Beautifully Broken by Shayne Donovan Read Free Book Online

living room. “Holy shit!” I screamed once I made my way inside. Cole was lounging on my couch practically like he owned it. “What the hell Hercules!” I yelled as I struggled to bring my heart rate down to a more normal pace. His cheeks were pink but he was smiling that cat shit grin again. “Good morning Marley.” He was perky. Way too perky. I glared at him angrily as he sat perched on my couch. The urge to kick his shin came back and if I had shoes on I would of. His saving grace was my bare feet. “Can I ask what the hell you are doing in my house?” I tapped my foot impatiently, trying not to focus on the fact that I was wearing only a towel. “Well…” he said standing up, “Harry mentioned to me when I saw him at the diner that today was your day off. I wanted to hang out with you.” He finished with a shrug like it was the simplest answer ever. I studied him and noticed as his gaze dropped to my mouth. With that tiniest of movements I was suddenly so much hotter. The temperature raised a whole ten degrees. “Yeah I guess so.” I nodded and started backing up. “I brought you coffee, and breakfast.” He said as he motioned towards the counter top. A styrofoam cup sat next to a brown paper bag and a single daisy. “Thank you… I’ll be right back.” I felt little bits of my stone wall chipping away and my breathing picked up in panic. I couldn’t let this happen. Why was this happening?
                  I rushed into my bedroom, locking the door behind me and dropping the towels to the floor. My hair spilled down in wet curls as I slipped on a bra and panties and dove into my closet, grabbing the first thing I touched, a maroon sun dress that had ruffled sleeves that slid off my shoulders. “Whatever.” I muttered as I slid it over my head and slipped my boots onto my feet. I took a breath before walking out, shaking myself as my pep talk then walked back out to the kitchen where Cole was waiting. Today he wore a white snug t-shirt, a pair of well-worn blue jeans and a pair of faded boots and he looked damn delicious. I cleared my throat as I came in, causing him to look at me. A smile lit up his whole face, causing his blue eyes to twinkle, yes twinkle. “You look b-beautiful.” He stuttered. I felt my face grow warm as I nodded. “Thanks.” He jumped and grabbed the bag and the flower, shoving them into my hands. His enthusiasm and excitement was adorable and again reminded me of the innocence I had witnessed the last few days. “I got these for you. I seen the daisy and it reminded me of you.” I held it up to my nose, not admitting that daisies were actually my favorite flower. “Why do you think that?” I asked as I set the daisy back onto the counter and opened the bag to reveal a fluffy chocolate croissant, another favorite. “Well…to start with they are simplistically beautiful. They don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to be described as beautiful. And it doesn’t matter where they are, they will grow and flourish.” I stared at him, desperately trying to see in that head of his. “How old are you?” I asked curiously. He shrugged, “twenty three. Why, how old are you?” That teasing smile was back and dammit if that urge to lick those dimples wasn’t still there, “nineteen.” I nearly bit my tongue when I gave him the honest answer. When I first moved here I stuck with twenty one so there would be no reason for me to be carded. “Did you go to college?” Now that I had started asking, it felt almost as if I opened a set of flood gates. There was no stop to my curiosity. I nibbled on my croissant as I waited. If it was possible Cole’s smile grew larger, “Yes. I was a philosophical major.” I nearly spit my breakfast on the floor. “Of course you were. Well we should get going. We have a long day Hercules.” I picked up the coffee and took a sip. I knew I shouldn’t have been by this point but my coffee was the perfect flavor, the perfect