Sunshine snatched her hand back. Cole stood up. “Sunshine, how about me and you go get a snack?”
“They’re going to call our flight in a minute.”
“Oh, we won’t be going anywhere for ages,” Fran said. “Look at that snow. We’ll be lucky to fly out tonight. Heck, I’ll probably sober up and need to get drunk all over again. You all can join me.”
“I don’t think so.” Sunshine’s normally bubbly demeanor was as cold as ice.
But Fran didn’t seem to notice. “Do you remember that camping trip we took?” She laughed as Cole slowly sat down again, a braying sound that had more heads turning. She leaned forward to catch Sunshine’s eye. “He promised my parents it was a group trip and that the girls would sleep in one tent and the boys in another. Had me fooled. We got out into the wilderness and guess what? There was me and him and a single sleeping bag. I’m not sure we left the tent the whole weekend.”
“Fran, do you mind?” Cole couldn’t believe what she was saying.
“Shit, am I doing it again? I’ll be good, I promise.” She pretended to zip her mouth closed, then immediately laughed her braying laugh again. “Don’t worry, Cole. A girl like Sunshine knows that a guy like you comes with a past. Right, honey? I mean, Cole’s no boy scout. Anyone could see that.”
Cole scanned the waiting area, looking for any seats to shift to, but it was standing room only. Just as he turned to Sunshine again, the loudspeaker crackled and a flight attendant came on.
“If I may have your attention, this announcement is in reference to flight one zero one nine to New York City. I’m sorry to tell you that our departure time has been delayed until seven-thirty. Our approximate boarding time will be an hour from now.”
Groans followed the announcement and Cole’s shoulders tightened. “We need to eat.” He cut off Fran before she could start in again.
Sunshine nodded. “We still can’t leave the chairs, though.”
Cole thought fast. Normally, he’d volunteer to go and fetch something, but there was no way he’d leave Sunshine with Fran. “I’ll fight off anyone who tries to sit down.”
Sunshine looked like she wanted to object, but instead she nodded. “Fine. What would you like?”
Cole nearly asked for a burger, but remembered just in time that might be the final straw for his vegan fiancée. “Whatever you can find.” He tried to grab her hand and give it a commiserating squeeze, but she stood up and he missed. She left without another word, winding through the crowd. Cole plunked his carry-on bag into her vacant seat and glared at a man who’d immediately started toward it.
“She’s pretty. You always did have good taste.” Fran put a hand on Cole’s knee. Cole swatted it away.
He wished that was true.
Sunshine steadied herself against a wave of dizziness. She must have stood up too fast. Or else it was the anger which had flooded her body since Fran had opened her mouth. Sunshine knew Cole had slept with other women before her; he’d been twenty-nine when she’d met him, and like Fran said, he was no boy scout. That didn’t mean she enjoyed meeting his former conquests. Certainly not someone like Fran who wanted to share all the details.
Had Cole really slept with a woman like that?
She consoled herself that he’d probably been a randy teenager at the time, getting away with whatever he could. It must not have meant much if they hadn’t stayed together.
Or had Fran left Cole in the dust? Her suit, heels, and slick carry-on bag proclaimed she was a frequent traveler, despite her evident fear of flying. Maybe she’d outgrown Cole and figured Sunshine was a country bumpkin ripe for teasing.
The idea left her seething.
So did the fact Cole had decided to stay in his seat and send her to fetch the food. Hardly the gentleman-like thing to do.
On the other hand, she knew he’d wanted to spare her more of Fran’s stories. Was that gentlemanly? Possibly. He’d regain some lost ground if Fran wasn’t there when Sunshine got back.
She stalked through the terminal until she reached a food court. It would be difficult to find anything truly vegan here, and in the end she settled for a fruit cup and a muffin that had seen better days. She knew Cole wanted a burger, but she wouldn’t pander to his murderous proclivities. Not today. She got him a vegetable wrap and a peach smoothie.
That oughta teach him.
By the time she made it back to the gate, she was starving and lightheaded. Deciding she was probably dehydrated, she made a U-turn and picked up several bottles of water at a kiosk.
Fran must have left by now, she consoled herself, but when she approached the gate, she saw Cole and Fran deep in conversation. Fran’s hand rested on Cole’s knee and he was doing nothing to move it. Instead, he listened to what she had to say with rapt attention.
Sunshine stopped in her tracks.
Unsure whether to continue or backtrack, she could only watch as Fran reached up with her other hand and brushed something from Cole’s cheek. The gesture was so intimate it shocked Sunshine to the core.
Cole turned, caught sight of her and pulled back from Fran in alarm. “Sunshine.” He stood up.
There was nothing for it but to continue forward. Fran smirked as she approached and fury swept through Sunshine again. The woman knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to cause trouble.
“Your dinner.” She shoved the veggie wrap and smoothie into Cole’s hands and took her seat, ignoring Fran.
“Looks… good,” Cole said.
“Well, I’m going to try to get some shut-eye, seeing as we aren’t leaving for three hours,” Fran said.
“Three hours?” Sunshine couldn’t believe it. “I thought they said one.”
“It got delayed again,” Cole informed her.
“Great.”
“It was wonderful talking over old times with you, Cole. Can’t wait to have you over for dinner,” Fran said and curled up in her chair, giving Sunshine a wink before she closed her eyes.
“It’s not what you think,” Cole mumbled, leaning close.
“Are you sure?” She took a bite of her muffin and nearly spit it out again. It tasted like cardboard. Cole looked about as unhappy as she felt as he examined his wrap.
“We dated in high school. That’s it. She was telling me about her parents. Sounds like her dad isn’t doing too well—”
“Whatever.”
She couldn’t wait to get on the plane and get out of here.
Chapter 2
Cole didn’t think he’d ever been so happy to arrive at a cheap motel. The Big Sky was about as nondescript as they came. A two-story building, its parking lot was plowed, with mounds of snow circling it like a stockade. It felt so familiar—and at the same time so foreign, like something he’d seen in another life. He guessed he’d been away too long.
The sun was fading away behind bleak, gray clouds, the sky echoing the leaden feeling that had lodged in his heart. In the end, their flight hadn’t taken off until seven o’clock in the morning. Fran had woken up again all too soon in her uncomfortable seat at the gate, and hadn’t shut up about their high school days for hours.