Break Away (The Moore Brothers Book 4) (11 page)

But that was wishful thinking. The kind of thinking that got that redhead into trouble all those weeks ago. There was nothing for her with Cole Bennett but heartbreak. Mumbling some kind of excuse, she said goodbye to Cole and left his apartment, fighting tears even though she didn’t really understand why.

C
ole had been
up since before the sunrise. Between worrying about his mom and worrying about Lilah, he should have known better than to even try to sleep. He didn’t know which woman had him more up in arms, his mom and her grumpy drunkenness last night or Lilah leaving his apartment fighting tears she didn’t think he saw. His mom had him confused, but she seemed fine when she left for work this morning. The whole Lilah thing was strange, but he could only imagine what was going through her head.

He didn’t do girlfriends and she didn’t do casual. Last night, her body had told him all he needed to know about how she felt about him. There was no question about whether or not she was attracted to him. The scary thing was that she called it off and left in such a huff. Because that probably meant she was attracted emotionally as well.

Maybe Lilah hadn’t noticed that he hadn’t been with a woman since he rescued her from that jerk at Lou’s Diner. Maybe she hadn’t noticed that he had tried to kiss her twice now and even though she had shot him down, he kept coming around. Maybe she didn’t realize that he wasn’t the kind of guy who chased after women. He was the kind of guy that women chased after.

But damn if he wasn’t going to chase after her one last time. He couldn’t let last night make things weird between them. Not when he had finally discovered that she was developing feelings for him in the same way he was developing feelings for her. Not that he was ready to acknowledge those feelings. Hell no. But neither was he ready to let Lilah Moore walk out of his life.

After more waiting than he was comfortable with, he heard the sound he had been waiting for: the slam of her front door. Lilah didn’t go anywhere in the mornings except the pool. And Cole had decided not to go out on the water today in order to swim laps today specifically so he would run into her. If she was weird about the kiss, he would fix that right away, but more importantly, he was going to go out on a limb and let her know that while he wasn’t sure he was ready to do the whole girlfriend thing, he could go in for a little
not casual
.

He had been wearing his swimsuit for the last hour, so all he needed to do was grab his towel and his shades and head over there. As he stepped out of his apartment, the air pressed down on him. A light breeze smoothed across his skin and rustled the fronds of one of the palm trees lining the walk, but even that wasn’t enough to make the day feel comfortable. As much as he regretted not being out on the water because of financial reasons, he sure wasn’t going to complain about being able to step inside and get out of the heat as things really heated up this afternoon.

The walk to the pool wasn’t long, but it was long enough for sweat to break out on his forehead. The water sparkled under the bright morning sun and damn if it wouldn’t feel good to jump in and cool off, swim a few laps and let the physical exertion work off some of the stress that had settled into his chest over night. But as he pushed open the gate, he saw Lilah stretched out in one of the lounge chairs in her cute little hot pink bikini. Her sunglasses covered her eyes and her arms were stretched over her head, her ear buds in and her tan legs were just begging for his touch.

He could tell the moment she zeroed in on him. Even though her sunglasses covered her eyes, he knew she had her gaze trained on him. Which of course, made him smile because nothing feels better than being seen, right? He kept his eyes on hers and sauntered right over to her, never once looking away.

“Morning, princess,” he said as he perched on the end of her chair.

“Morning, sweet lips,” she replied. Leave it to Lilah to cut right through the bullshit. Here he had been worrying that things would be weird between them when he should have known she wouldn’t let that happen. That’s one of the things he liked the most about her. He knew he gave her one hell of a hard time. Rather than getting all huffy and letting her feathers get ruffled, she just gave him one hell of a hard time back.

It was nice. And it helped him feel like he could trust her. Like she was real with him. No secrets. The fact that she let him see the disaster she made out of her bank accounts didn’t hurt the whole trust factor either. He hadn’t been sure how he was going to handle this conversation, but given her statement, he decided just to put it all out there.

“I thought about you all night,” he said and resisted the urge to run a hand up her thigh. There was a difference between putting it all out there and taking more than you were offered.

Lilah gave a little shrug and pulled her sunglass up on top of her head. “Same.” She smiled and there was this weird combination of longing and sadness that really twisted in Cole’s stomach. Why did thinking about him all night make her look like that? “If only you were the kind of guy who did girlfriends,” she said after a few moments.

Ahhh. That’s why she looked so sad.

“You’re the only girl to ever turn me down more than once. Did you know that?”

Lilah giggled. “You’re just that irresistible, huh?”

