Page 9 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

WILLOW

It was surprising how relaxed I was when Cole was gone.

Things felt normal without him around. I was able to move through the diner with ease.

The fear of running into him when I least expected it was gone, and I found myself being able to walk through the swinging kitchen door without bracing myself for whoever was on the other side.

The lunch rush came and went. I only had to take a break once to call Ralph, the local mechanic. He’d been able to tow my car and was in the process of diagnosing what was wrong.

When I finished the call, I joined Patricia and Breia, who were sitting at the far table, wrapping silverware.

Just as I pulled up a chair and sat, Cole returned.

Stress found its way back into my shoulders the moment I saw him walking up to the diner through the big front windows.

My entire body tensed as I waited for him to pull open the door.

I studied him as he stood in the entrance, his gaze sweeping over the room.

There was nothing in his expression or appearance that gave me any clue as to where he’d been.

My cheeks heated the moment his gaze landed on me.

I couldn’t break the connection between us.

He held my gaze for a moment before heading into the kitchen.

Once he was gone, I slowly let out my breath.

I glanced over to see Patricia and Breia watching me with their eyebrows raised. I frowned. “What?”

Breia shook her head. “Nothing,” she and Patricia said at the same time.

That response felt a little too choreographed. Then I realized what was going on. Breia had said something to Patricia, and they were now analyzing my reaction to Cole.

“You two,” I said, shaking my head as I reached over to grab a clean fork. “You’re looking for something that’s not there.”

“He invited you to stay at his house,” Patricia said, slowly emphasizing each word.

I glanced up at her. “Yeah, he’s nice.”

Patricia shook her head. “Guys like Cole aren’t nice . He either wants something or wants something.”

I almost choked on my tongue as I whipped my gaze over to stare at her. It had been a long time since a man had wanted anything from me. Harold never made me feel beautiful, and I had started to believe the rest of the male population felt the same.

“He does not want anything from me,” I said, my voice low as heat rushed to my cheeks.

“He just felt guilty that he’s been a jerk to me.

And when he found out I was sleeping in the diner, he stepped up.

” I sighed. “I guess he has a lot of guilt from his grandmother. He said something about her never letting him live it down if he didn’t act like a gentleman. ”

My heart warmed at the thought. There was something so sweet about a man who respected the women in their life, even if that man was Cole Watkins.

“Mark my words, he wants something from you,” Patricia said as she leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.

“Who wants something from you?” Cole’s deep voice startled all of us.

We whipped our heads in his direction in perfect synchrony.

“The produce guy,” I blurted out. From how hot my face felt, I was certain it was bright red. The last thing I wanted was for Cole to suspect we were talking about him.

Cole glanced from me, to Patricia, to Breia, and then back to me. He looked confused but, thankfully, decided he wasn’t going to push it. “Can I talk to you?” he asked as he raised his eyebrows and nodded toward the kitchen door.

I glanced in the direction he’d motioned. “Me?” I asked as I pointed to my chest. I just wanted to clarify so I didn’t feel like an idiot when I stood up, assuming it was me, only to find out that he actually wanted Breia.

He nodded but didn’t say anything else. Once we were in my office, he turned to face me. His expression was unreadable. We stood there in silence. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to speak first or if he was going to start. I decided to wait. After all, he was the one who had asked to talk to me.

“Are you planning on staying at my place tonight?” He dropped his gaze as soon as the question left his lips.

“What?” I asked, not sure if I’d heard him right.

“Are you coming back to my place tonight?” he asked again. This time he brought his gaze up to mine and held it there long after his question was over.

“I um…” I didn’t know what to say to that. Did he want me to come back?

Then Patricia’s words echoed in my mind, “He either wants something, or wants something.” Was she right? Did Cole think I was…easy? I held his gaze as if I could find the answer to my unspoken question there.

Why was he being this nice to me?

I wanted to think it was because he was a decent human being, and there were times he’d made it easy to believe that.

But then there were also times where he was cold and distant, and all the goodwill he’d gained by his acts of kindness was overshadowed.

Like he was finally showing his true self.

Or maybe that wasn’t his true self? I wasn’t sure.

All I knew was that he was confusing, and I didn’t like feeling confused.

Cole took a step back. His eyes were wide, and his expression had fallen as he studied me. “Oh, I’m sorry.” He raised his hands. “I…um…I shouldn’t have asked.” He pushed his hand through his hair before dragging it down his face. “Just forget that I said anything.”

I felt myself scrambling to keep him from leaving. I didn’t want him to feel bad. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” I said while offering him a small smile.

He studied me. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why isn’t it a good idea?” He folded his arms across his chest.

