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“You said you found a spare room,” she says like she’s accusing me of lying.
I try to close the door a smidge, to make our conversation a little more private, but Camila won’t let me. She props her foot out like it’s a doorstop.
“Ididfind a spare room,” I insist. “It just sohappenedto include Cole.”
“So you’rewillinglyhere right now?” Lara asks, pointing inside the room. “This isn’t like a hostage situation?”
“Damn it.” Camila props her hands on her hips and shakes her head. “We should have come up with a safe word for this situation! With you two, this was bound to happen eventually ...” She walks over to me and leans in really close, lowering her voice. “If he has you here under some kind of blackmail situationor worse, you just say the word and—”
Cole scoffs from his perch in front of the TV where he’s scrolling through channels. “She’s free to go whenever she wants.”
Lara grins and reaches out for my hand, like problem solved. “Okay, good. C’mon. We heard there’s some chocolate chip cookies downstairs. They’re left over from lunch, but who cares? I’m in need of something sweet!”
“Oh . . .”
“Grab your shoes,” Camila tells me.
But I don’t move. In fact, I actively resist Lara’s tugging. “I’m pretty full. I just ate a cheeseburger.”
“Sooo?” Lara drawls, waving her pointer finger in a circle like she’s waiting for me to get to the point. “You always say you have a dessert column and a dinner column. So ... this should be no problem.”
Okay. I didn’t think I’d need to come up with another excuse here.
I sigh, sounding exhausted. “I’ve had a long day.”
Camila drops her chin and glares at me from beneath her eyebrows.“Paige.”
“You don’t have to stay,” Cole says behind me, giving me the out.
And yeah, okay, but what if Iwantto stay? What if, for once, I did the thing that I trulywantto do deep down, which is to hang out with Cole and actually admit that we enjoy each other’s company?
“I think I’ll just stay here ...,” I say noncommittally. It’s like, well, I’m already in the hotel room so it’s not like I can just walk out, you know? I have to find my shoes, and it’ll be a whole big thing.
But they don’t buy it.
“Holy shit,” Camila says, covering her mouth with her hands while she laughs with glee. “It’s happening!It’s finally happening!”
“What’s happening?” I ask, feeling like I’ve been left out of the loop.
Lara doesn’t answer me. She’s looking at Camila like she doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She’s fluttering her hands in front of her face.
I turn back to Cole to see if he can make sense of any of this, but he just shakes his head and turns back to the TV.
“Right, well, see you later, weirdos. Enjoy your cookies.”
Then I shut the door so I can willingly spend the rest of my night with Cole.
There’sa sentence I never thought I’d say.
Chapter Twenty
PAIGE
The dust has barely settled on the closed door before buyer’s remorse sets in about my decision. Not about hanging back with Cole—not at all. It’s about turning down the cookies. I should have gotten more information. Like are they the thick, gooey ones or the thin, crunchy ones? What chocolate-chip-to-dough ratio are we talking about here?
I chew on my bottom lip.
Cole’s still by the TV with the remote. He’s given up finding anything worthwhile. Now, he watches me.
