girl. “I guess I can join you for a little while.”
Nearly an hour later, he was still there, on the couch between Kate and Andie and trying to pretend like he wasn’t enjoying himself. But really, after so many years on his own, the simple act of watching TV with two open and talkative women was bizarrely comforting. It had taken Kate approximately five minutes to warm up around him but soon enough she was joining Andie in her catcalls and boos when their least favorite couple came on stage.
Not that he was really into the show—although he would have been lying to himself if he said he wasn’t entertained. The fact that Andie and Kate seemed to treat it like a competitive sport, with all the shouting of encouragement and jeers one would expect to find at a hockey game—well, their commentary made it a lot more entertaining.
When the show ended, Kate said her goodbyes.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” Andie asked. “We’ve got a whole other bottle out there that needs drinking.”
She smiled but shook her head. “I’ve got to meet my parents in the morning for brunch.”
Andie groaned. “Don’t tell me—”
Kate gave her a wry smile. “Yup. They’re attempting another set-up.”
Andie groaned again and turned to Cole to explain. “Kate’s parents are determined to find her a man.”
“Not just any man. A successful, worthy man,” Kate said, her tone teasing. “Worthy is their word of choice when describing this mythical human.”
Cole was stumped. Was he supposed to contribute to this conversation. Apparently not because Andie was all over it.
“What does that even mean, anyway? Obviously no one is worthy of your perfection.”
Kate giggled and rolled her eyes. “I know, right? That’s pretty much exactly what my dad thinks.”
“So he’s overprotective?” Cole said. He had to say something. He’d somehow unwittingly and unwillingly found himself in the middle of what he suspected to be girl talk.
“That’s putting it mildly,” she said.
Cole didn’t have a clue what Kate’s father’s deal was but he could easily see how someone like Kate could bring out a man’s protective instincts. He barely knew her and he was tempted to offer to walk her home, even though her home was directly across the hall. She had an air of fragility about her. She seemed timid, meek, and utterly sweet.
Andie took her friend by the hands and gave her a meaningful look. “Tomorrow is the day. You need to tell them what it is that you want.”
Kate’s expression grew determined. “You’re right. I will.” She sucked in a loud breath and let it out with a sigh. “Tomorrow.”
When Kate turned to walk out the door, Andie patted her on the butt like a coach. “You got this, girl!”
He heard Kate’s laugh as she headed into the hallway.
When Andie turned around she was smiling at him and the smile was infectious. He found himself closing the distance between them as if he had no say in the matter. And maybe he didn’t. Maybe this attraction was bigger than him. It was an alternative gravity, a magnetic field in its own right.
“What was that about?” he asked, nodding toward the door where Kate had just left.
“Oh, that.” Andie rolled her eyes. “Her parents are crazy overprotective. Like, the poor girl lives in a gilded cage, overprotective. I’ve been trying to get her to stand up to them. At the very least, tell them what she really wants rather than letting them intervene.”
“And what is it that she really wants?” Cole asked, not so much because he cared about the girl he’d just met but because he couldn’t get enough of hearing Andie speak, no matter what the topic.
“She wants to travel. See the world. Have an adventure or two.”
She was drawing closer with every word. Every breath. By the time she finished speaking they were standing directly in front of one another, mere inches apart.
“And what about you?” he found himself asking. “What is it that you want?”
The silence between them grew thick with a tension that begged to be broken. Her gaze never wavered from his and he could hear her soft breathing as it grew ragged.
She felt it too.
He hadn’t doubted it, not since that kiss. There was no way he’d been the only one affected. But even knowing she was attracted to him, seeing the desire in her eyes was a whole other matter.
It nearly destroyed his self-control. Only the mental reminder that he didn’t want to scare her kept him