Page 47 of Sweet Poison

She sucked her spoon. "Yeah, I got that from your attitude all morning.”

"I wasn’t sulky or anything like that, was I?"

"Not sulky, but you were definitely on edge," she countered, "and you have been for the past several days. In fact, ever since Stormy City. And now it’s incredibly obvious why, so..."

She paused, mischievous as usual, and I rolled my eyes at her. "So what?"

"You need to make a definite decision, or else you’ll keep being tormented… and unstable."

"You make me sound like a mental case.”

Then she asked in a no-bullshit voice, "Are you falling in love with him, Montana?"

My immediate reaction was to deny it, but what was the point in lying to myself and further tormenting myself?

"Maybe," I replied, "so far, I mean…"

"I understand," she agreed sagely.

"You do?"

"Of course I do. You really, really, really like him and you want more, but you also know he doesn’t want that. However, you don’t know how to move on so you're stuck in this maze in your head, trying to figure a way out."

This, though it made me feel uncomfortable, sounded immensely accurate to me.

"Am I wrong?" she asked.

"Stop gloating," I admonished.

She laughed. "I’m so good at this I should become a psychiatrist."

"He's in the dining room right now. What should I do?"

"Observe him," she said. “What if, unbeknownst to you, he wants more as well? Have you asked? I mean, he has a daughter. Every single dad with a daughter I’ve ever known has always wanted someone in their lives to help guide their daughter."

I went silent.

"What's really holding you back? The fear of being rejected? But you're a woman, and you should know how to take the hint. Which means that an outright rejection is not on the cards."

I found myself nodding at her ‘soft rejection theory’ because this made a lot of sense, but for some reason, sounded implausible.

"Why don't you hint at what you want? What's the worst that could happen?"

"I embarrass myself beyond any hope?"

"If you’re too cowardly to take him on, let Kelly have him. She is smart enough to never look a gift horse in the mouth.”

The might of the black jealousy that slammed into my body at the thought of Kelly being with Cole was unbelievable. Until I met Cole, I really thought I was a mild person, and jealousy was not part of my nature, but since meeting Cole, I’ve become the quintessential green-eyed monster.

"Before Kelly goes for Cole she should prepare her grave," I snarled.

Pearl laughed uproariously and I was about to say more when the door behind me opened. I thought it was Dad, but to my surprise it was Cole. My heart jumped into my throat.

“Call you back,” I croaked to Pearl and cut the connection.

Chapter 29

Cole

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