Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
What had he gotten himself into now?
Cooper spent the rest of the afternoon in a daze, wondering how he’d managed to go from “keeping his distance” to “pick you up at seven” in barely ten minutes flat.
So much for staying platonic. He’d managed to resist temptation last time around, only to throw that self-control out the window the minute she smiled up at him with those hopeful brown eyes and asked the same question he’d been biting back all week.
Dinner. A date. Damn, what was he thinking?
What was he thinking with, more like? He should never have fixed up that cabin for her.
It wasn’t even supposed to be a big deal; he’d stumbled over it, just like he said, and for some reason, an image of Poppy had dropped into his mind: sitting out there with her laptop, curled up while the ocean breeze lifted her hair around her face.
He told himself he needed to clean the place out sometime, and if he did it now, it would save him having to deal with her marching over to complain every time he needed to drill a support beam or hammer the joists in place.
But sweeping out the sand had turned to polishing the window, and nailing that old shelving unit to the wall, because he was guessing she liked to have books with her wherever she went.
Before he knew it, the place was all spruced up.
And the smile on Poppy’s face when she saw it had just about made his week.
Cooper knew he was playing with fire. If she was anyone else, none of this would be a problem.
He wasn’t a monk—he’d had his share of flings these past years, with women who were in town for the summer, or just passing through.
Casual, fun arrangements where they both knew exactly what the rules were, and nobody got hurt.
But Poppy was different. For all the red-hot chemistry between them, she was searching for the real thing.
Cooper may not know much about women, but he knew he wasn’t it.
After Laura, he’d steered clear of relationships, and for good reason.
He’d screwed up the one thing that had mattered more than anything to him, and he knew that given half a chance, he’d do the same to the next woman who came along.
Some people were made for togetherness, and some people were just an emotional ticking time bomb—set to detonate and destroy everything in their path.
Cooper knew which he was now, and he wasn’t about to throw that grenade into anyone’s life.
No, he was the last thing Poppy needed right now. If he was a gentleman, he would just call her up right now and take it back—feign some last-minute emergency, or say he’d forgotten he already had plans. Rain-check, another time, no harm done.
“OK if we clock off now, boss?” one of his crew interrupted his thoughts. Cooper was up on the roof, hammering the last of the shingles in place. “We finished spreading the concrete if you want to check.”
“Sure, go ahead,” Cooper called down to him. With the rain gone, they were finally making some progress on construction, and had spent the day getting the exterior sealed up tight in case of another storm. “We’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
The site cleared out. Cooper always stayed later than his crew: getting some takeout and then working late into the night with nothing but the radio for company, but tonight, he clocked off with the others and headed for home.
But as he passed the pub in town, he had a second thought.
It was early, and still quiet, and he found Riley polishing glasses at the bar, one eye on the TV screen in the corner.
“Playing hooky?” Riley sounded surprised to see him.
Cooper snorted. “Some of us have been working since dawn.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Riley smirked. “And some of us had the sense to go into a trade that doesn’t open until noon.”
He took a glass and pulled at the tap of Cooper’s favorite ale, pouring a pint so smooth, Cooper couldn’t find it in him to offer any smart retort. He took a drink instead, and raised his glass in thanks. “You’re a mouthy bastard, but you can pour a pint.”
“My mom would be so proud,” Riley quipped. He leaned back against the counter. “So what’s this I hear about you and Poppy?”
“What?” Cooper’s head snapped up. Surely word about their date couldn’t have spread already. Sweetbriar’s gossip tree was good, but not that good.
“You were at the drive-in the other week,” Riley replied. “So says Franny, anyway.”
“Oh, that.” Cooper took another gulp. “Yeah, she was going stir-crazy at the cottage, so we went to a movie.”
“Really?”
He could hear the suggestion in Riley’s voice, but he ignored it. “Yup.”
“Huh.”
Cooper managed to last another minute of silence before sighing. “What?”
Riley smirked. “Nothing.”
He rolled his eyes. “Aren’t we kind of old for this?”
“Speak for yourself, grandpa.” Riley grinned. “I’m just hitting my prime. Like a fine wine, I get better with age.”
Cooper shook his head. “One of these days, you’re going to meet a girl who doesn’t buy your bullshit lines, and then I’ll be there to watch you fall.”
Riley laughed. “Never going to happen. But this isn’t about me. This is about you and our new resident romance writer. I didn’t think happy endings were your style.”
“They’re not. It’s not like that,” Cooper replied, even as he remembered Poppy’s brilliant smile. “We’re friends.”
Friends who kissed. Friends who were going out to dinner in an hour.
Friends who had red-hot dreams about peeling off the other friend’s clothes and doing wicked things with them all night long.
“Good,” Riley said, casually turning to clear some glasses. “So you won’t mind if I ask her out?”
Cooper tensed. “I thought she already shot you down.”
“I’m nothing if not persistent,” Riley said cheerfully. “Anyway, she hasn’t seen me go all out yet. Turn the charm on full. Show her all my assets, if you know what I mean.”
Cooper glared at him. The thought of Poppy out with Riley—laughing with him, flirting, kissing him . . . It made him want to wipe that smirk off Riley’s face and set him right, for good.
“Unless you have a problem with that,” Riley added, his smile turning sly. “Do you?”
Cooper gritted his teeth. He knew exactly what Riley was doing, pushing him to admit there was something between him and Poppy. “You do whatever you want,” he growled out in response. “It’s a free country.”
“You’re right, it is.” Riley grinned, like he could see exactly how worked up Cooper was under the surface. “And a beautiful woman like that isn’t going to stay single for long.”
Cooper downed the rest of his drink in one. “I need to get going.”
“Big plans?”
“Something like that.”
Cooper slammed down the empty glass and left, before he said or did something he regretted. Riley was trying to get under his skin—and it was working. He knew he wasn’t the man for Poppy, but it still burned to think of her with anyone else.
But why?
Outside, he turned his cellphone over in his hand, torn.
He still had a chance to call it all off, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to cancel their plans.
She’d looked so happy, discovering the cabin, and even opening the door in her ratty sweatpants and tangled hair, she was beautiful enough to take his breath away.
Call it selfish, but he wanted another evening with her, enjoying her feisty sense of humor, and figuring out what made her tick.
All he had to do was find a way not to kiss her senseless the minute he had a chance.
How hard could that be?