15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Noelle

My heart hesitates a moment before pounding so hard that I feel a pulse throughout my body. My eyes feel like they might pop out of my head, and I've lost the ability to form thoughts.

Did Cole just say he wanted me after I completely shut him out? Are those the words my brain is attempting to process?

Cole pins me with his gaze, holding my body and heart captive.

What did I do? How did I ever think that walking away from this man was a good idea?

His reaction when I saw him at the wedding makes perfect sense now. Why would he not tell me to move on after seeing me with Dean? How could he know Dean was a placeholder? A placeholder I foolishly married.

"Cole…" His name falls from my lips in the softest whisper, years of pain and heartache behind it.

He lifts his hand toward my face but then hesitates, a question in his eyes.

My mouth falls open, and I slowly exhale. I reach up, touch his wrist, and lean toward him. His hand gently cups my face, and a sigh falls from my lips.

A myriad of emotions run through his eyes so fast I can't keep pace, but the one that grabs me is the love that is so glaringly obvious.

"I've missed you so much, Bug." The corner of his lip tugs as his eyes roam my face.

"I've missed you," I say, pushing past the thickness in my throat. "So much. I'm so sorry—"

Darkness surrounds us, and I hear Cole chuckle. "Sorry that you made the power go out?"

A giggle pops out of me, and I close my eyes for a second, enjoying the feeling of him touching me again. The tenderness that comes from the simple touch leaves me breathless.

"The generator should be kicking in any minute…"

Just then, a wail comes from the teapot, and I roll my eyes. Seriously? Is it possible for us to have any more distractions?

First, the power, and now the teapot?

"I should get that," I say, not moving.

"Yeah, it's pretty annoying," Cole responds, humor radiating through his voice but not pulling his hand away from my face.

My eyes start to adjust to the dark, and I can just make out his bright eyes and lopsided grin, which has my insides turning into a gooey mess. The teapot lets out another annoyed scream, and I take a deep breath.

"Let me get that." I sigh.

Cole reluctantly drops his hand but doesn't say a word as I turn off the burner.

"I'm not too familiar with generators, but shouldn't it have already started working?" I place the teapot on a hotplate, turn to Cole, and lean against the counter.

"Hmmm…" Cole responds as if just noticing we're still surrounded in darkness. "Yeah. It should have."

He gets up and starts heading to the living room. "Let me go check on it."

"Are you going to be able to see anything?" I ask, quickly following after him. "The wind has been raging for the last hour. I don't think going out is such a good idea."

"Bug." Cole stops and rests his hands on the top of my arms. "It's okay. I'll be okay. It's just behind the house, and I shouldn't have any trouble getting to it."

He leans in and kisses my forehead, sending tiny shockwaves down my entire body. My eyes linger as he puts on his coat and boots, a surge of energy running through my body. He grabs the flashlight and beams it at the doorknob. But before opening the door, he turns back to me.

"Add a few more logs to the fire, and check to see if you can find any candles. I forgot to ask Mike and Mel where they might be, so I can't tell you where to start looking."

"Okay," I watch him pull open the door. "Cole?"

He gently pushes the door shut without fully closing it, to keep the cold air from rushing in.

"Be careful." Even in the dark, I can see every one of his teeth as he grins at me.

"I'll be careful, I promise. I should be about ten to fifteen minutes max. Hopefully less. If you're up for it, we can sit in front of the fire, finish the popcorn garland, and talk." he says gruffly, making me all but melt into a puddle right where I stand.

"I'd like that." A shy smile crosses my face, and my chin tips down. His handsome face gives me one last grin before he opens the door. A blast of wind sneaks into the cabin, sending shivers down my spine. I wrap my arms around myself.

I step closer to the door and watch him get swallowed up by the storm until I can't see him anymore. Then I turn my focus to finding candles and the fire.

I've looked everywhere I can think of but haven't found a single candle. I turn off the flashlight on my phone and look out the kitchen window. I hope to catch a glimpse of Cole in this mess to make sure he's still alive, but I can't see anything through the swirling snow.

A gust of wind slams against the window, and my feet lift a few feet from the ground.

Everyone says being stuck in a blizzard with a handsome man is so romantic. My thoughts revisit me and Cole in the kitchen just as the power went out. I can't help but agree.

