Chapter Eight
Isaac finally fell asleep, thinking about Cosette far too late into the night. How could he get to the bottom of what she was feeling? How could he restore her innocent happiness and in good conscience pursue her?
He woke late with the sun already streaming into the large windows. Hurrying, he dressed in workout clothes and brushed his teeth. He scrubbed at the days’ growth on his cheeks. Did Cosette like him clean shaven? Did she like him at all?
Walking out into the main room, he found Cosette already there. She was wearing a fitted tank top and shorts, and she bent forward, hugging her arms and swaying side to side. “Morning,” she said from her upside-down perch.
“Morning.” He tried to pull his gaze away, but he couldn’t.
She straightened and gave him an embarrassed smile. “Ogling,” she said in a semi-teasing tone.
Isaac laughed and passed a hand over his face. “Definitely.”
She seemed more herself this morning. Was the moodiness of yesterday gone? Was that how it worked for girls? What man knew? Not him.
“Ready to run?” she asked.
“Sure.” Isaac grabbed a water bottle and chugged it down before following her outside. They ran the opposite direction of yesterday and found more stretches of beautiful beach. They didn’t talk much, and Cosette seemed to be pushing herself harder today, keeping up a faster pace. Isaac wouldn’t have minded going slower and being able to chat, but he followed her lead.
As they arrived back at the house, she glanced at him, pulling in quick breaths. “Swimming again?”
“Sure.” Swimming sounded great, and he wasn’t about to miss out on an opportunity to be with her. He tugged off his sweaty shirt and dropped it.
Cosette was studying him openly, which he found encouraging. They both removed their shoes and socks and waded into the water. Swimming out a little ways in the softly rolling ocean, they stopped and treaded water. Isaac hoped this was his moment. He prayed he’d saysomethingright. There was nothing for it but to open his big, fat mouth and try. He couldn’t make it any worse. Well, there were no promises of that.
“Hey.” He swallowed hard and rushed out, “I’m sorry about yesterday. I’m afraid I offended you with the comments about women. Like I said, I don’t have much experience with girls in my special ops unit, and my sisters are a lot younger than me.” He was rambling with excuses and didn’t know if it was helping or not.
“Women?” Her gaze was sharp on him. He loved those deep blue eyes of hers, but he felt a sense of trepidation; she was already acting like he was doing something wrong. It was worse than wading through a field planted with IEDs. “Orgirls?”
He pushed at the water with his hands, shrugging. “What’s the difference?”
Her eyes narrowed then. “What do you mean, what’s the difference?” She pushed out a huffy breath and splashed some water in his face.
Isaac wiped it away, wishing he could grab her firm body and dunk her under the water, but she wasn’t being playful, more frustrated. He asked carefully, “Please help me out here, Cozy. What did I do wrong now?”
“You’re doing everything wrong,” she shot at him.
Isaac had to somehow figure this out. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Men are not built to understand women. I don’t know why that is, but I’m coming to realize it’s all too true.”
Cosette shook her head. “I don’t care if you understand women, Isaac, and I’m honestly glad you don’t have a lot of experience figuring my gender out.” Her gaze was fiery and impertinent. “Do you think of me as a woman or as a child?”
“What?” Isaac was confused now. “Cosette, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever encountered. How could you think for a second that I view you as a child?” That was disgusting and wrong.
She stared at him, tilting her head to the side and wrinkling her brow in puzzlement. “You’re being serious right now, aren’t you?”
“Dead serious,” he shot back. “You are all woman to me.”
Her cheeks flushed, but she was still looking at him as if he were from a different planet. “You’ve called me a girl, adorable, innocent, and cute. You’ve never once said I was a woman, let alone a beautiful woman … until now.” But her eyes had softened at his last line, and he thought they were finally getting somewhere.
Isaac passed a hand over his face, wetting it. He wrapped one arm around her waist, loving her little squeak of surprise and the warmth of her body against his, and then he swam for the shore. When the water was waist deep, he forced himself to release her. “Cosette, when I say you’re adorable, innocent, or cute, it doesn’t mean I think of you as a child. It means I think you’re refreshing, amazing, unique.”
She blinked up at him and bit at her lip. He wanted to kiss her, but he wasn’t sure that they were there yet. Tonight? He could hope.
“You’re an accomplished, brilliant, and beautiful woman,” he said carefully so she knew he was sincere. “I am extremely impressed with you and wouldn’t offend you for the world.”
Cosette’s face lit up with a beautiful smile. She launched herself against him, gave him a tight hug, and then pulled back too quickly for him to savor the feeling of having her close.
“Thank you!” she said. “Oh!” She raised her shoulders in the cutest gesture—or the most attractive gesture, he should say. “You’ve made me so happy. I’m going to cook now. Well, after I shower.” She squeezed his arm. “Waffles?”