Page 66 of Montana Rain

“Yes.”

I looked over at my mother. “Is that okay? What’s your schedule like?”

She smiled, and it felt like one of the first times I’d seen true happiness in her eyes. Or maybe it had always been there, and I was the one who’d been dimming the shine. “Don’t worry about my schedule. We’d love to meet him. I get the feeling our meeting him is important?”

My heart stuttered in my chest. “Yeah.”

“Lunch?” Ava asked. “We can order Rudy’s.”

Rudy’s was one of our favorite places from when I still lived here. They had everything from sandwiches to pasta. “That sounds amazing.”

“He’s here at the hotel?” Mom asked. “Alone?”

I nodded.

Ava wheeled herself backward and turned for the door. “What are you doing here, then? Go and bring him back tomorrow.”

“I can stay longer. He’s a big boy.”

“Rayne.” My sister stared at me. “You’re not nearly as mysterious as you think you are, and you haven’t been with anyone serious in forever. Better believe I’m going to do everything I can to encourage this.”

My mother was holding in her laughter, and I was too. Ava hadn’t yet decided what she wanted to do, if anything. But whatever it was? She’d be an absolute powerhouse.

Leaning down, I kissed her head. “Okay. We’ll be here at noon for lunch.”

“I’m counting down from thirty for you to get out the door.”

Laughing, I pulled out my phone and texted the driver before waving goodbye. She’d put a smile on my face in spite of my exhaustion. I loved my family. The trip back to the hotel felt like nothing, and Cole saw the difference. “Good visit?”

“Yes. We’re going over for lunch tomorrow.”

“Perfect.”

I peeled the T-shirt over my head. “I desperately need a shower. I still feel like I have plane stuck to me.”

“Want some company?” He raised an eyebrow.

Just the thought of Cole naked and wet had me flushing red. I wasn’t used to this. If I knew anything to be true, it was that Cole had proven himself to be so far from the man I’d thought he was. This was the man who’d existed beneath, instead of the one driven by pain and fear that had smacked him in the face and made him realize some things.

Similar to the way my sister had just verbally slapped me. It was necessary, and relief sang in my chest. “I would love some.”

He was already pulling his shirt over his head in that guy way where he grabbed the back and pulled it straight forward. Cole grinned when he caught me staring. “Do I need to carry you in there? How’s your ankle?”

“It’s okay,” I said truthfully. “It hurts, but it’s not too bad.”

I stripped off my pants, but Cole caught me before I could get all the way naked. “I think I’m going to have to examine it for myself. Along with some other parts of you that need attention.”

He hoisted me over his shoulder. “Cole, oh my god. Put me down.”

He curled his hand around the back of my thigh, so, so close to the promised land. “In a minute.”

I remained over his shoulder while he turned on the water before gently setting me down and stripping me the rest of the way. “I can take my own clothes off, you know.”

“And deprive me of the pleasure? I don’t think so, princess.”

“Princess” was growing on me. Something about the darkness in his voice when he said it made me shiver.

The hotel shower was big and open, with a rainfall showerhead. Most of the time I hated these—they weren’t practical for washing your hair, and you had to be cold if you didn’t want water in your eyes because you had to step out from underneath them. But something about standing underneath the flow with Cole was incredible.

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