Operation Date Escape

what he’d said. Unlike her ex, Cole didn’t lie. Not only was he honest, he was caring. The kind of man who would rather give than take. And he made her feel like no man ever had before. And she loved him for that.
    Loved?
    She loved him? All the breath left her lungs. How could she have allowed that to happen? How had Cole gotten past her defenses and slipped into her heart?
    Despite all she knew about him, she was still afraid. What if she took a chance on Cole loving her forever and lost? If she couldn’t keep Kyle satisfied, how in the world would she ever keep a man like Cole satisfied? She couldn’t go through the pain of rejection again. And she knew without a doubt that being rejected by Cole would be so much more devastating than it ever had been with Kyle.
    Grabbing some clothes from her dresser, she tossed them into her suitcase, swiping away her tears with the back of her hand. How could she have let this happen? She’d been so careful to guard her heart, playing it safe as far as men were concerned. Then Cole came along and made her feel things, want things, need things.
    Cole was falling in love with her. Th at thought scared the hell out of her. Why hadn’t he listened to her? She’d warned him that she wasn’t good at relationships. But he hadn’t let that dissuade him from pursuing her. Instead, he’d kept at her, winning her over with that sexy, lone-dimpled grin.
    “Damn you, Cole Maxwell, for being so perfect.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

    Cole pulled on his uniform pants and then gathered up his dirty clothes before leaving the station’s locker room where he’d showered after returning from their latest call. A warehouse fire that had taken hours to put out. But he welcomed the distraction.
    He’d spent the past few days doing his damnedest to keep his mind off of his personal problems with Kelsie . He hadn’t realized how hard that would be. Down time at the station was the worst. It left time for his thoughts to wander to something other than work.
    It had been seve ral days since Kelsie had made the decision to walk out of his life and he still hadn’t accepted it. Not only had she walked out on him, she’d disappeared from everyone else’s life, too. Her mother’s. Nanci’s. Or so they told him every time he’d called to see if they’d had any word from her.
    Cole tossed his dirty uniform into the hamper by the door and then sank down onto the edge of his bunk with a heavy sigh. There had to be more to it than her fear of him being ‘too perfect’. Unless...
    He didn’t want to consider the possibility, but it was there, taunting him. Was it possible Kelsie was still in love with her ex? She had run into him that night at the club. But she’d said things were over. Hadn’t she? Maybe she’d had second thoughts.
    Jealousy that she might still have some sort of feelings for the cheating bastard stabbed at his gut. God knows she wouldn’t be the first woman to go back to a man that had treated her badly.
    “Hey, Cole.”
    He looked up to find Joe standing in the open doorway. He acknowledged him with a nod. “Joe.”
    “How you holding up?”
    “I’ll live.”
    “You look like shit.”
    Good old Joe. Blunt and to the point. “Well, you’re not looking so damn pretty either right about now.”
    “ I’m on my way to the showers,” he said as he stepped into the room. “But if you need to talk afterwards...”
    “Thanks for the offer, but I’m good.” He looked up at Joe. “Has Nanci heard anything from Kelsie?”
    His friend shook his head with a frown. “ No.”
    “Do you believe her?”
    “I honestly don’t think she knows anything. She’s just as worried as you are about Kelsie.”
    How could Kelsie’s best friend not know where she was? “I thought women told each other everything.”
    “She did leave her mom and Nanci that message on their answering machines the morning after she left.”
    “Some message,” he grumbled. It hadn’t said much. Just that Kelsie needed some time away to think. Nothing more. He pushed a hand back through his damp hair. “I pushed her too hard.”
    “Damn it, Cole. You need to stop blaming yourself for her taking off the way she did. From what Nanci tells me, Kelsie has a lot of relationship hang-ups.”
    He looked up at Joe. “I knew that. She was nothing but up front with me about her fears. And what did I do? I went and told her I thought was falling in love with her.”
    His friend’s eyes widened. “You