Cooper nods thoughtfully and studies my face.
“Can I kiss you again?” he asks.
“Now you ask?” I say with too much attitude.
He chuckles and gently grabs my chin, pressing his lips onto mine.
It’s brief, but I can feel it all the way down to my toes. I keep my eyes closed, trying to remember how it feels in case I never feel it again.
Then he surprises me and lingers on my mouth once more before pulling back.
“Why did you do that?” I sigh.
“I wanted to check,” he says.
“Check what? To see if I’m a terrible kisser? I can already confirm. But also, if you asked me before you kissed me the first time, I could have warned you.”
Cooper’s body vibrates under mine, and I finally open my eyes as his shoulders shake with silent laughter.
“Great, that’s good, awesome. Yep, I’m going to just walk away until I die of embarrassment,” I say, getting off his lap and planning to hop out of this truck and never look back. Sorry Auntie Francesca, you’ll have to handle the flower shop on your own because I died of embarrassment. Please bring pretty flowers to my grave.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Cooper says, grabbing my hips with his large hands and pulling me back onto his lap.
“I’m not laughing at you, Mae.”
“Then please explain to me what’s so funny because I don’t get the joke,” I mutter.
“You’re not a bad kisser, I enjoyed myself and—”
“You’ve kissed me three times. How in the world could you come to that conclusion?” I ask him.
He grins. “Well, I could tell you, but I’m not sure you’ll believe me.”
“Try me,” I snap.
“Oh, and she’s feisty, I like it,” Cooper says, far too amused.
I roll my eyes and realize his hands haven’t left my hips, and his thumbs are dragging light circles on the crease of them.
“As I was saying,you’re not a terrible kisser. I like the way you kiss me. So get that out of your head because you have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. And I was going to say, if you’re feeling the way I am right now. I think we’ll have plenty of time to practice.”
“But why don’t I believe you?” I ask him.
Cooper chuckles and brings my hand to his lips. “Because it only took once for me to know.”
“Know what?”
“That I absolutely, without a doubt, have feelings for you, Mae Morgan, and it took one kiss to confirm it.”
My heart thuds in my chest. In fact, it feels like it’s dancing like that movieStep Up,and it’s doing backflips and all the hip-hop moves. I can’t catch my breath, and a little part of me wants to maul him.
“You’re right. I don’t believe you,” I tell him, looking him in the eye.
Cooper throws his head back on a laugh. “I told you.”
“‘I told you so’ isnotwhat a woman sitting on your lap wants to hear, Cooper,” I snap.
“Okay then, how about I knew it,” he says.
