Page 35 of (Un)Expected

“Then it’s better to know now before you let your mind get away from you.” He bumped his shoulder with mine. “I know you, Alex. You start seeing red flags before there’s even a chance. If you likethis guy, you need to talk to him. Be honest with how you’re feeling. It’s the only way you’ll figure out what could be between you.”

“Dammit,” I sighed. “I hate when you use logic on me.”

Javi pulled me closer to his side, dropping a kiss on the top of my head. “It’s what I’m here for.”

As I walked upto the villa, every part of my body buzzed with anticipation. If you told me yesterday that I would go to talk toCole, I would have died laughing. It was crazy how one night had changed so many things, making me question everything I knew about Cole. I prided myself on my intuition, being able to read people quickly and accurately.

Cole was the exception.

The man I saw last night was someone I wanted to get to know better.

When I reached the door, I sucked in a short breath, forcing myself to knock, but before I could, the door swung open, revealing Cole on the other side.

A shirtless Cole.

Fuck my life.

If I thought touching him this morning was brain-melting, then seeing him without his shirt on was another level. The man wascut, his body defined from years of hard work and exercise. Between his chiseled abs and the thick cords of muscle that worked down his forearms, I was a total goner.

“Alex?” His voice broke me out of my stupor. God, I hoped my drooling wasn’t too noticeable. I dropped my eyes down to the ground. “You okay?”

“Yes!” I said, my voice way too high to be truthful. “I’m great. Perfect, even.”

“Okay…” Cole said, scrubbing his hand through his hair. “If you need Adam, he’s out for a bit.”

“I’m here to talk to you.”

“Oh…” he answered slowly, clearly taken aback by my statement. He shifted to the side. “Then I guess you should come on in.”

Walking into the cabin, you’d think that I’d never been here before. Despite knowing every inch of the hotel property like the back of my hand, it felt foreign, like I didn’t belong in this space. It was different than yesterday at the meeting with Adam and Theo when my nerves got the best of me. Now, it was all about the uneasiness of not knowing what Cole would say.

As I lurked in the main living area, Cole ran into one of the bedrooms, returning with a shirt.Thank God. I was pretty sure that if I had to keep staring at his chest, I’d never be able to get out what I needed to say.

“So…” Cole said, sitting down on the edge of the couch. “What’s up?”

I took a deep breath, trying to collect my thoughts calmly. I replayed the speech I perfected on the way over here in my mind, the one where I told him what last night meant to me and how I wanted to explore this connection—the calm,rationalconversation I knew we needed to have.

But instead, I blurted out, “Were you going to kiss me this morning?”

Well, fuck. There goes that plan.

Cole stared at me for a long moment before he dropped his gaze down to his hands. When he finally answered, his voice was low, hard to hear even in the empty room. “Yeah, Alex. I wanted to kiss you. Last night, too, if I’m being honest.”

His words cut through me. I wasn’t expecting him to admit that. His honesty was refreshing but also intimidating. Part of me wanted to take it back, pretending we’d never had this conversation. On the other hand, the larger part of me wanted to crawl into his lap and claim his lips for myself.

Just as my imagination started to get the best of me, Cole continued. “I’m glad we didn’t cross that line.”

“Oh…” I said, trying to bite back the hurt written on my face.

He shook his head and then ran his hand down his face. “Look, Alex. You seem great, but this…” he motioned between us, “can’t happen. This morning…it was a mistake. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.” He glanced up at me. “I’m sorry, Alex.”

With his apology and pitying look, the hurt shifted into anger. I don’t even know why I was surprised. It wasn’t like we had some passionate affair or had fallen in love. It was a moment, and it was gone. For him to look at me like I’m some wronged woman—or worse, like he broke my heart—was too much for my fragile ego to take.

“It’s fine,” I said, letting the lie fall too easily from my tongue. “Like you said, it’s for the best anyway. Adam asked me out again, and I think I’m going to take him up on it. I don’t want there to be any weirdness between us.”

Cole stared up at me, something hard flashing in his eyes as he stood from the couch, brushing past me to go into the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, he downed a good portion of it before speaking again. “Good for you two.”

My brow furrowed, hating the chill in his voice. My head spun, unable to keep up with the consistent shifts of his moods. Not that I was any better; I hadn’t said anything to contradict him. Instead, I played into his disinterest.

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