His lips quirked another few degrees before the smile fell again. He licked his fingers, then sighed, stretching his arms out along the back of the bench. His fingers brushed my shoulder, the tips drawing circles over the bony corner of it.
“She died of an aneurysm,” Cooper said after a moment, looking out at the water. “You know how you hear about young, healthy people just collapsing without any sign beforehand? She was one of them.”
“Jesus,” I said without thinking. Cooper’s lips twitched again.
“When I got the call from Mom, I didn’t believe her at first. Called the hospital myself. Insisted that therehadto be a mistake. She couldn’t just be gone. But she was, and there was nothing to be done about it. No opportunity to say goodbye. Just… I had a sister one minute, and I didn’t the next.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “God, that always sounds so inadequate, but I really am sorry. I wish that hadn’t happened to you.”
Cooper’s hand curled over my shoulder. I gave into the temptation to lean against him, shifting closer to rest my head against his chest.
He nuzzled the top of my head, then pressed a kiss right at the edge of my hairline, the faintest brush of dry, cool lips.
“I wish you hadn’t been hit by a car,” he said. “But… I don’t know. This is going to sound insane, but if both of those thingshadto happen, I’m… it’s nice that it meant I got to meet you. Sorry, that sounded even more insane when I said it out loud.”
I couldn’t stop myself laughing. This wasn’t the kind of conversation I’d expected to have on my first ever date, but it felt right. Coopergotme. He’d lost something, too. Something that meant the world to him.
“Trauma and tragedy aside,” I said. “I’m glad I met you, too. And Benji. And I’m glad I came here and got the best ice cream I’ve ever had in my life.”
“And you can have almond milk in your coffee now.”
“And I can have almond milk in my coffee now,” I agreed, a wry smile tugging at my lips. “Guess that’s what they call the silver lining.”
“It’s something to grab hold of so you can keep going,” Cooper said. “I think what I mean to say is that when you lose something, it also kind of sets you free?”
I tilted my head back to look up at him, all boy-next-door charm in a package I was beginning to seehadto be oversized to fit all the heart inside. The light of the moon hanging overhead caught the edge of his profile.Silver lining.
Ice cream dripped down my cone and onto my hand, forcing me to lick it off. I had more than I could have asked for right now. Dessert and company-wise.
It was something to grab hold of.
“Are you free to come home with me?”
Cooper ducked his head, one of his gorgeous shy smiles spreading across his face. If I touched his ears now, I knew they’d be warm.
He was adorable. And Idefinitelywanted to get my hands around him again.
“I am.”
I didn’t wasteany time getting both of my hands on Cooper’s bare skin once we were behind closed doors, crowding him up against the wall at the foot of the stairs and shoving both hands under his sweater as I surged forward to kiss him. He hissed at my cold fingers splaying over the sensitive skin of his stomach, but he didn’t try to stop me.
“Eager,” he murmured against my mouth, laughter in his voice.
“Do you haveany ideahow hot you are?” I asked, curling my hands around his sides, squeezing to feel the give of a layer of padding over his rock-solid core. He was the first man I’d ever touched who’d been built like this, and the more I touched him, the surer I was I’d been missing out my entire life.
Cooper laughed, because no, hedidn’thave any idea how hot he was. That much was obvious from the way he moved through the world, as though he thought he was taking up too much space.
I was going to show him different.
I kissed him again, ignoring the way my thigh twinged at the length of time I’d had to stand on tiptoes to do it. Pain was only pain. I’d been through plenty of it before now. Cooper was more than worth it.
Cooper melted under my touch, making happy sounds as my hands roamed, warming up now that they were between his sweater and his body. I’d seen him naked once already, all golden skin and dark hair, strong and solid and so fucking hot I was in danger of getting a nosebleed justthinkingabout it—and I wanted to see him again. This time in the light of the too-dim lamp beside my bed, looming over me, about to make all my filthiest dreams come true.
In the grand scheme of things they weren’t allthatfilthy, but I knew what I wanted. I’d already set out the supplies. I was willing to beg, if I had to.
“Upstairs,” I murmured into his mouth, giddy with anticipation at the thought of having him all to myself tonight.
A sound I could only honestly describe as a squeak escaped me as Cooper lifted me clear off the ground.Fuck, it was hot when he did that. I grabbed hold of him, wrapping my legs around his waist and gripping both shoulders as he bounded up the stairs like I weighed nothing at all.
