Page 175 of Unspoken Rules

“Don’t,” Chris warns, glaring at me. I frown, not understanding why he’s so mad all of a sudden. “Do not say it was a mistake, because I know that’s a lie.” He huffs out an annoyed sound. “Don’t lie to me about it.”

My frown deepens.

“Chris, my friendship with you means everything to me. Risking that was not okay. It was a mistake,” I explain softly.

“Maybe taking that risk was a mistake, but loving Cole isn’t. He’s a good person.”

My throat tightens and I force myself to swallow. I glance at my bottle of water that I left on the island, wishing it were closer so I could grab it. I go for my tea instead, even though it’s the last thing I want to drink right now. Feels weird to have this conversation while drinking fucking tea.

“Okay,” I say carefully, putting the mug back down. “Thank you for all of this. Right now, I’m a little thrown off, but once I process everything, it’s going to make me feel better. This has been weighing me down for a long time. Being able to clear the air with you is relieving. I swear I’ve been waiting for my phone to ring and you to flip out on me again, so I appreciate you not doing that. Coming here to talk to me was better than a phone call, that’s for sure.”

He looks at me and smirks. “I didn’t only come here to talk to you.”

I huff out a laugh. “No? Just missed me then?”

He gets to his feet and offers out his hand. “I came here to bring you a gift.”

“A gift?” I frown, looking up at him.

“Yeah. Late birthday present. Late housewarming gift. Early Christmas present. However, you wanna look at it.”

“Okay?”

He grabs his jacket and puts it on. “Get your jacket on. We’re going for a walk.”

My head is spinning, probably worse than before, but I do as he says and put my coat on. I bundle up good, because it’s late and probably single digits now. The Charles River isn’t far and maybe he plans to throw me in. Hopefully not…

We head out of the building and down a few blocks, stopping in front of an Irish pub that Westley and I have visited a few times.

Chris sniffles, his nose red from the cold. His hands are shoved into his pockets, his shoulders up to his ears to keep warm. He obviously wasn’t expecting it to be so cold here. Boston weather this time of year is colder than back home. It’s brisk, the cold air sharp. It feels like a slap to the face.

“Okay, what are we doing here? You buying me dinner?”

He shakes his head. “Nope.” He gestures down the block with a tilt of his chin. “I’m going to walk a few more blocks back to my hotel, where Mila is waiting for me.”

“Mila is here?” I blurt, looking down the street as if I’d see her. I want to. Why is he only telling me now that she’s here?

He nods and says, “But you’re going to go in there to have a conversation with my father.”

I jerk my head back to Chris, my jaw dropping. My heart does a flip and I look back at the pub doors.

Cole is here?

I blink a few times, then bring my gaze back to Chris. Is he fucking with me?

Chris smiles. Like an actual happy smile. He pulls his hand from his pocket and points at me. “And that look right there tells me it wasn’t a mistake.” He takes a few backward steps, putting his hand back in his pocket. “Text me later, yeah?” He grins, turns on his heel, and walks away quickly. I watch him for as long as I can, but it doesn’t take long for him to get lost in the dark.

I turn toward the pub, my heart pounding.

This can’t be real.

The door opens, and out steps a few college kids, laughing. They shiver when they step onto the sidewalk. One of them shouts, “coldah than a witch’s tit!” with a heavy Boston accent. Something that I would usually find funny, but right now? All I can think about is the fact Cole is inside this pub, waiting for me.

I glance down the sidewalk again.

Chris is here too. With Mila.

Am I dreaming?

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