“I still can’t believe that she did that for me,” he remarked. “She said no even though she wanted to say yes, and at the time I didn’t understand it. That’s why I moved to Nashville and stayed away for a while. I was embarrassed and my pride was hurt, but I was also confused. Now, I owe Steph such a huge debt of gratitude, because I know she was right.”
“So you don’t love Stephanie,” I whispered.
“I never did love Steph,” he stated, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I would have been miserable.” I looked down at the floor as I processed this new information. So there was no lingering affection for his ex after all, except for this gratitude he expressed. I suddenly felt like a complete idiot. I laughed as I put my head in my hands.
“What’s funny?” he asked, smiling at me from where he stood across the room. I smiled back as I tried to keep from laughing again.
“I was just thinking, I was really processing some nasty thoughts about Stephanie the other day at lunch,” I told him, shaking my head. “I seriously wanted to hate her. Rachel even noticed. I feel so stupid.”
“The way I felt about Peter and Trey?” Cole asked, moving across the room and lowering himself to the couch beside me. “Especially Trey. Man, I despised that guy.”
“If it was bothering you so much, why didn’t you just ask me about it in the first place?” I wanted to know.
“Because I am unbelievably stubborn, apparently,” he said, smiling sadly. “All week long Rachel and Mom and Aunt Rosalie have been after me to admit how I feel.”
“To admit that the proposals bothered you?” I asked, looking deeply into his eyes. He shook his head and sighed.
“No, to admit that I’m crazy about you,” he breathed. “I know I’ve really made a mess of things, and I’m pretty sure I’ve blown any chance I might have had with you, but I can’t walk away without you knowing.”
“That you’re crazy about me?” I repeated, not sure I believed him. He smiled and took my hand, gently interlocking his fingers with mine.
“I can’t stop thinking about you, Camdyn.”
I was so overcome with emotion at that moment that I inadvertently let out a gasp, and then I shook my head, staring at him in disbelief.
“Cole, how can you not know?” I asked in astonishment. “I have wanted nothing but to be near you since the first moment you smiled at me.”
“Really?” He looked at me curiously, and then a grin spread across his face.
“Yes, really.”
He gently placed his hand against my cheek as he moved closer, shortening the distance between us, until his forehead was resting against mine. He laughed softly, and I could feel his breath against my cheek. I reminded myself to breathe as he leaned in and prepared to kiss me, completely lost in anticipation, when I heard a muffled noise behind me. I thought for a minute that Charlotte might be awake, so I pulled away from Cole and turned only to see Jeff and Rachel standing in the doorway.
“Dude, aren’t you a little too old to be making out with the babysitter?” Jeff teased Cole as he closed the door behind them.
“Can you guys just drive around the neighborhood a couple more times?” Cole asked, making me blush. Jeff laughed as he slid off his shoes by the door.
“No way, man,” he stated. “I am beat, and you can make out at your own house.”
I glanced over at Rachel, who was just gazing at me from the entryway. I was a little embarrassed, and I couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Cole stopped by,” I told her, and she just laughed and raised her eyebrows.
“Yeah, I can see that,” she replied. “How was Charlotte?”
“Perfect,” I said, standing up and moving towards her. “We played fairy tea party, Cole made us dinner, and then we watched princess movies until she fell asleep.”
“She must have loved that,” Rachel stated, slipping out of her heels and holding them in her hands.
“Did you have a good time?” I asked her, earning a mischievous grin.
“Not as much fun as you,” she whispered, winking at me. I laughed and grabbed my car keys from the counter, watching Cole as he moved to the door.
“I’ll wait for you outside,” he smiled at me as he opened the door, closing it behind him. Rachel immediately turned and grabbed me by the shoulders.
“Ah, I knew it!” she exclaimed. “You’re so perfect for each other.” I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I just told her that I would see her soon, said goodbye to Jeff, and let myself out. Cole was standing by my car, and the sight of him waiting for me with that smile on his face was enough to make my heart start pounding. When I came close, he put both of his hands on my waist.
“Did you really say you want to be with me?” he whispered.
“Absolutely,” I told him, “but you do know your sister is watching us.”
“I know,” he said with exasperation, letting his hands slide away from me. “I will call you in the morning, okay?”
“Yes,” I said, as he opened the door to my car. I slid in and smiled at him one more time before he closed the door and went to his truck. As I backed out and started making my way up the driveway, I thought about how close Cole had come to kissing me, again. I looked up at his headlights behind me, thinking about how warm his breath felt against my cheek. I only made it a few feet onto the gravel road before I decided to stop the car and put it in park. He pulled up behind me, and when I saw him open the door, I stepped out onto the road.
“Is something wrong with your car?” he asked. I waited until he was close to me, and then I shook my head.
“No, nothing’s wrong, I just wanted a do-over.”
“A do-over?” he laughed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t care who’s watching, you were about to kiss me, and I’m not leaving here until you do.”
“Oh, really?” he stated sarcastically. “You’re putting a lot of pressure on me here.”
“Well, if you can’t respond under pressure…” I started, but he grabbed my waist and pulled me toward him, his other hand sliding up into the back of my hair.
