Cole's Christmas Wish

She guessed Andrew saw that as choosing Cole over him, but that wasn’t the case. Not really. Mostly, it was about going home for the holidays. Because in many ways, Steamboat Springs was the closest she’d ever had to a real home.

Due to Cole and his family, though, not hers.

“I’m not having second thoughts, but I like the idea of going to Hawaii for your birthday in May. If you still want to.”

“Of course I do.” Andrew’s voice was smooth. “I simply wanted to give you the option, now that you’ve seen your friend.”

“Thank you, but I’m good. And we’ll have fun here!” She patted Andrew’s arm. “You’ll soon see why I love Steamboat Springs so much, especially at Christmas.”

“You’ve never been here before, Andy?” Cole relaxed in his seat, looking for all the world as a man completely at ease. “Odd, but I swore I recognized you when you walked in. A lot of people come through here every year...thought maybe you’d vacationed with an ex-girlfriend. Or, perhaps, an ex-wife?”

Good grief. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. “Andrew doesn’t have any ex-wives.”

“And I never will. I don’t believe in divorce.”

“Who does? I doubt anyone marries believing they’ll divorce,” Cole said in a conversational, let’s-get-to-know-each-other manner. “But divorce happens. Sometimes, folks marry too young, pick the wrong person, make mistakes in the heat of the moment. Sometimes, a relationship becomes so messy that divorce becomes the only option that makes any sense.”

He spoke from experience. His brother Dylan was divorced. In his case, they were married too young, she cheated and became pregnant, and ran off with the other guy. So while Rachel didn’t believe in divorce, either, she agreed with Cole’s take.

Heck, she’d be the first to stand up and cheer if her parents untied the matrimonial knot.

“You’re right, but only to a point. A lot of those scenarios can be written off as the result of poor decisions before a proposal is given...or accepted.” Andrew clasped her hand tightly in his. “When I put a ring on a woman’s finger, it will be forever.”

Cole leveled a weighted, questioning stare on Rachel. “Life can often be...unexpected. It’s how each person reacts to some of those moments that can make or break a relationship.” Pausing, he bent his head ever so slightly toward Andrew, but kept his sinfully dark eyes glued to hers. “You can analyze all you want, think every last thing through, and you still won’t know for sure until you’re in hip-deep. In my opinion, of course.”

The urge to squirm came on strong, but she ignored it. Was he referring to her littered-with-broken-relationships past, or was he sending her some type of a hidden message regarding Andrew? Darn if she knew. For not the first time in Rachel’s life, she wished she could read Cole’s thoughts.

“Anyway,” she said, drawing the word out slowly, “Andrew hasn’t been to this part of Colorado before, so I have a lot to show him. I can’t wait to take him skiing.”

One of Cole’s eyebrows shot up. He looked at Andrew. “Is that so? Are you a skier?”

“No, I’m not. But—”

“Snowboarding, then?”

“No,” Andrew repeated. “I’ve skied before, naturally, but my skill level is that of a beginner. But for Rachel, I’m willing to give the sport another try.”

Nodding enthusiastically, Cole said, “That’s good. Rachel loves to ski...snowboard...ice skate.” Pure pleasure gleamed in his voice, in his eyes. “And, going back to your earlier comment, sharing the same interests is important in any successful relationship. Again, in my opinion.”

Andrew sat up straighter. “Which is why I’m excited to give the sport another try. As I said.”

“Well, what you said,” Cole drawled, “was that you were willing to try. Not quite the same as excited.”

She was, maybe, three seconds away from clobbering them both. Right on top of their manly heads. “There are lots of interests that Andrew and I share. We bike, go to the gym...um...horses! I love horseback riding and Andrew is an excellent horseman. He grew up on a ranch in Texas.”

“That’s great to hear. Plenty of horseback riding to have here in Colorado. I still think, though—” Cole broke off and scratched his jaw “—I know! How about if we pick a day and hit the bunny slope, Andrew? We can go over the basics, get you up to speed, as it were.”

“I can handle a bit more than the bunny slope,” Andrew replied in a dry manner. “And frankly, I’d rather have my girlfriend as my teacher. I think of it as one more way for us to grow closer. Which is, after all, an important aspect of this visit.”

