“Yes, I do. Everything all right?”
“Sure. Let’s go find seats at the table. They’ll be serving dinner soon.”
As she led the way out of the house, Gigi hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings by speaking the truth about them to Jordan and Nikki. Because there was no doubt he’d heard what she’d said.
“Listen,” she said hesitantly when they were seated at the long teak table Jordan had bought for the yard earlier in the summer. “I don’t know what you heard in there.”
He rested his hand on top of hers. “We’ll talk about that later.”
Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck.
* * *
Cooper tried not to show her how deeply affected he was by what he’d heard her say. He hadn’t intended to eavesdrop. He’d gone to check on her and had come upon the open door and the conversation that involved him.
What else should he have done but listen in?
His heart ached for her. Why in the world had a beautiful, smart, funny woman like her decided love wasn’t for her? While his heart ached, his mind raced, picking over the things she’d shared about her past and wondering if the answers could be found in her chaotic childhood.
Caterers served a delicious dinner consisting of a wide variety of kabobs, rice, salad with coconut and a veggie dish that was one of the best things he’d ever tasted. As he took a bite of teriyaki shrimp, he tuned in to the conversation Mason was having with Big Mac and Linda McCarthy about the fencing being installed at the bluffs.
Too bad that hadn’t been there the other night.
“You got hurt out there recently, didn’t you, Cooper?” Big Mac asked.
“I did. My brother’s car started to roll, and when I tried to stop it, I busted two ribs and made this mess on my face.”
“You forgot the part where the car had been driven around the logs that keep cars from rolling toward the bluffs,” Mason said with a smile.
“I knew you’d fill in the blanks in my story,” Cooper said, grinning. “I’ll never again do something so stupid in pursuit of the almighty selfie. I’ve learned my lesson. And please don’t tell Jared how it happened, or I’ll never get to drive his Porsche again.”
“How much is it worth to ya?” Big Mac asked, laughing.
Another couple came strolling into the yard, holding hands.
“So sorry we’re late,” the man said.
“Come in,” Jordan said, jumping up to welcome them. “Everyone, this is Oliver and Dara Watkins, our new lighthouse keepers.”
Room was made for them at the table, plates full of food were delivered, and drink orders were taken.
“This is my kind of party,” Oliver said. “Show up to immediate food and drink.”
“We’re glad you could make it,” Mason said, reaching over Jordan to shake hands with Oliver.
“Thanks for the invite. Everyone here has been so friendly. Dara and I were just talking about that.”
“Glad you’re enjoying Gansett,” Linda McCarthy said. “This place is special, and we love to see other people discovering that.”
“We love it so far,” Dara said.
“Let’s raise a glass to Dara,” Nikki said, “the new events manager at the Wayfarer.”
“Hear, hear,” Big Mac said. “Welcome to the team.”
“Thank you for having me,” Dara said. “I’m excited to get started.”
As the conversation flowed in a number of different directions, including the upcoming Labor Day Weekend, off-season plans and the final weeks of shooting for the show, Cooper let his mind wander to how he wanted to play this situation with Gigi.
Growing up as the youngest of five older, accomplished siblings, Cooper had learned early on to work the system to his benefit. He’d used charm and sweetness to get what he wanted from family members and had deployed those same skills in his dating career. If people liked you, they were more willing to help you get what you wanted, whether it was a second bowl of ice cream after dinner or a night in the bed of a sexy woman.
Gigi liked him, so that gave him an advantage. However, he knew her well enough to know if he pushed her too hard that she’d push right back.
Hearing she didn’t believe in love made him want her to fall in love with him so he could show her how great it could be.
The idea had shown up as a fully formed plan, ready for execution. With the show’s shooting schedule winding down, he had a limited amount of time to sweep her off her feet, to show her that love wasn’t something to be feared. He’d been in love once. In high school. He and Teagan had been sure their love would last forever, until they ended up at colleges two thousand miles apart and found out how painful first love could be when it ended.
Since then, he’d gone out of his way to keep his dealings with women closer to the surface and far from the heart of the matter.
But hearing Gigi say she didn’t believe in love, hearing her friends confirm she’d never been in love… That made Cooper want to give her that experience.
Except, what would happen if they both developed deeper feelings and then went their separate ways? He’d be right back in the same mess he’d been in with Teagan, with Gigi living three thousand miles from him in Los Angeles.
It occurred to him that he hadn’t done anything here on Gansett that couldn’t be undone. So far, his party boat idea was just that—an idea. The conversation with Ned had been interesting, but so far, it was only talk. If this thing with Gigi turned into something more, there was no reason he couldn’t go with her to LA and find a job out there. He had an MBA after all, and a last name that opened doors.
“Why are you so quiet?” Gigi asked him during a lull in her conversation with Jordan, Mason, Nikki, Riley, Riley’s brother, Finn, and his fiancée, Chloe. People from the show were seated at the other end of the big table.
Their group of friends seemed tight, and Cooper found himself wanting to get to know the others better. Finn and Riley were great dudes, and despite Mason teasing him about the accident, Cooper liked him, too. “Just listening,” he said in response to Gigi’s inquiry.
“Are you mad?” she asked in a small voice that made him want to roar. His Gigi didn’t speak in a small voice. Nothing about her personality was small.
“Not at all.” The others were so engaged in their conversation that they were able to speak somewhat privately even though they were surrounded by people.
“I’m sorry I was talking about you like that. I shouldn’t have been.”
He slipped an arm around her and kissed her temple. “It’s fine. They’re your girls. Of course you talk to them about everything.”
“Still… I don’t want you to think I talk about you like that.”
“I want you to talk about me. It means you’re interested.”
“I, um… You know I like you.”
“I do know that. And I like you.”
“It’s just that’s all I’m capable of.”
“I want you to do something for me,” Cooper said, feeling as if he were at the edge of a high dive about to take a very big leap into the unknown.
“What?”