CHAPTER 28
Cole shoved his feet into his shoes and wandered to the kitchen. “I have to go out for a little bit.” He rested a hand on her hip and leaned in for a kiss.
Her eyes flew to the clock on the stove. He knew that his Sunday appointments were becoming a point of contention in their relationship and a source of burning curiosity for Savannah. She opened her mouth, the question right there on her tongue, but paused. What would he say if she finally had the courage to ask? She closed her mouth and nodded. “Okay.”
He left a few minutes later. He was tired of feeling like he practically needed to sneak out of his own house on Sunday afternoons. He hated the guilty feeling that followed him as he drove. He didn’t like leaving Savannah. He didn’t like that he had to do this. But this was what needed to be done if he wanted to right his past wrongs. And he owed her this much — one hour of his time. And he knew Savannah would never understand it.
***
Savannah dutifully followed Marissa from store to store, until her back ached and her arms quivered from carrying all the shopping bags. They ended up at Liam’s pub for a drink. Liam poured them each a glass of chilled white wine and set a bowl of salted almonds in front of them. Savannah noticed his eyes strayed to Marissa’s every few minutes, regardless of who he was serving at the bar.
Savannah took a sip of her wine. Mmm. Sweet notes of pear and a crisp apricot finish met her tongue. Her mind wandered for the hundredth time to Cole and his hasty departures on Sundays. She considered asking Marissa about it, but decided against it since she wasn’t sure she could handle the information. “Can I ask you about Cole?” Savannah bit her lip, the butterflies taking flight inside her.
“Sure.” Marissa shrugged, popping an almond into her mouth.
“Cole’s sort of…” She frowned struggling for the right words. Hard to get to know? Closed off?
“Emotionally stunted?” Marissa offered.
Savannah exhaled, a breathy little laugh escaping. “Yes.”
Marissa nodded and smiled weakly. “You care for him.”
It wasn’t a question so Savannah didn’t bother to answer. Was it that obvious?
Marissa contemplated the contents of her wine glass, twirling the stem in her hands. “There’s something I want to tell you.”
The feeling that the next few minutes were going to change things considerably pulsed low in Savannah’s stomach.
Marissa confirmed that several months ago, Cole confided in her about his night terrors. He wouldn’t talk about it for the longest time, but Marissa was unrelenting after he began losing weight and dark circles etched themselves under his eyes. He’d confided in Marissa about a case where an innocent girl was caught in the crossfire and ended up taking a bullet before he could take the suspect down. Marissa forced him to go to a doctor; he got on prescription anti-anxiety medication and sleeping pills that he took for months after her death. But he never really properly dealt with things, or accepted that her death wasn’t his fault.
“But they were never involved…romantically?”
“No. They’d literally just met. Cole was there when she died and he blamed himself that he couldn’t protect her.”
Stunned into silence, Savannah nodded. He was rehabilitating her, not because he had feelings for her, but because of his guilt over another girl’s death.
“Are you okay? You’re pale,” Marissa said.
Savannah’s ears thundered with the sudden rush of blood, but she managed a nod. “I’m fine. I just didn’t know.”
Marissa patted her knee. “I figured as much.” Marissa polished off the rest of her wine, and waved Liam off at his offer of a refill. “My brother’s falling for you. He just doesn’t know it yet. Be patient with him, okay?”
Savannah nodded, her mouth dry and her stomach turning somersaults. “Can we go?” She knew Cole would be back from whatever it was he did on Sundays and they needed to talk.
Marissa nodded, left a large tip for Liam, then drove her home.
After wrestling in shopping bags of clothes she no longer even remembered buying, Savannah scooped Cuddles up into her arms and headed outside, not quite ready to face Cole. When she reentered the apartment, she found him in the kitchen, digging through the take-out menus. “Hey, I didn’t know when you’d be home, so I figured I’d order out tonight.”
Savannah released a squirming Cuddles to the floor and stared at her feet.
“What’s wrong?”
Hot, salty tears stung her eyes. “We need to talk.”