OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE (25 page)

He stirred.

“Cole,” she whispered.

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for inviting me to your party.”

He opened his eyes and smiled back.  “Anytime.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”  She yawned tiredly and snuggled deeper into his embrace. 

He pressed a kiss to her brow. 
“I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Having a bucket of ice water thrown on her couldn’t have shocked
her more. 
Love?
  Cole thought he was falling in love with her?

That wasn’t supposed to happen.  They were supposed to have hot, steamy, non-committal sex, no strings attached. 
Love
was a very big string.

Not knowing what else to do, she feigned sleep.

“Get some rest, doll,” he whispered and soon fell into silence beside her.

His even breathing and the weight of Cole
’s body pressed against hers told Kelsie he had drifted off to sleep.  She needed to think, something she couldn’t do lying there in his arms.  At least, not clearly.

The urge to run had never been greater, not even when she’d walked in on her snake of an ex with the office cleaning bimbo.  Maybe it was because she’d never felt the heart-rending passion for Kyle that she did when she was with Cole. 

She eased out of his arms and slipped from the bed without waking him.  She reached for her discarded pink panties and then turned to look at him through a haze of unshed tears.

“I don’t want you to love me,” she whispered and then turned to hurry from the room before she gave in to the urge to return to Cole’s arms. 
 

Following
the trail of discarded clothes, she collected hers as she went.  Tears streaming down her cheeks, she dressed in the kitchen and then slipped from the house, closing the door behind her.

*
              *              *

Cole gritted his teeth in frustration as the kitchen door creaked shut.  He rolled onto his back with a sigh and tucked his arms under the pillow beneath his head.  Kelsie was gone.

She’d done it again.  Run out on him.  Even after the incredible afternoon they’d shared making love.  Even after he’d opened up to her about his feelings. 

He opened up to her.  Cole cursed his own stupidity.  What had he been thinking? 
Kelsie wasn’t ready for a confession like that.  Problem was, he hadn’t been thinking.  At least, not clearly.  He’d been too caught up in what they’d shared, in how she made him feel when they were together. 

“Damn
it,” he muttered in frustration.  He’d had relationships end before, but he’d never felt that intense kicked-in-the-gut ache he felt now.  Not that Kelsie had verbally ended things with him.  She didn’t have to.  Her actions spoke for her.

Wh
en was he going to accept that he’d been fighting a losing battle where Kelsie’s heart was concerned? His gaze shifted to the open bedroom door.  It had taken all his willpower not to stop her from walking out on him again.  Instead, he’d forced himself to lie there, pretending to be asleep while she slipped from his bed.  From his life.

Even now he wanted
to go after her.  To convince her to stay.  But he couldn’t do it.  Even if he was ready for a long-term relationship, Kelsie wasn’t.  In fact, her leaving made it pretty clear she didn’t have the same feelings for him as he had for her. 

He closed his eyes, surrounded by the
sweet scent of her as it hung in the air around him and clung to the sheets, taunting him, reminding him of what he’d almost had.  Shoving the comforter aside, he climbed out of bed.  He pulled on a pair of jeans and headed out to the kitchen.

Cole
fixed himself a cup of coffee and stood staring at the phone on the kitchen counter.  Was she home yet?  Did she regret what they’d shared that night?  Should he call her?

He started
to reach for the phone.  No, he thought, pulling his hand back.  If Kelsie had wanted to talk, she wouldn’t have snuck out when she thought he was sleeping. 

Muttering a
nother curse, he headed out to the front porch for some much needed fresh air.  The night was cool.  Quiet.  Cole settled into one of the oversized wicker rocking chairs and set his coffee cup down on the matching white wicker table that sat between the pair of them. 

He considered calling Joe to vent about his frustration with Kelsie, but chances were
his friend was still with Nanci.  A woman who ran to him instead of away from.  Joe was a lucky man.  Maybe someday he’d feel the same way about himself.

*
              *              *

Kelsie could barely see to drive through the tears as she drove home.  What was wrong with her?  Had her ex’s sleeping around ruined her emotionally for any other man?  More importantly, for Cole?

