Page 39 of (Un)Expected

“Tomorrow, hopefully,” I said. “They’re supposed to start principal photography on Monday, so he wants a couple of days here to relax before they begin.”

“And are you going to be helping himrelax?” Calla asked, wiggling her eyebrows. “You could find out what’s underneath all that spandex. You would be the real hero!”

“I can’t with you,” I groaned, hiding my face behind my hands. “If you nosy brats must know, yes, we have plans for Sunday night.” I swat at her, pushing off my desk, “Now, get your ass down here and help me figure out what we should do.”

“My specialty,” Calla said, joining me behind the counter. “What about kayaking? You could take him down to the lake, to that little seaside stand?”

“Don’t do that,” a deep voice grumbled from behind my computer. I glanced up, meeting Cole’s cold stare. I hated that thedeep timber of his voice made me stand a little straighter. My breath lodged in my throat for a moment, ensnared by his eyes. If it was possible, he looked more disheveled than before, like he hadn’t been sleeping. What was keeping him up? Was he feeling as listless as I was? My stomach dropped. Had he met someone? Was that why he was exhausted?

Cole continued as I blankly stared at him, clearly not as affected. “Adam’s not an outdoorsy kind of guy. He especially hates water sports, besides swimming laps in his pool.”

Calla popped a brow. “Then what would you suggest?”

Cole reached out, twisting the computer screen so he could see it. Frowning, he scanned the options until he tapped the screen with his pointer finger. “There.”

“A farmer’s market?”

“Yup.” Cole nodded. “That’s the kind of shit Adam loves but doesn’t get to do often.”

“As long as Alex doesn’t have to cook for him,” Calla laughed. “She almost burned down her dorm with microwavable mac n’ cheese.”

Cole turned his focus toward me, his lips tipping up in a hint of a smile. “How the hell did you manage that?”

All the words left my brain, too busy fixating on his lazy grin, the one that made my inside light up like the sky on the Fourth of July.

“I forgot the water,” I eventually mumbled, kicking my past self for telling Calla about that.

“And you gavemeshit for almost burning down your kitchen.”

Calla’s gaze volleyed between the two of us. “Wait…when were you at Alex’s house?”

My blood ran cold as guilt filled my veins. Even though it had been an innocent situation, I never mentioned it to Calla. Well, mostly innocent. Glancing at Cole, I said a silent prayer that his brain was working better than mine.

He grinned at her. “It was the night I drove you guys home. I wasstuck, so Alex let me sleep on her couch. I tried to cook her breakfast as a thank you, but her oven had other plans.”

I nodded along, hating that even though it was the truth, he left out so much more—like the hour we spent in comfortable silence on my couch, the laughter we shared, and how his hand felt over mine, the heavy pounding of his heartbeat trapped underneath. My cheeks started to fill with color, so I ducked my head, pretending to focus on my computer screen, but Calla continued to stare at me as if she knew there was more to the story. She had the uncanny ability to read people’s emotions as if they were written on their faces. It was both one of her best and most annoying attributes.

However, before she could question me more, her mother stormed out of the office and made a beeline to our station. On instinct, both Javi and I looked away, pretending to be model employees. Even Cole busied himself, studying the brochures I’d lined up on the counter.

“Calla,” Diane said when she reached her daughter. “Do you have any idea why Columbia Law School just returned my tuition check?”

Calla’s face turned almost as red as her hair. “Maybe there was a clerical error.”

“That’s what I thought as well,” her mother said. “So I called the bursar’s office, and after I screamed at them for their incompetence for twenty minutes, they informed me that you were no longer enrolled.”

Oh fuck.

Glancing up, I met Cole’s eyes, which were almost as wide as mine. He mouthed, “What the fuck is happening?” to me, and I bit my tongue, trying to swallow my giggle.

“Get in my office,” Diane seethed, staring down at her daughter. “Now. The rest of you, do your goddamn jobs and stop gawking at us.”

As Calla followed her mother into the office, she smiledsadly over her shoulder at us. My heart broke for her; I hated that she wasn’t free to be her own person, always stuck following her family’s expectations. Growing up with successful parents came with many benefits, but many were contained in a gilded cage. In truth, it was a future I once imagined for myself, only escaping by blowing my life up spectacularly.

Not the route I’d recommend.

“Damn,” Cole whispered to me. “Is she always that scary?”

“Not normally in front of guests. She usually tries to hide her nastiness so that only her children and employees get to experience it.” The fact that she’d done it in front of him showed the depth of her rage.

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