Page 27 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

WILLOW

What on earth am I doing?

I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

My hair fell in soft waves around my face, framing my bright pink cheeks.

I was standing in Cole’s bathroom in my bra and underwear.

Thank goodness I’d worn a cute set today—a black lace bra with nude padding and a pair of black panties with lace trim—and not the holey, sweat-stained underwear I wore most days.

My heart was pounding as I turned slowly from side to side. I appreciated what I saw, I just hoped that Cole would as well.

I closed my eyes at that thought. “This is such a stupid idea,” I whispered before I opened my eyes and turned until I was facing the mirror head-on. I glared at myself, fear gripping my chest as my brain screamed at me to put my clothes back on, head back to my room, and never ever come back out.

But my body seemed to have a different plan. One that included grabbing a towel, wrapping it around my body, and heading out to the hallway with one goal in mind: Cole.

I tiptoed through Cole’s house in my bare feet as I headed to the large sliding doors that led out to his deck. I’d seen his covered hot tub this afternoon when we first got here, so I figured that was where he would be.

My stomach flip-flopped when I saw Cole standing next to the now uncovered hot tub in his swim trunks.

His large, muscular back was to me, and I took a stolen moment to watch his muscles ripple as he moved to set down two wine glasses next to the dark bottle of wine on a small platform attached to the left side of the hot tub.

I pressed one hand to my warm cheeks, cursing myself for being so transparent. I liked Cole. I really liked Cole. And ever since Maddie told me that Cole was available, the dam that I’d built inside of myself had imploded, causing those feelings to flow freely like a river inside me.

I wanted him, and I wanted him to want me.

Was that possible?

“ No one will ever want some washed up single mom .” Harold’s words ripped through my mind, as poignant as the day he said them.

Fear. Doubt. Self-consciousness pierced my soul as I dropped my gaze down to the towel wrapped around me.

What was I doing? Was I foolish enough to think that Cole would want me?

Me? I was a washed-up single mom. I couldn’t even afford a motel for Jasper and me to stay at much less whatever five-star hotel Cole was used to.

I was thrift stores and Hamburger Helper. Cole was Michelin star restaurants and celebrity best friends.

I shook my head as my eyes filled with pity tears. I was a fool to think that water and oil would ever mix. I wasn’t destined to be with Cole, and he wasn’t destined to be with me. It would be better for me to turn and walk away then to play the fool and join him.

If I had any hope of saving face, I needed to leave. Now.

I turned and tiptoed back toward the bathroom. I’d gone five steps when I heard the sliding door open. I closed my eyes because I knew what was coming.

“Willow?” I’d been caught. Cole’s voice was smooth and deep. It reminded me of the dark chocolate sea salt caramels I love.

I didn’t turn around. “Yeah?” I asked, hoping my voice sounded calmer than my body felt.

“Everything okay?” his voice was closer now.

Every nerve in my body heightened from his proximity. I wanted to be touched by him. I wanted to feel his hands on my body. His lips pressed to mine. It had been so long since a man had been this close, and every part of me ached for him to reach out and take me.

Knowing I couldn’t walk away now, I forced a smile and turned to face him. “Yep, I’m good.”’

Cole was just a foot away. His eyebrows were drawn together as he studied me. His hand was outstretched like he’d thought about touching me but had decided not to. My skin tingled from the anticipation.

“You sure?” he asked, hesitation in his voice.

I nodded. “I’m sure.”

He studied me for a moment longer. Not wanting him to question me again, I walked past him toward the sliding door. I didn’t turn around, but I knew he was following me. I could feel his presence as I walked out onto the deck. My heart was racing, and I feared he could hear it.

When I got to the hot tub, I paused. All my confidence evaporated as I stared at the steaming, bubbling water. Realization that I was going to have to take off my towel and show Cole my body slammed into me like a Mack truck.

My body wasn’t perfect after Jasper. I had stretch marks across the softness of my stomach.

My breasts weren’t as perky as they used to be—luckily my bra helped hide the results of breast feeding for a year.

And I had more cellulite than I wanted to admit.

Taking this towel off meant revealing all of this to Cole.

It meant being vulnerable in front of this man.

