Silence (Silence #1)(39)

I raised my eyebrows at him when we got in the car, asking where we were going.

“We’re going to London,” he said casually. I blinked hard. London? I stared at him waiting for an explanation.

Cole shrugged. “You always wanted to go to that creepy Madame Tussauds place and on the London Eye.”

Wow. He planned a whole day out to London because I had mentioned I wanted to go there. I could barely keep my eyes off him as he drove the two-hour journey to London. He chewed on the inside of his cheek in concentration as he followed the sat—nav’s directions. I watched the muscles in his forearms flex as he turned the steering wheel.

The traffic wasn’t bad, so we made it in just under two hours. In London everything was much louder, and faster than the small village I was used to. There were probably more people just in the multi-story car park than in my whole village. I clung to Cole’s hand as he led me to the zebra crossing. Cars, vans, and busses whizzed past us, causing my hair to whip around my face.

Cole paid our entrance fee to Madame Tussauds, and we made our way around the museum. It turns out a museum full of wax people is a little creepy. I took pictures of most of the wax celebrities, and even made Cole pose with some. He either looked grumpy or pulled a funny face.

He cheered up once we’d eaten, and headed over to the London Eye. I bounced up and down in the queue as we waited for our turn. Cole had booked us tickets online, so we had an allocated time. Our group was next.

A man with a thick black beard called for us to get on.

Tugging on Cole’s hand, I pulled him into the huge glass bubble. How safe is this? I wondered, looking up to check that it was attached properly, even though I wouldn’t have a clue if it was or not. Cole leant against the glass. I grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “It’s perfectly safe, babe,” he said with a cheeky grin.

As soon as we started moving, he spun me around and wrapped his arms around my waist, so we were both facing the glass, looking out over London, I could see Buckingham Palace and Big Ben so clearly. Wow, I thought, staring in awe. It moved slower than I thought it would, but that was a good thing if I wanted to keep my lunch down. I pressed my back against Cole’s chest and sighed happily.

“Enjoying it?” he asked when we reached the top. I nodded and interlaced my fingers between his. We spent the rest of the ride pointing things out to each other. As soon as we got off we had to head home.

“We’ll come again when we’ll have more time. Maybe for a weekend.”

It was already five in the evening, and with the evening traffic, it would probably take longer to get home than it had to get down there. Shaking my head, I yanked his arm, pulling him closer to me. I’d had an incredible day, even if it wouldn’t last as long as we both wanted it to. The fact that he had whisked me off to London to do two things I wanted was more than enough.

I gripped Cole’s hand as we walked along the street towards the car park. It was getting cooler out, the cold wind bit at my face. My coat was keeping my body warm, but I could feel my lips becoming numb. I couldn’t wait to get into the car and turn the heat on. Relief flooded my system when the car park came into view.

Cole started the ignition, and I cranked the heat up, raising my hands to the vents to warm them up. For the whole way home, I stared at Cole. It was getting dark, the orange glow from the dashboard lit up his features.

“You’re staring again,” he sang, with a half-smile. I nodded, unashamed. I was in love with him, and I wasn’t embarrassed by it.



Two hours and fifteen minutes later, we arrived back at my house. Cole walked me to the door and kissed my cheek before I opened it.

“Tomorrow,” he whispered, and walked back to his car. Tomorrow what? I closed the front door behind me in a happy daze.

“There’s my favourite sister,” Jasper said and paused his computer game, suddenly solemn. “I think we should have a chat about Cole.”

I hadn’t expected this.

“So, I know you’re together.” He raised his eyebrows, and I shook my head to deny it. “Oh please, I can see how you two look at each other. What I want to say is that as much as I joke about it I am a little worried,” he admitted, scratching his jaw nervously.

Worried about what? Cole would never hurt me. We both knew that. He took a deep breath.

“Cole’s a good guy, but I just wanted you to know that if he ever does do anything to hurt you, you can come to me. I really would cut his balls off you know.” He laughed awkwardly. “You promise me you’ll be careful?”

I nodded quickly, not wanting him to elaborate.

“By careful you know I mean–” I held my hand up and nodded again. Heat rushed to my face. “Okay good, ’cause if you came home pregnant Mum and Dad would freak, and I’d have to move out and support you. Well, glad we sorted this out. Now, I’ve got a date with Carly.”

Remembered her name. Well done, Jasper. Grabbing his leather jacket he turned to me and said, “You know I love you, right?”

I smiled and nodded.

“Good.” He closed the door behind him and was gone.

I went in the kitchen and answered a few of Mum’s questions, and then went to bed. After reading Cole’s text, I fell asleep smiling.





Chapter Thirteen


Oakley