He nodded once and winked at me. "It's a date, beautiful," he replied smoothly, chewing on his energy bar.
I sucked the insides of my cheeks, my heart thundering inside my chest as I took a leap of faith, taking my cue from his words even as I wondered if this was a bad idea.
"Would be great if it didn't have to be with Marco keeping track of our hours," I ventured carefully, noting his reaction.
He was still chewing but his expression turned serious as he watched me for a while before saying, "Hmm."
Hmm. That was it. He was not getting the hint. I mean, he looked like he did get it but he was clearly not interested in doing anything about it. I tried not to let disappointment creep in but it did, the fucking thing. Argh. Even though I was a fully grown woman, this moment felt like the time when my first crush in school laughed at me in front of his friends when I wrote him a note telling him I liked him.
It sucked. That rejection. And I had not been with anybody since graduating college a couple of years ago but men have always told me I was gorgeous with my honey-gold hair, curvy figure and blue eyes. Maybe I just wasn't Cole's type.
"Okay, then," I said, forcing a smile on my face which was tight with the effort from trying not to cry in front of this guy. "I better go. Bye."
I walked away from him as quickly as I could before I embarrassed myself any further, focusing on my next task. It kept my mind off the pain. The loneliness. The goddamned loneliness which followed me everywhere.
For once in my life I wished I could just find someone to connect with. A bond unlike any other. My parents had given me up for adoption and the couple I grew up with had started to neglect me soon after they had two of their own kids after years of unsuccessful pregnancy attempts. I had friends here and back in London but they all had their own busy lives.
There was nobody in this world I could call mine, though. My person. Mine to hold and own. Just mine.
Cole had seemed like he was made for me but I could not force myself on him. Besides, now I knew he had no intention of ever asking me out so I had to start keeping my distance before I lost my head completely to this guy. Along with my heart.
~~~
Cole
I was in a bad mood. This rarely happened because usually, I was a pretty easygoing guy and hardly gave two shits about what many others would consider stressful situations.
But tonight was different. I had worked extra long hours at Marco's today intending to take the day off tomorrow. The man had grumbled some shit or another under his breath but since my work was exemplary, he agreed to the last minute schedule change.
I needed to take a break from her.
Two weeks. Two weeks of looking at her gorgeous body, her angelic face, observing the warmth of her laughter and the vulnerability of her lost-in-thought expression.
Did she think I did not notice? That I was not aware? I worked in different areas of the unfinished house, drawing up plans according to what Marco wanted and making adjustments which required all of my energy since this was a huge project but...the minute Skye Madison set foot on the premises, I felt the uncontrollable urge to just see her. What she was wearing, if she was in a bright, sunny mood or plagued by one of her demons which made her go all quiet.
Usually, I could judge her emotional state from what she taught Marco to paint that particular day. Colourful, bright pieces meant she was happy. It was the grey, morbid ones that worried me.
Which was unsettling because she was not mine to worry about. She was nothing to me. Just some girl at work.
Whom I spent hours thinking about.
I wanted us to be closer but I was scared to go there. I was scared to drag her into my life and ruin someone else's in the process. Every day, I resisted the temptation that was Skye Madison. But every day, a part of me also kept asking the question, 'How bad could it be?' She wants me and I want her. It should work. I could make it work.
I clutched the steering wheel of my Ford Escape hard while navigating through the road leading to my house, banishing those dangerous thoughts like I usually do. But tonight, it became especially hard. The hurt on her face when she tried to ask me out and I could hardly get a word out still haunted me. I made her feel that way and I hated myself for it.
An incoming call started to come through the Bluetooth system of my car and guilt weighed down my heart when I saw the caller's name. Pressing the answer button, I schooled my voice to sound cheerful and normal.
"Hey, baby. What's up?"
I heard the TV blaring in the background and a door clicking shut muting the sound. "Just wondering what's taking you so long. All okay?"
I rubbed a free hand over my face. "Yeah. Sorry, I didn't text. I got caught up with work."
There was a pause where words were not necessary. We both knew that I always remembered to text even if I was caught up with work. First lie I had told to my partner of six years. I wondered if this was me starting to travel down the path of treachery. But that was ridiculous. I had not done anything.
Skye's face hovered in
