Love Redone in Hidden Harbor (Island County Book 2) (9 page)

“You spied on what the poor woman ordered?” I was completely astonished. We really did live in a small town.

“There is nothing sacred about that woman. Cynthia knows exactly what she’s doing.”

“Okay, so she allegedly hit on Walker and then what?”

“She left this morning to catch a ferry.”

“Without Cole?” I asked.

Sophie nodded.

“There’s got to be more going on here. No one would break off an engagement to the man they loved over a hussy of a florist,” I laughed.

“Even if you wanted to be a hussy, you couldn’t pull that off. Not in your wool sweaters and flannels. Your idea of dressing up is switching to cashmere.”

“I take offense.”

“It’s a compliment.”

“Sure it is. I feel like the direct translation of that statement is
crazy cat lady
.”

“Well, you do have a crazy cat.”

“Pickles refers to herself as chemically imbalanced, and I think you should respect her wishes just as I do.”

“Is any of this penetrating that thick skull of yours?” Sophie ignored me.

“It has nothing to do with me, so there’s not much for me to say.”

“Why aren’t you surprised by what I just told you? That was my news—my big news. Cynthia might be a cheater and you don’t even make a peep about that?”

“Nick kind of broke the news last night after they left and I came to.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t have a chance. She’s on some hookup site.”

“No way,” Sophie hissed. “I wish I’d known that last night.”

“Why?” I asked, and a shiver rolled up my spine. It was time to wrap up this excursion.

My stomach clenched as the seconds ticked by without an answer.

“What?” I demanded.

She bit her lip and took in a deep breath.

“When Cole delivered Cynthia’s bags later, I happened to be in the lobby and he asked if I wanted to have a beer with him after my shift.”

My ears began ringing, and I barely saw her lips moving. The brightly colored flowers behind Sophie spun into a kaleidoscope of geometric shapes as I stared at her.

“He asked you out? My best friend out?” I groaned. “After I canceled their contract and passed out in bed, drunk from antihistamines, he was hitting on my best friend?”

Sophie looked horrified and shook her head frantically. “He wanted to find out about you. He wasn’t asking me out as in a date.”

I stilled at the horror of it all and my shoulders sank.

“And might I say the version you gave me about how Cole broke up with you doesn’t match his side of the story at all.”

“What in the world do you mean? There’s only one version and that’s the truth.”

“Not according to him.”

My heart was beating too fast for its own good. Whatever he told my best friend flat out wasn’t true.

“All done,” I muttered, heading up to the register.

“Don’t forget about your order with Jack,” Sophie whispered as I shot her daggers.

Whose side was she on? Telling me my version of the worst breakup in history didn’t match his interpretation? Ugh.

Jack brought over a box full of lily of the valley and peonies I’d ordered, but I was so flustered, I didn’t even bother to check them other than a quick glance under the cardboard flaps. I quickly paid for all the items and hauled them out to the car and stuffed everything into the trunk. Sophie knew to keep up or she’d get left behind. Just as I never wanted to get on Sophie’s bad side, she didn’t want to get on mine and she was inching closer.

It wasn’t until we were back on the ferry that I finally had something to say.

“What did he say happened?” I asked, turning in my seat to get a better look at her. I knew she was only trying to help, but this wasn’t helping. I couldn’t afford to get myself tied up with someone who a) lies about our past b) lives in another state c) broke my heart so badly it still hasn’t mended and d) is engaged.

“I can’t tell you. I think it’s his story to share.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You get me all wound up and then explain to me you can’t tell me what Cole told you, which—by the way—is obviously a lie? He’s only making things up because he’s in a spat with his fiancée. A few days from now I’ll be a distant memory like I’ve always been.”

“It didn’t sound like you’d ever been a distant memory,” she said, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

“Sophie, you know what happened. I haven’t heard from him for eight years. You’re trying to tell me that the breakup was all a misunderstanding, and he accidentally proposed to another love of his life?”

She unsnarled her fingers and patted my hands. “I’m not telling you anything at all. I think you need to hear things from him and only him.”

Fireweed Island came into view, and I huffed out my frustration. All I wanted was a calm Saturday leading into my even calmer Sunday with a beautiful wedding, and instead, I was handed a ball of drama most soap operas wouldn’t even be able to handle.

“I honestly can’t believe you’d give Cole Hill the time of day,” I muttered.

“He’s very persuasive. Besides, I honestly can’t believe you’d be willing to do his wedding flowers but not meet with him to discuss what happened so long ago,” she argued.

“Why would I need to meet with him about something that happened years ago? I was there. Remember? Plus, the first part of your observation should explain my reasoning. Why would I meet with someone who is about to get married? It’s not appropriate. I’ve seen this a million times. The groom gets cold feet, gets distracted, has one last fling, and then goes running back to his fiancée. That’s probably what Cynthia’s up to, but hers is just lasting longer.”

“This isn’t just any groom. It’s Cole. The giver of Pickles, the maker of memories, the—”

“Enough. I get the point.”

The ferry worker signaled to turn on our car engines, and I waited in silence to exit off my own floating hell.

“I honestly can’t believe you’re willing to be his messenger.”

“He said you never responded to the email he sent.”

“Why in the world would I? He’s attached. He’s about to walk down the aisle.”

“You know Cynthia isn’t right for him.”

“Not my problem,” I sighed, turning onto Seaview Avenue where my tiny home proudly sat, blue shutters and all. “Listen, this entire experience has shown me the light. I’m over him.”

“No matter how sexy he looks?” Sophie teased, trying to get me to crack a smile.

“Personality is more important than looks,” I grumbled, pulling into my short driveway. “And he appears to be short on that.”