She pulled into her apartment parking space and the hurried inside, salty tears running down her cheeks.  Grabbing her suitcase from the closet, she hurried to her bedroom.  She needed to get away.  Needed time to think.  She’d never been so confused and talking to her mother, or Nanci, at that point would only frustrate her.  She knew what they would say.  No, this was something she had to figure out on her own.  She’d call Dr. Andy in the morning and let him know she was taking a personal leave and wouldn’t be back for a few days.  He had backup hygienists who could fill in for her while she was away and she had more than enough personal days saved up.

Placing her
suitcase atop the bed, she opened it with trembling hands, trying not to think about the day
and
night she’d just shared with Cole.  An impossible task.

She’d never forget the way he
’d looked at her while they were making love, with such burning passion.  She’d never felt so desired.  And then afterwards, the tenderness he’d shown her.  The memory of it brought a soft sigh to her lips.  It couldn’t have been more perfect.  Cole was perfect. 

If only he hadn’t told
her he thought he was falling in love with her.  They could have had a perfect non-committal relationship.  But he had told her and that unexpected confession had sent her into an emotional tailspin.

There was no doubt in her mind that
he’d meant what he’d said.  Unlike her ex, Cole didn’t lie.  Not only was he honest, he was caring.  The kind of man who would rather give than take.  And he made her feel like no man ever had before.  And she loved him for that.

Loved?

She loved him?  All the breath left her lungs.  How could she have allowed that to happen?  How had Cole gotten past her defenses and slipped into her heart?

Despite all she knew about him, she was still afraid.  What if she took a chance on
Cole loving her forever and lost?  If she couldn’t keep Kyle satisfied, how in the world would she ever keep a man like Cole satisfied?  She couldn’t go through the pain of rejection again.  And she knew without a doubt that being rejected by Cole would be so much more devastating than it ever had been with Kyle. 

Grabbing some clothes from her dresser,
she tossed them into her suitcase, swiping away her tears with the back of her hand.  How could she have let this happen?  She’d been so careful to guard her heart, playing it safe as far as men were concerned.  Then Cole came along and made her feel things, want things, need things.

Cole was falling in love with her.  Th
at thought scared the hell out of her.  Why hadn’t he listened to her?  She’d warned him that she wasn’t good at relationships.  But he hadn’t let that dissuade him from pursuing her.  Instead, he’d kept at her, winning her over with that sexy, lone-dimpled grin. 

“Damn you, Cole Maxwell, for being so perfect.”

Cole pulled on his uniform pants and then gathered up his dirty clothes before leaving the station’s locker room where he’d showered after returning from their latest call.  A warehouse fire that had taken hours to put out.  But he welcomed the distraction. 

He’d spent the past few days doing his damnedest to keep his mind off of his personal problems with Kelsie
.  He hadn’t realized how hard that would be.  Down time at the station was the worst.  It left time for his thoughts to wander to something other than work.   

It had been seve
ral days since Kelsie had made the decision to walk out of his life and he still hadn’t accepted it.  Not only had she walked out on him, she’d disappeared from everyone else’s life, too.  Her mother’s.  Nanci’s.  Or so they told him every time he’d called to see if they’d had any word from her.

Cole tossed his dirty uniform into the hamper by the door and then
sank down onto the edge of his bunk with a heavy sigh.  There had to be more to it than her fear of him being ‘too perfect’.  Unless...

He didn’t want to consider the possibility, but it was there,
taunting him.  Was it possible Kelsie was still in love with her ex?  She had run into him that night at the club.  But she’d said things were over.  Hadn’t she?  Maybe she’d had second thoughts.

Jealousy that she might still have some sort of feelings for the cheating bastard stabbed at his gut.  God knows she wouldn’t be the first woman to go back to a man that had treated her badly.

“Hey, Cole.”

He
looked up to find Joe standing in the open doorway.  He acknowledged him with a nod.  “Joe.”

“How you holding up?”

“I’ll live.” 

“You look like shit.”

Good old Joe.  Blunt and to the point.  “Well, you’re not looking so damn pretty either right about now.”

“
I’m on my way to the showers,” he said as he stepped into the room.  “But if you need to talk afterwards...”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m good.”  He looked up at Joe. 
“Has Nanci heard anything from Kelsie?”

His friend shook his head with a frown.  “
No.”

“Do you believe her?”

“I honestly don’t think she knows anything.  She’s just as worried as you are about Kelsie.”

How could Kelsie’s best friend not know where she was?  “I thought women told each other everything.”

