Jagged Harts, page 16
He throws me a wink before he gets to my side to open the door. When he does, I hop out after him as he heads to the bed to grab our bags.
“What? You have never brought a girl home? Not even a friend?”
He just shakes his head with our bags in his hands as he ambles towards the house. Sure enough, we don’t even get to knock before the door swings open revealing a woman in her mid-40’s with Cole’s same light brown hair and smile. She is so tiny and petite that it makes me wonder how the hell she ever gave birth to Cole. Poor woman.
“Cole! I didn’t realize that y’all were already here.”
Her accent is much thicker than Cole’s, but her voice comes out as sweet and smooth as syrup. He rolls his eyes at her as he leans in to place a kiss on her cheek.
“Nice try, Mama. Next time let me at least knock before you open the door. That way it doesn’t look like you are spying.”
She shrugs like she doesn’t care either way if she was caught or not.
“Oh well, can’t blame a mother for being curious.”
She swings her gaze towards me, and I immediately freeze. This is the moment I have been dreading ever since I agreed to come. My mother was the farthest thing from the word, so to meet someone who has been described to me as the embodiment of the word is intimidating as fuck. I force out a polite smile as his mom keeps staring at me expectantly.
“Hello, Mrs. Simmons. I am Aubrey. Thank you for letting me crash your holiday.”
Her smile brightens as the corner of her eyes crinkle slightly. Phew. That’s a good sign, right?
“Oh, sweet pea, it is so nice to meet you! The pleasure is all ours!” She practically squeals before she hauls me into a huge hug, squeezing me so hard that my ribs ache. Fuck. I swear those things will never get better.
I awkwardly pat her back through the hug and look over her shoulder to see Cole smothering a laugh. I shoot him a dirty glare just before his mom pulls back slightly, while still holding my biceps in an iron grip.
“And none of this Mrs. Simmons nonsense. You can call me Renée, or Mama or anything else but!”
I smile and nod my head.
“Yes, Renée. Thank you again.”
She flicks her hand at me.
“Please, we are all so excited to have you. Coley here hasn’t stopped talking about you since the first day of school. On our weekly call you are all he talks about!”
I look over at him with a shit eating grin. His face is crimson as he ducks it in attempt to try to hide the flush. I nudge him in the side as I smirk.
“Weekly call huh, Coley? You call your family every week?” He looks appreciative that I don’t harp on the whole I am all he talks about part.
“Of course. I am a proper southern son. Right, Mama?”
“Hmm I don’t know. A proper southern son would come home to visit more often and wouldn’t be only staying for one night.”
He shrugs. “Well, no one is perfect, I guess.”
I let out a laugh while Renée smacks the back of his head like he is a pesky child. Cole chuckles as he walks deeper into the house. Renée loops her arm with mine and drags me along to where I assume the kitchen is, if the smells we are following are any indicator.
Sitting at the kitchen island are twin girls with the apparent Simmons family brown hair but with green eyes like their mother. They can’t be older than 7. They are hand mashing potatoes when they both look up and see Cole ahead of us. Their eyes light up and the squeals that emerge from their tiny bodies are so sharp, I am fairly certain dogs in California heard and are howling. They both jump into his arms, one on each side while screeching with delight.
“Coley, Coley! You’re home!” They chant.
I sit back smiling at the scene before me. Cole looks so happy here. There is no doubt about it that he is a family man. He just fits here. I look out of the corner of my eye to see Renée studying me with a smile on her face as I watch Cole. I see that hopeful glint in her eye that makes me internally cringe. I wish that there was a polite way to tell her that things aren’t like that between us, but I have a feeling that it would probably fall on deaf ears.
“Do you guys want to meet my friend?” Cole asks the twins and they both scream, “YES!”
He chuckles and sets them down before dragging them towards me. Suddenly being close to a stranger they revert back to being typical shy 7-year old’s who are nervous in front of company.
