“You seem a bit… agitated. You okay?”
“Screw you,” I said, and he hairpinned the car toward an exit. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Finding a deserted parking lot so that you, as you said, can screw me.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ricky
After the third press of the doorbell went unanswered, I let myself into the Puglias’ house with the key Rebecca had given me. Laughter called me toward the backyard, as Cooper’s suitcase and carry-on bags sitting at the bottom of the stairs came into view.
What the hell? He had three weeks left before needing to be back in Jersey.
Just as I went to open the slider, Rebecca came barreling into the kitchen with Liliana in her arms.
“Hey, I thought I heard the bell. Sorry, I was feeding her.”
“No worries, dollface.” Thumbing toward the luggage, I asked, “Why is he packed?”
A shit-eating grin spread over her lips. “I’m kicking him out.”
“What?” I reached forward to palm her forehead. “Are you delusional from a high fever?”
“No.” She swatted away my hand. “It’s stupid already. The back-and-forth every day. Cooper only has three weeks left, and he’s practically living with you anyway. So I’m kicking him out, and luckily he has a place to crash.”
Excitement, fear, and annoyance all melded into a storm of emotion, and I didn’t know which of the three dominated. Yes, Cooper had been with me more than not these weeks, but having him there all the time was a different story… one that would make his departure even harder.
Sensing my unspoken issues, she turned on her snark. “What’s with the face?”
“Being asked would’ve been nice.”
Her big blue eyes narrowed on mine. “Are you saying you don’t want my brother staying with you? Because I call bullshit.”
“No. I’m saying it’s going to make things harder when he leaves.”
“Aww.” All the attitude left her body in one fell swoop. “But he’s not moving to Guam. It’s only Jersey.” Ignoring my exasperated expression, she plopped a contented Liliana in my arms. “Many couples do the long-distance thing. Once he transfers to University of Miami—”
“That’s wishful thinking on your part,” I cut her off while smiling down at the angel in my arms as I rocked her, already looking so much like her brother.
“No, it’s not.” Multitasking, she began pulling out grapes and cheese from the fridge. “He’s thinking about it. I give him a year before he’s here for good. So during that year, you’ll fly up often—you have the money, and when he has extended breaks, he’ll fly down here.”
“Whatever.” I wasn’t in the mood to debate her since Cooper had never indicated any such plans to me. There was a lot involved, for both of us… and we weren’t there yet. This was more of Rebecca being Rebecca.
“Are you hungry?” she asked while putting star-shaped cheese bites on Antonio’s Toy Story plate.
“No… but I’ll take a beer.” Leaving her in the kitchen, I took Liliana with me out to join the boys in the lanai.
“Hey, look who arrived,” Marco said, spotting me first.
“Unk Wicky!” Antonio squealed. “I swim.”
“Show me.” I took the chair beside Cooper, winking when he smiled. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Without invite, he took Liliana from my arms and kissed her forehead. “You look sexy with a baby in your arms.”
“Does that mean I’m normally not sexy?”
His eyes focused on my mouth, and the impulse to kiss him was strong. I hadn’t seen him since last night, making that damn hunger thrum through me. It was pathetic how addicted I’d become to him, and that worsened the fear I felt over him staying at my place. This wasn’t going to end well for me. I knew it with every fiber of my being.
“Look, Unk Wicky!” Antonio caught our attention, standing on the edge of the pool, facing his father. He jumped, and Marco’s arms, combined with the water wings, caused him to plop with a splash before bobbing in the shallow water.
“Good job, buddy!” I called out while Cooper clapped for his nephew. Waiting for Antonio to focus on something else, I leaned into him. “You’re moving in?”
“Um… I found my bags packed when I got out of the shower. I can’t believe she did that. I told her she’s crazy and—”
“Cooper, you can stay with me.”
He studied me. “You sure?”
“Yeah. Besides, if you drive me nuts, I can always hop a ride on BV until you leave next month.” My grin was met with a bland smirk. “Not funny?”
“Hilarious.” Liliana’s fussing forced him to shift her over his shoulder, but his annoyance remained clear.
“Hey, I’m kidding. You know that.” Cooper didn’t have moods; that was my department, but something was bothering him. A quick glance to be sure Antonio wasn’t watching prompted the press of my mouth to his. He kissed me back but didn’t. It was mechanical and unlike him. Straightening, I asked, “What’s spinning around in that brain of yours?”
“Truth?”
“Always.”
“You kid around whenever we’re talking about something serious, and since we’ve avoided the heavy stuff, I have no choice but to assume you’re avoiding it all.”
“I’m not avoiding anything,” I said defensively.
“Yes you are. Every time I want to talk you slip into your ‘mode.’” He air-quoted with one hand.
“Are you talking about my sexual mode?” I asked with a smirk. “Because you never seem to complain about that.”
His glare leveled me, but before he could respond, Rebecca appeared. “Antonio, snack time!” She handed me a beer and sat down. In her normal way, she inserted herself into the tense situation by rambling on about the adorable way Antonio interacted with Liliana.
Cooper was right. We did have a lot to talk about. I knew that. How to begin was the problem. We’d been getting along so well since Indiana, and I didn’t want to upset the balance by saying something that could be misconstrued… which was a very real possibility. I wasn’t good at talking; my thing was showing. Cooper was the opposite in that regard.
No matter what Rebecca said, I didn’t expect him to pick up his life and move to Florida. Yet, if he were to do so, I selfishly didn’t know if I could stop him. What kind of shit person did that make me? It wasn’t my place to steer that ship. And although not as active with my business, my life needed to be in Fort Lauderdale. So where would that lead us?
Sure, I imagined a future with Cooper. In some ways, I could see it as clear as day. But I worried that once separated our little bubble would pop. Living in a bubble was exactly what I felt Cooper had been doing. I could easily go home with him, but that would only enable all the tough decisions he needed to make.
Integrating back into his day-to-day life as a different person wasn’t going to be easy. He had yet to come out to his siblings, friends, or colleagues. His procrastinating was understandable, but getting that over with was an absolute necessity.