“She did leave her mom and Nanci that message on their answering machines the morning after she left.”

“Some message,” he grumbled.  It hadn’t said much.  Just that
Kelsie needed some time away to think.  Nothing more.  He pushed a hand back through his damp hair.  “I pushed her too hard.”

“Damn it, Cole.  You need to stop blaming yourself for her taking off the way she did.  From what Nanci tells me, Kelsie has a lot of relationship hang-ups.”

He looked up at Joe.  “I knew that.  She was nothing but up front with me about her fears.  And what did I do?  I went and told her I thought was falling in love with her.”

His friend’s
eyes widened.  “You what?”

“I think I love her.”

“Think?”

“I do.”

“Hell, why are the best friends always the last to know about these things?”

Cole’s frown deepened.  “There wasn’t anything to tell.  Kelsie ended things the night she walked out.  How I felt didn’t make a difference after that.”

“Tell me something, Cole.  You didn’t by any chance use the word ‘think’ when you told Kelsie how you felt, did you?”

The words had come out
so unexpectedly it took him a moment to recall exactly what it was he’d said to her that night.  “I told her that I thought I was falling in love with her.”

“Well, there you go,” Joe said, as if he’d just solved everything with one simple question.

“I’m not following you.”

“She’s afraid to let her guard down because she’s already done that once and had her heart broken.  The word ‘think’ implies that you’re not sure about your feelings.”

“That’s not how I meant it,” Cole argued.  “I am sure.”

“
Put yourself in her place.  All she heard was you weren’t certain about your feelings for her.  So rather than risk her heart again, because she likes you a lot, according to Nanci, she’s headed for the hills.”

“
Damn it.  I should have thought about that.”

“Don’t sweat it, buddy.  Men have a hard time thinking
right before, during and after sex because all the blood in their brain has headed south.” 

Cole
reached for his cell phone. 

“What are you doing?” Joe asked.

“Calling Nanci.”

“Again?”

“Yes, again.  However many times it takes to get in touch with Kelsie.  I have this feeling that Nanci’s hiding her.”

Joe snorted.  “Hiding her?  Are you crazy?”

“About Kelsie, yes.  And I intend to do whatever it takes to make things right again.”

*
              *              *

Kelsie paced the
hardwood floor of the bed and breakfast she’d been staying in.  She’d done a lot of thinking while she’d been there, working hard to mentally untangle the mess her life was in because of her commitment issues.

Each pass by the
antique four-poster bed drew her gaze to the cell phone charging on the nightstand.  She wanted so badly to call Cole, but couldn’t.  Not yet.  Her leaving Worthington the way she had, right after he’d expressed his true feelings for her had to have hurt him deeply.  She wasn’t going to risk hurting him that way again.  When she finally called Cole, it was going to be when she had her head screwed on straight.

Giving in to the need to speak to someone, she flopped onto the bed and grabbed her phone, punching in Nanci’s cell phone.

Three rings later her friend answered.  “Kelsie?”

“Hi.”

“Hi, hell,” she snapped.  “I was afraid some serial killer had chopped you up into tiny little pieces and was calling me from your cell phone.”

Tears stung her eyes.  It was so good to hear a familiar voice, even if that voice was edged with anger. 
“Nope.  All body parts still intact.”

“They won’t be once I get my hands on you. 
Where the hell are you?” she demanded from the other end of the line.

Kelsie shifted the cell phone to her other ear.  She couldn’t blame
Nanci for being a little pissed at her for leaving the way she had.  She would have felt the same way if she’d been in her place.  “Up north.”

“Up north
where?  As in Alaska?”

“Not quite that far
, but I did go out of town.”

“I sort of guessed as much.”

“I left messages on yours and my mother’s answering machines so you wouldn’t worry about me.”

“Yeah, we got them.  Messages saying that you had to leave and weren’t sure when you’d be back.  No mention whatsoever of destination
or why you were leaving and we weren’t supposed to worry?”

“I didn’t
even know where I was going at first,” she said with a soft sniffle.  “When I finally found a place I didn’t want anyone to know where I was.”

“
Are you okay?”

Kelsie
brushed a tear from her cheek.  “A little confused.”

“
Obviously, or you wouldn’t have taken off the way you did.  Your mom and I have called your cell phone about a zillion times, but we keep getting your voice mail; which is full by the way.”