I sighed. “I just think that with us working together and with your…future plans.” I didn’t want to push him into thinking that he had to open up to me when he so clearly didn’t want to. “It’s best for us to keep work and home life separate.”

He held my gaze. “Ah.” He paused, the silence between us felt deafening as we stood there. Then he scrubbed his face with his hand as he tipped his head back and took in a deep breath. “Okay,” he said as he returned to studying me. “If that’s what you want.”

I nodded. “It is.”

Cole didn’t say anything more. He just held my gaze before he turned and left my office.

As soon as I was alone, my knees felt like they were going to collapse, so I moved to sit on the edge of the couch.

I tipped my head forward and took in a deep breath.

This was good. Setting boundaries with Cole was right.

It would only get messy if we mixed our personal and work life.

I still didn’t know who this man was, what he wanted, or what his plans were.

The last thing I needed was to be dependent on another man who had no intention of sticking around.

I needed to protect my son and—when I thought long and hard about it—myself.

We were finally building a foundation at the diner and in Harmony.

The last thing I needed was for one stupid choice to yank that away from me.

I kept my distance from Cole for the rest of the evening.

Jasper was excited to see him and talked with him for a few minutes until Cole saw me watching and ended it.

Jasper spent the evening sitting in his booth, watching his tablet and eating a hamburger and fries while I helped with the last few customers before we closed for the night.

Breia and Patricia helped me pick up the dining room while Cole stayed in the back with Brody.

Once everything was cleaned and drying, they said goodnight.

I could tell that Breia wanted to offer for us to stay at her place but was resisting it, and I didn’t want her to grow to resent me.

“Go. We’ll be fine,” I said as I motioned toward the parking lot.

“Are you sure?” She hesitated.

I nodded. “Yes, don’t worry about us.” Even if I had to get a ride-share and stay at the Harmony Island motel for the night, we were going to be fine.

“Okay,” Breia said as she grabbed her purse and hurried through the kitchen.

I settled in at my desk, scrolling on my phone as I tried to figure out my plan for the night. Jasper was lying on the couch with his right ankle resting against his left knee, propping his tablet against his leg. Movement by the door had me looking up to see that Cole had appeared in the doorway.

“I’m going to head out,” he said, then paused.

I nodded, ready for him to leave so I could breathe again. “Okay.”

He studied me like he wanted to ask me something but then nodded. “Okay.”

It was only after Cole started to back away that I noticed Jasper had climbed off the couch and was heading toward the door. He looked intent on leaving with Cole. “Bubba,” I said as I pushed away from my desk and hurried to stop him. “Jasper, honey, where are you going?”

He turned to look at me, confused. “With Cole,” he said matter-of-factly.

“We’re not going with Cole tonight.” I wrapped my arm around his shoulders to stop him from leaving.

“What?” Jasper asked, looking up at me.

Cole didn’t linger. When I looked in his direction, he was gone, so I knelt down in front of my son. “We’re not staying at his house tonight. We don’t want to be rude and overstay our welcome.”

Jasper knitted his eyebrows together. “Oh,” he said quietly.

I offered him a smile, feeling relieved that he wasn’t throwing a tantrum like I thought he would.

“Was I naughty?”

His question caught me off guard. “What?” I asked.

“Was I bad?” His little sniffle broke my heart. “Is that why we can’t go back?”

“What? No.” I pulled him to my chest and hugged him. “It has nothing to do with you,” I said softly as I pulled back and pushed his blond curls from his forehead.

“But I was bad with daddy. That’s why he left.”

My heart broke as I listened to my son try to understand why the men in his life kept leaving. I felt selfish. I’d deluded myself into thinking I was refusing Cole’s invitation to protect my son…but maybe it was more to protect myself.

And then the guilt came.

It crashed into me like waves during a hurricane. It took my breath away. My chest squeezed so tight that my pounding heart ached. I stared at the space that Cole had just vacated. Unlike with Harold, I could fix this. I could bring back this male figure in my son’s life, at least I hoped I could.

“Wait here,” I said as I hurried out of my office and through the kitchen.

I burst out the back door and scanned the parking lot. Thankfully, Cole’s car was still there, but the brake lights were on. I hurried down the back stairs and across the gravel, and I knocked on his trunk to let him know I was there.

“Cole,” I shouted as I rounded his car and reached the driver’s window. I tapped a few times on the glass.

His gaze met mine, and he looked genuinely surprised as he rolled down the window. “Willow?” he asked as he took me in and then glanced behind me. “What are you doing?”

“Is the invitation to stay with you still good?”

He frowned. “What?”

“Is the invitation still good?”

He paused. “Yeah. Of course.”

Relief filled my chest. “Good, ’cause we’re coming with you.”