“Cole?” I eked .
He rubbed his palm along the side of his face that I guessed hadn’t seen a razor in a week. His stubble was dark, like the rest of his brown hair. For the first time since I had walked in the office, he looked up .
It’s not every day you see eyes like that. Eyes that held depth and soul. Eyes that made me forget why I was so annoyed. Eyes that kept me locked in place. I stared a little too long, remembering what those eyes used to do to me .
“Kaitlyn?”
I nodded .
“What are—why are you in Padre ?”
I bit my bottom lip. Cole Thomas had been the man of my dreams once. Although, he never knew that my crush for him was as big as the state of Texas. And it didn’t help he was seven years older than me, which meant when I was in high school, I was a considered a baby .
“Vacation,” I answered .
“With?” He looked around me .
“Myself.” He had always thrown me off balance and it was happening all over again. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t seen him in years. I could only spit out one word at a time .
He folded his arms. “I doubt Ryan knows .”
“He’s my older brother, not my dad.” I matched Cole’s tone with one just as confident .
My heart beat wildly. Holy shit my mouth was going dry. How did Cole Thomas always do this to me? I wasn’t a teenager anymore .
“I haven’t talked to him in months. Have you heard from him?” he asked .
“Yeah. He’s still in Afghanistan. He keeps getting assignments. You’re lucky you got out, Cole .”
I saw instant darkness in his eyes and I regretted I had said it. I tried to cover up my mistake. “I mean because Ryan told me you have a son now, right ?”
He nodded. “Yeah .”
My stomach rolled. I didn’t know what was the worst part about this scenario: knowing Cole Thomas was taken off the market, or the fact that I had screwed this up. Either way, I immediately felt like I was sixteen again .
The smell of fresh paint permeated the office. The corner of a paint can was exposed on the floor behind the desk. I watched as he nudged it out of view with his foot .
“I wasn’t expecting anyone tonight. Do you have a reservation ?”
“No, but I need one for the week. Apparently, this is the only place that has open rooms. Now I know why,” I teased pointing at the doorknob .
“Well, if it’s not up to your standards, don’t let me keep you.” He huffed .
“No, it’s—” I searched for a word that wouldn’t insult him further. “—quaint. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry. I’m saying all kinds of stupid things. I’m exhausted .”
“Did you say you needed a room for the entire week? Where’s your luggage ?”
“The airline lost it. You wouldn’t have those fluffy robes here, would you ?”
“Darlin’, look around you. Does this look like the kind of place with fluffy robes ?”
This place didn’t look like it would have running water, but a girl could dream. All I wanted was for him to swipe my credit card and point me to my room and maybe some food. My stomach growled. The pretzels I had eaten on the morning flight from Raleigh hardly counted as a meal .
“How are you here, Cole? What are you doing in South Padre ?”
He sighed. “That’s a long story. One I haven’t had a chance to talk to your brother about. I want to have a beer with him when he’s back State-side .”
“So Ryan doesn’t know you’re here either ?”