The wind lets out a howl that slams against the cabin again, causing me to flinch. Unless, of course, you're alone, in the dark, with the wind threatening to blow your house down.

Then it's not so fun. Jingle Bells blares from my phone, causing my already frayed nerves to come undone. Mel's name glares at me.

"You scared the bejeesus out of me." Holding my hand to my chest, I try to calm my erratic heart.

"I just called you," Mel's laughter rings through the speaker. "What's so scary about that?"

"Me standing in the dark, alone with the wind whipping and howling."

"Alone? What did you do with Cole?" Have to love it when Mel gets her sass going.

"I didn't do anything with Cole!"

"Oooh?" Mel grabs onto my tone way too fast. "This sounds interesting. Tell me more."

I feel heat creeping up my face and an internal giddiness that makes me feel like a schoolgirl with a major crush. I brush off the light quiver in my stomach.

"We lost power, and the generator isn't working. Cole is outside trying to fix it." I work to keep the grin from my face and my voice sounding disinterested. But Mel sees right through me.

"I think you and I need some alone time for a girl-to-girl chat." She giggles, and I can't help but laugh with her. "Oh, we definitely need some girl time!"

"We were supposed to be having lots of girl time, but someone's wife decided to have a baby." I scoff, heading over to the pile of wood.

I put Mel on speaker so I can easily pick up a few logs and add them to the fire.

"I know, I know. But you can't stop babies from being born when they're ready." I hear the smirk in her voice.

I grab the bellows, aim the nozzle at the base of the fire, and give it a few pumps. The flames lick at the new wood, and I watch as the tiny blaze starts to dance.

"What are you doing?" Mel shouts over the sound.

"I put some logs in the fireplace and was using the bellows to boost the fire for the new logs," I answered her like I do this every day. "Hey, do you know where the candles are?"

"So now we need candles?" Mel singsongs.

And again, that silly blush creeps up my face. "If we want to see, I do."

"Is that all you want the candles for?" She snickers.

"Well, seeing while I'm in the bathroom would be nice." I quip, trying to bring this conversation away from Cole. But Mel is like a dog on a scent and isn't ready to let it go yet.

"I know what I'd do if I was in a house with no power and—"

"Your husband?" I shake my head at her audacity. "Hey Mike, how are you?"

"How did you know I was on speaker?" Mel asks, just as Mike says, "Hey Noelle! You haven't killed my best friend, have you?"

"Nope. He's still alive and well," I ignore Mel and look out the kitchen window. "Unless he's outside freezing. I can't see him in this storm, and I'm unsure how long he's been out there."

I bite my lower lip, and my stomach swirls. "How long would it take him to get to the generator and back?"

"It will take a few minutes there and back, but it could take longer depending on the snow and wind. Then he has to try and figure out what's wrong with the generator," Mike says calmly.

"Has this ever happened before?" I ask. "The generator not working, I mean."

"We only put it in a few years ago, and we haven't really had to use it, so no," Mike responds. "It hasn't happened before."

The door opens with a gust of wind and snow, followed by Cole stepping in and shaking the snow off him. I blow out a breath at the sight of him. Then giggle.

His hair is completely white, and at least an inch of snow covers him.

"Did you find the candles?" Cole asks, unaware that I have eavesdroppers listening in.

"I think the candles are out in the shed," Mel answers. "Right, Mike?"

Cole looks around to see where the voice comes from, just as Mike responds to his wife.

"Either that or in with the ornaments."

I let out a laugh at Cole's grimace.

"They're on the phone," I lift my hand to him, and his face relaxes.

"Alright you two, I'm gonna hang up so I can help Cole find the candles. Mel, I'll call you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye, call me—" I hang up before Mel can say anything that will make the butterflies flitting in my stomach worse.

"Please tell me the candles are with the ornaments." Cole drops his head in his hand, and I can't stop the cackle that comes from out of me. He narrows his eyes at me, and I cover my mouth and snort.

He grabs snow from his coat, rolls it into a ball, and throws it at me.

"Hey!" I feign anger but can't keep the grin from my face at just how miserable he looks.

The mock scowl he's wearing is replaced by an awry grin and smug glint to his eyes as he heads over to the container holding the ornaments.

He turns to me with a smile so bright I'm blinded. Who needs power? When I finally drag my eyes from his face, I look at where the flashlight is beaming.

A candle.