The Birthday List(62)

Aly had told me she loved me countless times and I’d never said it back. Not once. And now, I was finally ready to say those three words to a woman who couldn’t say them back.





Cole’s shower was fancy. And huge.

Floor-to-ceiling tiles extended from a bench seat at one end to the doorway at the opposite side. There wasn’t an actual door because the space was so big—the water coming from the three bronze showerheads didn’t come close to escaping. But as gorgeous as the ivory marble tile was, the best part of Cole’s shower was the smell.

Just as I’d suspected, on a cutout shelf was a bottle of Irish Spring body wash. The smell had seeped into the tile, so as the shower filled with steam, I was engulfed in Cole’s clean, manly scent.

I laughed as I stared at the bottle. Its dark green coordinated perfectly with my light-green skin.

I’d done my best—scrubbing with fury—to get the color off my arms and hands, but I would need a thorough exfoliation with some sugar scrub and my loofah to get back to my normal shade.

Doing the Jell-O pool at Cole’s had its drawbacks. I didn’t have any of my normal beauty products or a hair dryer. I’d be putting back on the clothes I’d worn earlier at the restaurant even though I longed for something fresh and clean. But still, I was glad we’d done it here. Not only was I avoiding bringing him to my house, it was nice to have company instead of doing it alone.

I’d always known the Jell-O item was going to be hard—since Jamie had added it on the day he’d died. But with Cole teasing me about being green, plus his weird aversion to Jell-O, it had been bearable.

His steady hand helping me out of the pool had eased some of the sting away.

I was really coming to rely on his hands. Probably too much.

But without them, I don’t know how I would have ever come this far. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t keep asking for Cole’s help, but just tonight, I’d let him do all that work to set up my Jell-O pool. Every time he offered his assistance, I agreed. I had to stop taking advantage before he came to resent me—I just didn’t know how.

Because of Cole, I was getting closer to the end of Jamie’s birthday list without being in a constant state of tears. Instead, he was helping me find the joy in each item. The fun that Jamie had been after in the first place.

I smiled down at my green cuticles as the water ran over my body to my green-tinged toes. You would have loved this, Jamie. Where I wanted to scrub away the green, Jamie would have let it stay. He’d have worn this Jell-O color like a badge of honor until it faded.

The water started to turn cold so I did one last scrub, then shut it off, stealing a fresh towel from Cole before pulling back on my flour-dusted jeans and The Maysen Jar T-shirt. I tied up my damp hair in a knot, then came out of the bathroom into Cole’s bedroom.

I’d been in such a rush to get out of my Jell-O clothes, I hadn’t really studied his bedroom earlier when I’d sprinted for the shower. But now, I couldn’t help but let my eyes linger on his sleigh bed right in the middle of the room.

Just like his shower, it was huge. The espresso wood of the footboard and headboard gleamed under the recessed ceiling lights. The simple khaki bedding went well with the white walls and chocolate-brown wood floors.

Had Cole decorated in here? Or had his ex? My lips thinned as I thought about the encounter with Aly earlier.

She was beautiful. Of course she was beautiful. Cole was hotter than the vast majority of male specimens on the planet. Of course his ex-girlfriend was gorgeous.

And clearly still in love with him.

Had he loved her too? Had he whispered those three words into her hair as he’d held her in his strong arms in this massive bed?

Before my head could wander too far down a green-eyed—er, toed—path, Cole knocked on the door. “Poppy?”

I jerked out of my daze, whipping my eyes away from his bed. “Come on in.”

His feet were bare as he came into the room. “I just wanted to see if you needed anything.”

“No.” I smiled. “Thank you for your help. I left your towels in the bathroom, but I’m not sure that green is going to come out.”

“I don’t care about the towels.” He stepped past me and sat against the footboard. His hands were braced on the wood at his sides, making the muscles of his arms pop. When he crossed one ankle over the other, I spun around so he wouldn’t see my heated cheeks.

Damn, he was sexy. The image of Cole in that seemingly casual stance would forever be stamped on my brain.

I took a few long seconds to collect myself as I pretended to study his decor. “I like your house.”

“Thanks. I got lucky and bought it for a steal because it was the last house on the block that hadn’t been restored yet. It’s taken me a while, but I’m finally getting it fixed up to this century.”

I nodded and smiled, peeking over my shoulder to see he hadn’t moved. Back came the heat to my face, but this time it didn’t stop at my cheeks—it went all the way down to my core, stirring a desire that had been dormant for a long, long time.

He pushed off the bed. “Want the full tour?”

“Yes, please.” Sheesh. I’d hid my flaming cheeks, but there was no mistaking my breathy voice.

But Cole—in true Cole fashion—just grinned his knowing grin and crossed the room without a word.