Assured (Soul Serenade #2)(11)

His hand rests on the small of my back as he guides us to a booth in the back of the diner. It’s a sweet gesture, and it’s when he’s like this that I’m in the most danger of giving into him. In this moment, he’s not Cole Hampton, lead guitarist for Soul Serenade. Here, he’s just Cole.

Before we are even settled, an older lady with silver hair appears beside us. “Cole, good to see you. Where is the rest of the clan?” she asks, laying menus in front of us.

“Hey, Mable. Kace and Logan were married yesterday and the guys are probably still nursing hangovers.” He grins.

Mable just shakes her head.

“Mable, this is Stacy. Stacy, this is Mable.”

“Hey, girlie. How’d you get stuck with this one?” She points her pen toward Cole. His grin widens.

“Kidnapped,” I deadpan.

Mable throws her head back and laughs. “Honey, I know several women who come here with that single hope in mind, and you sound as if it’s a hardship. Cole’s a nice boy,” she tells me.

Boy? Cole is hardly a boy.

“Yeah, I’m a nice boy.” He smirks.

“You all are. Now,”—she turns to me—“kidnapped or not, there has only been one other girl the boys have brought in here besides you, and I have it on good account that she just got married yesterday. I’m not buying it.” She winks and saunters away.

I stare after her until she disappears into what I assume is the kitchen area. Turning my gaze toward Cole, I just stare at him until he elaborates.

“Just Logan.” He sighs. “This is a nice place where we can come and eat and just be us. The crowd is small and most of the time, even if the patrons recognize us, they leave us alone.”

“You don’t bring your dates here?” Not that this is a date or anything.

He shakes his head. “I don’t date, sweets. I hookup and then move on.”

I cringe.

“Don’t do that. Every single one of them knows the score before it happens. I make no promises. Sure, some of them think they can ‘change me’ or whatever, but it’s just not happening.”

I take a minute or two to let that sink in.

“Ya’ll ready to order?” Mable asks.

Cole looks at me for confirmation, and I nod, not once having looked at the menu. “Go ahead.”

He rattles off a list of breakfast foods that have my stomach growling. “I’ll just have the French toast and a glass of water, please.”

“I’ll have this out in a jiffy,” Mable says before walking away.

“Why?” I ask, once she’s gone.

“Why what?”

“Why is it that you don’t want more? Why is it always just a one-time thing?” I’m not asking because I want more with him—I’m genuinely interested in why he feels that way.

Settling back against the booth, he crosses his arms over his chest. “Nothing specific or tragic in my past. I guess it’s the career I’ve chosen. I’ve never been in a relationship, so to speak. I’ve hooked up with the same person more than once, but it was always very casual and never lasted long. There’s temptation everywhere on the road. My career, what we do, women throw themselves at us. The guys and I have never had a reason not to take full advantage. The only one of us who didn’t is Kacen.”

“So, you’re saying that if you were to be in a relationship you would cheat?” I’m trying to understand his reasoning.

“No.” Uncrossing his arms, he leans in, resting them on the table. “I would never. What I’m saying is that it would take a hell of a woman to be secure enough to know that, even though there are woman throwing themselves at me, she is the only one I want. I can’t imagine what it would be like if the roles were reversed, to watch guys go to the extreme to touch my girl, offer her sexual favors.” His fists clench. “I don’t want anyone to have to go through that. Not to mention I’ve yet to come across someone who I felt was worth the effort.”

“The effort?” Why I keep drilling him about this, I have no idea. I can’t seem to stop the words from falling from my lips. Especially since he’s answering me honestly.

“Yeah, I can imagine that, when I find her, if that day ever comes, it’s going to take work on my end to let her know that she’s it for me. I’m not opposed to that, but I’ve yet to come across someone who’s worth it.”

His eyes bore into mine, my guess is to see if I’m offended. I’m not. We’ve spent time together in social situations, but never just us. Knowing if someone is worth it takes time. Time we haven’t had.

“Makes sense. I see your point, but how will you ever be able to find her if you don’t stop jumping from bed to bed?”

He shrugs. “Haven’t really put much thought into it. It’s not something I’ve ever imagined I would want.”

“Here you go.” Mable fills our table with plates of what looks like pure heaven and has my mouth watering. “I’ll be right back with some refills.”

“I’m starving.” I reach for the syrup and drown my French toast. I can feel his eyes on me, but I don’t care; I pick up my fork and take a huge bite.

“I didn’t expect you to eat.”

I stop, fork midair. “I’m not like all the rest.” I then take my second bite of bliss. I make a mental note to give Logan a hard time for not telling me about this place.