Her thoughts were consumed by the sense memory of Cole’s mouth between her legs, his hand cupping her neck, their bodies entwined, skin sliding against skin. It was so bad she’d forgotten to put sugar in the cupcake batter this morning, baking two dozen bland bread balls that now RIP’d in the trash can. Everything had happened too quickly. Cole was in Seattle, then he was in her bakery, in her arms, in her bed. And then he was gone again.
If it hadn’t been for the faint soreness she’d woken up to yesterday, that dullyou’ve finally had sex againthrob, she could have convinced herself that none of it had actually happened. The problem was, as much as she tried—and she’d tried, all day yesterday, most of the day today—she couldn’t quite convince herself that doing it again was a terrible idea. She was almost there, so close to calling him and telling him they shouldn’t turn the next three weeks into a secret spring fuckfest. Not only because he’d fuck and run. Not only because after all the years she’d spent searching—despite thinking she’d found it in Paul and learning the hard way that she’d been wrong—she knew she’d never find another man as great in text, wonderful on the phone, phenomenal in person, and spectacular in bed as Cole. But mainly because she still had a life to live, a son to parent, a mom to care for, a business to run, and a sinking suspicion that all those things would be substantially harder to do while she was also trying to sneak off with him like a sex-crazed teenager.
But after he’d texted her one single question this morning:Can you get away?all the reasons why she shouldn’t hook up with him as much as possible while he was here evaporated like mist.
Pinching her cheeks in her rearview while the big wooden Bluebird Basin sign loomed to her left, she tried to wrangle her thoughts and concerns into something coherent she could share with him. As soon as she parked her car where Cole had suggested—near the woods at the far end of the lot—dinner-plate sized dog paws slammed against her window.
“Hey, Murphy.” The dog only panted at her through the glass. “Can I get out?”
Once he dropped back down to all fours, his mouth open and tongue wagging, Mira pushed her door open and climbed out, inhaling deeply when her feet hit the gravel. It always smelled amazing up at Bluebird, like the clean bite of snow or musty rain or, like today, sun-warmed pine.
After giving Murphy’s head a good scratch, she walked to her passenger door and pulled out the basket of goodies she’d brought for Cole and the guys. Slinging the basket over her shoulder, she whispered, “Be strong, Mira,” and started down the path leading to Cole’s cabin.
* * *
“Mira?”she heard him say after she knocked on his door.
“Yep.”
“Hey, sugar. It’s unlocked.”
The skin on the back of her neck pebbled. None of her partners had ever given her a nickname. She’d always thought she didn’t inspire them. She just wasn’t a sweetheart or a darling or even a honeybunch. Butsugar… She loved it, the way it rolled off his tongue, the way it heated her cheeks, the way it made her feel sweet.
Pushing the door open, she froze in place, not prepared in any way, shape, or form for the view that greeted her.
Cole stood outside his bathroom in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, a smaller towel scrubbing his hair, and a smile.
“Uhhh…” She stalled out, finding it surprisingly difficult to remember the intricacies of the English language when confronted with a half-naked Cole.
Nodding at her basket, he said, “You really brought us treats?” He walked back into the bathroom, the words “You’re amazing” trailing behind him, reeling her into the cabin like a lasso wrapped around her waist, a hook in her mouth.
“It’s only some muffins and scones,” she said, waving a dismissive hand while he did whatever he was doing in the bathroom, while she tried not to obsess over whether that towel was still slung around his hips or not. She set the basket on top of the dresser and looked around. His cabin was small but warm, cozy as a magazine cover. “Oh, and Tiger Balm.”
“You brought it?”
“One does not offer to bring Tiger Balm and not bring it.”
Still shirtless, still in his towel, he ducked his head out of the bathroom. “I’m not joking this time, Mira. Marry me.”
She gave him a smile, but the one he gave her back was a religious experience. Angels wept, harps trilled, choirs sang, her nipples hardened.
“I meant to shower earlier, but then I ended up passing out on my bed. I’ll be out in a sec. Make yourself comfortable. Did you have a good day? How was Linda’s therapy session?”
This was the thing, or one of the things, that made him so unfairly irresistible. He paid attention. He remembered the days Ian had piano, when her mom had her therapy, whenever Mira had a big order she was working on or when she had to get up extra early to make sourdough. It was too much. Things could not go on like this. They just couldn’t.
“Cole,” she said, sitting down on his couch, wringing her hands in her lap. “Can you come back out here?”
“I’m still not dressed.”
“It won’t take long, but I need to tell you something.”
