Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

I thought back to how he looked at me this afternoon in the room. How his eyes followed every curve of my chest until he was almost speechless. I stepped closer to him.

“Kaitlyn, here you go.” Lance walked up next to me with a drink. The second Cole appeared, I had forgotten about Lance and the drink.

I took a step back from Cole.

“Looks like Cole already got you a drink.” A frown formed on Lance’s thin lips. If he had any confidence before Cole showed up, I could tell it was quickly fading.

Sasha had already told me this was a party for locals, so I shouldn’t have been surprised the guys knew each other, but the encounter felt a little testosterone-charged.

“Are you two friends?” I asked Lance.

“We know each other.” Lance wasn’t volunteering much information and Cole didn’t respond.

“What, did you two date the same girl or something?” I giggled. That couldn’t be, but the longer the silence grew, the more I thought I had just stuck my foot in my mouth.

“Lance’s not too happy with me these days,” Cole volunteered.

“And why is that?” I looked at Lance, who was no longer his happy-go-lucky self.

“He dated my sister.” Lance’s words were flat.

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. I had more questions, but neither one was giving out answers.

“I’ll take the drink for her, man.” Cole reached for the cup.

Lance chuckled under his breath. “Why am I not surprised?” He shoved the drink in Cole’s hand and angled toward me. “I’ll catch up with you later, Carolina. Cal needs something.”

“What was that about?” I looked at Cole.

“For someone who’s only been here one day, you’ve sure made a lot of friends.” He sipped from his cup. “Lance and Cal like you, especially Lance.”

“Kaitlyn, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to leave you as soon as we got here. Cal gets a little carried away around me.” Sasha emerged from the crowd, looking flushed and trying to catch her breath.

“Yeah, I could tell.”

“What do you say we go for a walk?” Cole asked.

He stepped over the log and stood in front of me, so that my only view was him. “Walk with me.” It wasn’t a request.

Cole took off toward the crashing waves at a relaxed pace. I followed him to the water. My eyes adjusted to the darkness away from the fire, keeping his silhouette in my line of sight.

The waves lapped along the shoreline, and my toes sunk into the softness of the wet sand. We were far enough away from the bonfire that the others couldn’t hear us.

“So, how long have you been working at the Dune Scape?” I trailed behind slightly. “Ryan never mentioned it. And I had no idea you were back in Texas.”

“Two years.” He said it as if he had answered a question about how long he had been in prison.

“Ever since you left the Corps?” I clutched the cup between both my hands as I inhaled the rest of my drink.

“Yes.” He kicked along the tops of the waves, sending saltwater along my legs.

“Did you go back to school? Like a trade school or something?”

He laughed. “No, not really. It’s more on-the-job training.”

“You definitely could stay busy there for a long time. There’s a lot broken.” I wanted to kick myself. “I mean, it’s great—my room is great. You’re an excellent handyman, Cole.” I might as well dig a hole in the sand and bury myself in it right now. Nothing I said was right.

“It’s mine.”