Page 4 of Tempted Hearts
“I see you trying to hide your phone,” I said to Delaney. “Jerk.”
She was laughing too hard to respond.
The three of us made our way off the dock, Parker’s boat tour shift apparently over, when Delaney pulled me toward her.
“Way to nearly drown your charges.”
Directly in front of me, looking at Parker with an expression somewhere between snooty and derisive, was the one person at this entire event I most wanted to avoid. We’d been in each other’s company a handful of times throughout the years, but only when I couldn’t help it.
Parker’s friend Cole made me nervous as hell.
Maybe it was because he talked so little.
Or maybe because, when he did talk, it was to say something like he just had to Parker.
Or maybe because he was so drop-dead gorgeous that I was afraid of ogling him and having the same look he gave Parker directed at me.
Either way, our vibes just didn’t match.
But instead of turning around and scurrying away, I attempted to embody my new philosophy of not caring so much what other people thought. Living my life on my own terms and all of that.
“Not a very nice thing to say,” I heard come out of my mouth. “To someone who just spent the last hour giving kids boat rides.”
Unfortunately, he turned those dark-rimmed glasses toward me.
The last time we were this close, at O’Malley’s Pub when he’d come from the city for a weekend visit, I high-tailed it to the dance floor. This time, I was stuck.
Insert foot in mouth, Jules. Good job.
“Says the woman who seems to have some difficulty staying upright.”
Jerk.
“I was trying to help.”
Ugh. Why was I defending myself to him?
“I see,” he said slowly, enunciating every syllable.
“Thanks for having my back,” Parker cut in good-naturedly. “But feel free to go ahead and ignore him. Cole’s just cranky because…” He grinned, looking at Mr. Stick Up His Ass. “Why are you cranky, Cole?”
“I’m not cranky.” He said the word as if it were somehow beneath him. Like a word a toddler would use.
“Oh. My. God. Juliette Porter?”
The shriek from behind me was followed by a bear hug from my college roommate freshman year. Even though we both attended college somewhat locally, we formed to get the whole experience and had become close.
“Sunny, Fucking, Kirkland.” I hugged her back. “What the hell are you doing in Cedar Falls?”
“I came back two days ago to visit Gram who told me about this festival. What a great event. We need to catch up. Will you be here a bit?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Good friends of mine are hosting it. We’ll be here for a while.”
“Awesome. I need to talk to someone about getting Gram home health. Be right back.”
When I turned back to the group, planning on apologizing for not having time to introduce her, the look on Cole’s face stopped me.
It was a combination of amusement—though not the fun kind—and something a little less hostile than disgust. He was looking at my shoulder.
