Chapter 23
Beatrix
That night,when I step out of the RV after a post-dinner-and-shower nap, I see Ramsey setting up the picnic table with chocolates and champagne. I do my best to hold back my grin when he looks up and sees me.
“What’s going on here?” I ask, eyeing the setup he’s clearly created for him and the friend he has with him. “I didn’t know you could be such a romantic.”
“Don’t get any ideas, darlin’. I don’t have a romantic bone in my body. Just cold calculation on what it takes to get what I want.”
“Seems like more than that to me.” I raise a brow at the small bundle of wildflowers he’s put in a glass on the table.
“You saw what I’m like.” He smirks. “Coop said you found it inspirational.”
My cheeks heat. Coop and I will be having a little chat about oversharing. But I’m not about to let Ramsey rattle me again.
“You can’t be like that and be romantically involved too? Seems like long-term having a mix of both would be a good foundation.”
“I respect women enough to know that I’m not made for more. I’d only make them miserable long term. But one or two nights? I can do that pretty damn well.” He winks at me.
“You flirting with my girl again, cowboy?” Coop comes up behind me and wraps a hand around my waist possessively, kissing my cheek. Hearing him call me his girl does something it shouldn’t. I know he’s just being flippant. Just saying that to give Ramsey a hard time. But I like it more than I should.
“Nah. Just explaining to her why we’ll never get married. Too bad for me.” Ramsey grins at me one last time before he goes back to the task at hand.
“He was telling me that you’re being very loquacious with your reports about our day.” I narrow my eyes at Cooper.
Cooper smirks in response. “Well, I had to thank him for the help.”
I gently punch his arm. “You’re the worst.”
“That mean you don’t want to hop in the truck and go do some stargazing? There’s a dark sky park just down the road from here. I was all ready with blankets and snacks.”
I can’t help but smile. It sounds perfect. Almost too perfect. Especially after the day we’ve had already, and as I take Cooper’s outstretched hand, I can’t resist looking back at the wildflowers on the table one last time.
When we’re lyingout under the stars, sharing a bag of candy and some pop that we’ve brought along with us, a text comes through from my mother, and I sigh as I read it.
“What’s wrong?” Cooper asks.
“My mother thinks she’s being subtle about her designs on my personal life. I thought we were out in the middle of nowhere where there’d be no service?”
“I mean, there isn’t any if you turn your phone off.” He smirks.
“Ha. Tempting.”
“What are her designs?” he asks as he pops another sour gummy worm in his mouth.
“She and my dad want me back in Seattle like I was telling you at the fair. Doing the political thing. Very specifically, she knows I have to go back to host Xander’s engagement party next week, and she was letting me know our family friends are coming and their son is in town.”
“Their son?” Cooper’s brow raises.
“He’s my age. We went to prep school together. He was the quarterback, and I had a crush on him back then. It’s all my mom remembers. Back then, he didn’t care if I existed, and now I don’t care if he does. The problem is… he’s all grown up, football didn’t work out, and his future depends on his political connections.”
“And you’re the obvious choice for political advantage.”
“Exactly. One my parents don’t hate either as his family is wealthy and has a lot of contacts they wouldn’t mind having either.”
“This all sounds very medieval. Marrying your daughter off for the best alliance.” Cooper’s brow furrows.
“Well, it is. Very medieval and very fuck what Bea wants, as long as we all get what we want. Minus my mom. She does care to some extent what I want, but she thinks I want Craig. She knows I liked him as a kid, and in her mind, not much has changed since.” I sigh.
“Ah. Yeah. I get that. Mine can be the same way sometimes. She thinks she can set me up with the girl down the block, and we’ll get married and be happy. Except she forgets her son is an unrepentant manwhore who never met a relationship he liked.” He stares up at the stars.
“Don’t talk about yourself like that. If you enjoy your life, and it sustains your happiness, then that’s all that matters.” I feel defensive for both of us.
“It doesn’t. Not really.” It’s his turn to sigh. “It’s just where I’ve always been comfortable. But then comfortable doesn’t always mean happy, sometimes it just means you’re content. Just content enough to not want to change anything and risk being less than content. You know?” He looks over at me and his eyes search my face.
“I can understand that. I mean… I think that’s why I stuck things out in Pittsburgh for so long when I knew I wouldn’t ever really be happy there. Because I was at least content. I knew what to expect every day, and the alternative was wide open space for everything to get fucked up. And well… that’s exactly what happened.” I can’t help but laugh a little that all my worst fears have come true. I have no real job. No home to call my own, no one who loves me, and I’m essentially knocking on the door of my thirties with no plan. But at least I’m still here. There’s something to be said for getting up and trying every day even when you don’t feel like it.
“Yeah. I know what you mean. But for the record, I think you’re doing all right, all things considered. You’re figuring out your next steps, and in the meantime, you’re here working with Madison, doing an amazing job for the Chaos. I’m super grateful for your little side quest here.” Cooper squeezes my hand, and I glance down at the way our fingers intertwine.
“Me too.” I turn my head to look over and smile at him.
He reaches over me, and he brushes my hair carefully out of my face before he leans over to kiss me softly. We’re lost in each other for a moment before he pulls away and raises a brow.
“Do I need to be worried about this Craig guy stealing you away? I thought we had a pretty good setup here while we worked through our lists.” He grins.
“Not on my account, but I can promise my mother is going to try to make it happen. I have no idea how Craig even feels about it.”
“What if I come with you?”
“To Seattle?” I ask, surprised if he’s actually suggesting that.
“Why not? Lizzy’s gone at camp. We’ve got a break right now before training camp starts.”
“I don’t think you realize what you’re signing up for. My family is… a lot.”
“Oh, I know. Trust me, Rob bitched plenty about what it was like to deal with your brother and your father. But I’m much better at convincing people to like me than he is.” Cooper winks at me, and I can’t help the smile that forms in response.
“That’s true, but I just feel like they’ll stomp out any bit of fun between us. Ask you a bunch of questions and make things super uncomfortable.”
“Easy. We just pretend we’re dating already. Then you’ve got no time for Craig, and your parents can rest assured that you’re in good hands with me.”
“That easy, huh?” I raise a brow at his confidence, only slightly worried that my parents, and worse yet, my brother, will be more than he expects.
“I mean, I think it’s worth a shot. The alternative is that you go and deal with Craig and your family on your own.”
“Madison is coming too.” It’s partially a protest, but I don’t know if Cooper’s comfortable with people outside of Ramsey and his friend knowing our situation. Madison will be all over it if she figures us out.
“With Quentin?” he asks, and the implied statement is there. She’ll be too busy managing him to help me worry about my regularly scheduled family problems.
“Fair point.”
“Good. So it’s settled then.” He grabs another piece of candy and leans back against the pillows to stare at the sky with me.
“What am I going to owe you for this help?”
“I’m sure we can come to an arrangement. Probably a few more items off the list.”
“I suppose I can live with that.” I muse, my lips turning up even as I try to suppress the smile. It seems I can’t stop smiling around this man.
I lie back and stare at the sky, full of a million stars and possibilities. But there’s only one I really want right now, and I worry it might be more out of reach than any of them.