“Aubrey this is Caroline & Carli. Girls, this is my bestest friend in the whole world, Aubrey.”
His eyes sparkle with delight, and I can tell that everyone in this room means the absolute world to him. I crouch down to their level and give them my brightest smile.
“Hi there. It is really nice to meet you both. Cole has told me so much about his beautiful sisters.”
They both snicker behind their hands blushing furiously. Guess the blushing thing is a family trait.
“Thank you miss Aubrey,” Caroline says. Carli picks up her sentence. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
Damn. These have to be the most polite children that I have ever met. I hear a loud shout come from what looks like the family room on the other side of the house. Renée huffs and rolls her eyes.
“Harry! Get your butt in here. The kids are here!”
A few seconds later a man walks into the kitchen. I could have told you that he was Cole’s dad immediately. He has brown hair, though it isn’t as light as the rest of the Simmons, those piercing blue eyes though are all Cole. He wraps Cole into a big hug and says a few words to him before they break apart and look towards me.
“Dad this is Aubrey. Aubrey this is my dad, Harry.”
I stick out my hand to shake his.
“Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for having me.”
He grabs my hand and kisses the back of it. I can’t help but snort at the gesture. Looks like both of the Simmons boys are charmers. Renée tuts beside me as she rolls her eyes at her husband’s antics.
“We are glad y’all could make it out!” Harry turns back to Cole with a smile on his face as he claps his shoulder. “I didn’t think you would make it in time. The first quarter just ended.”
Cole chuckles and shakes his head.
“I would never dare miss football on Thanksgiving. That is just sacrilegious. Aubrey, do you want to come watch the game with us? If not, I am sure Mama wouldn’t mind the company.”
I look towards Renée with a small shrug.
“If I wouldn’t be in the way?”
“Heavens no, sweet pea. Take a seat. You can take over mashing the potatoes. The twins have been begging to watch the game anyway.”
Cole gives me a soft smile before he and his dad walk out of the kitchen together, their heads bent together seemingly done in attempt to have a private conversation. I turn back towards Renée.
“Thank you. I am not too into football.”
A look flashes across her face as she furrows her brows.
“Well that simply won’t do. If you are going to be with my Cole, you will have to get use to the sports channel always being on. He has always been that way ever since he was a little boy.”
“Oh, we aren’t together. We are just friends,” I correct quickly.
She gives me a mischievous grin before saying, “We will see.”
Fuck. I think not taking no for an answer also seems to be a Simmons family trait.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
AUBREY
The next 30 minutes are spent with Renée bouncing around from task to task so quickly it makes my head spin. I haven’t seen one box or packet of pre-packaged anything. Everything looks like it was made from scratch. Damn, what can’t this woman do?
When we all sit at the table, Harry prays over our food before we all dig in. The girls try to get away with filling their plates up with potatoes and rolls and when Renée notices she piles on the green bean casserole and turkey. They groan simultaneously and I can’t help but be amused at having a front row seat to the show. It is like an out of body experience to watch this seemingly ordinary happy family enjoying a meal together. I don’t think I have seen anything like it.
“So, Aubrey. Cole says you are from California,” Harry says as he dishes more yams onto his plate.
I nod my head as I finish chewing. Why does everyone always decide to ask you questions or address you when you have just taken a bite of something?
“Yes, I am,” I finally say.
“Do you know any movie stars?” Carli asks.
My lips tilt up in a smirk. “No, I don’t. But one time Robert Downey Jr. bought my coffee.”
“Who is that?” Caroline asks with furrowed brows.
“Iron Man,” Cole interjects with a smile as he winks at the girls.
“REALLY?!” The twins shriek.
“Mhmm. I think he was just irritated that I was taking too long to have the barista count out the dimes and quarters I was trying to pay with, but it was still nice of him.”
