Noelle felt slightly jealous when Jacob practically jumped for joy when hearing about going to the farm again and to see Cole. She waited till Friday evening to tell him so he wouldn't go telling everyone about them going to see Cole in particular. If her mother caught word she'd never hear the end of it and would probably receive pictures of random wedding dresses every little while.

She was surprised Jacob slept through the night after learning about the little trip. He must have worn himself out with excitement. She was relieved to have some time to herself that evening to stress. After the last interaction with Cole, she felt a certain anxiety. It was for multiple reasons, but the biggest was how much he seemed to want to see her and Jacob. The butterflies went mad every time she thought about his reasons why she deserved romance. She wanted more of his attention after that. She typed out plenty of texts she wanted to send to him to strike more conversation, but she always chickened out at the last second. Maybe if their time together at the farm went well, she'd feel more confident in talking to him at random.

Getting Jacob ready for the day that Saturday morning was easy, but she couldn't say the Colee for herself. She didn't want to look like she was trying to hard, but she wanted to look nice for Cole. She wanted him to see her at her best. It wasn't until Jacob started whining about her taking so long that she realized she was overthinking it all and settled on a cute cashmere mock and wool peacoat with some wedged boots that would at least give her two more inches against Cole's giant form.

The trip was quick with Jacob talking nonstop about his plans and what he can't wait to tell Cole about. She only hoped Cole would be as excited to see Jacob otherwise it might break her heart for him. Still, she knew she always had her brother and father to fall back on as male influences in his life. She didn't think Jacob could forget Cole that easily though. She herself felt like that could be a problem.

She had text Cole right before they left and only got a thumbs up from him. She worried she might be intruding now and that maybe he was busy. It was the weekend so she could understand. Though the worries died immediately upon parking when she heard Jacob squeal. "Look Mama! It's Cole!" She looked in her rear view mirror to see where Jacob was pointing and turned her attention in that direction only to find the tall, handsome man heading their way. She could only get one deep breath in before unbuckling and hearing the tap of fingers at her door.

Cole Kingston towered over everything, including her decently sized SUV. She wanted to make a tall joke at him, but figured he's probably heard them all. He had a smile on his face and excitement in his eye when he looked at Noelle and the smile grew ten times over when he looked in the back and saw Jacob. She could have melted in her seat then and there at the site. The squeal that left Jacob brought her back to reality and she made quick work of unbuckling and getting her bag before she got out to grab Jacob. Before she could open the door herself, it opened on its own until she realized it was Cole being chivalrous.

"Good morning Noelle," his deep, gravelly voice wafted over her like a warm blanket. She was glad to be outside in the cold to keep her from having hot flashes at his nearness.

"Good morning, and thank you," she said to him holding the door open before she climbed out and opened the back seat to get Jacob out. He practically jumped into her arms which caused her to stutter backwards before she felt the commanding presence at her back that was Cole. He placed his hand on the small of her back to help steady them and even though she was wearing multiple layers she felt the heat from his hand spread throughout.

"COLE!" Jacob screeched in her hear as she shimmied to get down and run to him. He was a little monkey and easily latched on to one of Cole's tree trunk legs. Cole chuckled at Jacob's energy and wrapped his arms around the little boy as best as he could at the angle he was at.

"Hey little man. I'm so glad you and your mama could make it. Are you ready for a fun day?" Jacob looked up with a wide smile and nodded enthusiastically and started jumping around in excitement. Cole and Noelle both chuckled at his antics and Noelle reached for Jacobs hand so they could start walking towards the stalls that were open. Instead of going towards her Jacob reached up and grabbed Cole's hand to drag him along. Noelle wanted to be jealous, but the joy on her son's face squelched the feeling almost instantly. Cole looked to her and it was as if they could read one another's minds. He asking if it was okay and her giving him a nod of reassurance.

As they walked around the main area with Jacob calling out everything he saw, Noelle felt content. The way Cole paid attention to Jacob and conversed back and forth with him made her heart start racing yet again. She'd have to make an appointment with a cardiologist at this rate.

They continued trekking through the area, visiting stalls that had anything shiny that caught Jacob's attention. And each area they lingered in grew with people wanting to see the former pro athlete out and about. Some of the women flirted with him and as much as Noelle didn't want to care, she did. A lot. It was mostly because she didn't feel deserving of most men's attention. The voice in the back of her head that was always there telling her she couldn't even keep Jacob's father around got louder at times like this. She defaulted to keeping it all inward. She probably looked like a robot on the outside with short, concise actions, but it was better than letting her feelings out.

He's not mine. He's too big for my little life she told herself.