The XOXO New Adult Collection: 16 Full Length New Adult Stories (67 page)

For a moment, he considered trying to let Everly sleep while he snuck out to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Then she snuggled closer to him and ruined that plan.

So he introduced her to wake-up sex instead.

Afterwards, he left her to get dressed and went out to the kitchen. Poking around in the fridge, he found some of Margaret’s amazing waffle batter, pre-made and ready to use. He pulled the batter and some fresh berries out of the fridge, set them on the counter, and plugged in the Belgian waffle maker.

By the time Everly emerged from the bedroom wearing a blue T-shirt and coordinating yoga pants, there were two waffles topped with berries and fresh whipped cream sitting on the kitchen island and another one baking. Glasses of orange juice sat next to each plate.

“This looks fantastic,” she said, sitting next to him at the island. Her cheeks were flushed with color and she didn’t meet his gaze. “Thanks.”

“Are you going to blush all day?” he asked.

She elbowed him. “You’re not supposed to comment.”

He grinned. “Sorry. Can’t resist.” When she once again looked down at her plate, he said, “You know I love it when you blush, right?”

Sighing, she lifted her gaze to his. “It’s embarrassing. A curse of my fair skin.”

“I love your fair skin, too,” he said as he forked up a bite of waffle. “Every single inch of it.”

“Now you’re just being mean.”

Since she smiled and started eating, he knew she wasn’t really offended. The waffle maker beeped a minute later, so he got up and pulled the waffle onto a plate, then refilled it with more batter. Returning to the table, he set the fresh waffle in front of Everly.

“Normally, I’d consider being all delicate-like and saying I don’t need a second waffle,” she said as she reached for the plate. “Today, however, I’ll just thank you for not judging.”

“This is a judgment-free zone. Hell, we burned enough calories having sex to warrant a dozen of these things.”

She blushed and elbowed him again, making him laugh.

“Sorry,” he said. “Listen, how do you feel about getting out for a bit?”

Shrugging, she replied, “Sure. Where are we going?”

“I was thinking of the mall.”

“The mall? You want to go to the mall four days before Christmas?”

He struggled not to wince. “I thought it might bring us some Christmas cheer.”

“You don’t even have a Christmas tree,” she noted. “Why are you suddenly concerned about Christmas cheer?”

Hunching his shoulders, he muttered, “You don’t have one, either.”

“Yeah, well, Pee Paw’s ancient pre-lit tree nearly burned the house down a couple of years ago and the budget hasn’t permitted buying a new one. What’s your excuse?”

“My mom’s got the Christmas tree,” he said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “No sense doing my house up when I won’t be here on the day.”

She stared at him in silence. Then she said, “You still have shopping to do, don’t you?”

“All of it,” he confessed.

Rolling her eyes, she swallowed a bite of waffle and said, “All right. But only because you really are a sex god and I know you’ll repay me later.”

His mouth fell open.

“See? I’m not the only one who can blush,” she said.

*    *    *

E
verly put him through a round of PT exercises after breakfast. It wasn’t quite as tortuous as usual since she allowed him to kiss her as often as he wanted to. Well, almost as often.

He found she had rather admirable focus.

Since he noticed her wince a few times when she moved, he urged her to join him in the hot tub after his PT session. She didn’t object, even when she realized they’d be naked. He truly meant to keep his hands off her. She, however, had other things in mind. It was a challenge to keep her stitches dry, but he was up for it.

It was after ten when they finally headed to the Lenox Square mall. Although it was a weekday morning, mall traffic was still heavy so close to the holiday. They valet parked and braved the crowds.

Cole hadn’t ever enjoyed holiday shopping, but Everly made it fun and painless. She asked him questions about his family members on the drive over to the mall, then set a course through the mall after reviewing the store directory. Within a couple of hours, he was all set outside of wrapping and labeling, which she promised to help him tackle when they got home.

They stopped for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. While they ate, they discussed their plans for Christmas.

“I’d love for you to come with me to my parents’ house for Christmas dinner,” he said. He tried to sound casual, but he was surprisingly eager for her to take him up on the invitation.

Her eyebrows lifted as she swallowed the water she’d just sipped. He couldn’t read her expression as she carefully put her glass down.