“No.” Lilah’s eyes went wide. “I mean yes,” he said hurrying on. “I’m irresistible as all hell, but that’s not what I’m getting at.” He swallowed. Here came a bit of personal truth time. “I don’t like feeling unwanted. If a woman turns me down, I move on.”

“Says the guy who makes a habit of using a woman and making her feel like shit in the morning.” Lilah arched an eyebrow at him and looked over his shoulder towards the pool.

Cole sighed. “Have you noticed there haven’t been any women in my life since that day at the diner? You haven’t have you?”

Lilah stared at him, her eyebrows scrunching together as she studied his face.

“Of course you haven’t noticed. But, just for the record, that’s kind of a big deal.”

Lilah looked like she wanted to say something, but stayed quiet.

Cole ran a hand across his forehead to wipe away some of the sweat that was threatening to run down into his eyes. “Will you come to dinner?” he asked.

“Again? Did Maggie miss me that much already?”

“No.” Cole swallowed hard and looked her in the eyes. “Not at home with my mom. But just you and me. Out. At a restaurant.”

“Like a date?”

“Like a date.”

Lilah took a long breath. “Cole…” She made an apologetic face. “I’m just really not in the mood to get involved with someone who isn’t even interested in the possibility of a long term. I’m not saying I have to be your girlfriend, but I am saying I won’t be one of your one night stands.”

Cole lost the battle against his body and put his hand on her leg. Her super soft, supple leg. Damn he wanted to get his hands on more and more of her. “Look, Lilah. I’m not saying that I’m ready to commit to anything serious. I’m not pledging myself to you or anything, but I am saying that I’m not looking for casual, either. Not with you.”

Lilah studied him, uncertainty clouding her eyes. “Are you being serious or is this part of your game? Am I gonna say yes and then find myself alone in bed in the morning?”

“Well that depends a lot on how well you perform in that bed the night before.” Cole waggled his eyebrows at Lilah and hoped he had judged her mood right.

“Well,” she said through laughter. “Knowing that, I’d be a fool to say no, wouldn’t I?”

“A damn fool.”

Lilah shook her head, still laughing. Her eyes searched his and she looked so vulnerable, he almost told her to forget it, that he didn’t want the weight of her heart in his hands. What if he wasn’t as interested as he thought he was? What if he got her in bed and then realized that he really wasn’t built for more than one night with a woman? Then he would responsible for hurting her and that really didn’t sound like something he wanted to do.

“I do hate looking foolish,” she said, a smile working its way across her face.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, dread twining with excitement in his belly. Did he really have it in him? The ability to date? A lifetime of watching his mom and dad destroy each other didn’t just disappear because he found a woman he wanted enough to chase after.

“That’s a yes,” she said, shaking her head. “Now. You’re officially not allowed to make a fool of me.”

“Oh, I can’t promise that.”

“You better promise that.”

“I can’t. Because you’re about to look very foolish.” Panic streaked across her face and Cole stood and slipped his hands under her knees and around her shoulders. With barely any effort, he picked her up and cradle-carried her over to the pool while she shrieked and kicked and threatened him within an inch of his life if he threw her in.

One thing Lilah was going to have to learn was that Cole did what Cole wanted. And right now, what he wanted was to see her soaking wet.

L
ilah watched
Cole take his last french fry and swipe up a glob of ketchup and pop it in his mouth. Their table was outside, on a deck draped with hanging lights with a view of the ocean. Lilah hadn’t realized how much she had missed seeing the water every day until they sat down. The constant rush of the waves soothed her. The air blew in off the sea, salty and smelling of water and life. It rustled in her hair, brushing it against her cheek and making her smile with a sense of freedom she hadn’t felt in a long time.

This was so not the kind of date she was used to. The men who asked her out were all busy trying to prove themselves worthy of her. They were usually nervous and unsure of themselves, but so busy trying to look confident and worthy that they usually came across as pompous peacocks. They took her to fancy restaurants with uptight waiters and pretentions food and the funny thing was, up until now, Lilah had thought she liked it that way.

But that was before she met Cole. He sat across from her at this low-key restaurant with simple food. Good food. And he wasn’t trying to be anything but who he was. It was really, really nice. He made her laugh, spending just as much time making fun of her as he did making her feel special. Cole Bennett was just so real.

It made her wonder how much of her life was fantasy. How many people who pretended they liked her didn't. How many things she thought she had that he actually never did.

“Did you like your shrimp?” he asked around a mouth filled with french fry.

“Oh my god. It was the best shrimp I’ve ever had,” Lilah said and meant it.

