Page 48 of The Moment I Knew

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” His tone sharpened, then softened again, like he was course-correcting. “Look, I’m just saying… most people would be grateful.”

“For what?” I asked quietly.

He laughed, low and humorless. “For the attention. For the effort. I don’t usually try this hard.”

I took a step back, bumping lightly into the cold glass of the window behind me. “Then maybe you should stop trying.”

For a moment, he just stared at me like he couldn’t quite believe I’d said it. The noise from inside the shop faded into the background, and the parking lot suddenly felt too quiet.

Mitch glanced past me, just briefly—so quick I almost missed it. His eyes flicked to the window, to the inside of the shop, and something sharpened in his expression, like a decision clicking into place.

Before I could move, he stepped in.

Not fast. Not rough. Just close enough that the space I’d been carefully guarding disappeared all at once. His hand came up to the window beside my head, palm flat against the glass, boxing me in without technically touching me again.

“Mitch,” I said, my voice low and tight. “Don’t.”

He smiled like he hadn’t heard me. Like this was the moment he’d been building toward all night. “It’s just a kiss,” he murmured. “To prove to you that there’s a spark.”

He leaned in.

I turned my head instinctively, the movement sharp and immediate. His lips brushed my cheek instead of my mouth, but my stomach still dropped.

“No,” I said again, louder this time, pushing lightly at his chest. “I said no.”

The door behind us banged open.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Cole’s voice cracked through the night, rough and furious. Relief washed over me just at the sound of his voice.

Mitch turned just in time to sneer, “Stay out of it⁠—”

Cole didn’t.

He crossed the distance in two strides. His arm pulled back. Then he swung, fast and unforgiving.

The punch landed hard, snapping Mitch’s head to the side with a sickening thud. Mitch staggered back, colliding with the window, shock written all over his face.

“Don’t,” Cole said, already grabbing the front of Mitch’s jacket and shoving him away from me. “Ever. Touch her. Again.”

Mitch recovered enough to shove back, stumbling but not falling. “You psycho⁠—”

Cole hit him again.

This one sent Mitch reeling, feet skidding on the concrete. Someone inside the shop gasped. I heard Katie yell Cole’s name, sharp and panicked.

“Cole!” I started, my heart pounding.

Cole didn’t look back. His shoulders were tense, fists clenched, breathing heavy as he stalked forward again.

“I warned you,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “I told you to leave her alone.”

Mitch wiped at his mouth, staring at the blood on his knuckles from the fall like he couldn’t believe this was real. Anger flashed across his face, replacing the smug confidence from seconds ago.

He lunged. It was sloppy and rushed, more anger than skill, but it still connected enough to snap Cole’s head to the side. I sucked in a sharp breath.

Cole didn’t go down.