“
The ringer was shut off.”  She was afraid Cole would try to reach her and she couldn’t bear to hear the hurt she’d caused him in his voice.  “I needed some time alone to sort things out.”

“Well, I hope your
little getaway is helping you because your mom and everyone at the office, myself included, have all been worried sick about you.”

She felt
terrible that she’d had everyone so worried, but she’d done what she had to do at the time.  “It’s helped a lot actually.”

“So when are you coming home?”

“Maybe in a day or so.”

“You can’t stay away forever.”

“I know.”

“So are you going to tell me where
you are or do I have to hire a private investigator to hunt you down?”

She
hesitated, not wanting to put Nanci in the middle.  If she told Joe then he might tell Cole.  “I don’t want anyone else knowing where I am.”

“Your mother included?”

“Especially her,” she replied.  “She’s part of the reason I’m in this situation.” 

“Tell you what
,” her friend said, “I’m off tomorrow.  How about I meet you wherever it is you are and we spend a little time helping you to sort things out tonight?”

“I don’t want you dropping everything to come
babysit me.”

“You’d do the same for me.  And I won’t tell anyone
where I’m going,” she promised, her tone one of genuine concern.  She supposed Nanci had a right to be concerned, considering how her best friend had taken off without a word to anyone and hadn’t called for days. 

“Okay,
” she finally relented.  “But it’s a little bit of a drive up here.”

“Where is here?”

“Kelley’s Island.”  She and her mother and Nanci usually went there every fall when the leaves were changing to tour the wineries.  It was the first place she thought of when she’d driven out of town.

“
I should’ve known.  I’ll throw a few things in a suitcase and be there in a few hours.”

Kelsie gave her the name of the bed and breakfast she was staying at before hanging up.  Then she
poured herself a glass of the wine she’d picked up on the island and walked out onto the balcony.

The view of Lake Erie from the spacious Victorian Suite was beautiful. 
She’d been lucky to even find a room available at that time of year, but someone had cancelled last minute and she was at the right place at the right time.  It was costing her an arm and a leg to stay there, but it was money well spent.  The tiny town’s relaxed atmosphere helped to soothe her frazzled nerves.

She took a sip of her wine, certain she had made the right decision in telling Nanci where she was. 
Her best friend was never short on advice and that’s exactly what she needed right now.

*
              *              *

A knock at the door had Kelsie racing towards it.  Nanci had called from the parking lot to say she had arrived and get the room number.
  She threw open the door, her eyes filling up with tears again.  “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Nanci dropped her
overnight bag onto the floor by her feet and held out her arms.  “Give me a hug before I’m tempted to strangle you for what you’ve put me through.”

Kelsie hugged her friend and then stepped back to smile at her friend.  “How was the drive?”

“Long, but worth it.  At least, I can see with my own eyes how you’re doing.  And I’m going to start by telling you how bad you look.”

“Thanks.”
  Always the honest one.

“I’m serious
, Kels.  Football players wouldn’t have to paint black stripes under their eyes if they had your dark circles.” 

“
They’re not that bad,” she argued as she turned to eye her reflection in the gold filigreed mirror hanging on the wall a few feet away.

“Have you slept at all since you’ve been here?”

“A little.”

“Not enough.” 
Nanci picked up her bag and carried it into the room, setting it on the floor by the bed.  “You are getting some sleep tonight, even if I have to ply you with wine until you pass out.”

“Speaking of wine, can I pour you a glass?  You can probably use it after that drive.”

“Just give me the bottle,” he friend said with a grin.

“And waste the opportunity to use the gorgeous antique wine glasses that came with this very expensive room?  Not a chance.”  K
elsie walked over to the mini-bar and poured Nanci a glass of the semi-sweet red wine she’d picked up at the winery the night before.  Then she refilled her own glass.

“
You know,” Nanci said as she scanned the room, “if you’re going to pick somewhere to wallow in misery, you might as well choose a place like this to do it in.”

“I
wasn’t...” she started to argue then stopped.  There had been a good amount of wallowing going on since she’d arrived.  “Thanks for the sympathy,” she said, handing Nanci her glass of wine.

“You’ll get that later.  First, I intend to make you pay for stressing me out.  If I get grey hair prematurely I’m blaming
it on you.”

“I’ll pay for the dye job,”
she told her with a smile.  She was feeling better already.