Cole's Christmas Wish Read Free Page A

couldn’t—wouldn’t—make the same mistakes her parents had.
Incessant arguing behind closed doors, portraying the happy, perfect
couple—family—at public events, using their child to wage war against the
other.
    Pretending. Faking it. Smiling when you wanted to cry, scream,
stomp your feet, or...yeah, run away. As far and as fast as your legs could
carry you.
    Even so, as crazy as it sounded, Rachel yearned for love and
everything that came with finding the right man. She wanted a family, dammit.
She wanted grocery shopping and carpools, fat babies who would become mouthy
teenagers, school bake sales and PTA meetings, picnics and backyard barbecues,
and she wanted all of that with a man who loved her senseless.
    Almost without thought, her eyes landed on Cole, and her heart
sort of liquefied and slid to her knees. She’d screwed up there, she knew. And
that screw-up had possibly caused her to lose out on something amazing. Maybe
even something life-altering.
    They were okay now, mostly, she thought. But her regret lived
on. And that was why, despite her misgivings, she refused to run away from
Andrew. The fear curdling in her belly, keeping her awake at night whenever she
considered a future with Andrew, was the same exact fear that had propelled her
to run away from her sole regret.
    From Cole.
    Rachel pushed out a ragged sigh. Her friendship with Cole made
more sense than a lost opportunity, and was certainly far more important than a
relationship that had never existed. Their friendship was real. Solid. Lasting.
That brief flame so long ago? Meaningless.
    Of course being here would stir up old memories. One year ago,
she’d had all these possibilities in her head when
Cole had asked her to visit for the holidays. But he’d made it clear—crystal,
even—that it was their friendship he valued, had missed. Not the other.
    And then Andrew had walked into her life and dazzled her with
his charm and sweetness. With the traits that reminded her of Cole, and those
that didn’t. He desired her. He talked about making a life together. That was real. That was
solid. Was it lasting? Maybe.
    That was what this trip was really about. She felt sure she
could find a way to be head over heels with Andrew by Christmas, here in her
favorite city, with an up-close and personal reminder of what she’d lost due to
fear.
    All she had to do was relax and stop thinking—analyzing—so
much, open her heart and let herself take the tumble. How hard could it be?
    Feeling somewhat calmer, Rachel tried to catch the men’s
attention by gesturing toward the restrooms. Cole noticed, smiled and nodded,
and returned to talking with Andrew. She waited for Andrew to glance her way,
but he didn’t.
    He was too focused on Cole, on whatever Cole was saying. Maybe,
without her presence, they’d found some common ground. She hoped so. Otherwise,
the next few weeks were going to be even tougher than she’d expected. And
that... Well, that wouldn’t help her cause at all.

Chapter Two
    R achel took her time freshening up, needing
a few minutes of privacy to settle her churning emotions. When she returned to
the table, the men were waiting silently with rigid shoulders and hard, stony
jaws. Okay, so that was a no to them finding some common ground.
    She slid into place next to Andrew and wrapped her hand around
the whipped-cream, syrup-drizzled cappuccino sitting in front of her. Unsure of
how to proceed, she sipped her coffee slowly, her mind thinking of and rejecting
possible topics of conversation.
    “This is so good,” she said, infusing brightness into her tone.
“What did you two get?”
    “Black coffee,” they both said at the same time, in identical
flat inflections.
    Aha! Common ground. Going with it, Rachel said, “Well, they
have great coffee here.”
    “They do.” Cole’s lips twitched into an almost grin. “Want me
to get you some?”
    “But I—”
    “Because what you’re drinking,” Andrew said