Book 24 Temptation After Dark #6
They go to Eastwood Look, where Evelyn comes out to greet them, hugging Jordan, who collapses into her grandmother’s embrace.
“I can’t believe I sent you to buy a pregnancy test for me,” Jordan says.
“Proving there’s nothing I won’t do for my girls.” Evelyn releases Jordan and hugs Gigi. “Hi, sweetie.”
“Hey, Ev.” Gigi will never forget the day that Evelyn told her to call her Evelyn and not Mrs. Hopper.
“How’s our girl?” Evelyn asks.
“Rattled but holding it together. Barely.”
“Let’s get some answers, shall we?” Evelyn leads them inside, where a bag from Ryan’s Pharmacy sits on the counter.
“Here goes nothing.”
“Or everything,” Evelyn says.
Jordan huffs out a deep breath and heads for the bathroom.
“I hate Brendan for making her uncertain about everything, even things she knows to be true,” Evelyn says when she and Gigi are alone.
“I know. She has nothing to worry about where Mason is concerned. And she knows that, but still… The insecurities never let up.”
“She’s lucky to have you,” Evelyn says. “We all are.”
“Thank you.” Gigi tries to hide her emotional reaction to Evelyn’s kind words. “I’m lucky to have you guys, too.”
“I love that you girls are as close as you were ten years ago.”
“Me, too.” Evelyn can’t know how true that is for Gigi.
As they wait for Jordan, it occurs to Gigi that a positive pregnancy test will change her life as much as Jordan’s.
If there’s a baby, Jordan won’t return to LA.
She’ll stay on Gansett with the man she loves, and the life she and Jordan share in LA will be over for good, probably along with the show.
Before she can fully wallow in that thought, her phone chimes with a text from Cooper.
Hope you’re having a good day. Jared and Lizzie seem to be doing okay with the baby.
If the invite is still good, I’d love to go to Jordan’s party with you.
If so, let me know what time, dress code and what I can bring.
The phone immediately chimes with a second text. Oh, and last night was fun. I want to kiss you some more. Still want to go to the beach?
His texts make her smile.
“What’s happening over there?” Evelyn asks, grinning at Gigi. “I haven’t seen you light up like that in a long time.”
“Just a friend.”
“Hmmm. A friend or a friend?”
“I’m not sure yet, but he’s adorable, sweet and makes me laugh.” Gigi shrugs. “So far, it’s nothing more than that.”
“Those are three very important things.”
Jordan comes out of the bathroom carrying the stick, a dopey smile on her face.
“Well?” Gigi asks.
“Positive.”
Evelyn lets out a shout of happiness and wraps her granddaughter up in a big hug. “I can’t believe you’re going to do this to me! I’m too young to be a great-grandmother!”
Gigi watches the scene unfold with a surreal feeling of detachment.
Yes, she’s happy for Jordan, Mason, Evelyn, Nikki and everyone who’ll be excited about the baby.
But she’s crushed for herself and feels like an ass for worrying about how it will affect her when she needs to be celebrating her friend’s big news.
Jordan texts Mason and asks him to stop by. When he arrives, Jordan meets him outside. Evelyn nudges Gigi toward the door to watch.
Jordan looks up at him, and a second later, he lets out a loud whoop and lifts her right off her feet into a bear hug.
Safe to say, Mason is happy about the baby.
Cooper is talking with Jared about the baby and Jessie when the doorbell rings. He greets Oliver Watkins, the new lighthouse keeper. Jared has invited Oliver over to mentor him in the stock market.
They spent the next forty minutes discussing some of the tricks that have made Jared so successful as a stockbroker and trader, and sure enough, Cooper learns a few things he hasn’t heard before.
“Everyone has a different comfort level with risk,” Jared says.
“The one thing I want you to take away is not to risk anything you can’t afford to lose.
And start slow. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your portfolio won’t be either. ”
“I appreciate this so much,” Oliver says.
“My grandparents left me money that I’ve had invested for a while, and I’m planning to use that as my seed money for this new endeavor.
I wouldn’t be happy to lose it, but if I did, we’d still be okay.
We sold our house and are living off the proceeds until we figure out our next steps.
My wife is applying for a summer job at the Wayfarer, and living rent-free at the lighthouse buys us some time. ”
“Let’s do a weekly meeting, so I can take a look at things for you,” Jared says.
Oliver stares at him, seeming stunned. “You’d do that?”
“I’d be happy to. I want this to work for you.” Jared hands him a card. “That’s got my cell number and email. Feel free to reach out any time. We’ll get this business launched for you.”
