by Liz Isaacson
They laughed, and he bumped into more than a few people, saying “Sorry,” more than anything else. But he never stepped on her toes, and he considered that a huge win.
The music settled into a slow song, and Cole knew how to dance this way. He brought Berlin close to his chest, and she tucked herself right into his arms. Holding her felt magical and like the entire world had stopped spinning, leaving only he and Berlin rotating slowly to the piano and violin as they sang a sad song together.
She pulled back slightly and gazed up at him, a sparkle in her eye that he’d seen in women’s eyes before. Funny thing was, he had the same electricity coursing through him, bending his back as he inched closer to Berlin.
Her eyes drifted closed, and Cole’s did too. Somewhere outside this sphere where he and Berlin existed, the piano stopped playing. Didn’t matter. What mattered was kissing her. Right now.
His mouth touched hers, and she pulled in a breath. In the next moment, someone bumped him, knocking him sideways, and he heard, “Sorry, Chief,” as everything spun back to normal.
The slow song had ended. Around them, people were spinning and twirling, laughing and dancing to another song that was so fast, Cole felt sure he’d trample someone if he tried to do the steps.
So he tugged Berlin off the dance floor, feeling flushed and incomplete, desperate with want for that kiss he hadn’t truly gotten.
Hours later, he walked her to her front door, where she turned and put one palm flat against his chest. “This was so much better than last time.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He looked at her hand. “I assume this means you don’t want me to kiss you goodnight.”
She licked those lips, driving him absolutely crazy, and the fearful edge in her eyes answered him well enough.
“Would you like to come to my father’s retirement party?” she asked. “My whole family will be there, and it’ll be insane.” She laughed, but it didn’t hold much merriment. “All of our clients are invited too. It’s at my parents’ house next weekend.”
Cole could barely think past the next five minutes, especially if he wasn’t going to get to kiss her goodnight. “I’ll have to check my schedule, but I think I can make it work.”
She put her second palm on his chest and leaned into him. “Great. Then you get your kiss.” She stretched up and pressed her lips to his cheek, maybe a little lower than normal, and settled back on her feet.
“That’s it?” he practically growled.
“You’ll want to leave that growly-bear stuff in the office when you come to the party.” She backed away from him, the blush in her cheeks indicating that she wanted more than a quick swipe of her mouth against his jaw too.
“When can I see you again?” he asked as she twisted the doorknob to go inside.
“Next weekend. At the party.” She waggled her fingers and disappeared inside, the door clicking closed and the lock sliding into place a very final note to a very good date.
Cole supposed it would have to do. He certainly wasn’t going to bang down the door and demand she get back out there and kiss him. Even he had some limits.
Not many when it comes to her, he thought as he went back to his car and headed home.
Cole was sure each day without seeing Berlin would be torture. It started out that way, but when he wanted to call her, he called his mother instead. When he wanted to talk to her, he texted and enjoyed the back and forth banter they seemed to perfect after the first few days.
The weekend wasn’t slow at the station, not with summer in full swing now. It seemed Oxbow Park hosted a different event every night, and officers were needed to patrol the pathways, the forests surrounding the lake, and the traffic situations.
Cole took his turn on the evening events, the same as anyone else. He spent hours filling out payroll paperwork, responding to phone calls, and dealing with schedules, shift changes, and dozens of personalities.
He brought Sarge and Honor to work as often as possible, otherwise the two shepherds would never get out of the house. So it was that Wednesday night found him showing up to his Boy Scout meeting with the German shepherds in tow.
The six thirteen-year-olds loved the dogs, and he had them sit and wait before he allowed the boys to say hello. He couldn’t help the pride that swelled his chest as he watched his dogs accept the love from the teens. He loved his work with the boys, and they seemed to like him too.
He’d taught them how to take care of dogs, and he’d shown them basic canine training using Sarge and Honor. Tonight, though, it was all about Flag Day and tomorrow’s work.
“All right, boys,” he said. “Over here.” They gathered around where he sat at a metal picnic table, at a pavilion in the park. “We have over five hundred flags to put up by eight a.m. That’s about one hundred each.” He glanced around at his guys. “So Barlow, you wanna split us up?”
The almost-fourteen-year-old took over, drawing red lines around certain blocks in town and assigning routes to various boys.
“We’ll meet at my house tomorrow,” Cole said. “What time, do you think?” He really wanted the boys to have ownership of what they did. He’d never liked it when his parents had bossed him around or feeling like he was being forced to do something against his will.
“The flags should be up by eight, right?” Barlow looked around at the other boys. “So six?”
“I’ll get doughnuts and chocolate milk,” Cole offered. “We can load up and go.” He glanced at the notes on his phone. “I’ve got Chance’s dad coming to drive. And Arnie’s. And Sebastian, your mom said she could fit some in her sedan.” Cole wondered briefly if he could call Berlin. Ask her to ride along with him while he supervised thirteen-year-olds on Flag Day.
Before he could decide, it was time to move on, talk about the proper care and handling of the flag, and then he brought out the chocolate bars he’d bought for their meeting. He’d learned after only one week that food was a requirement to get boys to show up for scouts. And he wanted the boys to come, really enjoyed his time with them, though it was one more thing on his never-ending to-do list.
