Free For Everly by Raine Thomas Page B

dance?”
    “Look, sex may have been involved when this particular agreement was made, okay?” Marshall said. “I’m just fulfilling my obligations. When you’re married, you’ll understand.”
    Cole rolled his eyes and walked to the pantry to hunt for food. He’d been on a few dates with Abigail before she hooked up with Marshall, so he knew how stubborn she could be.
    “Look, my friend…you and I both know that I’m contractually obligated to attend that event. As to who I’m bringing, I’m not thinking of anyone at the moment.”
    “Seriously? That’s the line you have for me to bring back to the women?”
    “‘Fraid so.”
    “Man, you got no love fo’ a brotha.”
    “Hey, I’ve got mad love for you, Marsh,” Cole said, unwrapping a granola bar. “What I don’t love is silly games when it comes to relationships. We left high school a while ago.”
    Marshall sighed on the other end of the line. “Yeah, yeah. I hear you on the high school shit. My brother-in-law just graduated college and he’s visiting over the holidays. Talk about acting like high school fresh. I swear to God, I’m going to bury him in the backyard if he doesn’t let up.”
    “He still begging you to get him a tryout for the team?”
    “You know it. I can’t wait ‘til he goes back to Baltimore.” He sighed. “Seriously, though, where you been, man? Haven’t seen you ‘round the clubs lately.”
    Cole winced, not wanting to lie. Something vague, he decided. “Haven’t been feeling a hundred percent. Just fighting it off, you know?”
    “Ah. All right, man. All right. It’s that time of year. Get out when you can, right?”
    “You know it.”
    They disconnected. Cole gazed at the handset for a minute before setting it back in its base. Although he hadn’t lied to his friend, he still felt bad keeping things from him. It just served as another motivator to get healthy as quickly as he could. Then his life could finally get back to normal.

Chapter 11
     
     
    It was easier to find Cole’s house than the restaurant, Everly was pleased to discover. Although the house was hidden from the main road by cleverly placed trees and shrubbery, the drive leading to it was clearly marked. She eased Champ up alongside an elaborate-looking panel housed in a brick pillar outside the double gates. Tall wrought-iron fencing ran the length of the front yard, which looked as large as the entire block she lived on.
    She took a deep breath and patted the steering wheel. “It’s okay, Champ. We might not fit in around here, but it’s only a few weeks. Right?”
    Failing to convince herself, she shook her head and rolled her window down. Cool air rushed in to battle against the heat pouring from Champ’s vents. She pressed the call button like Cole had described the day before.
    As she waited for a response, she rubbed her gloved hands together and studied the house beyond the gate. She figured it sat on at least a couple acres. It was a sprawling, modern, ranch-style home, bent in an L-shape with a beautiful courtyard leading to the front door. She fell a little in love with it right then.
    The panel clicked and Cole’s voice emitted from the speaker. “Welcome to Chez Parker,” he said in a cheesy accent. “Please come on in.”
    She lifted one corner of her mouth and looked at the camera she saw beside the call button. “Was that supposed to be French?” she asked, making him laugh.
    As the gates swung open, she waved at the camera and drove through, using one hand to steer and the other to roll up her window. She looked for a logical place to park. It seemed the garage was behind the house, but the circular drive led to the front door. Since Cole opened the door and stood watching her, she drove around the drive and stopped in front of the entrance. She left her car running and unbuckled her seatbelt, reaching across and manually rolling down the passenger window.
    “Is it okay to park here?” she asked.
    He stared at her