Crazy in Love (Blue Lake #3)(42)

Her.

He was going to focus on her.

God, what she wouldn’t give to let that happen. They’d made love four times last night. Her lips were numb, her legs were tingling, and her girly parts could use a break. It’d been the best sex of her life, but she’d told herself each time that this was it.

It had to end at daybreak.

An entire day with Cole…Could she handle that? The more he stood at her side the more she wanted him there.

Would she be able to watch him leave tomorrow morning?

“What’d you have in mind?” she asked, her breath already starting to hitch.

He brushed his fingers down her neck, over her shoulder, and down her arm. His lazy caresses lulled her into a weary trance.

“I was thinking we could spend the day together,” he said. “You mentioned lakes and rivers down the road that caught my interest. Or maybe you could show me what’s so great about this town of yours.”

“I’d love to, but I can’t.” Her heart fell. “Even though the place isn’t full, I still have to stop by the grocery store. And I have a meeting with the designer and painter for the inn addition this afternoon.”

“All right,” he said, without skipping a beat. “Sounds great.”

“Really?”

“Sure, why not? As long as I’m back at StoneMill by show time.”

He seemed so eager to be with her outside of the bed. Shock flittered through her.

“If I’m going to show you the town, what are you going to show me?” she teased.

“Oh, if that’s what you want I’ll give you an eyeful!” Grabbing the sheet, he yanked it over their heads and covered her body with kisses…focusing on a few places more than others.

After they made love again and the clock ticked over to eleven, Rachael rolled out of bed and slipped into the shower. She thought Cole would come in behind her so they could add more steam to the bathroom, but he didn’t.

She got out, dressed in her usual—jeans, a loose-fitting sweater, and black boots—and finished getting ready, pulling her hair into a ponytail. She carefully painted her eyelids with charcoal liner and glossed her lips with Lucky in Pink. She could use the extra luck today.

As she made her way downstairs, the smell of eggs struck her.

“Cole?”

“In here,” he called from the kitchen. “Hope you like omelets.”

She loved them, and made them often. But as she turned the corner and spotted Cole near the stove, jeans slung low on his hips revealing those slanting muscles on the side of his abs, Rachael forgot what he’d said. His hair was damp—he must’ve taken a quick shower downstairs—and his torso rippled with perfectly sculpted muscle.

“I didn’t know you cooked,” she said, throat going dry.


He wagged a spatula at her. “There’s a ton you don’t know about me.”

“Like what?”

“I grew up in a small town like this.” He diced up tomatoes and bell peppers and added them to the omelet as he went on. “My parents owned a house in a tiny ocean town in Oregon.”

“Really?” She’d planned on starting a pot of coffee, but there was already one freshly brewed. She poured a cup and sat in Cole’s usual spot. “Do they still live there?”

He shrugged as if he didn’t care. “Wouldn’t know. My mom ditched out on us when I was ten. My dad moved us to Portland, but not long after that he said he couldn’t handle me anymore and sent me to live with my aunt in Los Angeles. I haven’t talked to either of them after that.” He flopped an omelet onto a plate and slid it across the table. “Ketchup? Tabasco?”