Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(47)

“Sounds good.”

Sarah’s head felt like it was on a swivel as she looked from one man to the next.

Cole wrapped his arm around her waist and led her toward the door. “See you tomorrow!” he called out.

She stumbled a bit as she turned and waved to the other men. Cole grinned but didn’t slow down. It wasn’t until they were standing outside and were headed for his car that she found her voice. “What just happened?” she asked.

“Ryder invited you to hang out with the other women tomorrow night. They like to try to get together at least once a month, but most of the time it’s more often than that. They usually go to the bar down there”—he pointed across the street to the Rock ’N’ Roll bar—“but because Grace is still nervous to have her kids out of her sight for too long, Bailey is pregnant, Alexis is a lightweight, and Felicity gets a hankering for her man when she gets drunk, the nights usually only last until around ten o’clock or so.”

Sarah stopped in her tracks in the middle of the sidewalk, and Cole was forced to stop with her. “They want me to go with them?”

Cole’s face softened. “Yeah, angel.”

“Why?”

“Because. They like you. You’re one of them now.”

“How do they figure?”

Cole studied her and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to freak you out, but I’m just going to come right out and say this. You’re with me, Sarah. We’re dating. I talk about almost nothing other than you at work—and Felicity is more than aware that I don’t talk about women I date and it’s been forever since I’ve even taken someone out. She’s one of my best friends, and she wants to get to know you. And since she’s best friends with Grace, she wants to get to know you too. And since Alexis and Bailey are sisters-in-law—well, not officially, but they might as well be—they want to know you better as well. When Felicity heard you’d be in town today, and had the next couple days off, and that I planned to find a way to keep you here in Castle Rock with me for as much of those three days as possible, she called up the others and planned the girls’ night out.”

“Oh.”

Cole smiled. “That’s all you’re gonna say?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“All right then. How about we get something to eat?”

Sarah nodded, still thinking about what Cole had just said. She’d never had girlfriends. She didn’t really know how to relate to other women. In middle and high school, they’d thought she was too much of a goody two-shoes to hang out with. So she’d studied hard, made her dads happy, and got straight As. When she was getting her CNA degree, she was too busy working and studying to worry much about drinking or hanging out with others her age. She’d gotten her job . . . and then her dads were killed, and emotionally, she’d just been trying to keep her head above water ever since.

Cole held the door until she got situated in the passenger side of his car, then walked around to the driver’s side. Once he sat, she remembered something else he’d said to Ryder.

“So . . . I’ll be with you?”

Cole turned hopeful eyes her way. “I want you to stay the night with me at my place tonight.” He spoke faster, as if she’d agree if he got the words out quickly. “I’ve got an extra bedroom, so I’m not presuming anything. I just want to spend as much time together as possible, get to know each other better, and make sure you’re safe. Until Owen is found, I’m extremely uneasy with you gallivanting around by yourself, even though you’re an adult and have been on your own for years, and even though I’ve been giving you self-defense lessons. You said Owen outweighs you by at least a hundred pounds, so he could easily take you by surprise and overpower you. I’m trying not to be an overbearing boyfriend, but I can’t help it. That’s who I am. I worry about everyone. Ask Felicity. I was the biggest pest when her stalker was after her.”

When he stopped to take a breath, Sarah put her hand on his thigh, shutting him up. She hadn’t ever seen him so nervous before. It was cute as hell—and made her fall for him even more. “I’ll stay with you,” she said softly. “On one condition.”

“Anything,” Cole said, his eyes half closing as he sighed in relief.

“I don’t know what to wear tomorrow night. Will you help me and maybe take me shopping? It’s not like I’ve got anything with me, and most of my clothes, other than scrubs and jeans, are packed in boxes in my house.”

Cole reached out, tagged her behind the neck, and pulled her across the console toward him. “There’s no one in this world who could get me to step foot in a department store with her . . . other than you. Yes, I’ll take you shopping, angel. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

They were face-to-face, and Sarah couldn’t take her eyes off Cole’s lips. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“Before we go to bed, we can throw your stuff in the washer. I know it’s not ideal to wear the same thing two days in a row, but I think that’s preferable to you wearing my clothes. Although I’m not opposed to giving you one of my shirts to wear to bed.”

The idea of wearing one of his huge T-shirts and nothing else made Sarah shift restlessly in her seat.

“I should’ve thought about telling you to pack a bag, but I didn’t want you to say no,” Cole admitted. “I’m sorry. I know girls like to have their stuff with them.”