“Ugh, okay, I wasn’t expecting that.” She ran fingers through her hair, and just as she was about to question Juliet about what the hell that meant, the doorbell rang. She cringed.
“Expecting company?” Juliet asked.
“I invited Cole over for dinner.”
“Ah, so you’re going to be fucking in this apartment now so I can hear.”
There were times she was surprised her and Juliet’s friendship had lasted as long as it had, but they never had any secrets, not one.
“We can’t do that. It’s … you know … that time of the month.”
“Ah, so you’re feeding him dinner?” Juliet asked. “Look at you being all domesticated.”
“Shut up. Vincent thinks he’s going to ask me to move in with him?”
“That’s what he told me.”
“When did you and Vincent become friends?”
“He comes and visits me at work. We have lunch together. We’re total BFFs. We’ve also got a bet going.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Oh yeah, what?”
“To see how long it will be before you both walk down the aisle.”
Elena would love that, and the ache, the yearning began to build inside her. The doorbell rang, but Juliet looked at her.
“You want to marry him?” Juliet asked.
“I love him, Juliet. I love him more than anyone else. I always have.”
“You’ve been dating a few months,” Juliet said.
“I know. We’ve known each other for years, just not ‘known’ each other, if that makes sense. He’s always been close.” She ran fingers through her hair. “Ignore me. It probably won’t happen. I’ll start to clean up this mess.”
She didn’t want to think about it herself right now. For the longest time, she had been in love with Cole and not realized it until they had started dating. She loved early in the mornings when he was still asleep, and she could watch him without him knowing that she was doing exactly that.
Bending down, she scooped up the food back into the saucepan. She saw Cole’s boots stop at the kitchen, and she looked up.
“Hey,” she said. “Just a bit of a disaster here. Nothing to worry about.”
“I guess takeout is on the menu tonight,” he said, bending down to help.
“I’m going to wash up.” This came from Juliet, who was in fact the cause of all this. Elena couldn’t believe that her friend would do this to her.
Did Cole want her to move in?
Was she ready for that?
She loved him more than anything in the world. Every second she was with him was a dream come true.
“Did you know that Vincent and Juliet have become friends?”
“He did mention something about it.”
“Oh … do you talk to Vincent often?” she asked.
Cole chuckled. “He’s my best friend, Elena. Of course I do.”
“Of course. How silly of me.” She grabbed the now full saucepan, and dumped the contents into the sink. Grabbing a cloth, she began to clean up the mess.
Cole held her wrist, stilling her movements. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Is there anything the matter?”
She paused, and shook her head. Right now, she wasn’t ready for the move in question, or what it could mean.
“I’m just feeling stupid for spilling dinner. It was going to be awesome as well. Spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite.”
He pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I know it would be, but you don’t have to worry. I’ll order some Chinese food.” Cole released her, and she watched him walk away. He was already on his cell phone ordering food, and she took the time to finish cleaning.
She needed to clear her head.
By the time she finished cleaning the kitchen, the dishes, and wiping every single counter so that it sparkled, food had arrived, and Juliet joined them from their bath.
A movie was playing in the background, and Elena avoided conversation while watching the romantic comedy, and then a horror movie came on. Even though she hated horror, right now, she wanted to just watch something that took her away from her own fears.
Was she afraid of what it could mean?
No.
Chancing a look at Cole, she saw he was also staring at her, and this brought a smile to her lips. He took her hand, and now she stared down at their locked hands. His was much larger than hers. She gave his a gentle squeeze, and tightened his hold on her even more.
The way he held her always filled her with comfort, with love, with joy.#p#分页标题#e#
Juliet called it a night, and Elena asked Cole to stay over. She took him to her room, and told him that she would be right out.