Cole glanced at Rachel and her frisson of alarm escalated. She knew that expression. It meant trouble with a capital T. Darn it all, what had he latched on to now? She reached toward him, intent on grabbing his arm to divert his attention, but he leaned away before she could get a proper hold. Her fingers skimmed against his skin and the mere touch sent a bolt of heady awareness through her body, startling her with its strength.

“Wow, guys. I’m sorry to hear that. I mean,” he said with a slow, methodical beat, “if you need a vacation to grow closer, something must not be going well. Let me know if I can be of any help...anything at all, just say the word.”

“Our relationship is fine,” Andrew snapped. “If there were problems, I wouldn’t assume a vacation could fix them.”

“We’re absolutely fine!” Rachel said a good deal louder than necessary. Andrew’s declaration stung, though. She had, indeed, brought Andrew with her in the hopes the time away, the time together, would erase her reservations. “Just fine.”

“Ah, hell. I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot.” Cole held his hands up, gesturing a truce. “Forget I said anything. I’m sure you guys are...fine. Just as you’ve both said.”

Itchy with frustration and nerves, Rachel did the only thing she could think of: she changed the subject. Again. “How’s business at the store this year, Cole?”

“Same as always during the winter months” was his quick, humor-ridden, reply. “Lots of folks in and out. Between rentals and new sales, classes, and private lessons, we’re doing well.”

Andrew tightened his hold on Rachel’s shoulder. “That’s right. You work for your parents now. I hear you were quite the skier in your day, so I’d imagine the unexpected, even traumatic, change in careers could feel...stifling? Limiting, perhaps?”

Whoa. Rachel pulled out of Andrew’s grasp, shocked by his words, his rudeness and his insinuation. He was never like this, never purposely hurtful to anyone. Jealous or not, uncomfortable or not, he’d gone too far.

“You don’t understand how the Foster family functions, Andrew,” she said. “Cole and his siblings are an integral part of the family-owned businesses. They manage, work and own them together. Isn’t that right, Cole?”

“That’s correct,” Cole answered, still appearing more amused than anything else. “But no, Andrew, there isn’t anything stifling about the arrangement. I’m grateful to my folks for what their hard work and commitment has provided me and my brothers and sister with.”

After a lengthy pause, Andrew combed his fingers through his short hair and sighed. “My comment was uncalled for. I apologize.”

“No harm done,” Cole said with ease. “My family is exceedingly close. Sometimes, a bit too close, but we are what we are and I wouldn’t want anything to change.”

“That’s important,” Andrew said, his voice almost gruff. “My family...isn’t as close. You’re a lucky man.”

In a heartbeat, Rachel forgave Andrew for his jab. Something had happened to put distance between him and his family. She didn’t know the details, but she knew he missed them.

“I am lucky,” Cole agreed. “In many ways.”

“I consider myself fortunate, as well, for finding Rachel.” Andrew exhaled a breath, and when he spoke again, she heard the man she’d been dating for the past few months instead of the stranger he’d become upon meeting Cole. “Are you seeing anyone special, Cole?”

Every one of Rachel’s knotted muscles relaxed. The posturing was finally over, thank goodness and hallelujah. Maybe now, the two men would find some true common ground.

She waited for Cole to answer Andrew’s question, but when he didn’t, she did for him, saying, “Nope. Cole isn’t dating anyone.”

After all, Cole would’ve told her if he’d met someone. He always had in the past. And in truth, Cole rarely dated. It was something she used to tease him about, way back when.

A prickle of apprehension appeared at the nape of her neck a millisecond before Cole said, “Actually, Rach...I’ve been meaning to tell you—” He paused, locked his vision with hers and thrummed his fingers against the table. The rat-a-tat-tat beat mimicked the pounding of her heart. “There is someone in my life. Someone special.”

No way. She must have heard him wrong. “You’re seeing someone? Someone...special? Really?”

One by one, each muscle in her body tensed again as she waited, as she tried to come to grips with the possibility that Cole was involved in a serious relationship. With someone special, someone important.

Someone who wasn’t her.

“Yes,” he said firmly, still looking directly, almost intensely, at her. “There is an important woman in my life. She might even be—no, she definitely is—the one for me.”