Page 49 of (Un)Spoken

She let out a sharp hiss. “You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now.”

Oh, I knew damn well. It was taking everything in me not to claim her lips right now, audience be damned. But not until she wanted to tell Cole the truth. I brushed my thumb along her plush lower lip, lowering my voice. “Whenever you’re ready, just say the word.”

After bringing Emilia upstairs,I insisted on tucking her into bed myself. Sure, Cole had given me a strange look, probably trying to connect the dots on why I was spending so much time with his sister and niece. For a moment, I thought about handing her over to him, but then her hand curled around my shoulder, holding me a little tighter, like she also wasn’t ready to let me go. There was no way I’d pass her off after that.

Tori insisted she could sleep in her day clothes and that she’d change her later when she got up to use the bathroom, so I set her on her princess bed, tucking the fluffy purple comforter up under her chin. As I stroked a couple of stray hairs away from her face, Emilia’s eyes blinked open, smiling up at me. “Thanks, Adam.”

“Any time, kiddo.”

“Today was the bestest day ever,” she yawned. “Can we go back again?”

I smiled brightly down at her. “Just say the word, and I’ll be happy to pick more apples with you.”

She grinned as she snuggled back into her bed, her breathing getting heavier before I even got to the door. As soon as I pulled it mostly shut, I turned back into the living room, catching the end of a conversation between Cole andTori. Her face was scrunched, like he’d said something that upset her, and for the first time in a long time, I wanted to punch him in the jaw. I moved closer to Tori’s side. “You okay?”

“Yup,” she said as she smiled tightly up at me. “Cole was just talking to me about the Fall Fest. He wants me to come help at the Fox Creek booth.”

Cole sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Look if you don’t want to?—”

“I think you should,” I answered, looking at Tori. Her brow scrunched at me, trying to understand my reasoning. “Everyone’s been talking about the Fall Fest and how much fun it’s going to be. Maybe you should go, help Cole and Alex for a bit, and then you can enjoy the rest of it with Emilia.”

“We’d really like that,” Cole added. “Marta would be more than happy to watch Emilia until you’re done.”

“Or I could do it.”

Both Campbells turned to look at me, but their looks were drastically different. Cole stared at me like he was looking at a stranger while Tori was trying to fight a grin. I focused more on her, wanting to make sure she knew my offer was genuine. “We’ll spend some time here, and then I’ll bring her over when you’re ready. Besides, Marta and pretty much everyone else we know is going to be running a booth. I’ve got nothing else going on, and I’d much rather be hanging out with Em than be by myself in my cabin.”

“Are you sure?” Tori asked, shifting closer to me on instinct. I loved that she needed to be near me, her feet moving with a mind of their own. “She can be a lot of work, and I don’t want to ask too much of you.”

“You’re not asking, I’moffering.”

She sighed, glancing between me and Cole, who was still watching me like he’d missed something.

And he had.

He’d missed that I was falling for his sister and, by extension, her daughter. I wanted to be the one they called, the one who helped when Tori needed someone. I wanted to be everything for her.

“You don’t have to give me an answer tonight. Think about it and let me know.” I smiled down at Tori. “You know where to find me.”

I walked over to the door, clapping Cole on the shoulder as I passed. If I stayed another minute longer, I’d probably do something stupid, like confess to my best friend that I wanted him to leave so I could do unspeakable things to his sister. The only choice was to head out, even though every fiber of my being was fighting every step.

“Hold up,” Cole called out. “Let me walk you out.”

Oh, fuck.

TWENTY-NINE

Cole said nothing as we walked outside the back door. I tried to talk to him about his booth for Fall Fest, but all I got back were grunts. Not a good sign. The angrier Cole felt, the fewer syllables he used. Now that we were down to single digits, I was royally fucked.

As I imagined which method of torture Cole was planning for me, we stepped outside into the crisp autumn air. It had dropped several degrees since the sunset, and there was a chill in the breeze that wasn’t there before. Or was it my nerves playing tricks on me? It should have been soothing, but it didn’t feel that way, not when my best friend was staring at me like he could read every thought I had about his sister.

He followed after me, walking over to the porch swing in the corner. He dropped down on the red cushion and looked out at all the cabins. Maybe I could make a run for it and make it back to mine before he caught up.

Just as I was about to take my chances, Cole sighed, rubbing his hand along the back of his head. “Look, man, you don’t have to do this.”

I stared at him, trying to comprehend what he was talking about. “What do you mean?”

“I know I asked a lot of you when Tori first came to town, wanting you to keep an eye on her. And that…” He sighed, shifting so his hands were clenched in front of him. “That was unfair of me. She’s my sister, and Emilia’s my niece. They’re my responsibility, so don’t feel like you have to look out for them just for my sake.”

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