Page 47 of (Un)Expected

The image was almost enough to erase our last conversation, the one where he told me to stop trying to be his friend. After three days, my temper had finally simmered down. Well, mostly—I’d replayed the conversation a million times in my mind, wishing that I handled it differently. With some distance, it was easy to tell why Cole kept throwing up walls between us. He had no idea about the contract, about the truth of my relationship with Adam. He thought he was betraying his friend, and I was all too willing to let him. No wonder he was so pissed.

However, as his chestnut eyes followed me down the stairs, the sting of his cutting words faded away, leaving behind only a sense of need—oflonging.

My mind must have been playing tricks on me, because I swore I saw the same look reflected back on Cole’s face. Typically, having any kind of attention on me made my skin itch. However, Cole’s stare made me feel more confident, more beautiful. His eyes never left mine, watching carefully as I descended the stairs.

As soon as I reached the last step, he came closer, reaching out his hand, almost as if he wanted to take mine, before pulling back suddenly. “Alex…” he whispered, his voice little more than a harsh whisper. “About what I said…”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, trying not to get lost in the heavy look in his eyes.

“No,” Cole said. “What I said was out of line. I– I don’t knowhow to do this, how to be your friend.” He ran his hand through his hair. “But I want to try, if it’s still on the table.”

Now he wanted to be friends? What was with this man and giving me perpetual whiplash? I didn’t know if it was still an option, not after our last conversation. He was right to pull away. No matter what connection I felt between us, real or imaginary, Colehadto believe I was with Adam.

Before I could respond, Adam stepped closer, blocking Cole from my view. That broke the spell between us. My cheeks flushed as I realized I’d been basically eye-fucking Cole as he stood right next to my date.A fake date, but that’s semantics.

“You look stunning,” Adam said as he wrapped his arms around me.

I grinned back up at him. “You do too. You clean up very nicely, Rice.”

“You should see me when I break out my tux.” He winked. “Are you ready to go?”

As he backed away, Cole came back into view, his gaze was downright frigid. Gone was the warmth and appreciation I saw minutes earlier. Now, he almost looked lethal.

He nodded toward the door as I sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

“I can’t believeyou picked mini-golf,” Calla said, her eyes darting between me and the course. “This used to be one of my favorite spots.”

She gave me a warning look, a silent reminder that it wasmyfault she spoke in the past tense. I trailed a few feet behind her and Cole, standing next to Adam. My tension was already at an all-time high. Calla and Cole laughed together the entire drive over. What happened to the snarky asshole I had to deal with? Why did she get the nice guy when I had to deal with his bullshit?

My fists tightened as Calla pulled Cole into the shed to pickclubs, leaving Adam and me alone outside. Once they were inside, he leaned closer to me. “I hope you don’t mind; this was one of the best options on Theo’s list. I thought it could be fun.”

I gulped, not sure how to tell him this was probably theworstoption. Between mini golf and Robo-Cole, I was ready to go home and call the whole thing off. However, as Adam squeezed my arm, I knew it wasn’t a choice. This wasn’t for me. Adam needed this. I could keep myself together for one night.

So instead, I nodded, leading Adam over to the main entrance. After paying, we each picked out our preferred colored golf ball and walked over to the first hole.

The Landlubber Golf Course was a town staple. Created in the eighties, it had barely been renovated since opening day. The course was littered with nautical decor, complete with the bow of a sailboat and mannequins dressed like sailors. The place had always given me the creeps, but everybody else loved it. It was only open for the summer stretch and the first few weeks of fall, so both the locals and tourists made the most of it during those months.

When we lined up at the first hole, Adam motioned for me to go ahead of him, and my heart instantly started to race. Lining up the ball with the hole, I tried to hit it at the right speed, but it ended up being too much. The ball rebounded off the brick border, bouncing into the bushes behind the hole.

“Fuck,” I muttered, jutting out my hip and glaring at the errant ball. That wasnotwhere it was supposed to go.Stupid fucking wall.

Adam gave me a golf clap. “Nice effort. Don’t worry, there’s still a lot of game left to play.”

“Hopefully, the next one will stay on the turf,” Cole chuckled from his side.

“You think it’s so easy?” I glared at him. I should have known our new-found truce would be short-lived. “Let’s see you do it.”

He raised his brow in a challenge, joining me at the starting point. He dropped his stance, bending at the knee to get a better view of the shrunken course.

“You have to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered. “You’re one of those people?”

“You might want to try it,” Cole answered back, setting up his stance and tapping the ball down the course. For a moment, it looked like he overshot as well, but at the last second, the ball curved, dipping into the cup. As he straightened, he had the audacity to wink at me. “Watch and learn.”

“Oh no,” Calla whispered from behind us. “There’s two of them.”

NINETEEN

“You fucking cheated!”

---