Page 32 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

WILLOW

The entire day felt like a blur. I woke up determined to keep my relationship platonic with Cole, only to have him take charge and kiss me until I was breathless in the kitchen.

After lunch, he took me and Jasper on a tour of Miami’s aquarium, and we stopped to check on his Gran on the way back to his house.

After Jasper was settled in the living room with macaroni and cheese and a movie, I got ready for the gala.

When I opened my bedroom door and stepped out, Cole was waiting for me in the hallway.

He’d been leaning against the wall, fiddling with his cuff links, when I approached him.

He turned, and almost in slow motion, his gaze drifted slowly down the black satin dress I’d picked up with Maddie.

When his gaze returned to my face, the world around me faded away.

He took no steps to hide the heat and desire he felt for me.

It was almost overwhelming. There was so much I wanted to believe about us, but I couldn’t ignore the truth.

Cole and I were from two different worlds, and those worlds were never meant to meet.

I smiled and dropped my gaze. I smoothed out my dress as I forced my body to relax. “I’m ready,” I whispered.

“You’re beautiful.”

My cheeks warmed as I paused for a millisecond to commit his words to memory before I glanced back up at him. “You don’t look half bad yourself,” I said, motioning to his black tux.

His grin was genuine and sent the butterflies in my stomach into action.

“Thanks,” he said before he turned and extended his elbow for me to take.

Candace, Maddie’s sister, was sweet. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she had black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. I gave her the nighttime to-dos for Jasper, and she nodded as she fervently typed my instructions on her phone.

I gave Jasper a kiss, which he wiped off his cheek as he grunted and moved so he could return to watching his show. I tousled his hair, bid him goodnight, and joined Cole, who was leaning against the doorframe, watching us.

I hated how open he was with the way he looked at me.

There was no pretense. He wasn’t shy about his feelings.

I hated and loved it at the same time. It was definitely a boost to my self-esteem.

But it scared me to be that vulnerable, that transparent with a man who had every intention of leaving and never coming back.

I tried to keep my distance as he pressed his hand ever so slightly into my lower back.

The warmth of his palm radiating through my dress had me involuntarily leaning into it as he led me through the house and into the garage.

When we got to his car, he hurried to reach around me and grab hold of the door handle.

He stayed close to me as I lowered myself onto the seat, and then he gave me a once-over to make sure I was fully inside before he gently shut the door. I watched him round the hood and pull open the driver’s door. Once he was settled, he glanced over at me.

“Ready?” he asked.

I smoothed the fabric of my dress over my thighs and then glanced at him and nodded. “I’m ready.”

He played some artist named Drifter as we drove through downtown Miami.

Every so often, he’d softly murmur the lyrics and the warmth of his voice mixing with the music sent shivers across my skin.

Not wanting him to notice, I reached over and rubbed my arm with the hopes of dispelling my goosebumps.

I felt Cole’s gaze on me before he reached over to fiddle with the temperature.

“Are you cold?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

I glanced over at him and shook my head. “I’m okay,” I whispered.

He held my gaze for a moment before he turned his attention back to the road. “Just let me know,” he said as he turned on the blinker to take a left.

We remained quiet as he drove the rest of the way to Obsidian.

When he pulled up in front, I glanced out the window to see a building made entirely of dark glass.

A small neon sign that read Obsidian was affixed above the door where a bouncer stood with his arms folded and a pair of sunglasses perched on his nose even though the sun had been tucked away for hours now.

There was a line of people that ran the length of the building.

They were cordoned off by a thick black rope.

A man in a suit suddenly appeared next to my door and pulled it open.

He held out his hand for me, and I took it while Cole got out as well.

He handed his keys to the valet and then moved to join me on the sidewalk.

He held out his elbow, and even though my common sense told me not to take it, I did anyway. I wrapped my arm around his and drew my body closer to him. His hand covered mine as he led me up to the door, where the bouncer nodded and held the door for us so we could enter.

