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Cole reached for me with one big hand, a sheepish expression of apology plastered across his face. In his free hand, he held a coffee mug.
“W—What are you doing here?” I stammered as I got to my feet.
“Crown moldings, I think.”
Cole put a steadying hand on my shoulder. He looked at me again, grinning sheepishly.
“I’m working without a crew today, so I figured I’d start early,” said Cole. “I didn’t want to wake you, so I let myself in and was gonna sneak my way down.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Then I started wondering if you had a coffee pot,” he said, turning a shade redder. “I grabbed a mug and began looking around… and now here we are.”
My still-wet hair had flopped over in front of my eyes. I pulled it back with one hand and smiled.
“What kind of a psycho doesn’t have a coffee pot?” I asked. “It’s right over there.”
Cole grinned sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his sexy bald head. “If you want I can go out and get us—”
“No, it’s totally cool,” I said, adding a sigh. “The collision’s my fault. I’m running really late for a gig, and—”
“A gig?”
Quickly I explained to him about my predicament, while going through and double-checking my equipment bag on the counter. Luckily, I’d packed everything needed before last night.
“I should’ve been up over an hour ago,” I complained. “I wanted to get there early, set up a few shots. Make sure I had the light levels and equipment all calibrated.”
“It’s still kinda early,” Cole shrugged. “Can’t you still do all those things?”
“No, I just got a text,” I said. “Thank God too, because it woke me up. I’ll have to improvise now. I can’t even bring my tripods, because the limo is picking me up.”
“Sounds like you need an assistant,” he chided.
“Sure,” I laughed. “As if I could afford—”
“Let me come then,” he said abruptly. “I’ll be your plus-one.”
For a split second I almost laughed again. But when I looked up, he didn’t seem to be kidding.
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious,” said Cole. “I can do the moldings tomorrow. You need help right now? Let me help you out.”
Glancing up at him, my heart softened. His look was genuine. He was being extremely sweet.
“You can’t…” I stumbled, wishing he could. “Like I said, the limo’s coming in minutes. Besides,” I said, scanning him up and down, “you’re not exactly dressed for a wedding. No offense, but I can’t just…”
“Text me the address,” said Cole. “I’ll head back to my place, get cleaned up, and meet you down there. Before I do all that, we’ll pack all your bigger equipment into my truck.”
I looked back longingly at my camera equipment, then at my contractor. He was being serious.
“Plus,” he added, “with me there you’ll have a ride home later.”
A beam of light broke through the kitchen window, illuminating one of the pizza boxes from last night. On top of it was what looked like a letter, all folded up.
My heart leapt into my throat as I made out the words ‘Sex Kitten’ written across it.
“Serena?”
