Love Me to Death (23 page)

“That is good to know because it also means I am the first boyfriend that has ever kissed you in your house,” I whisper.

“What? You haven’t kissed me in—”

I cut her off when my lips meet hers. I kiss her for a long moment before pulling away with a satisfied smile on my face.

“You just love cutting off my sentences with your lips don’t you?”

“Only the irrelevant ones. So, really I should be kissing you every time that you talk.” She goes to swat me with her hand but I’m getting used to this little move of hers. I catch her wrist in mine, pull her toward me, place a quick kiss on her lips before I say, “Now get out of my room before your dad castrates me for doing what I’m thinking about doing to you in that bed,” I say pointing toward my bed for the night.

“Believe me, it’s not my dad you’ll have to worry about castrating you, Cole, it’s me.”

“Your empty threats just turn me on, babe.”

She rolls her eyes before walking to the door.

“And I lied, you’re not the first boyfriend I’ve brought here or kissed in this house,” she says. “Joey Mills was.”

“Who the hell is Joey Mills?” She ignores me and walks out the door laughing. That was not funny.

Once I’ve sorted out my stuff, I head toward the kitchen where I can hear everyone else. And by sort out my stuff I mean push my bag into the back of the closet in my room.

“At last, we’ve been trying to decide what to have for dinner tonight,” Nora says as I walk through the door.

“Ok, how can I help?”

“Well, I think a lasagna would be lovely but these two want a homemade chicken casserole, what would you like, Cole?” she asks.

My eyes flick to Ned’s and she is giving me that look.

“I think I’m going to have to go with the casserole because staying in Ned’s good graces is at the top of my ‘to-do’ list,” I chuckle.

“Traitor,” Nora laughs.

“Thanks, baby,” Ned says, walking over and giving me a quick kiss on the lips. Did Ned just kiss me first? Was that for her parents’ benefit? Who cares, Ned just kissed me first!

“Right, here is a list of the ingredients and some other things we need. Cole, you go to the store with Eddie and don’t let him get distracted,” Nora warns.

“I never get distracted, sweetheart. I just give extra attention to things you deem unnecessary.”

“Ed Waters, get out of here before I refuse to feed you.”

“Yes my love,” he chuckles before kissing her cheek.

“Wait, your name is a mix of theirs,” I say pointing at Ned’s parents, “You never told me that.”

“No, I didn’t but well done for figuring it out. Now, can you please go and get the food?” Ned says.

“Oh dear, hungry Ned has risen we better get out of here,” I say to Eddie.

“I’m with you there, lead the way, Son,” he chuckles as we run out of the house.

“Ha ha funny,” I hear Ned say from behind us.

I wait until Eddie unlocks the truck before I jump in.

“Those Waters women are way too bossy for their own good,” he says as he gets in the truck.

“Don’t I know it,” I mumble.

“Belt up, Son. The store’s a thirty-five-minute ride away.”

“Yes, sir,” I say putting on my seatbelt as instructed. “So is this where you grew up too?”

“Yes, my parents had a little house about ten minutes from here. It’s a beautiful place.”

“Yes, it is. I’m glad Ned brought me here.”

“She seems quite taken by you.”

“You think?” I ask curiously.

“I see it in her eyes. Eyes don’t lie. I suppose you know about her situation?” I know that he’s talking about her health. The air feels thick.

“Yeah, she’s been upfront from the beginning.”

“That didn’t bother you?”

“No, should it?”

“Not many men are prepared to give their heart to a dying woman, Cole,” I hate those words.

“Well, with all due respect I am not
many
men.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“And this has nothing to do with money, right?”

I should be offended but I laugh.

“Honestly, I had no idea who Ned was or how much money she had until she told me. In fact, I still don’t know how much money she has now that I come to think of it.”

I hear Eddie chuckle from beside me.

“I like your honesty.”

“Thanks.”

“I think Ned could do much worse for herself. I haven’t seen her smile that much in a while.”

“Really?”

“Mmm hmm. When you have all that money it’s sometimes hard to know who really cares. I believe that you care about my daughter.”

“I do. I don’t quite know when it happened but I do,” I say truthfully.

“Good, so where are your family from?”

“California.”

“You still live there or you in New York with Ned?”

“I’ve been in New York for five years. My sister has been there for ten. Only my father lives in California now.” I try not to sound bitter when I mention him.

“And your mother?”

“She died, six years ago.”

“That’s a damn shame but you seem like a good kid, so I’m going to guess that she raised you well.”

“She did,” I smile. “She was the best. Ned reminds me a lot of her actually.”