The music was loud, and the lights were low. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust even though it was dark outside. Cole held onto me as he made his way through the crowd of people who were either calling his name or stopping him to kiss his cheek.

I felt out of place as I stood next to him, watching him interact with people I didn’t know and was certain I would never see again. I felt like an ornate handbag hanging from the arm of a queen. Beautiful but impractical.

My body began to itch, and the desire to hightail it out of this club grew inside of me.

I took in a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.

This was Cole’s night. I was here to support him like he’d spent the last few days supporting me.

If he needed me to be the pretty piece on his arm, then I would be that for him.

I just couldn’t stop the reality from setting in of how far apart my world was from Cole’s.

This club was a giant, blinking neon sign that said, What are you thinking, Willow?

I felt foolish for thinking that Cole and I were different based solely on his house and car.

This club. These people. They were the reasons Cole and I were never going to make it.

Even in the dark, moody lighting of the club, the difference between us shone like the sun at noonday. Cole was rich and popular, and I was a poor single mom. Whatever was going on between Cole and me wasn’t going to make it past my time here in Miami.

Eventually, he was going to grow tired of me tagging along, pretending like I belonged in his world.

He might not see it now, but there would be a point where he would wake up and realize that I was at a party I was never meant to be invited to.

The question I had to ask myself was, how long was I going to stick around?

I broke when Harold left. I was certain I would shatter if Cole did the same.

“Come on, let me show you where you can hang out.” Cole’s lips were millimeters from my ear as he squeezed my hand.

His warm breath caused goosebumps to cascade across my skin, and I wanted to enjoy his closeness, but I forced myself to stay distant. It was the only way I could find the strength to walk away from him in the future.

He led me over to a table near the stage. It was roped off and a RESERVED sign sat on the smooth black marble top. Cole reached over, unhooked the rope, and pulled it back so I could get by. I settled down in the booth and glanced up to see that Cole wasn’t joining me.

He must have noticed my disappointment because he offered me an apologetic smile. “I have to go greet some people, but I’ll be back.” He reached out and grasped my hand, bringing it to his lips as he pressed a kiss into my fingers. “Wait here for me,” he commanded.

I wanted to tell him, no, I needed to go home. I needed to hide myself in Harmony to protect my heart. But none of those words made their way to my tongue. I just nodded and watched as he lowered my hand and studied me for a moment before he turned and left.

Now alone, I took in a deep breath before I slowly let it out.

I ran my fingers across the smooth leather booth as I glanced around at the people sitting at tables or standing in clusters.

They all looked like they belonged here.

Sure, the dress Maddie had picked out made me look like I belonged here as well, but it was a lie.

This wasn’t me. I was slippers and faded, ripped pajamas.

And that was exactly what I would be wearing tonight if I were back home in Harmony. Not…this.

I was not part of this world, and I was never going to be.

“Excuse me.”

A sharp, tense voice to my left pulled me from my thoughts. I glanced over to see a woman whose jet-black hair was pulled into a slick bun at the nape of her neck. Her blue eyes were wide, and her nose was turned up ever so slightly as she stared down at me.

“I think you’re at the wrong table,” she said, pointing her obnoxiously long and overly decorated nail in my direction. “That’s Cole Watkin’s table.”

Heat pricked my skin as I glanced down at the table in front of me and then over to her.

I wanted to tell her that this was where he told me to sit.

I wanted to tell her that I belonged right where I was.

But it felt like a lie on my tongue. She was the first person to accurately depict my situation with Cole.

I was at the wrong everything.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled as I stood and brushed down my dress.

She folded her arms and watched me step around the rope.

I could feel her judgment as I headed away from the table.

I didn’t bother to look back as I moved to stand in the shadows by the bar.

All I wanted to do was sprint from this place, but for some reason my feet felt like lead, and I couldn’t find the strength inside of me to move.

I wanted to leave to protect my heart, but I also didn’t want to leave Cole. I was rapidly falling in love with this man, and as much as I knew we weren’t meant to be together, I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger just yet.

I was in limbo, and it was hell.