The embarrassment had mostly subsided for Noelle. She was still holding onto anger for now, though. She was reeling at imagining the situation between Cole and his apparent brother, Zach. She was feeling slightly exhausted from the morning and the detour it had taken. She just wanted to get home and wallow in her sorrows before she had to get back to working. She almost told him to forget about it before Cole finally answered her.

"You deserve romance, Noelle."

His earnest response set her ablaze as her heart fluttered. If she hadn't been standing with her knees locked, she would have definitely fallen to the ground. It wasn't just his answer. It was the way he said it and the enamored look on his face. The look that was directed at her. It took everything in her to keep her composure.

"Why do I deserve romance?" She needed more proof. She wanted more. In fact, her anger was dissipated and in its place a wanting took its place. She wanted him to be open and honest. Especially if it were him talking about her. If her perception was correct, he'd felt the Colee way she had about him. It left her feeling giddy while awaiting his response.

"Can we talk somewhere...I don't know. Somewhere a little more private, please?"

She thought it would be in poor taste to invite someone she still didn't know all too well to her home, no matter how safe and comfortable she felt. Instead of finding somewhere stuffy and inside, she decided to keep it outside even with it being cold.

"There's a park nearby that is quiet with all the kids at school. If you want to follow me there, we could do that?" The question hung in the air while Cole ran his fingers through his short beard in thought.

"Can you give me a ride there instead? Saves having to worry about my following skills," he joked. She didn't know how to answer that. Did she want to be near him? Of course. Did he make her nervous? Very much so. Would his size be a problem? In any normal person's car, probably. Fortunately she had a standard sized SUV that might make him only look slightly stuffed. She nodded at him with a chuckle while imagining him squeezing himself into her mother's small sedan.

The short trip to the park was longer than Noelle preferred. The silence between the two was full of tension. Both of them worried about the other, but afraid to say anything out loud to disturb the balance. Cole's head would have bumped the ceiling of the vehicle, but he seemed accustomed to having to duck It was adorable in a way to watch the giant of a man contort himself.

When they started walking through the trail that led around the park their arms brushed one another occasionally. Each time it left Noelle feeling more and more electric. More silence followed them for a few moments before Cole decided to break it.

"I know you're aware I was the Santa who listened to Jacob tell me what he wanted for Christmas." Of course they were both aware of it. Hearing it out loud made her feel embarrassed though. Before she could say anything he continued. "I've never met a kid as sweet and wonderful as him. Don't tell my sister's kids that though." His chuckle was light and her heart warmed at his complimenting of her kid. She nodded with a smile and it gave Cole the go-ahead to continue. "Then I saw you and I understood why he was asking for what he did."

She still felt sad just thinking about Jacob asking for a dad. She knew it wasn't anything against her but her mind sometimes made her feel like maybe she wasn't doing enough still. It wasn't easy to drown those thoughts especially when bringing it up in conversation...like Cole was currently doing. He must have sensed the conflict in her head so he continued once more.

"He sees you working so hard for him and for yourself, I think he wants someone around to take care of you too. You can tell he is your number one fan. And he ain't wrong." The last sentence was said so low Noelle almost missed it. It was as if he didn't actually want that part sad aloud. It was too late though and Noelle's face felt too warm against the cold winter air. She was glad they were both too busy looking forward in their walk and she could always use the cold as an excuse for her reddened cheeks.

"Thank you," she practically whispered in fear of letting out too much emotion with her normal volume. For it being pretty early in the day, she felt emotionally wiped. Now would be a good time to end the walk and head on home to get away from people and recharge. But leaving him didn't feel right. Just walking in mostly silence in the middle of winter felt...right. Only because it was with him.

"Now, I know I don't know you very well, but I'd like to change that. I have this...feeling. It's telling me that I need to get to know you. To get to know Jacob more. If I'm being a creep right now I apologize, I just don't know how else to put it. Please say something so I can shut up with this word vomit and say something that will have you running for the hills."

Noelle couldn't do anything other than laugh at how adorable his rambling was. Especially because it had his ears and cheeks turning even more red than the cold weather could. "It's okay I'm not running for the hills, yet. And I appreciate everything you had to say." She felt herself gaining more confidence and power in her voice as she went on. "I um...I would like to get to know you too. I think Jacob has taken a real liking to you and I know my mom and brother haven't shut up about meeting you. Friends?" She stopped walking and he did once he noticed her stop and faced her. As she held her hand out to shake his, she saw a dark look pass his face with the word 'friends' but it quickly vanished and he met his hand with hers. It dwarfed hers and even though hers was probably freezing cold, his was warm and inviting. Even though it felt rough and calloused she rather liked the feeling. An electric feeling passed from her arm to the rest of the body for the whole 2.5 seconds his hand was connected to hers.

She could be friends with an incredibly handsome man who hijacks all of her thoughts, right?