“Yeah, but hey, I’ve seen that coming for months now. She and the tall-as-fuck fire chief are madly in love, and it’s not like he’s going to suddenly quit his job and move to LA to live with her.”
“Did you maybe kinda sorta hope that’s what they’d do?”
“It was always a long shot, and it’s fine. I want her to be happy. She deserves that after her nightmare marriage to Zane the dickhead.”
“Was it as bad as the tabloids made it out to be?”
“It was way, way worse, especially the part where he came here and took Nikki and their grandmother hostage while we were in LA. That was one long-ass flight to get here.”
“I meant to ask before how you managed to keep that quiet.”
“We made that a condition of him being charged with lesser crimes in exchange for a serious stint in rehab. The last thing Jordan needed was another firestorm involving him. The incident in Charlotte was more than enough.”
“I saw on Twitter that he asked his fans to leave her alone and took all the blame for the problems in their marriage.”
“That was also condition of his deal, to call his lunatics off her. They were relentless toward her after he put her in the hospital in Charlotte.”
“Sounds like a prince of a guy.”
“He’s an asshole, and I hope we never see him again. And when I tell you I’m happy she’s with Mason, I mean it. He treats her like a queen, which is what she deserves.”
“You deserve that, too.”
“I don’t need that. I can take care of myself. I don’t need some man to make me feel complete.”
“And she does?”
“No, but that’s what she has with Mason. They’re very cute together. I couldn’t be happier for her.”
“But you’re sad for you.”
“‘Sad’ is a big word. It’s going to be an adjustment to be at home without her and Nikki. That’s all.”
“It’s okay to be sad about it. You know that, right?”
“I don’t need you to shrink me, Coop.”
“That’s not what I’m doing. I’m simply pointing out that the changes your friend is making are going to affect you, too, and it’s okay to feel the way you do about that.”
“I’ll be okay. I’m like a cat. I always land on my feet.” She jumped up. “Let’s swim.”
Cooper took a second to put their trash in the bag and tie it off so the seagulls wouldn’t get it. Getting out of the beach chair was even more painful than the car, and by the time he made his way to the water, she was already out past the breaking waves. He moved carefully, turning his uninjured side toward the crashing waves, but even that hurt.
Worst time ever to be injured, he decided, with a woman like Gigi around. Under normal circumstances, he might swim out to join her, put his arms around her for a kiss. Under these circumstances, he didn’t dare do anything more than stand in waist-deep water and hope she’d come to him.
When she seemed to realize he wasn’t coming out any farther, she caught a wave that brought her right to where he stood.
She looked up at him, smiling. “What’s up?”
“Not much. I was just standing here minding my own business until this sea nymph showed up in a white bikini. My day just got a whole lot better.”
“Are your ribs hurting?”
“Like hell. I was afraid to go out any deeper.”
“I’m sorry you’re hurting.”
“It’ll feel better in a day or two. I hope.” He held out a hand to her.
She looked up at him, her expression unreadable as she took his hand and stood.
Cooper put his arm around her as they walked out of the water and returned to their camp on the beach.
Chapter 12
This guy was not what she’d expected. For one thing, she could talk to him. Like really talk to him, about things she rarely talked to anyone about. She cringed when she recalled telling him about being born to a crack addict and landing in foster care. When was the last time she’d told anyone that story? It’d been years. So why had she told him?
She chalked it up to the emotional morning she’d had with Jordan, which had lowered her defenses.
He’d tuned right in to the fact that something was off with her, and rather than avoid it, he’d asked her about it and given her a forum to talk it out. Almost every other guy she’d ever dated would’ve rather had a root canal than talk about anything.
She liked him. More than she’d expected to. Not that it meant anything. They were hanging out. Having fun. It would never be anything more than that, so there was no sense getting worked up about it.
True love and happily ever after were for girls like Jordan and Nikki. Not for her. She wasn’t wired that way. The thought of needing someone else so much that her happiness depended on him made her twitchy. Gigi didn’t need anyone else to “complete” her. She’d been fine by herself for thirteen years, and she’d be fine by herself once she got back to LA.
If anyone was capable of going it alone, she was.
“I need to go help Jordan get ready for tonight,” she said around three as she got up to shake the sand out of her towel. She extended a hand to help him up, wincing at the grimace that formed on his handsome face. “You okay?”
“Yep,” he said, even as he broke into a sweat from the effort it took to stand.
She felt so bad that he was in that kind of pain. “Still want to come to the party tonight?”
“I’d love to, if you still want a date.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him it wasn’t a date, but she kept the thought to herself. “Sure.”
When they arrived back at Jared’s, she waited for him to get out of the car.
“If I get a ride to Jordan’s, can I hitch a ride home with you?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“What’s the dress code?”
“Super casual. Come any time after seven. I’ll text the address.” She kissed his cheek. “Thanks for lunch and the beach. I needed that today.”
“It was fun. See you later.”
As he started to walk toward the main house, she said, “Hey, Coop?”
He turned back, eyebrow raised over his aviator sunglasses. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for listening. Before. I appreciate it.”
When he smiled, she felt the weirdest twinge of something in her chest. It was probably heartburn. “Any time.”
She went upstairs to her apartment over the garage, rubbing the spot in her chest that felt weird while trying to remember if she had any Tums.
If not, she needed to get some when she went into town.
* * *
At the Wayfarer, General Manager Nikki Stokes was counting the days until Labor Day, when the high season would end, and sanity would return to her days. At least she hoped so. They had a robust off-season planned with numerous weddings and events, which was why she needed an event manager to help handle the details that had become too much for her to handle on her own.
Jaclyn, one of the college students who’d spent the summer working at the Wayfarer, came to Nikki’s office. “Dara Watkins is here to see you.”