Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Julia looked over at Cooper and found herself grinning from ear to ear. He was staring up at the stage where the Barn Rollers were performing with a completely enraptured expression.
He’s adorable, she thought, feeling a rush of fondness for him. I’m so glad everything worked out, and he was able to come to this concert with me.
She turned back to the stage, swaying a little to the rollicking beat. Cooper had been right when he’d said that she would have a new appreciation for country music if she got a chance to go to a live country music concert. The concert hall was filled with a positive energy as people cheered and danced and sang along to the music.
She glanced at Cooper again, thinking to herself that she was enjoying watching him as much as she was enjoying watching the concert itself. He was so into it, and she couldn’t help smiling again as she watched him nod along to the songs and mouth all the words. After a few seconds, he glanced at her and grinned.
“Are you enjoying it?” he shouted above the noise.
“Yes!” She slipped her hand inside his, and he swayed back and forth a few times playfully, causing her to sway with him.
They continued to have a wonderful time together for the remainder of the concert. After the band left the stage, the audience cheered so loudly and for so long that there was an encore performance. Julia found herself tapping her foot and clapping her hands just as enthusiastically as all the people around her as the concert officially ended.
“Wow, that was amazing.” Cooper couldn’t seem to stop grinning as they moved along with the crowd toward the exits. “I mean seriously, that was so good. They’re so good. And it was so awesome to see them live like that. The music was just—I don’t know, I just got totally swept away by it.”
She couldn’t help laughing, he was so charming.
“What?” he asked, smiling at her as they stepped out of the concert hall onto the sidewalk. The crowd thinned out as people went off in separate directions, and the sounds of the city purred in the background. Streetlights cast a warm glow over everything, and neon lights blossomed like strange electric flowers in the distance.
“Are you glad we went?” she teased, and he stopped walking and pulled her into his arms.
“I’m so glad.” His eyes were shining at her. “Thank you so much for thinking of this and making it happen.”
“Thank you for coming with me, and for figuring out how to make it work. I know what a big deal it was for you to do this, bringing Macey to the city and organizing having Callie come along with us. I know it was a lot of work for you, and you had to pay Callie to be here?—”
He brushed her hair behind her ear, looking into her eyes fondly. “You’re worth it.”
Her stomach fluttered with happiness, and he drew her in for a kiss, which made her feel as though she was on top of the world.
They walked slowly to the garage where they’d parked Cooper’s car, and from there drove back to the hotel. They talked excitedly about the concert together the whole way.
“Let’s go talk to Callie together,” Cooper said as they stepped inside the hotel’s elevator. “I don’t want to say goodnight yet, but I do want to check on Macey right away.”
“Sure.” She smiled at him.
They went to Cooper’s room, where Callie had been watching Macey. As they tiptoed inside, they saw Macey sound asleep in one of the beds, holding a stuffed panda toy tightly. Callie was sitting by the window reading a book under a lamp, and she had the overhead lights dimmed to make it easier for Macey to sleep.
“Hey, you guys.” Callie spoke in a whisper, but she grinned and stood up as soon as they stepped inside the room. “How was the concert?”
“Amazing,” Cooper whispered, grinning as well. “How did everything go here?”
“Great. There was a moment when she was starting to get fussy, but we played some games and then watched a movie. Then I read her a couple of books and she went right to sleep.” As she talked, Callie looked both at Cooper and at Julia, clearly including Julia in the report. Julia felt a little strange about it, but at the same time, it meant a lot to her.
“Fantastic. Thank you so much.” Cooper smiled at the teenager. “I’m glad you both had a good night.”
Callie nodded. “And speaking of goodnight, I’ll head on over to our room, Julia. All that reading has made me pretty sleepy too.” She laughed.
Callie slipped out of the hotel room and Cooper turned to Julia with a smile.
“Thank you again. Tonight has been amazing.”
“You’re so welcome.”
They shared another kiss, and then wished each other goodnight in whispers as Julia quietly left the room.
She walked slowly along the hallway of the hotel, unable to stop herself from smiling as butterflies flapped in her stomach.
“Good morning, Daddy!”
Cooper opened his eyes and saw Macey sitting up in her bed, looking over at him with a big smile on her face. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows of their hotel room, and he smiled to himself, realizing that this was one of the first nights in a long time that Macey had slept the whole night without waking him up. Kind of ironic, he thought, but he was thrilled.
“Good morning, honey.” He climbed out of bed and went to give her a hug and a kiss. “Callie said you guys had a great time last night.”
“Yeah! Can we come back here soon?”
He chuckled. Macey had been having a wonderful time, clearly considering the trip to be some kind of amazing adventure. She’d been happy and excited the day before, and he was glad to see that she still felt that way that morning.
Half an hour later, as he was putting on her shoes, she said, “Can we get breakfast with Julia?”
He grinned, delighted that she wanted to spend time with Julia. “I think that sounds like a great idea. Should we go ask Julia if she wants to?”
“Yeah!” She wiggled off the chair she was sitting on and toddled toward the door of their room.
They made their way over to Julia and Callie’s room and knocked on the door. A moment later, Julia, wearing a yellow sundress and smiling broadly, opened the door.
“Good morning!” She crouched down to be on Macey’s level. “How are you this morning, Miss Macey?”
“I’m hungry,” Macey said. “Do you want to get breakfast with us?”
Julia grinned at the little girl. “I would love to.”
“You’re invited too, Callie,” Cooper called into the hotel room. “Do you want to come get breakfast with us?”
“No, thanks for the invitation, but I think I’m going to order something from the hotel and watch cartoons.” Callie, who was still wearing her pajamas, waved at them. “But you guys have fun!”
Julia grabbed her purse and tugged on a pair of sandals, and then she proclaimed herself ready to go. The three of them took the elevator downstairs, where they asked the receptionist for restaurant recommendations. She suggested a place that was a short walk from the hotel, and they began to make their way there, with Cooper holding Macey in his arms.
The restaurant was charming, and they got a booth in the back which offered a beautiful view of the ocean. Cooper ordered chocolate chip pancakes for himself and Macey, and Julia ordered a yogurt parfait with sides of scrambled eggs and hash browns. Macey babbled excitedly throughout their meal, asking questions about the concert.
“Was it loud?” Macey asked, wiggling excitedly in her seat as Cooper cut up her pancakes into lots of little pieces.
“Yes, but in a fun way.” Julia grinned at her, and Cooper’s heart warmed with happiness to see the way Macey looked at Julia. She seemed to really love her.
“I’d like to make a toast,” Cooper said, raising his cup of coffee. “To today—the first of many.”
He made eye contact with Julia, smiling. He was implying that there would be many more times that he and Julia went out together, and that there would be many more times that the three of them spent time together.
Julia flushed, and Cooper loved the way she smiled at his words.
I mean it , he thought, telling himself that he was going to say as much to her later when they had a moment alone together. I want many more mornings just like this one, with these two.
“To the first of many,” Julia echoed softly, and she and Cooper shared a warm smile across the table. His heartbeat quickened with happiness as he let himself picture what their future might look like.