Cole beamed, those straight white teeth gleaming in his tan face. “I caught ‘em.” he said it with no small amount of pride in his voice, shrugging slightly and tilting his head towards his shoulder. “This place is one of the reasons I’m able to make a living. So many restaurants import shrimp from Thailand nowadays. But Fisherman Jack’s? They buy straight from Bennett Shrimp.”

“I’m not lying, it’s the best shrimp I’ve ever had.”

“Of course it is. It was caught fresh, out in the wild the way it’s supposed to be. Not dredged up from some farm where they raise ‘em just to catch ‘em and sell ‘em.”

The waitress arrived and cleared the table, bringing their check when neither of them were interested in dessert. For just a second, Lilah wondered about the cost of the meal. Fisherman Jack’s was simple enough, but the meals had cost a little more than she had expected, given the decor. She knew Cole would pay it without flinching, but she also knew that he didn’t make a whole lot of money. But she suspected he wasn’t the kind of guy who would like having his date pay, especially not on the first date.

“So what now?” Lilah asked after the waitress returned with his credit card. “Surely, you’re not done with me.” She really hoped he wasn’t, because she was having such a good time with him, she wasn’t ready for the night to end.

Cole studied her from head to toe, smiled as the wind blew a lock of hair into her face and she brushed it away. “You’re beautiful, you know that?” He let out a long breath. “It’s been all I could do to spend so much time with you and not tell you.”

Lilah lowered her eyes for a second and then met his gaze through her eyelashes, a blush working its way across her face. “You’re not so bad looking yourself,” she said, totally self-conscious for some reason she couldn’t quite understand.

“Not so bad looking?” Cole looked surprised and flared his hands across his body. “You’re calling
this
not so bad looking?”

“Okay.” Lilah laughed, all the self-consciousness leaving her. “You’re really fucking hot and I keep wanting to squeeze your arms and legs and…” She stopped herself from saying that last bit because what she was about to say was
your ass
and that didn’t seem at all appropriate.

“My what?” Cole grinned, that one she loved so much, that one that said he knew exactly what she wanted to squeeze.

“Your ass.” Lilah loved the way his eyes lit with surprise. He might have known what she was thinking, but never expected her to say it. “You have the most amazing ass.”

Cole placed both hands on the table and scooted his chair back. “Do you know why I chose Fisherman Jack’s?”

The change in conversation surprised Lilah a little. “Ummm, so you could show off how delicious your shrimp tastes?”

Cole laughed. “Well, yeah. A little. But do you know why else I chose Fisherman Jack’s?”

“Not a clue.”

“Because they have a whole room dedicated to music and dancing.” He stood and offered his hand. “Come dance with me.”

Lilah hesitated. She was fine with slow dancing because that wasn’t much more than holding each other and swaying, but something told her Fisherman Jack’s wasn’t about slow dancing. She wasn’t in the mood to embarrass herself flailing around to faster music.

Cole sensed her trepidation. “Come on, gorgeous. I’m a damn good partner and I know how to make a girl look amazing.”

Lilah took his hand and let him lead her inside, through the restaurant and into a room filled with music and energy. Cole cut through the crowd like a knife through butter and got her to the dance floor way before she was ready. Just as she had talked herself into pulling her hand out of his and running away—yes, actually running away, she was that terrified—Cole pulled her in close and put one hand on her lower back, his fingers flared and open. It felt strong and possessive. Like Cole was in control. And for some reason, Lilah loved that feeling.

Using that strong hand on her back, Cole led her through the music and damn if he wasn’t right. With no idea how to dance, Lilah was twisting and turning her way across the dance floor, Cole’s strong hands guiding her through the movement. She was breathless and smiling and loved the way it felt to be pressed up close to him like she was. As the music came to an end, Cole’s hand dropped off her lower back and he gave her ass a little squeeze. She dropped her jaw in indignation, but the huge smile on her face ruined the effect.

“Damn, princess. I might have to do that again,” he said, still holding her close.

As the music picked up again, she lowered both her hands down his broad shoulders and back and cupped a butt cheek in each hand. She had meant to get back at him for squeezing her butt in public but the whole plan backfired on her because holy shit he had one hell of a firm tushy. She swallowed hard as desire zinged through her body, a little burst of adrenaline that left her tingling with excitement.

Cole leaned in. “It’s even better naked.” His breath whispered in her hair, caressing the skin just below her ear. Lilah shivered and froze, her nerve-endings on fire, images of Cole’s naked and certainly spectacular ass bringing a slow smile to her face. And then with that broad hand on her back, Cole swept her up and had her moving to the music again.

