Page 23 of Echoes of Us
“Cole goes to parties?”Ashley asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.
Sarah paused, her brow arching.“Where have you been?The guy practically lives for them.Beer pong, hookups, general douchebaggery–you name it.”
Ashley’s chest tightened, a wave of nausea rolling through her.This didn’t sound like her husband.This sounded like someone she didn’t know at all, and she didn’t buy into it one bit.
“Lunchtime,” Sarah announced, slinging her bag over her shoulder.“Care to join?”
Ashley shook her head, staring down at her open notebook.“I’ll catch up later.”
* * *
Ashley wanderedthrough the campus aimlessly, the spring breeze carrying the faint scent of blooming flowers.The trees overhead were bursting with fresh green leaves, their branches swaying gently under the clear blue sky.Students lounged on the grassy lawns, their laughter mixing with the distant hum of a lawnmower.
It was idyllic, almost painfully so.
Ashley’s thoughts churned as she walked, her hands stuffed into her pockets.The Yale campus was stunning, but it wasn’t hers.She turned a corner and stepped into the main quad, the sunlight casting golden patches over the stone paths.Laughter drew her attention to a group of guys tossing a football near the center of the courtyard.
Her steps faltered, her breath catching in her throat.
Cole.
He stood at the heart of the group, his dark hair curling slightly at the nape of his neck.He was lean and athletic, his broad shoulders framed by a fitted T-shirt that clung to his chest.His movements were effortless as he caught the football in midair, his gray eyes alight with laughter.
Ashley’s heart stuttered, her stomach flipping at the sight of him.She drank in every detail–his quick smile, the way his muscles shifted under his shirt, the way he carried himself with a confidence that felt both familiar and foreign.
This was, and wasn’t her Cole.
Her gaze drifted to the sidelines, where a group of girls watched with unabashed admiration.They were beautiful–long legs, flawless hair, and lean figure.One of them, a blonde with perfect waves and a figure that made Ashley’s own insecurities flare, leaned toward Cole, her laughter ringing out as she brushed her hand against his arm.
Ashley’s chest tightened, jealousy stabbing through her like a knife.
This was wrong.
Her fists clenched as she took an involuntary step forward, her body moving before her mind caught up.She wanted to rip the blonde’s hand away, to remind her–and Cole–that he wasn’t hers to touch.
But before she could act, the football smacked into Cole’s face with a loud thud.
Ashley froze as Cole stumbled back, his hand flying to his face.
“Westwood, you good?”one of the guys called, laughter bubbling in his voice.
Cole straightened, grinning despite the red mark blooming across his cheek.He ran a finger over his bloody lower lip, the motion slow and deliberate.
Ashley’s breath caught, her heart stuttering in her chest as her gaze locked onto his.The world seemed to be still, the bustling campus fading into nothing but the wild, unrelenting pull of his eyes.
Cole.
The name whispered through her mind like a prayer, like a plea.His gray eyes, so achingly familiar, burned with a freedom she’d never seen before, a recklessness that sent a jolt through her core.He was younger, sharper, his smile lazy and untamed.He looked like a man who owned the world and didn’t care if it crumbled beneath his feet.
Her body betrayed her, a flush rising to her cheeks as a heat pooled low in her abdomen.It wasn’t fair–the way he could command her entire being with just one look, the way her body remembered him even if he didn’t remember her.The sparks were instant, a live wire snapping between them, and she felt the weight of his gaze like a touch, brushing against her skin and leaving her raw and wanting.
This was Cole.She knew it with every part of her.No one else could unravel her so effortlessly.No one else could make her body sing with just a single stare.
But then his gaze shifted.
Her breath hitched, the connection snapping as his attention moved to the blonde at his side.She was stunning–legs for days, perfect waves of hair that caught the sunlight like it belonged to her.She leaned into him, her manicured hand brushing his jaw, her lips moving as she cooed over the mark blooming on his cheek.
Something inside Ashley shattered.
