Page 59 of Friend Zone to End Zone

Was Cole attracted to me? In the way a man is attracted to a woman?

I thought I may have caught glimpses of it while I was trying on dresses in the boutique, and even during that brief moment when he’d helped me put on my shoes. I figured it was just my imagination running off with things since I was newly single and at high risk of wanting to rebound with the first handsome guy who walked by.

But could there be something more to it? Was it possible that he found me attractive in the way a regular, non-best friend guy would find a woman?

Or was he simply just putting on his best show for the sake of making this seem like a real attempt at a date?

I didn’t know. I hadn’t exactly gone to dating-coach college or anything like that.

I gathered the rest of my dress inside the car so he could shut the door for me and noticed that when his gaze flicked back to mine, a flash of nerves seemed to cross his face—like he realized that I’d caught him checking me out.

Hmm…I narrowed my eyes.This was interesting.

When he shut the door and walked around the front of the car, my fingers tingled with anticipation as I realized that I might just like the idea of Cole being attracted to me in more than just a best-friends sort of way.

Cole pulledup in front of Le Chateau a few minutes later, a castle-like building the looked like it belonged in the French countryside.

Le Chateau was one of my favorite French restaurants in all of Denver. I didn’t eat here very often because filet mignon and imported wines didn’t exactly fit my tiny budget as a hairdresser and up-and-coming social media influencer, but I’d been here a few times with Emerson and Vincent as a thank-you for helping to babysit Jaxon a lot when he was a toddler, and had savored every bite of my dinner when we came.

Cole opened my door and helped me out of the car. There was a light breeze in the air, making the late spring evening slightly chilly. So when he offered me his arm, I gladly took it, appreciating the warmth of being close to him.

“I hope this restaurant is okay,” Cole said as we walked up the winding cement path lit with solar lights that led up to the swanky restaurant.

“It’s only my favorite restaurant of all time.” I smiled up at him. “So I’d say it’s okay.”

“Good.” He returned my smile, and I loved the way his eyes lit up like he really was enjoying everything about tonight.

It was something that I loved about Cole. He loved doing things for other people.

Which reminded me— “I don’t know if you’ve noticed it yet, but thanks to your gift the other night, my skin is super smooth today.”

“Yeah?” he asked. “Does that mean you’ve scrubbed all of Chad away then?”

“I think so.” Then holding out the arm that wasn’t already linked with his, I said, “Here, feel.”

And when the fingertips of his right hand gently grazed against my skin, goosebumps raced along my arm followed by heat.

Our gazes met for a moment and I swallowed.

I wasn’t supposed to like having him touch me so much.

The valet came out the door then—a teen boy who couldn’t have been more than seventeen who looked anxious about the fact that he hadn’t been outside when we’d arrived.

“I, um, did you need me to park your car, Mr. Kekoa?” he asked, his voice breaking.

“That would be great.” Cole handed the key fob to the boy. “Thank you.”

“Think he’ll bring it back?” I whispered once the boy was out of earshot.

Cole chuckled at my joke. “I hope so. Otherwise, this just became areallyexpensive date.”

We walked through the large glass doors of the restaurant and were greeted by the maître d’ standing behind her reception desk. “Mr. Kekoa.” The middle-aged woman, with her hair pulled back into a low bun, dipped her head and greeted Cole with a smile when she recognized him. “Your table is just this way.”

And when she led us into the dining area, I noticed that something was different from the other times I’d been here before.

Usually this restaurant was buzzing with patrons chatting quietly at their tables, filling their stomachs with fine cuisine. But tonight, the restaurant was empty.

In fact, all the tables had been cleared from the room aside from a single table set for two sitting under one of the secluded stone alcoves.

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