Just as the meeting ended and he was rooting around in his SUV to find a ball or two to throw to Sarge and Honor, his phone sounded. He checked it to find Berlin’s name on the screen. He tapped her name and found a photo loading.
This was new. She hadn’t texted him any photos, and he ignored Sarge’s whines as he waited. The image finally came up to show her with four blonde women—clearly her sisters. Another text came through, and it said I told my sisters about you. I mean, they know who you are, but I told them we were sort of seeing each other.
“Sort of seeing each other?” Cole tapped the message on the screen. Is that what we’re doing?
And maybe slipping a bit into his beast mode, he added Can I see you tonight? which hopefully she correctly interpreted as Can I kiss you when I see you tonight?
Can’t, she said. Fuller family dinner every Wednesday. We’re finalizing everything for the party on Saturday. You’re still coming, right?
He’d told her every day since last Friday that he was coming. Why she kept asking, he wasn’t sure.
Can I call you? he texted. He wanted to ask her, but he also just wanted to hear her voice.
She didn’t answer right away, so he went back to his search for a ball, finally coming up with a ratty tennis ball that Sarge would love. Cole held it up with an “A-ha!” and sure enough Sarge whined. Even Honor lay halfway down on her haunches, ready to launch herself after the object.
He threw the ball and watched the shepherds tear after it. Sarge was the faster of the pair of dogs, and he almost always beat Honor. He was an excellent catch too, usually snagging the ball out of the air no matter how low it bounced. Sometimes, though, he bobbled it, allowing her to snatch it from under his nose.
He threw the ball over and over, waiting for Berlin to text him back. She never did, and when he realized how thirsty his dogs where, he loaded them up and took them h
ome.
Later that night, when he should’ve been in bed already because the boys were coming the next morning at six, his phone rang. Because of his job, he never put it on silent, and he looked at the name on the screen, the letters blurry before his eyes. He could still see Berlin clearly enough, and he hurried swipe open the call.
“Hey,” he said, his voice a little froggy from exhaustion, a smile on his face.
“Sorry I didn’t answer earlier,” she said. “My mom came over, and she’s pretty freaky about having phones out during the family dinner.”
Cole chuckled and asked, “How old are you again?”
“You haven’t met my mom.”
“No, I haven’t.” He relaxed back into the couch. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”
“I was thinking maybe we could get together tomorrow. You know, I should prep you to meet my family. They’re…loud and crazy.”
“Ah, just what I like.”
She laughed and said, “Yeah, right. I told my sisters I’d give you ten minutes before you bolted on Saturday.”
“Is that why you keep asking me if I’m going to come?”
“I—do I?”
“Every day, Berlin.” He liked saying her name and he grinned at the ceiling. “I’m sure it’ll be crazy. But I can handle it.”
“You sure?”
“What are you really worried about?”
“Nothing,” she said, but there was something there. Something she wasn’t saying. Cole had a lie-o-meter and it was singing right now.
His first instinct was to call her on it, but then he thought about what Jordan and Mason would tell him. Their voices entered his head, and he simply said, “All right. Tomorrow night? You want to go dancing again?” He sincerely hoped not, but if he could see her again, he’d do almost anything.
“No, I was thinking of something a little more casual. Away from the crowds.”
So he could kiss her. “Yeah, sure,” he said, maybe a little too eagerly.
She laughed, the sound carefree and wonderful, just like in his office. “See? You are a hermit.”
“I am not. I’ve directed traffic twice this week for huge events at the park, and I just did Boy Scouts tonight—with six teenagers.”
“Oh, wow, that’s…intense.”
“So what were you thinking for tomorrow?”
“I was thinking maybe you’d let me cook for you.”
Cole sat up, pure surprise pulling through him. “Sounds great. Your place?”
“My place. Seven o’clock.”
“I’ll be there.”
“You can bring your dogs. I have a big backyard that’s fenced.”
“Deal.” He hung up, happier than he’d been in a long time. Tomorrow at seven couldn’t come fast enough.
Chapter Seven
Berlin bustled around the kitchen, flipping the chicken fried steaks and checking the timer on the pot of potatoes. Everything looked good. The scent of fried food filled the house as she set two plates on the table.
It had been Fabi’s idea to invite Cole for dinner. Berlin hadn’t told her sisters everything, but Wren would not leave her alone about the police chief coming to haul boxes in for her last week. So Berlin had mentioned they’d gone to dinner, and things had snowballed from there.
At least she hadn’t kissed him yet. Every cell in her body burned to do exactly that, but she didn’t want to push things too fast with him. All of her sisters agreed that ten years—nine really, come October—wasn’t too old, especially because he hadn’t been married before and had no kids.
With silverware beside plates, and glasses in position, she turned back to the stove. The timer on the potatoes went off and she hurried to check their doneness and then drained them, a huge plume of steam rising and giving her a facial she didn’t need.
