𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐞

five.✔

I lie on my side, staring out the window. My arm tucked into the thousand thread count dark blue pillow, the other tucked under my face. Wraith left for work an hour ago, but not before he woke me at 5:30 to start a pot of coffee while he showered. I made his cup and brought it to him before slipping back into the bed that I still felt like a guest in. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the sheets. They're too nice. Also itchy soft. I like simple cotton sheets, not whatever the expensive material these are made of. Another compromise Wraith and I will have to work out. That and the fact that both of the master closets are full of his clothes. I have a drawer and not so much as an outfit fits inside. Maybe I'll just take over the guest room closet.

It is cloudy this morning. A slight breeze brushing over the trees. I should go home and start packing, but I kept yarning to fall back asleep. I know I could easily go home and take a nap, but this house, this bed are to be my home so I need to find a way to sleep peacefully here.

My phone buzzing on the dark wood nightstand is the last straw as I reach for it.

"Hello?" I answer without looking at Caller ID.

"Hey, Scarlett, it's Lucy."

I sit up. "Lucy, hi," I murmur. "Is everything alright?"

"I don't know, actually," she says a bit timid. "I haven't been able to get ahold of Cole all morning. I was wondering if you knew where he is?"

I swing my legs over the bed, grabbing my dress from last night.

"I don't know," I confess. "I'll go to his house and see if he's there."

"Thanks. I normally wouldn't bother you but its unlike him to not let me know if he's taking a day off."

"It's no trouble," I throw off Wraith's tee and pull the dress on. "I'll give you a call when I find him."

"I hope I'm not cutting into wedding preparations," she sighs.

"I actually have nothing to do today so a wild goose chase could be fun."

She giggles. "Then I don't feel as bad. Kick his ass for the both of us, would ya?"

"You got it," I reply and kill the call.

I finished getting dressed and grab my purse from the floor. Wraith will be upset I didn't remake the bed, but I could careless as I locked the door and climbed in my car.

Cole lives on the other side of town by my apartment, but farther out of city limits on a little chunk of property. He purchased it about three years ago and built his house with his own two hands. I tried calling a few times on my drive but like Lucy, I kept getting voicemail.

The open wood fence that goes around his entire property has a fresh coat of seal on it as I turn down the gravel driveway big enough for three cars to drive down it. At the end is a cul-de-sac shape with a white farmhouse. His natural wood porch wraps all the way around, fit with a white swing on the right side of the house that overlooks the mountains in the distance. The house is two stories but only the two guest rooms are up there, making the lower level a rather large footprint. It's a lot of space for a bachelor. His truck is parked out front and the matching white barn he built is shut. If he works from home, he tends do it in the little office in the barn. The carriage house garage is also closed, he keeps his dad's car in there, though I can't remember the last time Cole drove it.

I stop beside his truck, leaving my purse. I walk up the steps and reach the black door with marbled glass. I knock a few times and call his name but after five minutes, I use my key and let myself in.

"Cole?" I shut the door behind me as I step into the foyer. Straight ahead is the kitchen and the family room. To my left is the formal living room fit with a wood fireplace. His entire house is decorated in black, white and natural woods. He let one of the stagers they use for their homes pick most of the furniture. Though I helped pick a few things, like the tile and appliances in the kitchen as well as his bedroom furniture. Cole was going to just continue using his Hollywood frame but I reminded him a grown man with this kind of house needs a real bed.