“I don’t even know what to say. That’s so incredibly generous of you.”
Cooper is always proud of his brother—unreasonably so, if you ask his friends in the city who make fun of his hero worship for Jared.
But seeing him extend himself to Oliver while in the midst of his own crisis only increases Cooper’s admiration tenfold.
After Jared walks Oliver out and returns to the office, Cooper tells him so.
“It’s no big deal. I’m happy to help him.”
“It’s a huge deal to him, Jared. Having you coach him will make all the difference.”
Cooper spends the afternoon with Gigi at the beach.
She shares that her mother was a crack addict, and she was born addicted.
After four years in foster care, she was adopted by a super-ambitious Hollywood couple who were perfectly fine to leave the raising of their child to a progression of nannies.
He’s a producer, and she’s a studio executive. Cooper has no idea what to say.
“I first became interested in the law when I was fifteen and decided to sue for emancipation from them. I got tired of them wanting nothing to do with me until it suited their purposes.”
“Did you win?”
“Hell, yes, I won—with a financial settlement that allowed me to finish high school with my friends and get my own apartment.”
“When you were fifteen.”
“I was sixteen by the time it was finalized.”
“So, you were on your own at sixteen.”
“Yep, and I’ve never looked back. I became a lawyer so I could take care of myself financially and legally. I never wanted to be in another situation where I had to rely on other people to take care of things for me. I wanted to do it myself.”
“I’m amazed, Gigi. You’re incredible.”
Cooper looks over at her. “What happened today to upset you?”
“Jordan found out she’s pregnant,” Gigi says, sighing. “I’m so happy for her.”
“What else?”
“Nothing. That was it.”
“No, there’s more. You’re happy for her, so why were you rage-swimming in the pool?”
Hesitantly, she says, “It’s not rage so much as fear.”
“Of what?”
“When you have no real family of your own, your family becomes the one you choose for yourself. Jordan and Nikki are my family. Their grandmother is mine.” She swallows. “They’re making lives for themselves here, which means they’ll be staying when I go back to LA.”
Cooper begins to get the picture.
Dara walks up the road to the lighthouse two minutes after Oliver returns home. He’s immediately on guard for how she seems as she comes closer to him and Maisy, their yellow Lab.
“How’d it go?” Oliver asks, relieved to see her smiling. Her smiles have been so rare in the last year that he celebrates every one of them.
“It went great. I got the job!” She’d interviewed for the events manager position at the Wayfarer. She’s excited to help brides plan their weddings and oversee birthday parties and other events.
Oliver tells her his meeting with Jared went well and how Jared offered to meet with him weekly and be his mentor.
“I’m happy for you. We both had an awesome day.”
“That seems to be happening a lot since we got here.” Every day is different on Gansett Island.
The community has warmly welcomed them, inviting them to dinners and get-togethers and nights out to listen to live music that has their calendar full of engagements for the next few weeks.
Life on Gansett is fun and relaxing, and with every passing day, he feels himself looking forward to each new experience rather than dreading having to get through another day.
Naturally, he feels guilty any time he has fun or experiences joy or happiness, knowing his beloved son will never again have any of those things.
“I like it here.” Dara follows him inside and up the spiral staircase that leads to the combined kitchen/living room. “I didn’t expect to like it so much. I’m glad we came.”
“I am, too. We needed something, and this place has a soothing vibe. Like you can’t help but relax and breathe here.”
“Yes, exactly. It doesn’t hurt that the island is beautiful, and the people are so friendly and welcoming.”
Cooper calls for a cab to take him to Jordan and Mason’s.
Ned, the cab driver, asks how long he’s planning to stay on the island.
Cooper tells him about the party boats for bachelorette and bachelor parties.
Ned and his buddies would love to hear his proposal and invite him to the marina any time he wants to discuss it.
Cooper plans to speak to Big Mac McCarthy about running his boats out of the place.
“Ya got any interest in real estate? Got a few places that need some work, but I’m so busy these days with the grandkids that I don’t have much time to deal with ’em.
Wouldn’t mind having some help if yer interested. ”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. I’m gettin’ old. Got other stuff I wanna be doin’ than paintin’ and shit.”
“Would you be interested in a partner?”
Ned glances in the mirror again, maybe gauging Cooper’s level of sincerity. “Maybe.”
Wow, you never knew who you might meet on Gansett Island. “If I stop by this meeting of the minds in the next few days, perhaps we could discuss this further?”
“Perhaps we could.”