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“I’ve always known it was unfair, Cole.” My inability to let him be there for me in any shape or form constantly got in the way of our friendship.
“It was mostly my guilt and the secrets I had to keep that held me back,” I said. “How could I let you help me through a bad day, when that bad day was caused by memories of your father? How could I tell you my heart was in a constant state of pain, when that pain had been caused by Franklin Kincaid?” I didn’t gaze over Cole’s head to see if my words had hurt Franky, but I knew he’d want me to tell the truth, no matter how brutal. “I couldn’t tell you,” I said. “So I’d lie or change the subject. That doesn’t mean our time spent laughing wasn’t real, or that I don’t value or need you in my life. It just meant I had to give you more than what I could accept from you. And that meant giving you less of me. I needed you to know when the time came that I was in this for you, not for what you could do for me or for access to your father. I was in this friendship for you, Cole”
“One thing I’ve been certain of all these years, though,” Cole started, “is that you’d been hurt by love. That’s what drew me to you, but you’d never confirm nor deny. My father was the one who hurt you,” he said.
“Yes.” I didn’t care that it wasn’t a question, it was the truth, and that was all Cole would get from me from here on out.
“And I’m guessing hedidn’trenovate the back for you at a discounted rate?” Cole looked toward the art studio.
“No, that was another lie,” I admitted. “He did it for free. He did it out of love.”
“Love,” he whispered, as if he still couldn’t wrap his head around it. “What’s your mother’s name?”
“Willow,” I said, even though it wasn’t easy to. I hadn’t spoken it in years. I’d kept her in a dungeon located in the recesses of my mind where she’d been easy to ignore because all my mental focus went toward getting over Franky. Something else I’d failed at.
“Willow Meadows,” he whispered. “Pretty name.”
My throat shrunk in on itself at the mention of her full name. I could hear the gate of her dungeon creak open, and could feel the binding keeping that box shut loosen at the corners.
“The name doesn’t match the woman,” I said blithely.
“No more of that,” he said sharply, drawing me up a peg. “No more pretending you’re okay, or that you don’t care about what you’ve been through. No more.”
I hadn’t realized I’d done that, and right on the heels of swearing that I’d be honest with him too. Old habits were hard to break. “It stops now,” I confirmed.
Cole sipped his drink, letting the burn run its course before firing off another question. Felt like we were speed dating, except I was the only one on the receiving end of the get-to-know-you phase. There wasn’t a stone left unturned with Cole. He’d given me all of him from the start, and what he hadn’t handed over to me, he’d left unguarded for me to draw my own conclusions.
“What’s your favorite color?” he settled on.
“Colors on the first date?” I joked. I’d never lied to Cole about anything as pointless as favorite colors or favorite foods or movies... The question was more symbolic than anything. We were starting from scratch. Building from the ground up.
I glanced beyond Cole to Franky, who smiled encouragingly at me with admiration and love bursting from his pupils. “Black,” I said, and Franky grinned knowingly, his ebony eyes pleased with my answer.
“What are you most afraid of?” Cole asked.
I relaxed against the bar, getting into the rhythm of our exchange, enjoying it even. “It used to be heights and windows. Now my worst fear is losing your friendship, Cole. Or if I’ve already lost it, never getting it back.”
He let that sink in a bit, taking his time to mull things over. “I get to know you now,” he said, lighting the wick of hope, voice bogged down with emotion.
“Yes,” I said eagerly.
“No more evasion, no more lies,” he warned, and I promised it all ended here.
“I have so much to tell you,” I said, pushing through the glee squeezing my heart.
“Can’t wait to hear it all,” he said, before adding sarcastically over his shoulder, “You can breathe now, Dad.” He’d known his father was there the whole time.
Franky dropped the bin to the table and hustled over, ruffling Cole’s hair and leaning over the bar to meet me for a kiss.
“That’s gonna take some getting used to,” Cole said, nose wrinkled. We laughed, hugged, kissed, and fought over Cole’s fries. We talked with a freedom we never had before. We talked with no barriers and no secrets between any of us. It felt healing, like a breath of fresh air, but there was one thing still missing, one person we all needed to make this family complete.
“Jasper and I decided to have a small ceremony at the house,” Cole said. He and Jasper had a beautiful, sprawling home outside of the city, where they spent weekends and any other spare time they got. “We never wanted anything big anyway.”
No, that had all been for me. A way for him to pull me back in after I’d pushed him away.
“And I’m paying for your tux,” he said, brow raised, daring me to turn down his kindness. Tuxes weren’t cheap, and The Daisy was doing well, but I was still on a tight budget.
“Fine,” I said, and he scarfed down a fry, smiling victoriously. “But I don’t like charity. That much about me is accurate.”
