An hour later, after I’d taken down my hair and changed into a sweatshirt and jeans, I wrapped myself in my coat and scarf and crept outside to the patio, hoping that Cole would keep his promise.
The night was quiet and cold, but the moon was full and low in the sky, lighting up the patio like a spotlight. I knew immediately it was empty, and so I wouldn’t wait out there freezing like an idiot, I snuck around the side of the house and checked the driveway. With a sigh of relief, I spotted Cole’s car just where I’d left it, so I made my way back to the patio.
I settled onto one of the cushioned pool loungers, wishing I’d brought a blanket. Instead of going in search of one, I wrapped my arms around myself to hold in my heat and tried not to shiver. I’d chosen a lounger that faced the back of the Whitehursts’ house, and the whole place was dark except for the light Mama kept on over the stove. Cole’s room faced the back yard, and both his windows and the master bedroom’s were shadowed.
Despite the cold and my eagerness to see him again, it was late, and my eyes felt heavy. I let my lids close, burrowing into the warmth of my memories of Cole’s kisses. They had moved through my whole body, awakening me in places no one had ever touched.
Reliving the sensation of his arms around me, his body against mine, was definitely the best way to ward off the cold. Soon my shivering stopped, my breath deepened, and my body sunk deeper into the lounger.
Time passed. I knew this because warm lips brushed against mine, and when my eyes fluttered open, Cole was there. He sat on the edge of my lounger, looking down on me with a bittersweet grin.
“Are you trying to turn into a popsicle?” he asked, his voice low but not quite a whisper.
“I was waiting for you.” But he was right. Parts of me felt frozen. My cheeks were numb and sluggish. I started to rise, but he braced his hands against my shoulders.
“Don’t get up.”
Leaning back again, I frowned. “Why not?”
“Because—” He brought his warm palm to my cheek and ran his eyes down my body. “—even bundled up like this, you look…”
I could tell by the set of his mouth he was weighing his words, being careful not to say the wrong thing. I stayed quiet because I didn’t want him to take his hand away. His warmth was heavenly.
Cole lifted his gaze to mine and our eyes locked. “…like an invitation… for me alone.”
Lying down before him, even under layers of clothes, my body felt supremely touchable. Both his words and the look in his eyes lit me up like a fuse. The lounger was wide enough for two so I scooted to my right to make room for him.
His mouth pinched against his grin. “I shouldn’t,” he said softly.
Courage I didn’t know I had rose up in me. “But you know you will.”
Cole’s eyes sparked with amusement before he seemed to remember himself, and he gave me a look of confused awe. “You got in trouble for us tonight. Twice.”
I blinked at his sudden change of topic. “Wh-what?”
Cole stretched out on his right side next to me. He planted an elbow into the cushion and rested his head against his fist. Like a magnet seeking true north, I rolled to face him. I felt his heat along my length, and then his hand came back to my cheek, his thumb stroking my jaw.
“You got yourself in trouble to help us. I heard Flora bawling you out twice.” A frown creased between his eyes, but his eyes themselves and the corners of his mouth turned up. He looked mystified. “You knew exactly what you were doing when you turned out that light.”
What was the point of denying it? “Well, it worked,” I muttered, his intense gaze embarrassing me a little.
His brows shot up. “You bet it worked. I’ve never seen Daphne and Marshall Murphy get a clue so fast.” White teeth flashed with his smile. His fingers brushed the hair from my face. “You’re amazing.”
“I was glad to do it,” I said honestly, ready now to change the subject.
Cole obviously wasn’t. His thumb caressed my cheek again, sparking a trail of invisible fireworks across my skin.
“And then you got Mom’s bag out to my car. I saw it there by the front seat.” My eyes widened at this news. Reading my surprise, he nodded. “I just carried Ava’s stuff down. And that’s when I realized that you must have planned the whole thing. Opening the garage door… taking out the trash… Flora getting all worked up…”
I wrinkled my nose. “You heard all that?” I’d always hated it when Mama scolded me in front of an audience of Whitehursts. Especially Cole.
His thumb moved to my bottom lip where he skimmed over it with a barely-there touch. “Mmm-hmm. I didn’t know what was going on at first. I just wanted to stop her.”
My breath caught. He’d wanted to stop Mama from scolding me? A shimmy of something warm and soft and wonderful moved down my front. It was a feeling I’d never had before, and I liked it. It made me feel as if I could let Cole see anything about me, and it would be okay.
I’d been lying beside him, letting him touch me, willing him to touch me. But then I allowed my hand to move to his chest. He’d changed out of the suit he’d worn at the party and now, like me, was dressed in a sweater and jeans. Cole wore a jacket, but he hadn’t bothered to zip it up, and tucking my hand beneath the garment to touch him was like standing in front of a fire. I sighed.
His thumb continued its dance, tracing the outline of my lips, sending delicious tremors down my body.