“I’m glad. I don’t want to see you suffer like that.”
“Aww, you like me.”
“When did I say that?”
“Just now.”
“When did I say the words ‘I like you’?”
Cooper laughed. “You just said it again.”
“You’re hearing things, my friend.”
“It’s okay. I’m a very likable kind of guy. Ask anyone.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“How’re you feeling about Jordan and the baby and the weddings?”
“I’m fine.”
She said that a little too quickly, if you asked him.
“Why wouldn’t I be? My best friends are deliriously happy. It’s nice to see.”
“They seem like a nice group of people. I really like Finn and Riley.”
“They’re funny together. And you should see them with their older cousins. It’s a full-on comedy show.” Gigi paused for a brief moment. “I guess I’ll be going to another wedding sometime soon.”
“Is she staying on Gansett, then?”
“I suppose that was always going to be the case after she met Mason, who has a good job here.”
“What about the show?”
“Nothing’s been decided yet. Jordan isn’t sure she wants to do any more of it, and it’s really up to her. I’m just the sidekick.”
“You’re much more than that, Gigi. People watch that show as much for you as they do for her.”
“I guess.” After another pause, she said, “Don’t mind me. I’m just in a weird place right now. I’ll feel better when I get home to my real life.”
The more he listened to her try to deflect the painful changes happening in her life, the more Cooper wanted to wrap his arms around Gigi and protect her from anything that could hurt her. Under her tough exterior, he suspected she was far more fragile than anyone suspected.
When they arrived back at Jared’s, Cooper parked Gigi’s car in the spot next to the Porsche and turned off the engine.
“You feel like swimming?” she asked.
If it meant more time with her, he was all in. “Sure.”
“Meet you out there?”
“Sounds good.”
Chapter 15
Gigi went up the stairs to her apartment over the garage while Cooper went inside Jared’s house to change. When he entered through the slider to the kitchen, the first thing he heard was the baby crying. He noticed right away that she sounded different, almost frantic.
As he walked toward the noise, Jared came out of his bedroom, looking as stressed as Cooper had ever seen him.
“What’s going on?” Cooper asked.
“We aren’t sure. It’s been like this for hours now. We’re taking her to the clinic.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No, thanks. Not sure when we’ll be back.”
“Text me when you know more, will you?”
“Yeah, I will. Poor Lizzie is a wreck.”
Jared was, too, although Cooper kept that thought to himself. “I’m here if I can do anything at all.”
“Thanks, Coop.”
When Lizzie came out of the room, carrying the shrieking baby, Cooper’s heart went out to both of them. Lizzie’s face was streaked with tears.
“Sorry for the noise,” she said to Cooper.
“Please don’t apologize. I wish there was something I could do for you.”
“Me, too. We’ll see you in the morning. I hope.”
They strapped the screaming baby into the car seat, which sat on the kitchen table. Jared carried the seat to Lizzie’s SUV, and they left a minute later.
Cooper changed into swim trunks, grabbed a towel and headed out to the pool.
Gigi was already in the water. “So that was intense.”
“Seriously. Jared said she’s been crying like that for hours.”
“I feel so bad for them, plunged into this situation with no idea what they’re doing or whether the mother will come back for the baby.”
“I don’t know whether to wish for or against that.”
“I know.”
Cooper went down the stairs and into the heated pool. In an uninjured state, he might’ve dived into the deep end. But with his ribs feeling better, he didn’t want to risk aggravating them, so he took it easy. “Where’d you learn to swim like an Olympian?”
Gigi snorted. “I’m hardly an Olympian.”
“Maybe so, but you’re a hell of a swimmer.”
“High school swim team. It was my favorite thing.”
“I bet you were a champion.”
“I did okay.”
“Did you think about pursuing it further?”
“Not really. After the emancipation, I had bigger concerns, such as feeding myself and financing college.”
Cooper was rarely unsure of himself around women, but this woman defied all the norms. He moved closer to her, hoping he’d be welcome to do so. Under the water, he put his arms around her and brought her onto his lap. “I think you’re incredible,” he whispered in the second before he kissed her.
“Why?”
“So many reasons, it would take me a while to list them all.”
“I’ve got time.”
“Let’s start with you choosing to support yourself as a teenager rather than have your wealthy family take care of you.”
“They were never my family. I lived with them. That was it. Jordan, Nikki and Evelyn are my family.”
“I know, and they love you very much.”
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“They do, Gigi. Anyone can see that. You’re also brave, strong, resilient, sexy as all hell and a great friend to the people you care about.”
“The list of people I care about is small.”
“I know that, too, which makes me want to find a way into your inner circle.”
She recoiled somewhat from that statement. “That’s not going to happen, Cooper. I like you. I do, but this can never be more than whatever it is right now.”
“Why not?”
“You already heard why not earlier. That’s not who I am. You pay attention, which is an admirable quality in any guy, especially someone as young as you are. But please, please don’t fall for me. Don’t ruin a fun thing by trying to make it something it’ll never be.”
He wondered if she could hear the ache that came through in her every word. Did she have herself convinced that she was unlovable? Was that the problem? Because he’d like nothing more than to show her otherwise. As he kissed her again, he was fully aware that he could be setting himself up for something he’d studiously avoided since the painful breakup with Teagan—heartbreak.
The kiss spiraled quickly out of control as her arms tightened around his neck, and her tongue rubbed up against his. She wasn’t kissing him like a woman who didn’t want him. She kissed him like she wanted more, and he was happy to give it to her. His fingers dug into her ass as he tugged her in tight against his erection.
Gigi withdrew slowly from the kiss. “If I do this with you, I need to know you understand what it is—and what it isn’t.”