“And?” she prompts me. Her green eyes are round with curiosity.
I glance away from her, knowing what kind of reaction I’m about to get. “I told him about today.”
“You told him…what today is? The anniversary of your mom’s…”
I nod.
She hugs me so hard I shove her away with a laugh.
“Sorry,” she says. “But I mean, this is like a huge deal, Mia. You never tell anyone that.”
Itisa huge deal. “Honestly, I never planned to tell him.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“I guess because he wanted to know why I was upset. He was genuinely concerned about me. I felt…” So close to him I could barely stop myself from climbing into his lap.
“Oh my God.” Jamie Beth’s watching my face. “You kissedhim, didn’t you? You initiated it?”
“It wasn’t a long kiss or anything. More like a friendship peck.” A peck I had to force myself from turning into something far more intense.
“Friendship, my ass.” Jamie Beth laughs. “I believe you that it was brief, but I don’t buy that the two of you didn’t want a whole lot more. I’m heading back to the cabin without y’all so you won’t have a third wheel by your side.”
Before I can tell her that’s not necessary, all of the guys return to the living room from the porch. They’restilltalking about the game.
“Oh, my head,” Jamie says. “Don’t they get tired of the same topic? We were just at the game—why keep rehashing it?”
“Just wait until the playoffs,” Cooper says as he walks over to us. “Then, it’ll be pretty much nonstop hockey.”
He scoots in next to Jamie Beth’s free side, and she sighs but makes room for him.
I smile to myself as the two of them instantly start up with their brand of flirting—bickering.
Declan catches my eye and asks if I want to leave.
I nod at him and look over at Jamie Beth. “You ready?”
“She’s fine here,” Coop says. “If you want, you can stay on our couch. That way, Mia and Dec can be alone.”
Uh-huh. As Cooper’s hand goes to Jamie’s cheek so he can brush a stray hair off of her face, I highly doubt worrying about Declan and me is his main concern.
But Jamie Beth isn’t about to admit to any sort of feelings for Cooper, no matter what is or isn’t true. She jumps up from the couch and asks me for my keys.
“I’m going to beat you and your husband back there,” she says to me. “I’ll sleep on your floor.”
“Don’t be silly. My bed is big enough for both of us,” I say as I hand her my keys. “Oh, the security code.” I tell her what it is. “Make sure you turn it off when you walk in the door.”
Cooper stands up, too. “I’ll drive you, JB,” he says. “No argument. You’re not walking in the dark alone. We may not have people, but we still have mountain lions and bears.”
Jamie Beth waves goodbye to me, and she and Cooper disappear out the door.
I walk over to Declan just as Cam says to him, “Mom and Dad called earlier. They’re flying in morning after tomorrow. So they’ll be in town for your next game.”
Declan chuckles. “They’re using my game as an excuse to be here when their first grandchild is born.”
Cam shakes his head. “Dad’s obsessed with going to your games. He always has been.”
Declan nods noncommittally, but I don’t miss the flash of pain that crosses his face.