“I’d actually love to meet your parents,” she said. “But I can’t leave Pee Paw alone on Christmas.”

“He’s invited, too.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Cole. I hope you believe me when I say that sounds wonderful.” Then she sighed. Her smile faded. “The issue is my father.”

Frowning, he guessed, “You don’t want him to meet my parents.”

“It’s not that exactly. I just...don’t trust him.” Her eyes were on her plate. “When I meet your parents, I want it to be under the right circumstances. With him there, I’d be on edge the entire time.”

He took another bite of his pizza to process this. Disappointment rolled through him. Since he’d witnessed some of what Everly’s father was capable of, though, he understood her reservations.

“Will you tell me why you don’t trust him?” he asked at last.

She met his gaze. After a long moment, she nodded slowly. “But not now, okay?”

“Okay.”

They sat in silence for another minute. He finished his pizza and Everly stared at her plate.

“I’m going to the ladies’ room,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

“Sure,” he said.

Only when she hurried out of the booth and rushed past him did he see that she had tears in her eyes. He barely resisted getting up and following her. Had he caused her distress? He must have, he decided, and mentally kicked himself.

Great, Dumbass. Just great
.

“Can I get you anything else?”

Glancing up, Cole realized their server, Dee Dee, stood right beside him. She was about thirty years old with a thick southern accent, honey-blonde hair, big blue eyes, and a salon-induced tan. He and Everly had shared a quiet chuckle earlier over the fact that she was obviously a fan of his. Her eyes had bugged when she first saw him, and they both witnessed her run behind the counter and issue a squeal when she talked with the other servers. It wasn’t the first time that day that they’d seen such behavior.

Since then, Dee Dee had dropped by the table at least twenty times. At first, he’d been irked when she only talked to him and ignored Everly. Then he realized that Everly was humored by the whole thing.

“Aren’t you irritated?” he’d asked.

She had waved a hand like the question was ridiculous. “Why should I be? You’re always going to have fans. You’re Cole Parker.”

Even when Dee Dee’s advances grew less subtle, Everly had only shaken her head and grinned. Strangely, he found himself disappointed that she didn’t seem in the least bit jealous. Why he felt that way now when such reactions by other women had turned him off in the past, he truly couldn’t fathom.

“I think we’re good,” he said to Dee Dee. “We might need a to-go box, though.”

“Sure.” She glanced around, then looked back at him. “So, are you and that other girl serious?”

He smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “That’s between me and her, isn’t it?”

His response seemed to fluster her. Eventually, she sort of bobbed her head and hurried off to another table. Shaking his head, he glanced over his shoulder toward the restrooms. Relief surged through him when he saw Everly emerge from the ladies’ room. The blue scarf she wore like a sort of headband to cover her stitches stood out like a beacon in the crowded restaurant, as did her vibrant hair. He loved how the fuzzy blue sweater she wore highlighted her eyes. It also didn’t hurt that it conformed to her figure, he thought as she made her way toward him.

But when he saw a couple of male heads turn to watch her as she passed, he frowned.

“Everly?”

Cole turned even more in his seat when a tall male stood up from two booths behind theirs. He stepped into Everly’s path. All Cole saw was the guy’s back, but he realized the guy had grabbed Everly in a hug. Her arms stuck out awkwardly on the sides until he released her.

“Hi, Justin,” Cole heard her say. “Nice to see you. Are you enjoying winter break?”

“Hell, yes,” Justin said. “Interventions kicked my ass. Did you pick up the texts for next term?”

Ah, Cole thought. So this was a fellow student. He turned around and pretended to look at his phone, but Justin’s hug replayed itself in his mind, as did his overly-friendly tone.

“Yeah,” Everly said. “Our fourth clinical looks like a killer.”

“Tell me about it. Hey, do you want to get together before classes start? Prep for what lies ahead?”

Cole’s grip on his phone tightened to the point he feared he might crack the case. He forced himself to relax. He could be reading into things.

“I promise,” Justin said when Everly didn’t reply, “I won’t pressure you for another date.”

Okay, that did it.

