“But I don’t understand.”
“There’s nothing to understand,” I say. “I like taking care of you—let me do that.” I took care of her after the fire, and I’m taking care of her now. It feels right, like this is what I’m supposed to do, protect this woman. Be the man she deserves.
“Okay.” She looks unsure. “What happens tomorrow?”
“What do you mean what happens tomorrow?”
“In the morning.” She turns toward me. “When it’s time to leave. Do we shake hands and say thank you? Do we talk about maybe, I don’t know . . . like a lunch date or something?”
As if I could shake hands and be on my merry way. Not with her. This moment, having her in my arms, it brings . . . relief. Like I’ve been holding my breath ever since I left high school, and now I finally get to exhale.
I inwardly smile. She wants to know about the “morning after.” Well, it’s an easy answer for me, but I’m not sure where her head is.
“What do you want to happen?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I need to know what you want.”
I drape my hand on her hip. “I think you know what I want, Palmer, but I happen to live here. This is my home, and it’s where I’m going to be for a very long time. It’s up to you to decide what you want.”
She closes her eyes and snuggles in close to me, her cast moving over my stomach. “I don’t know what I want, Beau. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life.”
“Then take some time to sort it out. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Are you going to go out with anyone? You know, while I’m here?” Her insecurity hurts me. I’m not sure what kind of man she thinks I am, but if she’s basing this off the other men she’s been with, they must have been assholes.
“I have no desire to see anyone else. I haven’t for a long time. Does that answer your question?”
She nods and she looks up at me. “Will you go out to lunch with me tomorrow?”
Hell, she’s cute.
I bring her in closer to my chest. “I’ll have to check my appointments for tomorrow to see when I’m free, but I’m sure I can swing it in between wart removals.”
She laughs and presses a kiss to my chest. “Thank you, Beau, for everything.”
From the tone of her voice, I don’t think she’s thanking me just for tonight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
NORA
The timer on the oven beeps, reminding me that I put a frozen pizza in there.
I get up from Cooper’s lap and walk over to the kitchen, my body buzzing from being that close to him again. I can practically taste him already.
I feel like he needs me.
And oddly, a little piece of me needs him.
I slip an oven mitt on and open the oven. A wave of heat hits me as I bend down and pull out the pizza. When I lift up and set the pizza on the stove, Cooper is leaning against the counter, arms folded, a perplexed look on his face.
I toss the oven mitt to the side. “What’s that look for?”
He glances at me. “Why does Dealia think you’re good for me?”
Leaving the pizza to cool, I hop up on the counter opposite him, putting some much-needed distance between us. “I think she just noticed our chemistry. You know?”
“Do you think there’s chemistry?” he asks.
“I do. And I believe I know enough about you to understand where your heart stands. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but from what I know, I get your need to give back to your parents, even if you’re sometimes irritated by the responsibility. I understand that you had plans and dreams that were taken away the minute your dad was diagnosed. I realize you want more for yourself, but you don’t know how to make it happen. And I know you want a change and you’re ready to make that change, but you need some outside encouragement to make that happen.”
He grips the counter behind him and connects those gray eyes with mine. “I think you know more than you let on.”
“Did I ace the quiz?” I ask with a smile.
He scratches his chest. “I’d say so. I’m not sure Dealia would ever be able to give me an answer like that, but not because she didn’t care about me.”
“She cared about you.” This much I know is true. She did care. I’m just not sure she saw him, truly saw him for the man he is. “She just couldn’t see the reasoning for your actions. It doesn’t make her a bad person—it just shows she wasn’t your person, and that’s okay.”
“How can you be so casual about all of this?” he asks.
“What’s the point in worrying about it?” I ask. “Worrying has done nothing but stress people out and cause problems. I spent so many of my earlier years worrying about things that in the grand scheme of things didn’t matter. I would stress myself out, stop eating, and I became extremely unhealthy.”
“Really? What would you stress out about?”
“Mainly trying to prove to my parents that I could take over the store. With everything I baked, I tried to be perfect, and when I wasn’t perfect, I would be so hard on myself. Berate myself for wasting the store’s resources. It was incredibly unhealthy, and it wasn’t until I looked at myself in the mirror and realized what I was doing to my body that I made a change. I was doing more harm than good, but it took a while to realize. So, when it comes to the little things, I try not to worry about them—they find a way of working themselves out.”
“It’s why you waited on Dealia to come around.”
I nod. “Granted, I was a twisted ball of nerves at first, but I really, really hoped she would, and she did. She just needed time to process. Just like your siblings. They’ll come around to selling the house; they just need time. They won’t be mad forever.”
He slowly nods. “Yeah, I’ve had time to realize that our parents aren’t the same people we grew up with, physically, and I understand the need for the change. Now that they’re here, maybe they’ll see it too.”
“Exactly. Until then, you should focus on the things you can control.”
“And what would those things be?” he asks as he steps up to me and places his hands on my thighs.
“Well, for one, you need to get involved in the company branding. You’re talented, Cooper, and you need to be confident in that talent.”
“Ford doesn’t want me—”
“Who’s close to Ford?” When he gives me a questioning look, I continue: “Larkin. I’m not saying go behind his back, but maybe you need a little help. Meet with her, show her what you have, and maybe she can talk to Ford. It’s worth a shot.”
He gives it some thought. “Yeah, I never considered that.”
“Sometimes you’re so caught up in the initial no that you forget to look for the maybes. Larkin is a maybe, so approach her and see what she says.”
“Okay, yeah, that’s actually a really good idea.”
“And then, while you’re putting yourself out there, maybe ask me out on a date, because, you know, I’d have a really hard time saying no to that.”
“And why would I ask you out?” he asks with a smirk.