Felicity
I have 12 already drafted.
EVA
Win, please tell me you support my silence.
WINTER
I do. Although Jack has given me two questions of his own. And he’s annoyed it isn’t a joint engagement celebration.
MARLEE
HAHAH I love Jacky.
Seb has been eerily silent about it all.
ARNA
That means he’s over-thinking.
MARLEE
Correct.
FELICITY
I’ll be there a little early, heading over straight from work.
Eva
I’ll see you intrusive ladies tonight.
ARNA
Take photos of his house. Especially his bedroom. I need visuals.
In an act of treachery, all the girls, including Winter, love reacted to Arns’ message. Why was everyone so invested in his damn bedroom…
When I arrived at Cooper’s house, my heart was smiling. Despite being not too far from the city centre, it felt as though we were in the middle of nowhere. The driveway was long, but not manicured or showy like his childhood home. It was rustic, winding gently through native trees, more path than road. At the end sat a beautiful timber house with a wide, wraparound verandah. There was no outdoor furniture, no signs of curation, just the quiet hush of nature. The property was hidden amongst a sea of green, the sanctity which comes from being in its own serene oasis like a welcoming hug. Reefing my headphones from my ears, I spun in a full circle, my arms spread wide as I focused on the endless symphony of rustling leaves and chirping birds. I’d been here for approximately fifteen seconds, and I already knew I was going to love the gentle hum of life here. Plus, his house was marked with a forty-six - a perfectly even and divisible number.
While I was apprehensive about leaving Mum, if only becauseit was all I’d known, the move itself had been a breeze. The truck arrived late yesterday and took the small number of things I owned, the last few boxes nestled in my backseat, and Mum kissed me goodbye as if it were a normal day and sent me on my way.
Honestly, I think she was thrilled to be rid of me – which was mutual if only for the fact that as a thirty-two-year-old, there was absolutely no reason for me to still be living there. Coop had pushed my start day back by another week to ensure the move wasn’t rushed and it gave me more time to make sure I was ready for tomorrow.
“You found it okay?” Cooper appeared suddenly in the now open front door, a pair of grey sweats hugging his hips and his entire resume on display in the form of his very naked, incredibly impressive chest.
Immediately, I shielded my eyes. There was no way I could see him in this state and keep my composure. When I say he was wearing sweats, heworethose pants and if I wasn’t intent on disliking him, I may have told him so.
“Can you put some clothes on, it’s not even 8:00am,” I said, more out of fear of my own bodily responses if he didn’t.
He laughed and it was thick with drowsiness, rasping softly as though it were borrowed from a dream.
“Of all people, my fiancée should be into it…” he arched a brow, letting his joke linger in the otherwise still morning air. “I hate wearing a shirt, so you’re going to have to get used to it.” He shrugged, his clearly defined traps rising and falling as though they too were mocking me. “You look as though you’re wearing your pyjamas anyway, so what’s the big deal?”
“I’m dressed for comfort, not approval,” I called, opening the door of my car and grabbing one of the boxes out. “The rest were packed,” I mumbled as if that explained my homeless appearance.
“Just joking, Evy. You could wear a sack, and you’d still look good,” he said, as if he hadn’t just answered every single one of my teenage prayers. I laughed, a little maniacally, his compliment making me nervous and he grinned knowingly.
