He kissed her hand. “But you would, right?”
She turned away, doing a poor job of hiding her smile.
“This particular outing will pull double duty.”
“What do you mean?” She glanced over at him.
“Another first for you and a really important night for me.” His eyebrows bounced adorably, piquing her interest.
“Give me a hint.”
He took off his Harbor Pointe Football hat and put it on her head. “You’ll need this.” He stood and pulled her to her feet.
She frowned. “Isn’t football season in the fall?”
He laughed as they walked down the dock toward the cottage, stopping when they reached the yard. “You know this place looks a lot better with you in it.”
She felt her cheeks flush. Would she ever get used to being the object of his affection? She forced herself not to think about what might happen if she couldn’t convince Connor to sell her the dance studio after all.
She couldn’t stay in Harbor Pointe without a job—and her savings would only last so long. But the thought of giving this up—of giving him up—it nearly undid her.
They rode in silence to the high school, where the stadium lights had been turned on. Several cars were parked in the parking lot, and as soon as Cole pulled in, there was a cheer. But not from his team—from a bunch of older guys, about their age.
Cole grinned.
“I thought we were here to watch your team,” she said.
“We are,” he said. “You’re going to watch my team against me.”
“Wait. You’re playing?”
“You gave me a great idea,” he said. “An exhibition game—for charity. For Haven House.”
How had he kept this from her? “For Haven House?”
Cole shrugged. “I mentioned it to the guys and they were all on board. Asher doesn’t talk about it, but they know his situation. Any money we make goes directly to Ash and his brothers.”
“So your team is playing a bunch of old guys?” She tried not to giggle.
“My team is playing the very distinguished Harbor Pointe alumni.” He shook his head at her. “No respect.”
“How did I not know about this?” She opened the door of the truck and got out.
“Wasn’t hard,” he said. “You’re not on social media, and you’ve been so busy with the recital. All I had to do was ask Lucy not to say anything.”
“So you wanted it to be a surprise?”
He leaned down and kissed her, as if it were a sufficient response to her question. And as his arms wound around her waist, she thought, in fact, maybe it was.
The sound of drums rang out in the distance. “Wait, is that a band?”
Cole met her at the front of the truck and took her hand. “Oh, everything about this is going to feel like a real game. I wanted to make sure you got the full effect.”
She stopped walking. “What do you mean?”
He looked away. “Nothing. I’m just doing what you said—adding the fun back into football.”
“Yeah, but that has nothing to do with the band. Or the lights. Or—” A group of cheerleaders warmed up on the track. “The cheerleaders.”
He shrugged. “I made a list of things you’d never done. And I’m working my way through it.”
Charlotte watched as something inexplicable passed between them. He seemed intent on making sure she experienced everything she’d missed out on. Nobody had ever cared about her with such detail before.
“I have to go get ready,” he said. “And take some preemptive Advil.”
She laughed and pulled away just as Lucy’s car stopped in a nearby parking place.
“I’ll cheer as loud as I can,” she said.
He grinned, kissed her once more, and strolled off, meeting up with a group of guys heading toward the locker room.
“Oh, Cee.” Lucy had stopped at her side. “You’ve got it bad.” She looped her arm through Charlotte’s and pulled her toward the entrance of the stadium, but not before Cole looked back at her and smiled.
“Oh, wow,” Lucy said. “He’s got it bad too.”
She looked around, doing her best to take in the sights and sounds of her first football game. The smell of popcorn filled the air, and people filled the seats. Everyone was decked out in royal blue and gold, the Harbor Pointe Hawks’ colors.
Quinn and her sister, Carly, arrived a few minutes later, followed by Haley and Betsy. The girls all sat together, watching as the teams took the field.
And Cole was right—it was fun.
The team had fun. The older guys had fun. The crowd had fun. Charlotte had fun.
The entire town seemed to be crammed in those seats, and Charlotte fit right in. She loved watching Cole show off on the field, wholly aware that he showed off for her. She loved the way he moved, the way he took off his helmet and grinned up at her when he scored a touchdown. The way he had one foot on each team, still coaching his guys even though he was technically their opponent.
And while Charlotte didn’t understand football, it didn’t matter. She understood that Cole’s plan had worked—his guys were working together and loving the game again. She understood that he’d turned this event into a really good fundraiser for a place that meant a lot to him. And she understood that here—in this place with these people—was where she belonged.
She only hoped she could find a way to make it last.
43
After making their public debut, Charlotte and Cole became an official couple. And she quickly found she liked being half of an official couple.
When they weren’t working, they were together. Renovating his bathrooms with Asher. Eating dinner at Haven House. Taking Amelia and AJ for ice cream and stealing kisses whenever they found themselves alone.
She loved kissing him most of all.
Cole continued to check things off his list, taking her to her first concert in the park, her first swim in the lake, and her first unicorn birthday party when Alaina, Julianna’s baby, turned one. That was the day Cole gave her a box overflowing with letters she’d written to Jules over the years, and that box had quite possibly become her most prized possession.
Today, the day before the recital, Charlotte arrived at the studio for her final rehearsal with the football team. She stood behind the counter as the boys began to arrive, surprised when Cole walked in in the midst of them.
She couldn’t help it—she smiled as soon as he met her eyes. Maybe she was remembering the toe-curling trail of kisses he’d placed on her neck when they were supposed to be watching a movie at his house the night before.
“I didn’t know you were coming to this,” she said.
He leaned closer. “You kidding? I don’t trust these boys with you. I need to make sure they’re behaving around my girlfriend.” He squeezed her hand.
My first boyfriend.
The boys filtered through the door. Several of them waved at her or said hello as they passed by. She knew them all by name now, and while she didn’t let on, she really liked them.
She narrowed her gaze. “I’ve been handling these boys for weeks by myself, Coach.”
“Fine,” he said. “I’m making up reasons to come see you. Sue me.”