“I didn’t say that,” he said with a smile as he narrowed the distance between us and his lips found mine. I heard a sigh and I knew it had to have come from me, although I hadn’t done it consciously. Even though I had been kissed before, this absolutely felt like a first…something. I was taken into a completely different realm of possibility, because I knew in that moment that I was most definitely, completely and desperately in love with Cole.
When he finally pulled away, his hand slid down out of my hair and rested on my neck, thumb gently brushing against my cheek. He looked into my eyes, and I placed my hand on his chest to steady myself.
“Wow,” I breathed, watching a smile spread across his face. “What are the chances that we could make that our fist bump?” He laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Absolutely, and our high five, maybe good morning, good night…even hey, didn’t I see you five minutes ago?”
“I like that,” I told him, feeling a little more brazen than normal after that kiss. “Hey, didn’t I see you five minutes ago?”
“Uh huh,” he laughed as he leaned in to kiss me again. I wrapped my arms around his neck and melted into him there on that gravel road. I felt a couple gentle splatters of rain hit my arms, but I chose to ignore them. Within a few seconds, the dust was kicking up off the road as the rain started pelting down around us.
“Go away, rain…” I moaned as Cole held me tightly against him, shielding me from the water.
“Hey, this is how we met,” he said. My head was pressed against his chest, and I could hear the steady sound of his heartbeat through his t-shirt. I leaned back so I could look at him, water trickling down my face.
“Should I climb out of the trunk again?” I joked, but he shook his head and then lowered his forehead until it rested on mine.
“No, don’t move.” He took both my hands in his and held them
against his chest, and then he pressed a kiss on my forehead. “Spend the day with me tomorrow, Camdyn. The whole day, just you and me.”
“Can you handle a whole day with me?” I asked, pulling back to see his expression.
“I’m dying to find out.” I couldn’t help but smile as I nodded my head, watching the rain trail down his cheek.
“Then I should probably tell you good night, so you can get out of this rain,” he said.
“You said good night,” I told him, taking his face in my hands and pressing my mouth against his. He kissed me for a moment, and then he slid his arm behind my knees and hoisted me in the air like a child, carrying me to my car.
“Get in before we both get sick,” he demanded, opening the door for me. I smiled up at him as I slid into the seat, and he leaned his head in to smile at me too.
“See you tomorrow,” he said, closing the door. I watched him run back to his truck, and then I put the car in drive and headed back to Rosalie’s, feeling utterly and completely content.
Chapter Seventeen
When I woke up Saturday morning, I seriously considered pinching myself. I stayed in bed for a minute with the sun streaming across my face, just smiling up at the ceiling, before I finally jumped up and made my way to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, piled my hair on top of my head to take a quick shower, and then slid my pajamas back on to return to my bedroom. A gentle “psst” came from behind me as I swung the bathroom door open and started walking to my room. I turned to face the living room and saw Cole sitting on the couch. He stood up and smiled, slowly walking toward me, and I felt my heart start pounding.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said. “I thought you were going to sleep forever.”
I am wearing pajamas with my hair piled on top of my head, no makeup, and he just called me beautiful. Sigh.
“How long have you been here?” I asked when he reached me.
“About an hour. I couldn’t wait to tell you good morning.”
“Good morning,” I whispered as he gently traced his fingers down my face, stopping to brush his thumb across my lips right before he lowered his face. I rested my hand against his rough cheek as he kissed me gently.
“Well, hallelujah!” I heard Rosalie shout as Cole pulled away from me. “Now maybe you’ll just admit you are here to see Camdyn so I don’t have to look for any more tools that you know aren’t here.”
“You do that?” I asked him with a laugh. He just shrugged and smiled.
“You’re no better, missy,” Rosalie chuckled, “rolling out of bed wearing his t-shirt.”
“You really wore it to bed?” Cole wanted to know. I shrugged as I felt myself blushing.
“I’m just going to go get dressed,” I told him, sliding away and heading toward the bedroom while I still had some of my dignity intact. I studied my clothes for a few minutes, deciding on a deep blue shirt that brought out my eyes. I slid on a pair of jeans and then studied myself in the mirror, taking my hair down. I added a touch of mascara and a little blush, and then I went back out to meet him.
He was standing in the kitchen talking to Rosalie when I returned, leaning against the counter with his arms folded across his chest. He smiled at me across the room, but he didn’t move. I stood next to the bar studying him carefully, the way his dark hair would never quite lay flat, and one eyebrow arched up slightly more than the other, and the slight shadow of a beard he had didn’t come very far up his cheeks. His dark eyes rested on mine when he noticed me staring at him, and I looked down at the floor.
“What are you two going to do today?” Rosalie asked, and Cole shoved his hands in his jeans pockets.
“I don’t know, we haven’t talked about it yet,” he stated, smiling over at me as the phone rang. Rosalie excused herself to answer it, and he took a step towards me. “Well, anything special you want to do today?”
“Other than being with you, not really,” I told him. He just stood there looking into my eyes, and I felt the heat rising in my cheeks.
“Camdyn, telephone!” Rosalie chimed in, coming around the corner. I looked at her, confused, and then back at Cole.