Everyone chuckles at that and the sound releases some of the tension inside of me that hadn’t quite released since I agreed to come here. As dinner goes on, I have to admit I think I might even love his family more than him. His sisters make horrible jokes that are so bad they are good while his dad sits back and watches quietly with a fond smile on his face. Renée tries to question Cole about his dating life while giving me a not-so-subtle side eye. It is almost funny because she is about as subtle as a dump truck.
“Mom, stop. Please,” Cole begs while sending me an apologetic look.
“I am just curious, Cole. You are such a handsome man and so smart and caring. Any girl would be lucky to have you. Your father and I met in college.”
“Oh, he has plenty of girls interested in him,” I tack on with an easy smile.
“Really?” Renée asks with an excited gleam in her eyes.
“Yeah, our friend Kayla has shown interest, but he turned her down and I have seen several girls slip him their numbers at The White Oak.”
Cole rolls his eyes as he takes a sip of his beer.
“Kayla and I would never work. We are way better off as friends and those other girls are not my type.”
“Oh, yeah? Why, are they just too beautiful?” I ask with a challenging look and a small smirk.
I can’t deny that I am having way too much fun teasing him with his family. Everyone has an amused smile on their face except for Cole who just looks irritated.
“Beautiful is nice. I prefer someone who is a bit prickly and sarcastic, though. Once you break through that shell, a really incredible person sits underneath.”
His eyes burrow into mine seriously and I quickly break the eye contact to take a sip of my drink. Well, that certainly backfired. A few minutes later Cole and I start picking up the kitchen while the twins do the dishes and Harry rubs Renée’s feet, saying she was on them too long today and that she deserved a break.
Once everything is all cleaned up, we all get settled onto the couches and watch some kid’s movie that the girls picked out. After it is over, everyone starts heading for bed.
“Thank you again for having me. This was…well I have never experienced anything like this before. This has been the best Thanksgiving I have ever had. Thank you,” I say.
The girls bounce happily, Harry gives me a sweet smile and Renée’s eyes water before she pulls me into another bone crushing hug. Ow. Cole rubs his mom’s back, as if reminding her that she needs to let me breathe. She pulls back and brushes away a stray tear and pats my cheek lovingly before going to tuck the girls in.
Cole says his goodnights before he turns to face me.
“So, we have the guest bed made up for you. My mom would probably have a heart attack if she knew that we have slept in the same bed before so I thought that it would be best if I took the couch.”
“Oh no. Cole, this is your house. I am more than happy with the couch.”
“Darlin’,” he says as he fixes me with a serious look. “You clearly don’t know Mama very well. She would beat me six ways to Sunday if I let you sleep on the couch. No arguments, let’s go.”
He ushers me to the spare bedroom, which obviously used to be Cole’s bedroom. It is still decorated like a 17-year-old boy would have it who is obsessed with football, trucks and Lynyrd Skynyrd. It screams Cole and that makes me smile as I flop down onto his bed.
“Want to watch a movie?” He asks, gesturing to the TV in the corner.
I nod and he quickly flicks on a comedy before he bounces down next to me. I chuckle as I fly up a couple of inches while Cole begins to tickle me.
“Oh my god! Stop! I will fucking throat punch you!” I say in between labored breaths and laughs.
He laughs and finally stops before placing a quick kiss on my forehead. He raises his arm for me to lean into him and I look at him for a second, wondering if it is a good idea. But we have done this same thing at least a dozen times and it has never complicated anything before. I settle underneath his arm as we watch the movie play out.
About halfway through I feel a soft kiss against the top of my head.
“Thank you for coming home with me. My family adores you,” Cole says softly.
I tilt my head up so that I can look at him better and smile.
“Thank you for inviting me, they are all so amazing. You are really lucky to have them in your life Cole.”
He exhales a soft breath. “Yeah, I am lucky for a lot of people in my life.”
I smile at him even though it is a little strained. Fuck things are getting way too intimate. I choose not to respond, instead focusing on the movie. The room is quiet for a few moments before Cole speaks again.
