Page 29 of (Un)Expected

“I take it back.”

A couple more turns,and Alex directed me to pull into a dirt driveway, the only thing marking the place a rickety old mailbox. The number twenty-eight was plastered on the side, the edges of the vinyl starting to pull away. At first, I thought she was messing with me, leading me into the woods to play a nasty trick. With all her questions about my intentions, maybe I should have been the one questioningher.

My self-preservation instincts must have been fucking rusty, because I kept driving until we reached the end. Luckily, when the trees broke, there was a little cabin surrounded by sunflowers and other wildflowers.

I shifted the car into park and took in Alex’s home for the first time. It was nothing compared to the houses back in LA, but even from here, it felt cozy, comfortable, all the things a home should make you feel. Little lights lined the stone path to the front porch. The exterior walls were painted in a washed white, dove gray shutters on each window. In fact, the only color besides the flowers was the bright teal door.

Alex tucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she climbed out of the passenger seat. “So, this is my place. I know it’s small…”

“It looks amazing,” I said, meaning every word.

Alex grinned back at me, the smile taking up almost her whole face. It made that knot in my stomach reappear. It was so genuine. She was terrible about hiding her emotions; her face gave her away every time. Knowing that I was the one who made her smile filled me with an irrational level of pride.

The thought made my feet stall. What I felt was unfamiliar, but at the same time, strangely not. An idea popped into my head, but I pushed it away. There was no chance I had feelings for Alex.I couldn’t.It was off the table. Not only had she gone out with Adam, but any sort of relationship was the last thing I needed.

The last thing I deserved.

Clearing my throat, I dropped my gaze back to the keys in myhand before I handed them to Alex. “These are yours. You should head inside; I’ll be good out here.”

“Yeah, I can grab you the number for a cab–” Her eyes widened almost comically. “Oh fuck.”

“What?”

“The only cab company in town closed ten minutes ago.”

I dryly laughed, shaking my head. “Then I guess I better start walking.”

Alex paused for a moment, glancing at her house and then back at me. “Or you could stay here.”

Nope. Definitely not.There was not a single scenario where that was a good idea. If I wanted to get Alex out of my head, the last thing I should do was walk into her home.

“I really shouldn’t.”

“Cole…” Alex said slowly. “Do you even know how to get back to the hotel from here?”

Shit.Never once on the drive over did I think about where we were going. My brain was too focused on Alex. Rookie mistake. Considering that the town was barely a few miles wide, I was sure I could figure it out, but the last thing I wanted to be doing in the middle of the night was wandering around in circles.

As if she could read my mind, Alex opened her door, motioning for me to follow her inside. “Listen, I’ll never hear the end of it if you get hurt walking back. I’d give you my car, but I don’t let anyone borrow Bertha. You’re lucky I even let you drive her.” She nodded. “C’mon. I promise my couch is comfy.”

“How comfy are we talking?” I asked. Without a proper mattress, my back would be in a lot of pain tomorrow. In the past, sleeping in random places had never phased me. Now, I needed to be selective about where I decided to lay my head. But as Alex stared at me with those wide blue eyes, I knew I couldn’t say no to her. Despite my mind screaming reasons not to enter her house, my feet were already heading up the path, eager to get closer to her.

“The best,” she promised. “Not gonna lie, I crash on it a lot, onnights when I’m too burnt out to make it to my bed.”

As I climbed up her front stairs, her face came into view, illuminated by the porch lights. Now that she mentioned it, there were dark circles under her eyes. My fingers ached to reach out and soothe them, but I held back. “Does that happen a lot?”

“Getting burnt out?” Alex laughed. “More than you know.”

Without another word, she pushed open the door. As we both entered, she took her keys back from me, placing them into a bowl on a console table. She smiled sheepishly as she held out her arm. “So, this is my place…”

Her home was as cozy as the outside suggested. The inside was decorated with the same warm, natural elements as the outside, making you instantly relax. The walls were painted a subtle mint green, each one decorated with photographs and paintings. Wooden bookshelves lined many of them, filled with different colored spines and photos. Most of the pictures were of Alex, Calla, and Javier, the other concierge at the hotel. It was a hint of her world, but it was enough to make me want to learn more.

This place felt like a home.

A sharp pang hit my chest, knowing nowhere I’d lived during the last few years felt like this. From the sterile walls of my first beat-up apartment, which was an over-priced shoe box, to the army barracks and, most recently, Adam’s pool house, everything was temporary. None felt like a place I wanted to spend my life.

Settling down roots hadn’t crossed my mind before. It was always something out of reach. But maybe when this movie wrapped and Adam and I headed back to LA, it would be time to look for a place for myself, something that was mine.

“Are you okay?”

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