My thigh ached. So did several other places, in the delicious, used way they always did after really good sex.
I squirmed, feeling Mr. Richards’ gaze settle on me. He had a way of looking at me as though he could see the contents of my soul and even without being able to see him, I still had the sense he was reading things written on the inside of my ribcage. It wasn’t threatening, exactly—I thought it’d be comforting, actually, once I was used to it.
I wasn’t quite used to it yet, though.
“Dad,” Cooper said. “Leave my boyfriend alone.”
He glanced away from the pancakes to smile at me. I couldn’t help smiling back. It must’ve looked unbearably dreamy and lovestruck, because that was how I felt.
“Boyfriend,” Cooper’s dad repeated, pausing beside me to look me up and down. “Well, your taste is improving, at least.”
I laughed, looking down at my hands where they were resting on the counter as another wave of heat climbed up the back of my neck, pooling in my cheeks.
I’d been here for dinner last night, but the whole evening was a blur. We hadn’t talked about our relationship, or what it might be—at least, I didn’t remember if we had. I didn’t remember much of anything except sitting at the table, between Cooper and Benji, my heart soaring high overhead.
Free.
I’d never felt freer than I did this morning, now that I was sure of a safe landing in Cooper’s arms.
Avery was never going to let me hear the end of it when I called later.
“And what are your intentions toward my son, Felix?” Mr. Richards asked, turning toward me.
“Dad,” Cooper objected without looking away from the pancake he was flipping.
“I got this,” I said, smiling at Cooper’s back, looking over his broad shoulders, the curls I loved playing with. The morning light caught the line of his jaw, and his exposed forearms flexed easily as he handled the frying pan and stirred the remaining batter.
What were my intentions toward him?
Some of them I probably couldn’t tell his dad. But the rest…
“I’m planning to bring him coffee later, to make sure he takes his lunch break,” I began. “And so I can sit and listen to the sound of his voice while he tells me about his day so far. Then I’m planning to walk him back to the shop, and kiss him goodbye right in front of you just to see him blush. Then I’ll text him in the afternoon to let him know I’m thinking of him. Am I invited to dinner?”
“Always,” Cooper answered before his dad could, pouring more batter into the pan. “You’ll have to start telling me what your favorite meals are.”
“In that case, I’m coming to dinner. Early, so I can hang out with Benji while he cooks—which is very attractive, by the way,” I added, grinning as Cooper’s shoulders rose up around his bright red ears.
“And then I’ll kiss him good night on the porch and tell him I wished he was coming back to my apartment with me but I understand why he’s not. Which is when I’ll remind him that he wanted to go see that cottage and tell him Saturday would be a good day for that, because I want Benji to come with us.”
“Cottage, huh?” Mr. Richards asked.
“The old Ellison place,” Cooper said. “Went to see it late last year. It’s still on the market and they’ve even knocked the price down, and now that…”
He trailed off, glancing at me again, the most adorable little smile playing around his lips.
I loved him. I loved him, I loved him, I loved him. So much it made me want to burst with it, climb up to the top of the ballet studio and shout it out to everyone on Main Street.
That might’ve been a little much for Cooper, so I’d just stick to telling everyone I met forever.
Mr. Richards turned to me, brow raised, lips twitching into a disbelieving smile. “Now that you’ve taken my sage advice about opening up, you’re finally ready for your life to start again,” he said, then offered me his hand. “Felix, I owe you one.”
I shook his warm, broad hand, so like Cooper’s it made my heart ache.
“You raised the most incredible man in the world, which meant I got to meet him,” I said. “I think we could call it even.”
Mr. Richards laughed, squeezing my hand and smiling so the corners of his eyes crinkled. “Even, then.”
“I do have a question, though, Mr. Richards,” I said, turning on the stool to face him.