“Are you okay?” Cole’s voice was soft and cautious. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him step up until he was right behind me. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” His gaze met mine. I could see that his words were genuine.

I glanced back at the water and then over to him once more. “It’s been so long since I’ve…” I swallowed. It was as if my body was physically fighting me to keep the words inside. “…since a man has seen this much of me.” The words left my lips in a whisper as I turned my attention forward once more.

I could feel Cole’s gaze on me. It left a heated trail as he slowly dragged it down my body. I was grateful for the protection the towel gave me.

“Willow,” he murmured. There was something to his tone that I tried to convince myself wasn’t there. It was…desire. “If you think I’ll be disappointed with your body…” His voice slowly trailed off.

I glanced over my shoulder, fearing that I’d missed the end of the sentence. I was met with fire in his gaze as he stepped closer to me.

“You have nothing to fear.” His voice was deep, almost demanding now. Like he needed me to believe the words he was saying.

I met his gaze once more to see that all previous pretenses were gone.

We were no longer Cole and Willow, co-owners of the Sunny Side Up Diner.

We were now just a woman looking at a man.

The connection between us was as heavy as the humid air rising up from the water.

It was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, and I couldn’t move. I was pinned by his gaze.

Eventually, he sighed and pushed his hand through his hair. “I’m not going to push you. If this is too much, I’ll happily walk you to your room and bid you goodnight.” He offered me a smile. “And I’ll be here tomorrow to wish you a good morning.”

I played his words over and over in my mind. I wanted his intentions to be true. I didn’t want Cole to want me because I came with the package of co-owning the diner. I didn’t want him to want me because I was a single mom and he felt some moral obligation to help me out.

I wanted him to want me because…I was me.

But the only way I could find out if that was the case was if I allowed myself to be vulnerable. I was done with hiding.

“I want to stay,” I whispered.

He remained quiet for a moment before he nodded. “Okay.”

Cole was the first to move. He swung his leg over the edge of the hot tub and steadied his weight as he brought the other leg into the water. Then he stepped down into the middle of the hot tub and held out his hand to me.

It felt like pulling off a bandage as I released the hold I had on the towel and let it fall to my feet. The cool ocean air hit my warm exposed skin, but it was the heat that flashed in Cole’s gaze that caused goosebumps to erupt across my arms.

He wasn’t shy as he studied me. His gaze moved ever so slowly down my body before he brought it back up. When his gaze locked with mine, I could feel the red-hot desire he had for me. It took my breath away.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, his words sharp and to the point. He wanted me to know exactly what he thought.

My heart was pounding so hard that I feared it would bruise my ribs. All of the doubt. All of the fear. All of the self-consciousness that Harold made me feel began to dissolve.

Cole Watkins thought I was beautiful. This man, this perfect man, thought I was beautiful.

“Thank you,” I whispered as I stepped toward the hot tub and placed my hand in his.

Electricity shot up my arm, temporarily disarming me.

Thankfully, I barely had to exert any effort as he practically lifted me into the hot tub and set me down next to him.

His hands lingered on my body for a moment before he stepped back and sat down, sinking into the water.

I turned and did the same, now facing him.

His gaze was on mine as he stared at me from across the hot tub. My cheeks felt as if they were on fire now. It wasn’t just from the steam swirling around us. but from the way he unabashedly studied me. His gaze was curious. Like he had so much to say to me, but didn’t know where to start.

“You thought I was dating Maddie?”

His question caught me off guard. I blinked as I tried to process what he’d asked. Maddie told him? Embarrassment coursed through me, and in that moment, I was grateful that my cheeks were already warm from the heat of the water.

There was no way I could deny it. I studied him before I brought my cupped hand just barely out of the water to gather up some of the foam that had accumulated on the surface. “Yes,” I whispered.

He frowned. “Why would you think that?”

I paused. Was he serious? “She was a strange woman in your house in the early hours of the morning. Besides, why didn’t you introduce her as your assistant?

” I wasn’t going to be the only person to take the blame for this misunderstanding.

How hard would it have been for him to say, “This is my assistant, Maddie.”

“I didn’t?”

I snorted. “You didn’t.” If he had, it might have kept me a little more sane these last few days.