Getting to his feet, Cole approached Everly. Since nearby diners were already staring, he didn’t see any way to avoid a scene.

“Hi,” he said when Justin looked at him. “You must be Everly’s classmate, Justin. Nice to meet you.”

Justin grasped Cole’s outstretched hand out of instinct, but his confused gaze moved between Cole and Everly. “Who are you? Her brother or something?”

“Oh, no. I’m Cole...her boyfriend.”

Justin yanked his hand back. Cole barely restrained a smile. He reached over and put an arm around Everly.

“Since her food is getting cold, I thought I’d come and rescue her.”

“Rescue?” Justin repeated, his brown eyes narrowing.

“Sorry...poor choice of words,” Cole said smoothly. He looked at Everly.

“Oh. Um, yes. I should finish my lunch. Justin, I’ll e-mail you, okay?”

Apparently seeing no other option, Justin shrugged and said, “Sure.”

Cole waited until the other guy sat down, then led Everly back to their booth. When they were seated, she gave him a steady look.

“What was all of that about?” she asked.

“I thought you looked uncomfortable. Are you upset?”

She shook her head. “No. You were right. Thanks.”

He tapped his fingers when she lifted a piece of her pizza. “So, you two have a history?”

Had he really just asked that?
Shut up, Dumbass
, he thought. But he couldn’t help himself.

She paused with the pizza in front of her mouth. “If you call one lousy date a history.”

It took everything in him not to question her further. What was wrong with him? He hated when a woman grilled him about his past.

“Here’s your check,” Dee Dee said as she approached the table. “I’ll take that whenever you’re ready, sugar.”

The look she gave him would have lit most guys’ pants on fire. When she walked off, Everly covered a laugh with her napkin.

Instead of laugh with her, though, he wondered why she cared so little about the server’s flirting and he cared so much about one past date with Justin. He couldn’t help but feel that their relationship was unbalanced, and he didn’t like the feeling.

He didn’t like it at all.

E
verly enjoyed spending the afternoon with Cole wrapping presents for his family in front of a warm fire. It reminded her that she still needed to wrap the gifts she’d bought for her grandpa, Cole, and Wyatt. She’d asked Cole to sign a couple of baseballs for her grandpa and—reluctantly—her father, so she wanted to get stands for those and wrap them, too.

When he asked her to stay another night, she hated to say no. But she’d talked to her grandpa a couple of times in the past two days, and he sounded weary.

“I can’t stay,” she told Cole as she packed her things. “I want to, really. But there wasn’t a lot of food left in the house before...the attack. I have to make sure Pee Paw’s eating right, which probably means a trip to the grocery store.”

He watched her pack from his seat on the bed without comment. She looked at him when she zipped up the backpack containing her clothes and lifted it onto her shoulder. His gaze was intent.

“Is there anything I can do to change your mind?” he asked. “I could pay Jonette to—”

She moved forward and placed her fingertips on his lips. “Please don’t make this any harder on me, Cole. Not everything can be solved with money.” To soften her words, she leaned down and replaced her fingers with her mouth. She kissed him, then stood back up. “My grandpa needs me.”

He sighed. “All right.” He got to his feet and brought his lips to hers again. Heat pooled in her belly over the kiss and the memories of what they’d shared in the bed right beside them. When they parted, he asked, “So I won’t see you again until Christmas Eve?”

“Yeah. I’m volunteering at the center all day tomorrow and I have so many chores to handle on Sunday before I start my shift at Prix Fixe.” She smiled. “But don’t think I won’t know if you don’t do your exercises on your own.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Feeling as down as he looked, she linked her hand with his and walked with him out of the bedroom. They didn’t converse as they made their way downstairs to the door leading outside. She hated the coming goodbye, even though she knew she’d see Cole again in a couple of days. A knot of anxiety and sadness tightened in her chest as they stopped in front of the door.

Wanting to get it over with, she reached for the handle. Cole reached out and put his hand on the door, keeping her from opening it. She looked up at him.

“I’m going to miss you, Ms. Wallace,” he said in a husky voice.

She swallowed hard, feeling foolish for being so distraught over their parting. Why had she let herself get so emotionally snared? She knew very well that she was far from capable of handling this level of attachment.