Page 53 of Tempted Hearts
“My life, when we got the text, was out on a fishing boat with Parker. Not exactly earth-shattering. Everything I needed to do came with me, on my laptop.” He smiled openly. “As for your license. I will say I was a bit curious after having to dig through your dresser.”
“Oh yeah.” I’d totally forgotten about that. “My stickies.”
“Scusa,” a trail of hikers said, passing us in single file. They were strolling, as we were, but had hiking sticks and boots and gear… “I can’t believe how many serious hikers there are around Cinque Terre,” I commented when they passed.
“People come from all over the world for this hike,” Cole said, looking up the cliff to our right, patting the rock. “You know this stretch was carved by hand? Took decades. It connected the two towns so couples could see each other when the sea routes were too rough.”
How did the guy know everything about everything?
“Seriously?”
Oh man. That smile was deadly.
“Partially serious. It was carved by hand, and took decades. But I imagine having a walkable connection between isolated villages was the primary motivator.”
“Probably were couples from separate villages though? And how romantic of you, to suggest it.”
Cole gave me one of those serious “careful, Juliette” looks.
“I’m not a romantic guy.”
He could tell himself that, but yesterday proved otherwise. Cole really had put himself in a box that he was determined to keep the lid on.
For a time, we walked in silence. I had no idea what Cole was thinking, but for my part, I just wanted him to reach out, grab my hand, pull me into him, and kiss me. Would that be so hard?
Be careful what you wish for, Jules.
After that, we’d end up having wild sex—I’d gotten a small taste of what was really behind those glasses in the stairwell—and then spend an awkward flight home with Delaney and Jules. I’d fantasize about doing it again, confess all to Delaney, who would tell me I was crazy to get involved with a guy who quite literally came up with the whole bachelor pact. And then we’d get together once or twice in Cedar Falls, making me think about him more, until Cole decided that it was one date, or hookup, too many.
And that would be all she wrote.
I’d either avoid him or make it awkward when we were all together, which was inevitable. And probably spend the next few months thinking about this trip, romanticizing every moment, and paying for Carolina to help me move past him.
I knew the drill. And it sucked.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
I looked down past the railing, stopping and hanging on to it for dear life. It was a loooong way down. But breathtaking.
“I was just thinking about life.”
He stopped beside me, Cole’s hand, as he also gripped the railing, not far from mine.
“What about it?”
Obviously, I couldn’t tell him my real thoughts. So I pivoted to the other question that had been rattling through my brain. One I shouldn’t ask. We weren’t that close.
But I blurted it out anyway.
“What did you not tell me yesterday?” I’d planned on clarifying, reminding him of the conversation about his father and Cole’s job at Columbia. But by his expression, I realized I didn’t have to. He already knew.
Cole looked out to the sea. Down over the cliffs, out into an ocean that I’d come to love, not just for its beauty, but because of something I didn’t dare name out loud.
“I had a twin,” he said quietly, eyes on the horizon instead of me. “His name was Caleb. We moved to New Haven when we were relocated for my father’s new position, and it was… a hard transition for two middle schoolers. Harder for him than anyone realized. My parents were fighting all the time, Caleb felt out of place at school, and one day he just… couldn’t carry it anymore.” Cole’s jaw flexed once before he continued. “After he died, my family fell apart. My parents needed someone to hold it together, someone to step into the future they’d imagined for him… Caleb loved history even more than me. Was smart as hell.” He paused. Still composed even though tears had already gathered in my eyes, threatening to spill over.
His gaze met mine for the first time since he started talking.
“So I did.”
