My stomach fluttered instantly, a rush of heat spreading through me as my pulse raced so fast it felt as if it might burst out of my chest.
The entire world seemed to disappear.
All of it faded into the background.
All I could see was him.
The way his eyes searched mine.
His arms held me close.
I tried to look away.
I tried to move.
But I could not.
Our eyes stayed locked together.
“Cole… are you in here?”Stephanie’s voice floated in from the distance.
The spell shattered instantly.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to look away.I tried to straighten up so I could step down, but his arms still held me.When I looked back at him again, I saw it clearly in his eyes.
The same emotion I had seen before.
The same look I had once seen in Caleb’s eyes.
And in Harper’s.
Desire.
Want.
A second later, he gently set me down on the floor.
“We’re in here,” he called out.
I stepped away from him, quickly touched my hair, smoothing it down, and composed myself as my heart continued racing.
Stephanie appeared a moment later.
“There you are!” she said brightly. “Oh, hi Jiya. We were going back to the apartment when Will said you were in here. Can we grab some food before we head back?”
I nodded quickly.
“Help yourselves. I was just leaving.”I plastered on a polite smile before turning away.
I walked quickly to the office, grabbed my purse, and asked Cole to lock up and drop the keys to Jack before heading toward the door.
As I stepped outside into the cool night air, one thought kept repeating in my mind.I really should have left when Jack did.
36
COLE
As I drove Stephanie back to the city, my mind kept drifting to that moment in the restaurant. To the way Jiya had fallen from the pool table. To the way she had looked at me when I caught her.
