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“Hey now, Shortcake. None of that,” Cole said, looking at me as he set a squirmy Theo down to go play with his truck.
“What?” I asked, my heart beating faster at the sound of his nickname for me.
“I got a hint of your emotions down the bond just then,” he said. “There's nothing to feel guilty over. You did what you had to do.”
I shook my head, not wanting to get into it just now with Theo still close by. “Later.”
“Okay,” he accepted easily before holding out the remaining bag for me. “It’s not as fun as a truck or pretty as flowers, but I thought maybe you’d appreciate something more useful.
Curiosity got the best of me and I saw a bottle of tylenol, some gatorade, my favorite chocolate bar, and a bottle of wine.
“Let me guess, Miller told you I had a headache earlier?” I said with a laugh, pulling the items out.
“Guilty as charged,” Cole said with a shrug. “I wasn’t sure if it had passed, so I went with both options. The strawberry wine is something Miles introduced me to, and as soon as I had it, it made me think of you.”
Cole's cheeks heated at his admission and I couldn't help but smile.
"This is perfect. Thank you," I said, tearing open the box of painkillers. My headache was still lurking at the edges and my meds ran out an hour ago. Using the gatorade to swallow them down.
"You're welcome," he said, his voice cutting off as if stopping himself from saying more.
"Come eat, Theo," I said, bending down so I could get his attention. My son had the ability to tune the world out when he was playing, making it impossible to interrupt him most times.
"Vroom," he offered, not even looking up until I put a hand over his toy. "Mom?"
His innocent blink with those blue eyes had me letting out a soft laugh.
"Food first, then you can play," I said. "Grandma Beatty said if you're good, you'll go out for ice cream after."
"Yes!" he shouted, jumping up so abruptly I stumbled back. Cole moved, catching me, but I didn't miss the wince he gave as he did.
"Did you hurt yourself?" I asked, doing everything in my power to not let the guilt amp up again.
"No, just sometimes it reminds me I can't move as fast as I used to," he explained, holding out a hand to help me up. I let him, loving the feel of his skin against mine again. It felt right, but there was so much hanging over it I couldn't dwell on it for long.
"Get in here, I'm starving!" Beatty's voice echoed down the hall breaking the tension rising between us. I let out a soft laugh and led the way to the dinner table. Theo was already chomping happily on a slice of pizza, but Beatty had waited until we sat to grab her own.
"Now, Cole, tell me how that shop is going? You move in with your pack yet?"
Leave it to Grandma, the queen of subtle.
He shook his head. "They’re trying to wear me down, but I like having my space sometimes. The shop is going great. Bash is getting more and more business, and things are going well."
"Good," she said, nodding her head. "I'll send lunch over to you guys soon."
"You don't have to do that," he protested but there was no point, she waved him off and gave him her famous stink eye.
"Don't tell me what to do, young man."
"Alright, alright," he laughed, holding his hands up in defense.
The small talk seemed to drag on forever and none of us liked it. Things wouldn't get better until Cole and I had some time to talk things out and we all knew it. The moment Theo said he was done Beatty let out a breath and tossed their plates in the sink.
"Great, let's go find some ice cream," she said conspiratorially, earning a little giggle from my son.
"Have a good time," I told them, blowing my son a kiss. He caught it with a grin and waved before rushing out, his focus on his impending sugar rush.
"He's a sweet kid," Cole said before an awkward silence descended. Our eyes locked, and my stomach clenched with nerves.
