“Who’s Lacey?” Gigi asked.
Oh shit. “A friend in New York.” He kept kissing her even as she leaned away from him.
“She’s feeling needy and wants you to come service her.”
Fuck. That was the last thing he needed two hours after he’d finally convinced Gigi to take a chance with him. “She’s an ex. We dated years ago, and I haven’t seen her in ages. Now get back over here where I can reach you.”
“How many Laceys are out there waiting for you to return to New York?”
“There’s no one waiting for me.”
“That’s what you think. They’re probably staked outside your place waiting for you with signs that say Find Cooper and He’s All Mine.”
Cooper gave her a lighthearted bop on the head. “You’re silly.”
“Am I? I bet there are hundreds of Laceys blowing up your phone morning, noon and night.”
“The only so-called Lacey I want to hear from is my California Girl, and she knows it.” He kissed her softly, aware that Jared and Lizzie could return at any moment.
“If we, you know, try to make something of this, there couldn’t be anyone else, Cooper. That’s kind of a hard line for me.”
“I can’t believe you think you even have to say that. I don’t want anyone but you. From the second I saw you swimming in my brother’s pool in that white bikini, before I even knew who you were, I wanted you. I wanted to know you, and now that I do, I want to know more. I want to know everything there is to know.”
“Why me and not one of the thousands of Laceys?”
Smiling at how the number kept going up, he said, “All I can tell you is something happened with you that’s never happened to me before.”
“What does it feel like?”
He wondered if she felt as vulnerable as she looked when she asked him that. “Remember the first time you got high?”
“I’ve never gotten high.”
Cooper pulled back, stunned. “Seriously?”
“Very seriously. No safety net, Cooper. I didn’t have the luxury of doing the stupid shit other kids did. I had to support myself while going to college and law school. I had no time for pot or bullshit.”
“Have I mentioned lately that I think you’re amazing?”
She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, the first time you got high…”
“Let me preface this by saying I’ve mostly left my pot-smoking habit in the past, but the first time, you feel like you’ve lifted off in a hot-air balloon, and everything is just quiet and peaceful and perfect. That’s how I feel with you, along with this extra feeling right here.” He put his hand over his heart. “It’s this breathless, lighter-than-air happy thing that has me counting the minutes until I can see you again and not thinking of anything but you when I’m with you. Everything about it is different from anything I’ve felt before. I’m not sure if that makes any sense, but—”
She surprised the crap out of him when she leaned in to kiss him. “It’s the loveliest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“I mean it, Gigi. I swear to God. I mean it.”
“I know, and I’m trying to wrap my head around it.”
“Take your time, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
“Break it up, lovers,” Jared said loudly as he and Lizzie returned to the patio. Jared carried a tray, while Lizzie held the baby monitor she’d had overnighted to the island and a big glass of wine. “Dessert is served. Lizzie made shortcake from scratch to go with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream.”
“So not only are you the nicest, kindest person in the universe, you’re also Wonder Woman,” Gigi said. “Juggling a baby and making homemade shortcake and whipped cream. I bow down in awe.”
Lizzie giggled. “Oh stop. It was fun to do something normal. I love to cook.”
“And I love to eat,” Jared said, “which is one of many reasons we’re a match made in heaven.”
“You two are cute,” Gigi said, taking a sip of her vodka cocktail.
“Funny, we were saying the same about you two when we were spying on you from the kitchen,” Lizzie said.
“We have big news,” Cooper said, grinning at Gigi, who once again rolled her eyes at him.
“What big news?” Jared asked.
“The stunningly beautiful, incredibly funny, sexy, take-no-prisoners Gabrielle Gibson has agreed to give me a chance to show her that I make for an excellent boyfriend when I put my mind to it.”
“Wow,” Jared said, seeming genuinely stunned. “That’s big news indeed.”
“Tell me the truth,” Gigi said. “Am I a fool to give a player like him a chance?”
“Not at all,” Jared said. “Cooper is one of the good guys. He’s smart, loyal, fun, funny, dedicated, hardworking. He’d be one of the first people I’d want in my foxhole when shit goes sideways, and he’s been one of my best friends since the time he could first walk and talk.”
Cooper was so stunned by Jared’s effusiveness that he could only stare at his older brother as he tried to process everything he’d said.
“What?” Jared said, laughing at Cooper’s amazement. “None of that is news to you.”
“I’ve just, uh, never heard you say all that before.”
“I mean every word of it. Anyone would be incredibly lucky to have you as a boyfriend, not that anyone has ever truly test-driven that word with you.”
“Now we’re getting to the heart of the matter,” Gigi said, laughing. “Do tell, Jared.”
“Shut up, Jared,” Cooper said, glaring at his brother.
“You can’t shut up right when things are getting interesting,” Gigi said, smiling at Cooper. “I want to hear all about the millions of Laceys in his life.”
“Oh, Lacey,” Jared said. “She was one of the crazy ones, right?”
“Jared! Stop!”
“Don’t you dare stop now,” Gigi said. “How many are we talking? Hundreds? Thousands?”
Jared laughed as he glanced at Cooper, who stared daggers at him. “Let me just say that my baby brother has always been popular with the ladies, but I’ve never seen him as interested in one as he is in you.”
Cooper let out the breath he’d been holding. He should’ve known Jared would have his back. He always did.
“He’s truly one of the good ones, Gigi,” Jared said. “I believe it’s safe to have faith in anything he’s promised you.”
“That’s good to know. He talks a big game, your brother.”
“It’s not a game,” Cooper said, his expression as dead serious as it had ever been. “Nothing about this is a game to me.”
“That’s good to know.”
Cooper couldn’t wait to be alone with her again so he could show her just how dead serious he was about her.
* * *
Gigi was still reeling from the public declaration Cooper had made in front of his brother and sister-in-law. It had become clear to her that he wasn’t saying what she wanted to hear, but rather, speaking his truth. He was falling for her, and she was falling right back. That scared the shit out of her as someone who went out of her way to save her limited pool of true love and affection for the three people she knew for certain would never hurt her.