She took hold of his hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “It’s lovely to meet you, young man. I had the great pleasure of meeting your brother and sister-in-law recently. They’re good people.”
“Yes, they are. It’s great to meet you, too, Mrs. Hopper.”
“Call me Evelyn. Mrs. Hopper makes me feel old.”
“I’ll do that, Evelyn.”
“So you and our lovely Gigi have been spending time together. What’re your intentions toward our girl?”
Cooper nearly swallowed his tongue. Intentions?
“Evelyn! Stop it!” To Cooper, she said, “Don’t answer that.”
“It’s a perfectly reasonable question, Gabrielle.”
Gigi groaned at Evelyn’s use of her real name.
“Gabrielle, huh?” Cooper asked, raising a brow.
“Don’t call me that if you expect me to answer.”
“Ah, good to know.”
“Back to my perfectly reasonable question,” Evelyn said. “About your intentions, young man?”
“I, uh, I like Gigi very much and enjoy spending time with her.”
“She’s very special to us. We wouldn’t want to see her hurt in any way.”
“I understand.” Cooper swallowed hard. “Ma’am.”
“Excellent, now let’s have some fun.” Evelyn walked away to greet an older couple who’d just arrived.
“That was mortifying,” Gigi said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. They love you. I get it.”
“They know I can take care of myself and don’t need them hovering.”
“Everyone needs someone watching their back.”
“I don’t.”
Cooper had so many things he’d like to say in response to that, questions he’d like to ask, but this wasn’t the time or the place. “Did Jordan get to tell Mason the news?”
“She did.” Gigi glanced toward the happy couple.
The six-and-a-half-foot fire chief had Jordan tucked in close to him with an arm around her.
“The two of them haven’t stopped smiling for one minute.”
“So I guess he took the news well?”
“He’s thrilled. They both are. He immediately popped the question, and she said yes.”
“Good for them. And what about you?”
She whipped her head around to look directly at him. “What about me?”
“How are you feeling about it?”
“I’m happy for my friend.”
“But?”
“No buts, so quit shrinking me. I’m fine. If she’s happy, I’m happy. Trust me, no one deserves it more than she does after the hell of the last few years with Zane the asshole.”
“Everyone deserves to be happy. Even you.”
“I’m happy. Excuse me for a minute.”
She walked away, leaving Cooper to wonder if he’d said the wrong thing, which was another thing he rarely worried about when it came to women. While most men complained they didn’t speak the same language as women, Cooper had never had that problem. He got them. They got him.
But Gigi, she was different. She didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve or give away her every thought or emotion the way most women did. She kept her feelings buried deep, and the more he got to know her, the more he wanted to know the secret to cracking the code to her well-guarded heart.
Chapter 14
He sees too much.
Gigi went inside to use the bathroom, locking the door to give herself a minute alone. What the hell was a twenty-four-year-old man-child who looked like him doing with all that insight? He rattled her. A smart woman who didn’t like being seen by anyone would take a step back from a man like him.
Protecting herself had become an art form to Gigi, and Cooper was a threat to the life she’d created for herself. That life worked for her, and protecting it was a top priority.
But she liked how she felt when he was around, which was also a concern.
Men didn’t get to her. She didn’t let them.
Cooper could get to her, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Let us in,” Jordan said.
Groaning, Gigi opened the door. “What if I’d been peeing?”
“You aren’t peeing,” Nikki said. “What’s wrong?”
Gigi rolled her eyes. “For fuck’s sake. Nothing is wrong. Everything is great.”
Jordan eyed her shrewdly. If anyone could see through Gigi’s shit, Jordan could. “Something is bothering you. We both saw it earlier, and when you walked away from Cooper just now, we worried he said something to upset you.”
“He didn’t. He’s lovely.”
“Is that the problem?” Nikki said. “Do you like him?”
“Yes, I like him, or I wouldn’t be hanging out with him.”
“But do you like him like him?” Nikki asked.
“Huh?”
“She’s asking if you have feelings for him,” Jordan said.
Gigi stared at her as if she was crazy. “No, I don’t have feelings for him. That’s not my thing, and you know it.”
The sisters exchanged grim glances.
Gigi’s gaze traveled between them. “What the hell is wrong with you two?”
“We’re just wondering if you’re ever going to give a man a chance to care for you,” Jordan said gently. “Ever since you broke up with jackass number two, you haven’t let anyone get close, and we’re just wondering why.”
“Look, you guys, I’m so, so glad you’re happy with Riley and Mason. I mean it. No one is happier for you than I am. But you know true love and all that is not my groove. It never will be.”
“How do you know that?” Nikki asked. “You’re only twenty-nine.”
Gigi was filled with an odd sense of desperation, as if she were somehow fighting for her life, or some other dramatic thing. “I know how old I am, and I know how I’m wired. You’re never going to see me settled down with one guy and half a dozen baby chicks. That’s what you guys want. I’ve never wanted that.”
“You haven’t wanted it yet,” Nikki said. “That doesn’t mean you never will.”
“Yes, it does. Love and all the nonsense that goes with it is not for me.”
“How do you know that when you’ve never been in love?” Nikki asked.
“I just know it. Love is not for me.”
“Gigi,” Jordan said, looking stricken. “Don’t say that.”
“I get what you guys are trying to do, and I love you for it. I really do. But Cooper and I will never be anything more than a fun maybe-fling at the end of a nice summer on Gansett before I go back to my real life in LA. Please don’t go looking for something that isn’t there. Now you need to get back to your guests, Jord.”
Gigi pushed past them and nearly ran smack into Cooper, who was standing outside the door. Oh fuck. How much of that had he heard?
“Does it really take three of you to use the facilities?” he asked with a small smile.
She couldn’t help but note the sadness in his eyes. Fuck, fuck, fuck. “You know how girls are.”