“I think he deserves a chance. Even if it’s only ten minutes.”

I turned off the car before I realized someone was sitting on my porch, the very someone who we’d been discussing for far too long on my Saturday.

“And I might have shown him where you lived,” Sophie whispered, hopping out of the car. “Love ya. Bye.”

Cole walked slowly down the steps, and my breath caught as he watched me watch him. It took everything I had not to put the car in reverse and run over Sophie on my way out of town. I had done everything right. I thought pure thoughts and kept my hands and imagination to myself, and now the man who I’d fallen so deeply in love with was walking over to me. So I did what any rational human being would do.

I locked myself in the car and pretended he didn’t exist.

 

“Come on, Natty,” Cole knocked on the driver’s side window.

I sat clutching the wheel and stared straight ahead. This wasn’t going to end well for someone and that someone would not be me.

“You don’t have to stay in the car. I won’t bite. I’ll stay five feet away from you at all times.” The low rumble of his voice did crazy things to me and it shouldn’t. The sound should have been like nails on a chalkboard, but it wasn’t. Instead, the all too familiar melody from my past silently pleaded with me to turn and face him.

Face what he had to say, but I couldn’t.

“This reminds me of that time you barricaded yourself in the car after winter formal. Remember that?”

I ignored him.

Correction. I tried to ignore him, but I saw his smile from the corner of my eye, and it thawed my heart, slightly.

“What was it I did that time to get you mad at me? Or was it you? I can’t remember. Oh, that’s right. You squeezed the butt of Josh Samler and I caught you.”

That was so not what happened.

“Remember how I got you to come out of the car?” He kept talking, but all I let myself hear from him was
blah, blah, blah, I left you and screwed up your chance at a real loving, adult relationship.
 

“I’ll be right back.” He knocked on the window, and I jumped.

When I was positive he wasn’t facing me any longer, I glanced over at him and it was the death of me. Dark blue jeans hugged Cole’s long, lean legs and with each step he took, the fabric tugged perfectly around his thighs. Even though it was cold outside, he wore nothing more than a black thermal that stretched across his broad shoulders. He looked absolutely incredible and all he did was wake up on a Saturday morning.

I, on the other hand, had my hair in a loose bun because I was too lazy to do anything else with it this morning. I’d put on pink sweatpants that accentuated my thick thighs, and a white sweater that was far too baggy; both of which had seemed like a good idea for my trip to the flower warehouse this morning, and now not so much, and another reason why I’d be staying in the car until he left. I moved the black scarf up my chin and watched him grab one of the Adirondack chairs off my porch. He turned around, but I darted my eyes away before he caught me looking.

As he made his way over, I let out a groan. This was going to be a long afternoon, and I still needed to finish a bridal bouquet for tomorrow. Cole plunked the chair down next to the driver’s door and tapped on the window just to make sure I knew he’d arrived.

This time, I didn’t even flinch.

“I really had no idea you owned the floral shop,” he began.

Right. I think we established that before your fiancée ran off.

“But I’m not sure things would have worked out any different even if it had been another owner,” he continued. “It’s a small island, and I’m sure we would’ve run into each other at some point over the weekend.”

I stayed quiet and focused on the gutters dripping water from last night’s rainfall. Why wasn’t it pouring now when it could actually do some good?

“You’re really talented, Natty. I always knew you’d wind up doing something creative.”

An unexpected shiver rippled through my entire body. It wasn’t that I wanted approval from him. It was just how he spoke, how his words ran through me, and how the tone of his voice carried me into a past full of mostly wonderful memories.

Okay, back to reality.

“I don’t think it was an accident we’ve run into each other. I really don’t. I’ve come to believe in fate and destiny over the years. I don’t think it’s an accident at all.”

Of course he didn’t. They never did. I’d seen this a thousand times.

One.

Last.

Fling.

“I talked to Sophie last night, and it seems your interpretation of events is quite different than mine. Different enough it concerns me.”

I wasn’t going to take the bait.

Cole propped his elbow on the side mirror and even that closeness was too much for me. The attraction I felt to him was unhealthy. I shouldn’t feel his energy coming through the glass, not after this many years.

But I did.

I felt every part of him.

“I wish this could be a two-way conversation.” He let out a sigh and ran his finger along his jaw. “I know you can see me.”

My hand slid to the handle on my seat, and I reclined back. Now lying down and staring at the ceiling, I shut my eyes and congratulated myself on getting Cole out of my side view.

“Cynthia left this morning.”

You should have followed her.

“I don’t know what the future holds there.”

If he was trying to seduce me, those weren’t the magical words.

“I think there’s been a lot of dishonesty in the relationship.”

Why was he telling me this? I didn’t want to be involved.

“You and I never had that problem. We told each other everything, remember?”

Up until the end when it counted.

“I’m sure it’s getting cold in your car. You need to get inside the house.” My eyes flashed open, and my stomach fell at the thought of him leaving.

But then Cole stretched, and I realized he knew what he could do to me as my eyes ran along his bare skin.

“Do you remember how I got you out of the car all those years ago?” he asked, with a low rumble of laughter. “You’d barricaded yourself in the car and wouldn’t climb out, even thought it was snowing outside.”

Please, don’t. Please don’t.

“I remember it like it was yesterday. You got mad at me after winter formal so when we got to your house, I kept the headlights on which glared right into your parents’ bedroom. You locked me out in the snow when I went to help you out of the car so I vowed to strip off one piece of clothing at a time until you got out of the car or your father saw me and threw me out of the yard. I was wearing far more clothes back then. I had a tuxedo jacket, vest, shirt, tie, and pants to strip off, but not today. I just have a shirt and pants. What are the odds?”