“Look, Cole, before you say anything else, I’m sorry about last night.”The words spilled out before I could stop them.I forced myself to look up at him.“That shouldn’t have happened.”
The change in his face was immediate.
“What?” he said, his mouth slackening. “You’re saying it was a mistake?”
The hurt in his voice made my stomach drop.
“I’m not saying it was a mistake,” I said quickly, my voice faltering as my eyes drifted downward again.
“What the hell are you trying to say, then?” he asked, his voice rising slightly.
The collar of my blouse felt tight against my throat.“I’m just saying it shouldn’t have happened.”
He let out a short, bitter laugh.
“Are you telling me you didn’t feel anything at all last night?” he asked, staring at me intensely. “That it meant nothing to you?”
My chest seized.
“Cole, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way,” I said carefully, forcing myself to meet his gaze again. “I don’t think you and I are a good idea.”
His shoulders stiffened.
“We are better off being friends than anything else,” I continued, my voice trembling despite my effort to stay calm. “I have way too much baggage for you to deal with, and you need a fresh, clean start to move on with your life?—”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of what I need in my life?” he snapped.
“Well, what do you need?” I asked weakly.
“You!” he said loudly.
The word echoed through the kitchen like a crack of thunder.
“You don’t know anything about me, Cole.”
“Well, whose fault is that?” he shot back. “Idon’tknow anything about you,” he continued, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “I only know what has happened since you moved to the village. I haven’t been pushy, and I have asked you several times, but you never seem to answer, or you always brush it away.”
His words struck deep asflashbacks of a similar fight with Caleb surged through my mind.
The same frustration.
The same questions.
The same feeling of being cornered.
History felt like it was repeating itself.
My stomach twisted uncomfortably.
“Your guard is always up,” he continued. “I feel like I know nothing about you while you know everything about me.”
His hands rested on his hips as he stared at me.
Silence filled the room.
“Look, Cole—” I began.
“Jiya,” he said firmly. “Do you feel anything at all? Anything for me?”
