Cole:
What the hell did I just do?
I leaned against the car door, watching her slide into the passenger seat, her dress swaying softly around her legs. Her smile had been so genuine, so sweet—it hit me like a truck. My heart was still hammering in my chest.
I was supposed to tell her the truth.
I’d promised myself I would.
That was the whole plan: sit down, be honest, lay it all out—everything I did, everything I didn't stop, and everything I regretted. I wanted to start clean, earn her trust the real way.
But the second we sat down in that booth, everything changed.
She looked like magic in the low glow of the restaurant, her golden shimmer eyeshadow catching every flicker of candlelight. Her laugh was soft, like velvet, like home. And the way she looked at me across the table—open
