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"Do you mind?"
"Of course not."
"He bet me that I'd fall for you before you leave for New York."
Elara burst out into peals of gorgeous laughter. "What an idiot! That's an easy bet for you to win."
"Right.”
"You told him we'd already agreed this was a no-strings thing?"
"Course. He didn't believe me."
"Well," she said, kissing my neck, "more fool him, I guess."
Lying there, our limbs entwined and my body still tingling, I couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment as Elara nestled closer to me. It was odd, really, how quickly she'd become an integral part of my life. As I trailed my fingers across her soft skin, my thoughts were interrupted by her hesitant voice.
"You think I'm doing the right thing, don't you? Going back to New York, I mean?"
"Of course you are," I told her, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "New York is where your future is, Elara. It's way better than staying here."
"Yeah, you're right," she murmured, resting her head against my chest. "I just . . . I don't know. It feels comfortable here, I guess."
"Comfort's the enemy of ambition," I replied. "I should know."
"Right." She kissed me again. "Thanks for supporting me." Then, to my surprise, she got out of bed. "Okay, time for me to head back to mine."
"Good idea," I said, desperate for her to stay. "Big day tomorrow. I think I'm gonna skip the sanding for now and tackle the 'mystery cement' issue first."
"Good thinking. Yeah. We'll need an early start. She pulled on her clothes with practiced ease. She was getting to be very good at leaving my house. It was strange that we hadn't spent much time at hers. "I have a feeling you could use some rest, Mr. McCoy. You got a lot done today."
"I get a lot done every day," I said, looking up at the ceiling.
She hesitated for a moment, her hand on the door handle, before she turned back to me. "Goodnight, Cole," she whispered, her eyes soft. "Another great flingy day."
"Goodnight, Elara," I replied, my heart heavy in my chest as I watched her slip out the door.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Elara
Something had shifted in me.
As Cole drove us to the bar, I sat gazing dreamily out the window of his rusty truck. It felt absurd to admit this, but the town didn’t feel small anymore.
It felt intimate.
The streets didn't feel constricting. They felt cozy. And seeing the same old faces on the sidewalk wasn't boring. It was sweet.
It helped that the sun was shining this morning and the wind felt good in my hair. It helped that I was sitting next to the hottest, most desirable guy in the world—a guy who'd made me come so hard last night I'd worried I might never stop feeling the aftershock. And yes, it helped that we were listening to “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac on the old classic rock radio station that Cole always had on.
We weren't a couple, of course. That much was clear. And here in Bluehaven, among prying eyes, we were not even flinging. No kissing, no touching, no PDAs of any sort. I was surprised that Cole had told his brother, honestly. Surprised, but not upset. After all, I’d told Lily. That was the extent of it, though. Where the rest of the town was concerned, our relationship, casual as it was, was a big fat secret.
I unlocked the bar while Cole went down the road and grabbed iced coffees from Lily's store. By the time he was back, I'd opened up my tin of Unicorn Whisper and was ready to tackle the next coat.
"That friend of yours, Lily, is a real character." He passed me my drink.
"Yeah?" I hoped she hadn’t said anything too personal. I didn’t want Cole to think that I’d been gossiping about our sex life to Lily. Mind you, at least I hadn’t been placing bets on it like he had.
