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My chest warmed from his use of the word baby. I wasn’t sure Cole realized it, but he was my first real relationship. I wasn’t sure if I was his first or not, and I didn’t really care. He was mine now, and that was all that mattered.
I slipped beneath the covers, preparing myself for him to skirt my question and not give me any answers. I fluffed up my pillow and looked at him.
Cole took my hand in his, then planted a tender kiss on my knuckles. His gaze was full of adoration and gentleness. I wanted to snuggle up to him and forget about talking, but I had to try.
“Why are you and Daddy close? I mean, it’s not often you see a stepson and stepparent bond, but you two obviously have. When I told him I’d seen you kill a man, he shut me down. He said he’d already taken care of it.”
Cole visibly tensed, then relaxed. “I remember Mom telling me she’d met someone …” He fiddled with a thread on the corner of the sheet. “It freaked me out, honestly.” He glanced at me, then stared at the ceiling. “Mom’s track record with men wasn’t so great.”
I squeezed his hand, urging him to go on.
“Mom said we could meet in a public place and have a nice dinner with Samuel. She said they wanted to talk to me about something important, and I couldn’t back out at the last minute.” He smirked. “I have a habit of that, so she called me out before I had a chance to think about it.”
“I could see you pulling a no show.” I slid my leg over his and gave him a soft smile.
“Anyway, dinner went great. I think Mom probably prepped him to talk motorcycles with me because we hit it off right away. It was clear that Samuel was different than Mom’s norm. Even though I liked him, I made a decision to watch his every move. Trust hasn’t ever come easy for me.”
His chest moved with his deep breath. Whatever he was sorting through, it was obvious that this was difficult for him. Julia had said Cole wasn’t good about sharing his feelings, but this was the first time I’d seen him willing to try.
“After dessert, Samuel and Mom explained that Samuel knew my bio dad, Rick.”
“What?” Shock was evident in my tone. I sat up in order to see Cole’s expression better. “How? I mean, Daddy’s never mentioned him to me.”
Cole’s eyes narrowed, and I wondered why the mention of his father would cause that reaction. “He wouldn’t, unless for some reason you needed to know.”
Confused, my brows knitted together.
“They met years ago. I don’t know the specifics, only that they met through some mutual people.” Indecision and regret coasted over Cole’s features.
“Where’s your dad now? You never talk about him.” I held the covers up, brought my knees to my chest, and propped my chin on them. Dread twisted my nerves. Something was off, but getting Cole to talk was like pulling teeth.
Cole’s regret-fueled gaze connected with mine. “He’s dead.”
An uneasy silence settled over us. I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. Instead, he rolled over on his side. “We should get some sleep.” He peeked over his shoulder at me and lifted the covers for me to stretch out against him.
I placed a kiss against his tattooed back and slipped my arm around him. “I hope at some point you can talk to me, Cole.”
He squeezed my hand, then turned off the lamp on the nightstand.
* * *
The rest of the night, I was haunted in my dreams by Ibrahim, but this time he wasn’t alone. Even though I couldn’t really make out who the man was, in the pit of my stomach, I knew he was Ibrahim’s boss.
I woke in a cold sweat, trembling and nauseous. Glancing at the clock, I groaned when I realized that I hadn’t woken up at one in the morning, it was after one in the afternoon. Remembering that Zoe had spent the night on the couch, I flung the covers off and dressed in the same shorts and shirt I’d worn yesterday. Even though Julia had dropped off more clothes during my depression, I still had to do laundry once a week.
Hurrying to the bathroom, I washed my face, as well as brushed my teeth and hair. I was in desperate need of coffee after drinking and a shitty night’s sleep.
Once I was somewhat presentable, I strolled down the hall, noticing it was quiet. Not seeing Zoe, I made my way to the coffee pot and filled a cup with warm, leftover brown liquid. I sipped it and cringed.
Cole strolled through the front door. He closed it behind him, chuckling. “I ran out of the good stuff.”
“It’s bad, Cole. Like, really bad.” I forced myself to drink a little more, desperately needing the caffeine. “Where’s Zoe?” I set the cup in the sink, shuddering from the bitter taste lingering on my tongue.
“She left around eleven. Zoe looked pretty rough this morning, and apparently my coffee wasn’t good enough for her, either.” The corner of his mouth kicked up in a grin. “Are you hung over?” He made his way into the kitchen, analyzing me. He pressed a sweet kiss to my mouth, and I sighed with contentment. Waking up to him was so nice that I was willing to deal with shit coffee.
Placing my hands around his neck, I leaned into him. “No, I don’t get hangovers often. By the way, you’re sexy as hell when you smile. It’s a good look on you.”
The most beautiful smile I’d ever seen eased into place, stealing my breath as I stared at him, wishing I could stay here with him like this forever. It was rare that I witnessed him happy, and I wanted to be the reason he smiled every day.