After several fast songs, a slow, romantic crooner finally came over the speakers. Lilah had been waiting for a slow song. For one, she was getting more and more out of breath and sweat was beading at her brow and running down between her breasts. But for the other, she wanted a reason to press her body to Cole’s. To lay her head on his chest and feel his arms wrapping tightly around her.

“Finally,” said Cole and Lilah couldn’t agree more. But when he took her hand and led her off the dance floor, Lilah was confused.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m hot and ready for a drink.” Now
he
looked confused. “Aren’t you?”

“Yeah…” Lilah was ready for a drink but she was more ready for a slow dance with Cole. Her gaze darted back to the dance floor filled with couples swaying to the lilting music.

“I don’t slow dance, princess.” Cole tugged on her hand and led her through the crowd to the bar where he ordered an iced tea. Lilah considered ordering a Long Island, but felt weird drinking alone.

“I’ll have what he’s having,” she said when the bartender looked her way.

Cole downed his first iced tea and was waiting on a second one while Lilah sipped politely at her drink. “You’re a lot of fun,” she said.

“Oh no, princess.
We’re
a lot of fun.” He thanked the bartender when his drink arrived and took a long draw on the straw. “We’re good together. You take my shit and give it right back.”

Lilah scrunched up her nose. “Cole, that sounds disgusting.”

“You know what I mean.” He leaned forward, elbows on the bar. “So what do you want to do? You feel like more dancing or shall we go home and I can serenade you with my guitar?”

“I’ll take option B, please. I request much serenading.”

Cole paid the bill and Lilah felt a little clench of guilt again. Maybe, the next time they went out, she would offer to pay. They rolled the windows down in the truck on the way home and Lilah’s hair went flying around her face until she grabbed a hold of it in a tight ponytail at the base of her neck. Cole turned the radio up and they sang along at the top of their voices, Lilah’s sweet soprano blending surprisingly well with Cole’s husky baritone. By the time they got back to the apartment complex, Lilah had already chalked this night up as one of the top ten best nights ever. She was sweaty from dancing and her hair was a disaster from the wind, but her smile was wide and real and her heart skipped a few beats every time she looked at Cole.

Since Maggie was probably already asleep, they agreed that he should grab his guitar and meet Lilah in her apartment. While he unlocked his door, she raced up the stairs two at a time to quickly check her makeup and pull her hair back into a messy bun. She spritzed on a little perfume and checked the mirror. Her brothers wouldn’t recognize her if they saw her. Gone was the almost military perfect straight hair. The heavy makeup that took hours to make look like she wasn’t wearing any at all. Instead, the woman in the mirror looked fresh and happy. Wild hair and all.

Downstairs, her front door creaked open and she heard Cole step in and close it behind him. “I’ll be right down,” she called.

“Take your time. But nothing you do will make you more beautiful than you already are.” Cole strummed a few chords on his guitar and Lilah couldn’t help but put a hand to her heart and swallow hard. This man.

Either he was a master at reading what women needed to hear or he might actually be perfect for her. The quick wit. The sarcastic humor. The glimmer of sweetness. His strength. His willingness to help.

Downstairs, the chords turned into a thrumming melody and Cole threaded his voice around the notes in a mournful song that sent chills down Lilah’s spine. She wandered down the stairs, careful not to disturb him. He had turned on the one lamp on her end table and sat bathed in the soft light, eyes closed, face transformed by the beauty of his song. He opened his eyes when she stepped into the living room and smiled as he sang. A shiver ran up Lilah’s spine and she held his gaze, smiling in return. Cole stopped singing and silenced his guitar.

“Don’t stop,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”

“No, Lilah. You’re beautiful.”

She lowered her gaze and smiled at the floor. “Please, don’t stop playing. Please just let me listen to you.” Lilah crossed the room and folded herself into the corner of the couch across from him, transfixed by the way his fingers danced across the strings. And when he started to sing, she saw into his very soul. His clear blue eyes draining of stress and worry. The hard planes of his face softening somehow. She wondered how many people saw him like that and suspected it was only the people who ever heard him play.

“You want to try?” he asked after a few more songs. “I can teach you a few things.”

“I’d love that!”

Cole handed her the guitar and scooched over beside her. He helped organize her fingers on the fret boards and smiled patiently while she struggled to press down on the strings. She strummed and the guitar made a horrible sound.

“Ugh. I think I killed it.” Lilah turned to find Cole’s face right next to hers. Her gaze dropped to his lips and back up to his eyes only to find them hooded with lust. There was this moment of stillness between them. Cole inched closer. Tilted his head to the side and paused, his gaze glued to her mouth. Lilah’s chest heaved. And then Cole closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.