Preparing for bed, she stared at her reflection.
Leaving her bathroom, she found Cole already in bed. The sheets were turned down, and he patted the space beside him. “There’s plenty of room for you.”
“You’ve surprised me that you can fit in my bed. Yours always seems so big, so imposing.”
“I like big things,” he said.
The moment she slid into bed, he pulled her close, nuzzling her neck. “I’ve missed you.” He stroked her stomach. “You’ve seemed lost in your own world tonight. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” she said. “More than fine.”
Cole stared at her for several minutes. Neither of them spoke, and she wondered not for the first time, what he was thinking.
“Seems kind of surreal still, having you here in my bed,” she said, breaking through the silence.
“You’ve thought about it?”
“A lot actually. Did you know you were my high school crush?”
“I was?” His eyes widened.
“Yes. You were.”
“What about Danny and Vincent?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Neither of them. You were always different from your friends. More mature I guess, even now.”
He kissed her neck. “I wanted you as well,” he said.
Elena pulled back a little to stare at him to see if he spoke the truth. From the look in his eyes, he did. “You’re not lying.”
“I won’t lie to you, Elena. Never have, never will.” He licked his lips, and smiled. “You were always a little firecracker even when we were kids. I don’t know if you remember this, but you fell down in the playground in kindergarten when we were kids.”
“You were the one who helped me up,” she said. She did remember it. The memory was vague, and a little unsure, but she remembered.
“I was. You’ve always been there. There’s no one else I want to be with, Elena, just you.” He stroked her cheek. “I love your smile, and the twinkle in your eyes. You’ve got a beautiful laugh, and even when you’re hurting yourself, which drives me crazy, I know you’re a beautiful woman inside and out.”
Tears filled her eyes, and this time, she pressed a finger against his lip. “No more, not tonight. You can say this to me when it’s morning, and I know for a fact you’ve not been drinking.”
This had him laughing. “I’ve not been drinking, but I can wait ‘til morning. I’ve noticed when it comes to you, sweet Elena, I can wait forever.” He pressed another kiss to her lips, and she groaned.
“I want you,” she said.
“Soon.” He pulled her into his arms, and she rested her head against his chest.
Her love for Cole at times scared her. She had never felt this connection with another person before.
“Everything will be okay, baby,” he said. “You’ll see.”
She fell asleep with a smile on her lips.
Chapter Ten
A week later
Cole took a few steps forward, and then a couple backward. He paced his bathroom, and then looked at his reflection in the mirror. “You can do this.”
“Are you talking to yourself? Do I need to call a doctor, Cole?” Elena asked.
“I’m fine. I’ll be out in a moment.” He released a breath. The ring that he intended to use today was sitting on the sink, staring up at him, glinting. All day he’d spent trying to figure out the right words to say to her. He’d even called Vincent and Danny each in turn to see if they could give him any insight, and of course, they had nothing. Danny told him that she’d be happy to have him. Vincent told him to speak from the heart.#p#分页标题#e#
“Cole, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“It’s fine if you’re … loose.”
Dropping his head into his hands, he couldn’t contain the laughter that overcame him. She thought he was embarrassed by toilet problems, and he wished it was that easy. He loved Elena. He’d loved her all of his life, and asking her this question seemed like the biggest risk. Neither of them had said they loved each other, and even though they had been dating for a long time now, this was a huge step.
He loved her, and didn’t want to be with anyone else, not ever. Staring at the ring, he knew there was a chance that she would laugh at him. He’d spoken to Juliet about it, and she didn’t have any good words of advice for him. Everything was about him speaking from the heart, and words were hard for him as it was.
“Cole?”
Not wanting to have her worry anymore, he grabbed the ring, and opened the door. The ring was in his fist, biting into his flesh.