“My dad and I were talking about you earlier. While you were helping mama in the kitchen.”
“All good things I hope,” I tease lightly as I glance at him out of the corner of my eye.
He gives a small nod.
“He told me that he used to look at mama the way that I look at you when they first met. He also said that if I knew what was good for me, I wouldn’t waste my time waiting for something when it’s right in front of me.”
My stomach sinks at his words as dread starts to creep in. This is what I have been trying to avoid for a while now. I feel like I have been pretty direct in telling him that I don’t feel that way about him, but he seems to be pretty damn persistent. Or maybe I haven’t been direct enough.
Looking back, I guess I have thrown him some mixed signals. Saying one thing but doing another. Dancing with him at the party, cuddling like this, hanging out practically every day. Fuck. I’ve been totally leading him on.
“Darlin’?” he whispers
“Yeah?” I ask warily.
“You know how I said that we could be just friends for now?” His voice is soft and shakes slightly with each word. I nod my head slowly.
“Now is over.”
Before I can say anything, he slips his hand across my jaw and brings my lips up to meet his. I tense for a moment before my brain fully processes what is going on. I put my hands on his shoulders, ready to push him away when his lips move more urgently against mine, practically begging me to reciprocate. In that instant I seem to forget about all of the reasons I have in my head to not give Cole a chance.
His soft lips move across mine gently at first before the kiss turns more heated. His tongue gently sweeps against my lower lip, asking for access and I grant it, opening my mouth slightly for him. We aren’t rushed or frantic. Everything about this kiss is tender and sweet.
When he pulls away, he peppers my cheek and neck with kisses, and I close my eyes and let out a soft moan doing my best to push away the brewing guilt of what this will mean for Cole in the morning and more importantly what it won’t mean for me. His hands grasp my hips and gently lift the hem of my shirt up, his knuckles grazing against my skin. I shiver from the contact and grab the material ripping it off me in one fluid motion. I then reach behind me and unhook my bra tossing it to the side.
His eyes darken with lust as he takes me in. I know I should stop this. But right now, this feels like exactly what I need. Yet again, I am using Cole to distract me from my suffocating feelings, but he seems more than willing at the moment.
Cole’s hands roam all over, as if memorizing my body. He lowers his mouth against my skin, kissing a hot trail from my mouth down my neck and stopping at my breasts. He looks at me once more before he takes me into his mouth. His warm tongue slides across my nipple gently sucking and flicking his tongue.
When he gently nips at me, I let out a too loud moan and grind my hips against him. I start to lift the bottom of his shirt as he helps, pulling it the rest of the way off revealing a chiseled six pack and a rock-hard chest. I forgot how good he looks without a shirt on.
I drag him back down to my lips as I greedily kiss him. I lift my hips and shimmy out of my jeans, and he thankfully takes the hint and goes for his belt buckle. Soon only two pieces of fabric are separating us. He lowers himself down to me, grinding against the spot I need him which earns him another throaty moan to slip past my lips. His hands go to the edge of my panties when a loud rap sounds at the door.
“Cole, you should probably hit the couch. You are lucky that I was the one that was getting a drink of water,” his dad’s voice says through the door.
We hear footsteps turn down the hallway a few seconds later and I bury my head into his chest and groan. I am fucking mortified. Cole chuckles and smooths my hair.
“It’s okay, darlin’. My dad was our age once. He won’t say anything.”
“Ugh just go,” I say, pulling the sheets over my face.
He tries and fails to pull the blankets down. Then the cheat goes to tickle my sides and I squeal forgetting about my embarrassment as he rips the blankets down and looks into my eyes with a sincere smile on his lips.
“This has officially been the best day of my life. Sleep well, darlin’.”
He grasps my chin between his forefinger and thumb and tilts up so that I meet him in a chaste kiss. When he pulls away, he slips out of the room and down the hall. I close my eyes thinking about everything that happened today. I smack my hand across my face because I am so fucking stupid.
