After dinner, Cole and Rett had settled down for a round of video games, while Finley and Some Pig gave my parents a tour of the grounds. Some Pig had been genuinely happy to see me when I’d first arrived, but the second Finley stepped into the house, no one else existed but her. He’d stayed by her side the rest of the night.

I’d been left alone at the outside table sipping wine with Cole’s dad. He was still just as striking as ever, even with the age lines and graying hair. He poured me another glass of wine. The twinkle in his eyes lent a mischievous and laidback quality to his character. And at the same time, the creases around his eyes and mouth showed he’d pretty much seen it all.

“Kensington,” he said in that incredibly engaging British accent. “That’s such a great name. It reminds me of Kingston, my real surname.”

“It was my grandmother’s maiden name. I think my mom thought it sounded royal and important. I never minded it except when I had to learn to write my name in kindergarten. Took me an embarrassing amount of time to master it as compared to my best friend, Amy.”

His laugh sounded a lot like Cole’s.

Nicky took a sip of wine and then leaned back in the chair. “Let me tell you a bit about Cole. He’ll be mad, of course, but that’s all right.” His diamond ring sparkled in the patio lights as he waved his hand. “Cole is the middle child and that has shaped who he is. Jude and Finley always seemed to need my attention more. But Cole was independent from the start. Never saw him unhappy or moody like his two siblings. He has a big heart. He just doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve like Jude and Fin.”

The door to the patio opened, and Cole walked out. He saw his dad and me sitting alone sipping wine. “Holy hell, Dad, are you out here telling Kensie embarrassing shit about me?”

“Now what embarrassing shit would that be? Of course there was that time—”

“Dad, stop. I’m sure Finley will be pulling out the Easter egg hunt pictures soon enough.” Cole looked at me. “My mom thought it would be cute to dress me like a fuzzy, yellow duck. I was only five, but those pictures still haunt me.”

“You loved that costume,” Nicky said. “You flapped those little wings and quacked all over the yard in it.”

Cole reached his hand out to me. “And now I will whisk my girlfriend away while I still have a shred of dignity.”

“I’ll tell you fun stories later.” Nicky winked at me over the rim of his glass.

“Looking forward.”

Cole’s hand wrapped tightly around mine. He led me along the rose garden to the back lawns.

“I love your dad. He’s so—so regular.”

“Told you.” He looked around the grounds. “Speaking of dads, where did your parents run off to?”

“Finley is giving them a tour of the grounds.”

“Great.” His pace quickened as he led me across the lawn to a giant maple tree at the far side of the property.

“Where are we going?” I asked, having to work to keep up with his long legs.

“Nowhere in particular.” We reached the tree, and he walked me around the back side of it. “Just needed a few minutes away from prying eyes.”

I leaned against him and rubbed my finger over the stubble on his chin. “For what?”

“For this.” His arms wrapped around me and he kissed me.

Want to read more about the characters in Cole (FMX Bros #1)?

Check out the Custom Culture series and Strangely Normal.

(Continue to read Strangely Normal as a free bonus book in this edition of Cole!)

Strangely Normal is where Finley, Eden, Cole and Jude’s story began.

Freefall (Nix & Scotlyn’s story)

Clutch (Clutch & Taylor’s story)

Dray (Dray & Cassie’s story)

Rett (Rett & Finley’s story)

Nix & Scotlyn: The Wedding

Strangely Normal

Tess Oliver

Strangely Normal

Copyright © 2013 by Tess Oliver

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construd as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Chapter 1

Sophie’s small finger poked me hard in the center of my back. “Eden, you should come.”

I rolled away from her only to fall into the mammoth sized hole in the center of the mattress. A hard metal spring jabbed my hip as my sister’s finger stabbed my cheek. I yanked my pillow from behind my head and pressed it over my face.

“Leave me alone, Sophie,” I mumbled.

She climbed onto the sofa bed and tried to pull away the pillow. “You need to come to the kitchen.”

Frustrated, I yanked away the pillow and scowled up at her. “If you haven’t noticed, Sophie, this bed is sort of in the kitchen.”

“But Janie is sticking a fork in the toaster.”

I shot up so fast, Sophie fell to the floor. I stepped over her and reached my four-year-old sister, Janie, just as she plunged the fork prongs in. I grabbed her hand. The fork dropped to the floor, and she burst into tears to join Sophie in a chorus of sobs.

I lifted Janie into my arms. “It’s dangerous to stick a fork in the toaster, J. J.. Don’t ever do that again.”

She swiped at her tears with the palm of her hand. “But I’m hungry. And mommy did it yesterday and a bagel came out.”

As usual Mom had been the model of good behavior. “That’s because she put a bagel in the toaster, Janie. They don’t appear by magic.” I lowered her to the ground.

Sophie had recuperated after having been ejected from the bed. She rubbed her bottom and hopped up on the kitchen stool. “But we’re out of bagels.”

“Then have some cereal.”

“But there’s no milk.”

There was no sound coming from my parent’s bedroom, which meant Mom was still sleeping. Not unusual. I looked back at Sophie. “Did Dad leave for work already?”

Sophie looked up at me through tear clumped lashes and shook her head.

I walked over to their bedroom door and knocked. “Mom, we need milk.” No answer.

I had just enough time to get ready for school and race over to the mini mart. I swung open the door. “Mom, I’m going to need a ride to school. I’ve got to go buy some milk.”

She sat up groggily. “Shhh, your dad is sleeping.”

“Shouldn’t he be at work?” I made no attempt to lower my voice.

Mom slid her feet from the covers and tiptoed over to me. Her eyes were bloodshot. “He lost his job yesterday, so he had a rough night.”

“Too much beer?”

“Well, Eden, he was upset.”

My mom never found any fault with my dad. I suppose I should have been happy that my parents loved each other passionately, sometimes disgustingly so. They’d been married since they were eighteen. I was two years old at the time. They’d each found their soul mate in life. Unfortunately, sometimes it seemed that they were two soul mates who couldn’t have been worse for each other.