Page 8 of The Road Back to Us

“Stop overthinking everything and try to get some sleep,” he said, interrupting my thoughts as they spiraled out of control. “We can start tackling problems when we’re fully rested.”

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me. That was the thing I had always loved about Cole, that he somehow just got me. I didn’t have to tell him what was wrong because he just seemed to know. Or at least, that was how it used to be before everything fell apart and I moved to New York.

The sounds of his soft snoring filled the room as I rolled onto my side and stared at the wall, wondering how in the world I was going to do this.

******************

I woke up to the smell of bacon cooking and coffee brewing. I grinned, remembering the times Cole used to bring me breakfast in bed. He’d purchased the most beautiful tray at a vintage market and would fill it with my favorite foods, a glass of orange juice, a cup of coffee, and whatever flowers he could pick and put in a tiny vase. Then we would sit in bed and enjoy the morning together as we started the day.

The sound of laughter floated through the room as I walked in and saw Ben sitting on the couch with Chloe, watching TV, while Kara helped Cole make breakfast.

“Good morning,” Cole said when he saw me.

Kara smiled, but Ben said nothing, just gave me a head nod before returning his attention to the cartoon Chloe was obsessed with.

“Good morning,” I replied, hating how uncomfortable I felt around my own family.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy to come back and step into this role, but I also didn’t imagine it would be this hard.

“I got an email today about a delivery window,” I said to Cole as I passed him to get the orange juice out of the fridge. “I thought everything came yesterday?”

“There might have been a few things I didn’t tell you about,” he answered, scrunching his face as if he were a little kid about to get in trouble.

Playing the part, I set the juice on the counter and put my hands on my hips as I playfully narrowed my eyes at him.

“Spill it,” I said, not bothering to hide the smile on my face because the way Kara was looking at Cole and me made my heart melt in a way I hadn’t expected.

She was full on grinning, her eyes bright as she watched us.

“I knew that a lot of the furniture here was outdated,” he began, pulling the food from the pan and turning off the stove. “So, I might have taken liberty with buying a few things. You know, new start, new furniture?”

“What all did you buy?” I questioned, feeling a bit worried and relieved at the same time.

Worried because I didn’t want him spending his money on stuff for us, but relieved because the couch had seen better days, and the two recliners gave me the creeps. I wasn’t sure what might be living inside them, but based on the size of the holes and the stuffing protruding from them, my guess was that it wasn’t something I wanted around the house as a pet.

He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, totally embellishing everything as Kara laughed at him.

“I might have bought a new sectional, and I might have bought two new recliners.”

“Is that it?” I narrowed my eyes and took a few steps toward him.

“No,” he said, his grin so wide that I couldn’t stop mine from spreading across my face.

“I also bought a new entertainment center, a new coffee table, new end tables, and...”

He paused, looking from me to Kara and wiggling his eyebrows, which only got more laughter out of her.

“A huge TV!”

My mouth opened, my jaw hanging in disbelief.

“Cole!” I gasped, shaking my head as I laughed. “I cannot believe you bought all of that!”

He shrugged, but I noticed the blush that crept up his neck and kissed his cheeks.

“Well, it’s too late to return it because it looks like they’re here to deliver it,” he said, nodding to the window where two men were approaching the door, the two delivery trucks parked in the driveway behind my car. While I knew he had ordered a lot, it was wild to see that it took two trucks to deliver everything.

“Perfect timing, too, since breakfast is ready. We can eat while they get everything brought in. Ben, Chloe, go sit down and start eating,” he called to them as he went to open the door.