Page 23 of A Not So Merry Ex-Mas

She tilts her head and narrows her eyes at me. Skepticism fills them.

“I’m gonna tell you a little secret, but you have to come closer first.” I can see a bit of uncertainty in her eyes and use my finger to indicate she needs to move forward. When she finally does, I look her directly in the eyes and hope that my feelings for her are coming through. “I saw you two months ago in the quad and had beentrying to figure out who you were ever since. When I walked in and saw you sitting at the table talking about me, I almost asked you out then and there.”

Her expression softens, and I feel myself melting. I am in so much trouble with this woman.

I’m pretty sure that I am already in love with her.

“Cole?” I look to see Noelle leaning against the door frame. Her eyebrows furrowed. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I called you a few times, and you didn’t respond.”

I feel heat creeping up my neck,and I rub my face with my hand. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you. I’m okay, just a bit tired.”

“Did you not sleep well?” She asks,concern lacing her expression.

How could I sleep well with you across the hall when all I wanted was to spend the entire night sitting on the couch, snuggling and catching up about the last decade? No, Ididn'tsleep well.

“I always have a little trouble sleeping in a new bed,” I say instead. “Hopefully tonight will be better.”

“I totally get that.” She smiles at me,and neither one of us mentions her sleeping on the couch. She shrugs. “Hopefully, you’re hungry because we need to make a dent in this food.”

“Starving.” I flash her a grin.

“Perfect. Get up and come on in here then.” She waves her hand at me as she disappears into the kitchen. I watch her go and feel my heart ache.

I stand up and put my hand to my chest. This is the second time I’ve fallen head over heels for Noelle. And I’m not sure I can handle losing her again.

I give myself a mental shake and blow out a deep breath. I put on my game face and make my way to breakfast.

Mel’s words pop into my head.

Follow her lead. Don’t push; just let her dictate what you do. When she talks,you talk. When she’s quiet,you be quiet. Understand?

“Copy that,” I whisper.

Jumping in feet first is not the right course of action. I need to let her decide how fast we move. If that means waiting years, I’ll wait years.

I just pray I won’t have to wait that long.

Chapter Eleven

Noelle

When Cole sits downacross from me, I do my best to act like I am not affected by the woodsy scent wafting across the table and wrapping me up in a Cole blanket. My senses are on overload, and I can feel my nerves getting twitchy being this close to him.

The sound of silverware hitting porcelain as we dig into our breakfast grates on my already unsettled nerves.

“This is delicious,” Cole says, breaking the silence just before he sticks another stack of pancakes in his mouth.

“Oh, good. I’d hate for you to think that I was trying to cook badly just for you.” I smirk and scoop a forkfulof scrambled eggs in my mouth. When I glance back up his gaze crashes into mine with a teasing expression, making my heart stutter and my smirk falter.

Thankfully, he goes right back to eating, and I have the time I need to pull myself together. I clamp down on the tingling in my chest, reminding myself that opening my heart to the man across from me right now is not smart.

I’m emotionally unavailable.

So then,why is every fiber of you drawn to him, huh?

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