Free Obsession (Ink & Iron #1) by Eden Bradley

how much did she have to prove to herself? How much did he have to prove before she truly believed this was real? Celine had given her good advice about being a little wary, letting time be their testing ground. It had only been a month.
    She had loved him most of her life.
    She still did.
    No.
    Every nerve in her body went red, on high alert as the waitress came, and she breathed a sigh of relief at the distraction from the tumult in her head, in her heart.
    Cole asked for chips and salsa, then went back to the menu while she silently tried to get herself to calm down.
    He glanced up. “Still the enchiladas verdes for you, Janie girl?” he asked.
    “What? Um, yes. I can’t believe you remember that.”
    “I remember everything about you,” he said, his pale blue gaze going soft.
    She stilled. He was watching her closely in that way he had. As if he was trying to reach inside her. It was working. Her heart skipped a beat.
    “Do you?” she asked a little breathlessly.
    He nodded slowly. “I remember that you like your coffee with cream and sugar because it’s like dessert. That the only sport you’ll watch is baseball, and only if it’s the Mariners. That you love to have your back tickled but you’ll kick the hell out of me if I tickle your feet. That the yellow gummi bears no one else likes are your favorite. That you’re afraid of clowns.”
    Even though her pulse was thready, she had to laugh, her skin going warm as something in her chest expanded, filling her up in some strange way that made her want to cry. “Clowns are scary! Who does that to small children?”
    He grinned. “They are pretty sinister looking, even when they’re smiling.”
    “ Especially when they’re smiling. And the whole balloon thing.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “You know that’s a fetish for some people.”
    She shook her head. “I don’t even want to know. Change of subject, please.”
    When he reached out and covered her hand with his, the heat of his touch went through her in such a surprising explosion she couldn’t have explained it to herself. Desire ran so thick and heavy in her veins, she wanted to lean into him, put her hands under his T-shirt and feel his naked skin. Desire, and emotion so strong she felt stunned by it.
    Love.
    And fear.
    She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “Cole?”
    “What is it? What do you need? Come here, baby.”
    His arms went around her waist as he pulled her in close, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body, breathe in his unique scent as she laid her head on his shoulder. His hand went into her hair, stroking it away from her face.
    “What’s going on, Janie?”
    She shook her head, buried it deeper into his strong shoulder.
    “This is all so…good,” she said.
    “Baby, did you just say this is all good? Because your voice is a little muffled and that doesn’t really make sense. Is ‘good’…bad?”
    She lifted her face to look at him. His dark brows were drawn.
    “Is this okay, what we’re doing here? Is this…wise? I mean, we’ve been apart all these years and…God, I don’t know.”
    “Janie.” He put a finger under her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his. “You gonna tell me things haven’t been amazing these last weeks? That we’re not rebuilding? Because that’s not how it feels to me. Tell me what’s going on in that beautiful blond head, baby.”
    Biting her lip, she pulled back a little, trying to regain some stability. It was several moments before she could find the words. Finally, exasperated, she said, “Aren’t you scared?”
    He cocked his head. “Hell, yes. Who wouldn’t be in this situation? My only real fear, though, is whether or not you’re going to change your mind.”
    “Mine too,” she whispered.
    He held her face in his hands, and her heart wanted to leap and to break at the same time—to break for all the times she’d missed this.
    “Baby…I’m not changing my mind. I’m here. I’m in this.”
    She