Cole straightened and pulled his hair back into a knot, gray eyes flicking between me and Adair. “Looky there, buttercup. You won’t be alone after all.”
I glanced at the new cardboard boxes in front of the couch, then frowned at him. “You thought I wouldn’t be back?”
He shrugged. “Addy told me you usually spent weekends with your dad.”
Hmm. I glanced at Adair, who didn’t look at allconcerned he’d been caught talking about me to his best friend.
“I saw him earlier this morning,” I said, slowly turning my attention back to Cole. “And I’ll go back by later.”
Cole nodded and sprung to his feet, craning his neck to look behind me. “Where’s Apple Jack?”
“He means Delly,” Adair clarified from the couch.
I gestured vaguely toward the front door. “Right outside, getting some more miles on her new board.”
“She loved it?” Adair asked, his smile so warm that I swear it kissed my skin.
I nodded. “So much.”
Cole gazed longingly toward my board at the front door, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you know how to ride?”
He nodded eagerly.
“In theory or in reality?”
He scoffed. “I was a total skater kid.”
I glanced at Adair for confirmation, and he nodded. “He was. Vans, swoopy hair. The whole thing.”
I hummed. “You can take my board to the Locc for the meeting with Ari if you want. Delly wants to help style the Zinnia House residents for the glamor shots, so she’s going to the meeting too.”
Cole hurried to the front door like his ass was on fire. He scooped up my board and practically flung himself outside.
“He’s not an indoor cat,” Adair said quietly. “Not really domesticated either.”
My lips twitched as I took a seat in the chair Cole had just vacated, my gaze fixed on Adair.
He held it, and the tension slowly creeped back into the room now that it was just us.
“What were you humming? When you came in?”
“‘Edelweiss,’” I said. “FromThe Sound of Music.”
“I thought it sounded familiar. Another waltz for class?”
I nodded, tucking my feet under me in the chair. “I’ll probably introduce a new dance next week, but for the gala, I think I’m going to stick to waltzes. It’ll help everyone feel confident.”
His hazel eyes warmed as his head tilted to the side, just a little. “You’re thoughtful like that. Even when others aren’t.” He took a deep, measured breath and straightened his posture—as much as he could sitting like he was. “I messed up, Ireland. And I’d like those ten minutes now. I don’t want to wait.”
My breath caught, but I subtly wrestled the reaction back, keeping my face neutral. The deep respect I already held for this man just irrevocably turned into something else.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Not only for everything last night, like us showing up late and?—”
I cocked my head at him in mild warning, and he caught it, pressing his lips together.
He looked away from me, gazing intently out the window for several seconds. “I’m not good at this, Ireland,” he said, voice raw as he looked back at me. “At confrontation. At being weak and needing help for the most basic of things. I avoid it—all of that—at all costs, actually, unless….” His gaze grew serious. “Unless it’s something really important?—”
He paused, and my heart thudded hard. I held my breath until he completed the thought.