“Careful, Son, you know what they say don’t you?”

I shake my head. “What?”

“That a man ends up marrying a woman just like his mother.”

“That wouldn’t be a bad thing, she was perfect,” I say.

“So is my Neddie.”

I want to agree but saying it feels dangerous so I remain silent. I stay this way for the entire journey and Ed lets me.

“We’re back!” Ed shouts as we walk through the front door. We head straight to the kitchen and lay everything out on the counter.

“Great, now leave before you get in my way,” Nora teases. I smile before going to find Ned.

I knock on the door that I believe is her room and wait until I hear her answer.

“Come in,” she calls. I do. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that you actually knocked.”

“Only because we’re at your parents’ house and I’m on my best behavior.”

“I thought as much.” She rolls her eyes.

“What are you up to?” I ask as I look down at her sitting on her bed. Her room looks just like mine except the colors are brighter. She has her hair up in a messy bun. She is wearing a pair of gray yoga pants and a black tank top. She looks sexy. I wonder if these walls are soundproof.

“I’m reading and I know what you’re thinking. Behave.”

“What?” I say faking innocence before jumping onto the bed next to her. She rolls her eyes again and then goes back to reading her book. “Are the walls soundproof then?”

“What?” Her eyes lift to my face.

“You said that you knew what I was thinking. I was wondering how much your parents can hear through these walls.” I wink.

“
Everything
and even if they couldn’t it still wouldn’t matter.”

“Your constant rejection is really weighing down on my ego, you know.”

“Good now can you hurry up so that I can get back to my book. What do you want?”

“What are you reading?”

“A romance book.”

“Seriously? You read romance?”

“Yes.”

“I never had you down as a reader.”

“Well, there are many things you don’t know about me, Mr. Cole.”

“Apparently so.” I lean on my hand and lock eyes with her. “See, I believe that romance books are made to make us real men look bad. It’s impossible for us to live up to the crazy things your fictional book men do.”

“Book boyfriends,” she corrects, “and I disagree.”

I roll my eyes. “You would, you’re a woman. You’ve been reading these things for most of your life no doubt. Subconsciously you think that you should get nothing less than what you’re reading about.”

“Actually, a lot of the characters I read about are pretty flawed,” she says, resting the book down between us.

“How so?”

“Well, they make a ton of mistakes for a start. And a lot of the time the heroine has to do a whole lot of forgiving just to get to the happily ever after.”

She seems really passionate when she is speaking about this and it makes me want to know more.

“Then why do you read them? Isn’t life flawed enough?”

She laughs.

“Reading is an escape but it’s not about completely detaching yourself from reality. I read because I can relate to the feelings and emotions of the characters. Their struggles and trials are as real as mine. It’s like forcing yourself to look at life through a magnifying glass and seeing that sometimes things are not as bad as you think. Sometimes they could be worse and sometimes you just need to look at them differently.”

“Where’s the pleasure in that?”

“The happily ever after,” she chuckles. “The books I read are like a rollercoaster ride. They are filled with conflicts, pain, and heartbreak but in the end, they give you something that life can’t always offer … a happily ever after.”

“Interesting.”

“Yes, it is. You should try reading one.”

“Not sure it’s my thing, babe.”

“How can life not be your thing, Cole?”

“I don’t have a wise come back so I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear you.”

“Wow, the
amazing
Brennan Cole has been rendered speechless. I never thought the day would come. Although I must say that it’s rather peaceful to have a break from that big mout—”

She’s cut off as my hand creeps to her side and I begin tickling her mercilessly. She falls onto her back and opens her mouth wide, letting out the loudest laugh I have ever heard from her.

“Ah, have I discovered a weakness of
the
Neddie Waters.” She can’t answer since she is in a fit of hysterical laughter and can barely breathe. Once I’m satisfied that she has suffered enough, I slow my hand movements until I stop moving completely. I smile down as I watch her gasping for air.

“You are an evil little man,” she says trying to give me an angry look but failing miserably.

“I already told you, there is nothing little about me,” I smirk.

“Really? Is your brain included in that?”

I lift my hand in the air threatening a part two of the tickling war we just started.

“No,” she warns with a big smile on her face. I don’t think I’ve ever met a woman as beautiful as her. I rest my hand on her side and just stare down at her, admiring every curve and line that forms her face. Her breathing has slowly calmed down and now she is silently staring back up at me. Our eyes are locked and we are not looking anywhere else. I don’t care if she feels uncomfortable under my gaze, I need this moment. I need to remember this and store it because it’s beautiful.

I lift my hand to her face and gently smooth a strand of hair behind her ear.