"Looking for something?"
The question hits closer to home than he could know. "I tell myself it's for career opportunities. But maybe it's just restlessness. Fear of staying still long enough to be disappointed."
Cole turns to me, his green eyes reflecting the sunset. "Because of your ex?"
"Partly," I admit, surprising myself with my candor. "Marcus and I were together for three years. I thought we wanted the same things. Career success, eventually a family, a life built together. Then one day he told me he'd been sleeping with his assistant for months."
Cole's jaw tightens. "Fool."
"The worst part wasn't even the cheating. It was his explanation." I look down at my hands, the memory still painful despite the months between then and now. "He said I'd 'letmyself go.' Become boring. Too focused on work and not enough on him."
"He was wrong," Cole says with such conviction that I look up, startled by his intensity. "A man who can't appreciate a woman like you doesn't deserve a second thought."
"A woman like me?" I repeat, genuinely curious.
His eyes hold mine, unblinking. "Intelligent. Determined. Kind." He pauses, something changing in his expression. "Beautiful."
Chapter 7 - Cole
The word "beautiful" hangs in the air between us. Ruby's eyes widen slightly, and I watch the sunset paint gold across her cheeks as she processes my admission.
My bear stirs, pleased by the flush creeping up her neck, the slight quickening of her pulse that only I can hear. She's affected by me, as I am by her, though she doesn't understand why.
"Thank you," she whispers, looking away first. "That's... nice of you to say."
"It's not niceness. It's truth." I've never been good with pretty words or gentle flirtation. Bluntness is my nature. The bear doesn't know subtlety.
The sun dips lower, shadows lengthening across the valley below us. We should head back before darkness makes the trail treacherous for her human eyes, but I'm reluctant to break this moment. To return to the cabin where paperwork and the looming audit await, where professional boundaries remind us why she's really here.
"Have you always been alone out here?" Ruby asks, her gaze returning to mine. "Or was there someone before?"
The question cuts close to matters I rarely discuss. "There have been women. Nothing that lasted."
"Why not?"
I look toward the horizon, considering how much to reveal. "They weren't right."
"What does 'right' mean to Cole Blackwood?" Her tone is gently teasing, but her eyes are curious.
"They weren't..." I hesitate, searching for words that won't expose too much. "It never felt complete. Like something essential was missing."
"Chemistry? Compatibility?"
I shake my head. "Something deeper. A recognition."
"Recognition?" She turns toward me, the last rays of sunlight catching in her hair.
My bear pushes forward, urging me to tell her everything. To explain what she is to me, what we could be together. The moon is nearly full, my control threadbare after days of restraint. The words slip out before I can stop them.
"Like finding the other half of yourself. The person you're meant for."
Ruby's eyebrows rise. "I didn't take you for a believer in soulmates."
"Not soulmates," I correct, though it's close enough. "Fated pairs."
"Fated pairs?" She repeats, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I wouldn't have expected such romantic notions from a man who builds things with his hands."
"It's not romance. It's... instinct."