She’d deliberately stayed out of the bathroom so she wouldn’t touch up her makeup. Her false eyelashes itched almost constantly, and Caitlyn said that was normal for someone wearing them for the first time. Berlin wanted to rip them all off, but it was more painful than she’d thought. So she’d quit after the first few, hoping she didn’t look too ridiculous with a few less lashes on her right eye.
The clock ticked to seven, and knocking sounded on her front door, almost like Cole had snuck into her house and synced his clock to hers and then set a timer.
“It’s open!” she called as she turned back to the chicken fried steaks. They looked glorious and golden, and she lifted one out of the bubbling oil to check the doneness. Thirty more seconds.
The door opened, breaking the seal on the house, and Cole walked in. He was powerful and gorgeous, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, that cowboy hat and a ten-gallon smile. “Wow, smells good in here.”
His two dogs came after him, ever the obedient shepherds. They frolicked with her two pups, and he opened the back door to let them all out into the yard, chuckling as they went in a scraping of claws and the panting of tongues.
Then he moved into the kitchen and slipped his hands along her waist, almost making her drop the last chicken fried steak before she could add it to the others already draining on the paper towels.
She finished the job, laughing, and turned in his arms. “I hope you like chicken fried steak.”
He held her close, almost swaying with her to music only he could hear. “Oh, I do.” He swept his hat off his head and leaned down. “I really wanted to kiss you last weekend. Can we start with that tonight so I don’t go crazy?”
Shocked by his forward manner and blunt way of speaking exactly what he was thinking, Berlin took a few seconds to blink at him.
“Please?” he added, his eyes drifting closed and his face dipping lower, the tip of his nose brushing her cheek.
Berlin let her eyes close too, and the moment between them turned soft, intimate, and wonderful. She swayed with him, her hands slipping up his arms and across his biceps to the back of his neck.
“Berlin?”
She didn’t have the mental energy to respond, as every sense was heightened to the touch, the smell, the flavor of this man. She made contact with his mouth first, a quick brush of her lips against his.
White lights popped behind her eyes, and she swayed on her feet, an action completely separate from the way he still drifted left and right with her. He kissed her tenderly, softly, like he was afraid he might break her.
She lifted up on her toes and kissed him, eliciting a moan from somewhere deep in his core. He deepened the kiss, and Berlin wondered how she could ever cook in this kitchen again without reliving the best kiss of her life.
Hours later, after they’d eaten, and held hands on the back porch as they watched the dogs run and play, and kissed on her couch, she lay in bed, her phone pressed to her ear. He’d left her house twenty minutes ago, but she couldn’t help calling him.
He didn’t seem confused or annoyed by the call, and she’d somehow unlocked the chatty version of Cole tonight. Maybe it had been the kiss. Or the phenomenal chicken fried steak. No matter what, she liked listening to him talk about his brothers and his job, his men and his dogs.
Finally, she said, “So we never talked about my family and the party.”
“Oh, right. I’m sure I’ll be fine, Berlin.” He practically purred her name, and Berlin turned on her side and giggled, as if she were fourteen talking to her first boyfriend and not twenty-seven and dealing with a man a decade older than her.
“Have you met someone’s family before?”
“Well, no.”
So he’d never had a really serious relationship.
“Have you?” he asked.
“Just this one guy. We were getting pretty serious, I guess.”
“Have you had a lot of boyfriends?”
Berlin hadn’t anticipated this conversation turning to that. “A fair few,” she admitted. “But you really take the prize. Number one, you’re employed. Number two, I know your last name. Number three, you don’t have a beard longer than my hair. So.
” She waved her hand around like he was there and could see her nonchalance.
He chuckled, and she wished she were curled up against his chest to feel the vibrations, the way she’d been earlier. “Wow, if I’d have known that was all it took, I may have started dating earlier.”
“I’ve only left town for a couple of years,” she said, feeling a bit defensive. “And the selection in Brush Creek isn’t huge.”
“And yet all eight of your siblings managed to get married.”
“Ouch,” she said, adding a laugh to the statement. But how could he know that was a sensitive subject for her? She hadn’t told him, and he probably would’ve said it even if she had. Not true, she corrected herself. Cole could come off as intimidating and commanding at first. And he definitely spoke his mind. But so did Berlin, and she wasn’t interested in playing games with her love life, so she found his sometimes cringe-worthy statements somewhat refreshing—as long as they weren’t about her makeup or her marital status.
“Sorry,” he said. “Sometimes I say…I won’t do that on Saturday. Best behavior.”
“I’m wondering if you want to come as my boyfriend or simply a client of the company.” Berlin clenched her eyes closed and hoped he’d say boyfriend.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Well, seeing as how you couldn’t wait to kiss me tonight, I think you coming as my boyfriend would be fine. I mean, my sisters kind of already know we’re dating, and my parents will be really busy anyway, so….”
“Couldn’t wait to kiss you?”
“Well, yeah.” She laughed. “It was a great night, Cole. If you don’t want to play the boyfriend at the party, I’m okay with it.”
“Berlin.” Something came through the line from his end, maybe a chair scraping the floor, maybe something else. “I’m not playing anything here.”
Berlin closed her eyes as a rush of warmth filled her.
