Page 22 of Bed of Roses

“What am I supposed to say?” I nearly spit. Damn her for making me do this.

Her grin turns wicked. “Ask to see him naked for starters.”

“Tori,” I say, horrified because she didn’t whisper it. I don’t know if he heard her, but Cole glances in our direction. His gaze lingers on me for a moment, but all he gives is a small, curt nod of acknowledgment. “I don’t want to see him naked,” I lie, because I pretty much just pictured him naked, and my imagination did not disappoint.

She shrugs. “Sure you do.I do. Do me a favor: When you get him naked, snap a picture for me.”

“Oh my god,” I whisper, placing a hand over my mouth. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

She peeks over at Cole. “Look, if you don’t go talk to him soon, he’s going to leave.”

“But we haven’t said two words to each other since we first met. What the hell am I supposed to say?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Ask him out or something.”

“Jesus,” I moan quietly, shifting my weight from one foot to the other and then back again. I’ve never asked a guy out. I don’t even know how to approach something like that. They’ve always approached me and done the asking. “And where would I ask him out to?”

She returns to putting screws in the bag. “There’s a bowling alley. Ask him to go bowling sometime.”

“Bowling?” I ask in disbelief.

“Yes,” she says, nodding. “It’s a safe option, especially if you’re not sure about him because of . . . well, you know. His past.”

I nibble my bottom lip as I look back at Cole. He’s busy perusing the big screws again. Could it really be that easy? He hasn’t seemed interested in any conversation since ourspat, so what if he detests the idea of hanging out with me?

Wrapping an arm behind me, she pushes me in his direction. “Go.”

I shoo her hand away and put one tentative step in front of the other before squaring my shoulders and striding in his direction. I can do this. I want to be on friendly terms with him at the very least. Tori’s right. Bowling is the safe option, and who knows, it could be the start of something bigger. I mean, I can deny my attraction to him to Tori all day long, but deep down, he makes things tingle in me both physically and emotionally – even when we argued – and especially here where he looks completely relaxed. There’s just something sexy about a hardworking, hardheaded man in a relaxed environment. I hadn’t been aware that it was something that would give me goosebumps and stomach butterflies until this very moment. Or maybe the butterflies are from me being absolutely terrified about approaching him. Rejection can sting, I hear. And going by our other interactions, this could end horribly.

“Hi, Cole,” I squeak when I’m beside him.

He turns pinched brows in my direction, and when he realizes it’s just me, the space between his eyebrows smoothes. I’m completely aware when, just for a second, his eyes skate down my body. “Hey,” he grunts.

I fidget a little. “Getting things for the house?”

He nods, grabs a screw, and checks the size.

“You sure are working hard,” I ramble on because clearly this is going to be a one-sided conversation. My hopes dash, making the words just spew out of my mouth. This was a bad idea. “I really do appreciate it. And I’m sorry I had to rush out this morning. I started working next door, and I was already running late when you walked in.”

A grunt is his only response. Damn, he doesn’t make this easy, and if it wasn’t for the moment when he checked me out, I would just walk away and deem him uninterested.

I glance back at Tori, and she gives me an encouraging wave. Releasing a slow breath, heart thundering, I turn back to Cole. “So, I have a question.”

The way he looks at me from under his lashes makes my nipples pebble. Damn traitorous body. It’s completely sexy, especially since his lashes are long and dark. I can imagine him looking at me like that while his face is buried between my legs.

I swallow hard as he asks, “And what is that?”

Clearing my throat, I blurt out, “Do you want to go bowling sometime?”

Both of his eyebrows raise, and my heart sinks because I canfeelthe rejection coming.

When he says nothing, I stutter on. “I-I mean not t-today. Like, maybe someday. When we both have f-free time.”

A small smirk tips his lips up. He knows that he makes me nervous. I can tell by that one look. What I can’t tell is whether heenjoysthat he makes me nervous. “I’ll think about it.”

Nodding vigorously, I take a step in Tori’s direction. “Well, you know where I live. Ball is in - um - well, you know. Your court.”

His smirk grows a little as I quickly back my way toward my best friend. He watches me the entire time with a look of amusement. As soon as I turn my back to him and face Tori, I can feel my face heat with embarrassment. I could have handled that way better. I was a damn stuttering fool because, not only is he incredibly attractive, but I can’t forget that he’s an ex-convict forreasons that I do not know. He’s intimidating in every way.

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