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Chapter Six
Zoe
To say that I’m nervous to meet the Foresters is an understatement. Despite Cole’s reassurances, I’m still buzzing with a bunch of ‘what ifs.’
What if they blame me for excluding them from the wedding ceremony, despite Cole having a good reason to?
What if they think I’m just using Cole for his money, seeing as I have none?
What if they think I’m a lazy loser with no aspirations, content to stay a fry cook my whole life?
What if Cole chose wrong in picking me for this sham? What if Uncle Buckee doesn’t buy it? What if he does, and Zander gets overly attached?
I glance into the truck’s rearview mirror at Zander, who’s strapped in and happily playing a fourth round of ‘I Spy’ with Cole.
How am I going to explain all of this to him? People suddenly calling him their nephew or cousin when he hasn’t had any other family besides me before now.
My stomach roils. I keep telling myself that I’m doing this for Zander. For us. I keep repeating how necessary it is to keep us together. To keep us sheltered and fed, at least for now. But my rationalizations can’t trump my guilt. I don’t want to confuse Zander.
I’m already confused enough. Or at least my heart is.
My pussy’s crystal clear on what it wants.
Cole.
Cole’s body.
Just Cole’s body. Right?
And what’s wrong with that? It’s not the same as Mom’s failed relationships. With Cole it would be different. We both agreed to mutual terms. We both know our relationship is fake. It’ I were to delude myself into thinking otherwise. I couldn’t even cry and blame it on deception like Mom always did with her ex-partners, who’d filled her head with promises and lies. Those same devils played a major part in why I never had a boyfriend, my busy schedule aside. How could I trust someone with my body and heart after witnessing so much deception?
But to Cole’s credit, he’d never lie to me. He doesn’t fill my head and heart with sweet nothings. He’s honest and upfront with everything, and isn’t that what I’ve always wanted from a man? Honesty... even if it isn’t what I want to hear.
I gaze at Cole’s handsome face from the corner of my eye now, and instinctively my nipples harden beneath the modest sweater I’d put on to meet his family. I’ve always denied myself male attention, and maybe given the frank circumstances, now is the best time to give in.
It’s just physical.
I can set aside my heart. I can compartmentalize it while giving my body what it wants—my very own lumberjack.
