“Yep,” Cooper says quickly.
I take a deep breath and look him in the eye as I say, “Then yes, I will go out with you.”
Cooper smiles and reaches for my hand, bringing it up to his mouth, pressing his lips to my knuckles. “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you?” he says, still holding my hand.
I lift a shoulder because he’s not wrong. I’m a lot of things, and forthcoming is not one of them.
“I don’t mind. I like stubborn,” he says, with verdant eyes that have gone emerald as he looks at me. “I need to get back to the ranch, but I’ll call you with details. Is that okay?”
“I guess it’ll have to be, won’t it?” I ask him.
He smiles widely, and I swear he’s about to jump and click his heels together, and something about his excitement is contagious.
“I suppose it will. Talk soon, Ms. Mae,” he says in that gravelly voice, and I try to hide the shudder running through me.
“Bye.” I watch him walk past the windows out of sight before spinning around and opening the cooler, hoping the air will help my skin stop burning.
After cooling off, I go back to the office and start making phone calls to venues. My chest feels lighter with the small sense of accomplishment, and a date with Cooper to look forward to, as I lock up for the night.
I send Cooper one of my favorite 80s songs,Gypsyby Fleetwood Mac.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, I feel a sense of hope, but it’s tinged with the impending potential of regret.
Chapter 17
Cooper
“Naomi!Hurryupandclean your room! Aunt June and Gracie will be here in ten minutes!” I yell across the house.
“I’m trying!” she snaps back.
I wipe down the counter and grab a piece of leftover lasagna from the fridge for Naomi to eat for dinner.
She comes running into the living room with her arms full of things. She lays out colored pencils, glitter, glue, coloring books, and construction paper on the coffee table. Then disappears back into her room and comes back out with blankets, and I think I spotted a tiara in the mix.
“Uncle Coopy?” Naomi says.
“Yes, princess?”
“Where are you going?” she asks.
I wince because I was hoping she wouldn’t ask. I try to keep my dating life separate from being a dad, but they inevitably collide.
“I have to go out tonight, and I won’t be back before you have to go to bed.”
“Oh,” she says, and pouts her lips.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her.
She looks down at her feet and won’t look at me. “Naomi, sweetheart, I can’t help if you don’t tell me, remember?”
She’s silent for a moment and looks up at me. “I want to have a movie night with you. We haven’t had one in a while.”
I smile and pick her up. She’s small for her age, but she’s grown so much, and I know there will be a day where I can’t hold her in my arms anymore. “How about we have one tomorrow, huh? Popcorn just the way you like it.”
Her eyes get big. “With chocolate drizzle?” she asks.
I shake my head. “But I like cinnamon sugar,” I argue, messing with her.
