Page 27 of Cole (Dirty Misfits MC 4)
Only to find that the ocean stretched out to our right as far as our eyes could see.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“It’s a sight, isn’t it?” he called back.
I got lost in the smells, the views, and the beauty of it all until he took a hard right turn. A small side-road rumbled beneath our tires as the highway fell behind us. The small road took us down an embankment before it filtered into a gravel parking lot. As I studied the front of the small shack of a restaurant in front of us, my stomach growled out for the whole world to hear.
Which made Cole chuckle as we parked. “Trust me, it doesn’t look like much, but this place has the best fucking seafood in the city. And they have massive portions. You’ll definitely have leftovers.”
I took the hand he offered and slid to my feet off the back of his bike. “Great, because I’m starving, and I love leftovers.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “Yep. I know it’s a weird thing to like, but there’s nothing I love more than leftovers for breakfast in the morning.”
He wrapped my arm around his before escorting me to the restaurant. “A woman after my own heart, then. That’s the best kind of breakfast there is.”
Maybe we aren’t so different after all.
We walked into the restaurant and the hostess immediately sat us outside. The deck overlooked the ocean, and the steps leading off the deck walked right into the sandy beach. It really was a sight to behold, and Cole was even gentlemanly enough to pull my chair out for me. I smiled and thanked him, excited to be at this point in our date. But as he walked around me, I caught a glimpse of something sewn onto the arm of his leather jacket.
“What’s that?” I asked.
Cole sat in front of me. “What's what?”
I pointed to my arm. “The patch on your jacket. What’s it mean?”
He stared at me and blinked before he scooted his chair under the table. “Just a little emblem some friends of mine and I wear. It’s sort of like our family crest, even though we aren’t blood-related.”
I giggled. “That’s really awesome. Sometimes, family isn’t blood, but it’s who you choose to be family.”
He nodded. “Exactly, and something tells me you get that more than most.”
Not this. I’m not ready for this yet. “I’m sure everyone understands it, to a point. I mean, everyone’s got a best friend, right?”
He smiled softly. “Right. Of course.”
And as our waitress came to interrupt us for our drink orders, relief washed through my veins. I definitely wasn’t ready to expose that part of my life to anyone, much less a man I had met yesterday. Yet, if he had asked me about it, I probably would have told him.
Why?
What in the world was it about him that affected me this way?
“Molly?”
Cole’s voice ripped me from my trance. “Yes? Sorry, I was thinking about something.”
He pointed to my clutch settled at my side on top of the table. “Your purse is vibrating.”
My eyes widened. “Oh! That must be Bridget. She told me she’d check in on me from time to time.”
He chuckled. “You better let her know you’re doing okay, then. I’d hate for someone to crash the party when we’re just getting started.”
And after shooting Bridget a quick message letting her know that I was all right, I turned my attention back to Cole.
Before the two of us launched into an easy mode of conversation that I never wanted to wrap up.
Thirteen
Cole
“So, is this the part where I ask you what you do for a living?” Molly asked.
I chuckled. “That depends.”
She tilted her head. “On what?”
I shrugged. “On whether or not you want to know what I do for a living.”
She snickered. “All right, Cole. What is it that you do for a living?”
“Well, I’m currently a mechanic in a bike shop.”
“Oh, nice! How long have you been doing that now? Do you enjoy it?”
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on the table. “Eh, a few years now. I was in the army before that.”
She gawked. “You served? For how long?”
“Six years before I decided I wanted my life to be filled with something else.”
She grew those puppy dog eyes that told me someone pitied me. “Thank you for your service, Cole. I’d never be able to do something like that. I can’t imagine some of the things you’ve seen.”
Yeah, and we aren’t getting into it. “It’s amazing what one person is capable of when put in a situation where the only option they have is to fight.”
Her cheeks puffed out with a sigh. “That’s also very true.”
I cleared my throat. “So, I know you’re a nanny for a living. Is that a part-time gig or a full-time one?”
She smiled softly and leaned back in her chair. “Full-time. I’m not a live-in nanny or anything, though it helps that my clients live less than five minutes from me. I’ve been watching their two kiddos for about four years now.”