“For me? You’re sure?”
“Yes, he specifically asked for you,” she insisted, handing me the phone. I shrugged my shoulders at Cole as I raised the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Is this Camdyn Taylor?”
“Yes.”
“Camdyn, this is Karl Phillips, your landlord. I have been trying to call you and can’t get through on your cell phone. I finally called your brother’s emergency number, and he told me to call you here.”
“Wow, yeah, I haven’t been getting very good phone reception. Is something wrong?” I asked, suddenly feeling nervous.
“No, no, nothing’s wrong, I just wanted to remind you that your lease is up Monday. You haven’t been around lately, and I assume you don’t want to leave your things behind.”
“Of course not,” I said as my heart sunk. How could I have forgotten?
“I would extend it for you if I could, but I have new renters on Tuesday, and I still need time to clean the apartment.”
“No, I understand.”
“Do you need me to contact someone for you? Get someone to come out and take care of it?”
“No, I’ll take care of it,” I assured him.
“Okay. You can just leave your key on the counter, and I will mail your deposit to you after the inspection. Easy enough?”
“Yes, of course,” I said, almost feeling sick. “Thank you for calling me. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. You have a good day.” I handed the phone back to Rosalie as I closed my eyes and put my hand against my forehead.
Ugh, how could I be such an idiot? How am I going to get my things, and on the weekend? There is no way I can fit everything in my car.
“What’s wrong?” Cole asked, placing his hand on my arm. I shook my head and tried to smile at him.
“My lease is up on my apartment in two days,” I explained. “How could I have been so careless? This is the absolute height of my stupidity!”
“Come on, it’s not that dramatic,” he stated, facing me and putting his hands on my shoulders. “You know Aunt Rosalie will let you stay here while you figure things out.”
“I know,” I said, looking at Rosalie, “and you have no idea how grateful I am for that, but I have to get my stuff…”
“That’s easy,” he told me. “I have a truck and a trailer.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“Relax, you have plenty of time,” he laughed. “It doesn’t take that long to get to St. Louis and back. And you didn’t ask me, I volunteered.” My heart sank as I looked up into his face.
“Cole, my apartment isn’t in St. Louis. It’s in Richmond.” A look of understanding crossed his face as he took a deep breath.
“As in Virginia?”
“Yes, Virginia.” He nodded and looked as though he was mulling it over, and then he let go of my shoulders.
“Well, you better get whatever you need to take with you, because we’re burning daylight. I’ll have to stop by the house and get my trailer, make sure my mom will look out for Pop, get someone to cover my baseball practice tonight…”
“No, Cole, I can’t…”
“Ask me to do that? You said that already. Camdyn Taylor, I am going to Richmond today with or without you. I’d rather go with you. You did say you would spend the entire day with me, remember?”
“I remember,” I whispered.
“Well, you can’t get much more together than riding in a truck all day. Just think of it as the first real test of our relationship, since you became my girlfriend.” He smiled at me as he let the word hang in the air between us.
“Oh, for goodness sake, honey,” Rosalie said, walking over and grabbing me by the hand, pulling me toward the bedroom, “get in there and get your phone and whatever else you need. The man is practically begging to help you.”
I q
uickly gathered up my phone and my lip gloss and stuck them in my handbag, glancing around the room to make sure I didn’t need anything else. Satisfied that I would have clothes and toiletries still left in the apartment, I emerged from the room with only my handbag. Cole saw me and started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, giving him a stern look.
“You came here with a ton of luggage and no handbag,” he said. “Now you’re leaving with just a handbag.”
“It’s not like I won’t be back,” I told him, walking toward the door.
“I’ll take good care of her, Aunt Rosalie,” Cole called as we stepped out onto the porch. She waved goodbye as we walked together to the truck. He opened the door for me and took my hand as he helped me inside, and then he drove the few miles to his house. I stepped outside and played with Pop while Cole hooked up the trailer, removing a few of his tools. He went inside to pack a bag with a change of clothes, and then he tried to call his mom. When she didn’t answer, he said we would quickly swing by her house.
It only took a minute before we pulled into the driveway, and Liz was standing outside. She waved as soon as she saw us, dropping her garden trowel and wiping her hands on her jeans. Cole hopped out of the truck and came over to the passenger side, opening the door for me. I smiled as he extended his hand.
“Are you always such a gentleman?” I said in jest. He raised his eyebrows as I gave him my hand.
“I think you know that I’m not,” he stated, “but I intend to give it my best shot.”
Cole held my hand as we walked up to his mother, a gesture that did not go unnoticed. She looked like she was about to burst by the time we reached her.
“Mom, can you watch Pop for a couple of days?” Cole asked, piquing her interest. She looked at me and then back at her son.
“Sure, are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah, Mom, we’re going to Richmond so I can help Camdyn move out of her apartment,” he explained, and she smiled at me.
“Moving anywhere in particular?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows.
“Don’t pressure her, Mom,” Cole laughed. “I just convinced her to take a chance on me, and you’re going to scare her off.”
A Reason to Run (The Camdyn Series Book 1) Page 25
