He brushed his lips against mine. “Never with me, Rosebud. You’ll always be safe with me.”
“Then why are you afraid?” I whispered back.
The sadness I’d noticed on his face morphed into heartache.
“I’m afraid of losing you. Of losing us.”
“Cole—”
“Shh.” He pressed his finger against my lips. “I want to enjoy this day with you, OK?”
I nodded, and he let his finger drift away.
“Let’s get some food. We can talk.” He backed away, took my hand, and led me into the diner. It didn’t take long to get a table amid the many patrons and have our orders put in.
We sat across from each other in silence for a moment before he reached across the table and took my hand in his.
“I know shit is fucked, Rosalie. There’s nothing I can say to make it better because whenever I say something, it gets fucked up. So, I’m going to lay it all out for you. Don’t go. Please. Stay. Put Enzo’s ring back on. And if you won’t put his on.” He visibly swallowed and held out his other hand to show me a simple silver band. “Wear mine.”
I stared at the silver band in his hand for a long time before I looked at him.
“What are you asking me?”
“Marry me if you won’t marry Enzo. I’d tell you to marry Fox, but I’m pretty sure if you did that, he’d steal you away because he’s a noble prick like that, and he’s already told me he’s going to leave. So…” He licked his lips. “I don’t know how to fucking do this. All I want is you. Any way I can have you. Please don’t make me tie you up and keep you hidden from the world in order to keep you.”
“Cole,” I murmured, wrapping my hand over his with the ring. “I’m not leaving. Not right now. I… I’m tired of the same shit. You know that.”
“So you’ll marry Enzo? Promise me you will. That if you don’t marry him, you’ll marry me instead. I know Fox and you have a history, but fuck, if I can keep you, he’ll stay too. If you marry him, he’ll take you away. He thinks he can save you, but fuck, baby. I can save you, too. Just… keep faith in me.”
“Oh, Cole.” I sighed. “I would marry each of you if it were an option. We can’t keep doing the same things. It’s all we’ve been doing. I’m over it. I am. I want the dream, you know?”
“We aren’t it?” So much torment washed over his face.
“You are. I just… I’m tired. So tired. I feel like everything keeps piling on. I want a break, you know? From all the nonsense. It’s like I’m in that movie where the guy constantly relives the same day. I don’t want that.”
“I understand.” He visibly swallowed.
“Look. I’m upset. I’m not leaving. I only want to breathe a little.”
He nodded and pulled his hand away, but not before pressing the ring into the palm of my hand.
“Keep it. To remind you,” he said softly.
I closed my hand around the ring for a moment before I slid it onto a finger, earning a small smile from him.
“I hate that we’re like this,” I said.
“I think we’ve always been like this.” The sadness on his face morphed into desperation. “Always, Rosalie. We’ve had so much bad overshadow the good that it’s hard to tell what’s worth fighting for sometimes.”
I nodded wordlessly.
“But if we can fight, we can last. I know we can. We love each other. A world without you in it isn’t a world I want to live in, so please…”
“I feel the same about each of you.”
“I needed to hear that.” He took my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles before the waitress returned and placed our food in front of us. Without another word, we ate. Cole paid for the check before he guided me back to his car and helped me inside.
Once he was behind the wheel, we set off again, our conversation more comfortable and happy.
