She nodded. “He’s so reserved normally. Keeps his feelings to himself. But he’s opened up to me about his family. The things that are bothering him.”

“I told you he’s into you.”

“And while he’s normally so serious, sex was…fun. Like, we laughed together.”

“Weird.”

“And good,” Sierra said. “I want more. More sex and more him in general. A lot more.”

Hayden picked up her coffee cup and held it in both hands as she studied her. “You’re going to have to rein it in then,” she said after a few seconds.

“Rein what in?” Sierra frowned.

“Rein your Sierra in. Turn your overzealousness off.”

“I’m not overzealous.”

“You’re not patient, and this one’s going to require patience.”

Sierra’s scowl deepened. “I can be patient.”

“You’re excited to see him, right?”

Of course she couldn’t wait to lay her eyes on him, but she wasn’t stupid. “I’m not going to jump him.”

“And no flirting,” Hayden said authoritatively. “No anything out of the ordinary if you don’t want your whole crew figuring it out. That was one of the issues, right?”

Sierra set her mug down and exhaled. “You’re no fun.”

“If you’re cool with everybody knowing, then—”

“I won’t flirt. I won’t give him special attention. I’ll try not to look at him.” She knew she would look at him, probably a lot. But she also recognized Hayden was right. Work today would be challenging enough as they painted the interior and prepped for the floors. Acting like there was nothing between her and Cole… She was sleep-deprived, had only drunk a single cup of coffee, and her hormones were stuck in the on position. And yet she couldn’t help wondering what the chances were for a redo with Cole tonight.

“If you don’t want to scare him away, you need to play it cool, even in private,” Hayden dictated.

Sierra wanted to growl at her, wanted to argue, wanted to do anything but play it cool with Cole…but she suspected her friend’s advice was legit. Problem was, she wasn’t sure if she could play it cool.

Chapter Twenty-One

After an extra-long day at work, Cole needed two things—a shower and a drink, in that order.

Tito greeted him at the door of his apartment and trailed him into the bedroom, raising hell the whole way. Cole shed his clothes and tossed them in the laundry basket in his closet, then went into the attached bathroom, the cat zipping in in front of him.

“Rough day at the office?” Cole asked Tito, who jumped up onto the bathroom vanity and sat pear-shaped on the corner. He rubbed the cat’s ears, noted he was purring.