Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jack
I’d spent my entire Sunday in a daze, revisiting the previous night’s kiss. Playing video games to relax had been nearly impossible—I’d made rookie mistakes and couldn’t even advance from easy levels. All because I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Cooper had responded to me.
The memory of Cooper’s lips against mine replayed in my mind like an animation running on repeat.
They’d been so soft, warmer than I’d imagined during all those years of wondering.
I could still feel the weight of Cooper’s hands clutching my shoulders, anchoring himself to me as if he needed the connection as much as I did.
What made it perfect wasn’t just the kiss itself, but the choice behind it—we’d both wanted that moment.
It wasn’t born from impulse or desperation, but from a genuine desire to explore what lay between us.
Every instinct had screamed at me to deepen the kiss, to press closer, to show him just how much I’d wanted this for so long.
But I’d forced myself to pull back, to keep it gentle and questioning rather than demanding.
If I had any hope of making this temporary relationship permanent—of not scaring Cooper away with the intensity of feelings he didn’t know I carried—I had to let him set the pace, no matter how much restraint it required.
But then his words echoed in my head. It’s no big deal.
The casual dismissal hit me like a slap, deflating the joy I’d been carrying since our lips touched.
To me, that kiss had been everything—a glimpse of what we could have, confirmation that the connection I’d felt wasn’t one-sided.
But apparently, to Cooper, it was just another moment in our arrangement, something to be brushed off and minimized.
Hadn’t it meant anything to him? Hadn’t he felt the same electricity, the same sense of rightness when our mouths met?
Or was I just reading too much into what was, for him, simply a temporary exploration?
I paced my apartment and glanced at the clock for the tenth time in as many minutes. Cooper would arrive soon to plan The Coffee Cove’s event for the town’s Ocean of Love celebration. Just two friends working on a project together. I needed to get my head straight before he arrived.
The buzzer rang and sent my heart into overdrive. I took a deep breath and willed my pulse to steady as I pushed the unlock button.
Cooper’s footsteps sounded on the stairs, and when I opened my door, I found him on my landing, still in his work clothes—a black Henley and dark jeans that should have been plain but somehow highlighted every toned line of his body.
His dark hair was slightly mussed, as if he’d run his hands through it multiple times during his shift.
“Hey,” he said, his voice casual but with a hint of caution. There was a new awareness in his eyes—a slight wariness that hadn’t been there before last night.
“Hey yourself.” I stepped aside to let him in. “Long day?”
“Saturday’s rush carried over.” He slipped off his jacket and hung it by the door with the familiarity of someone who’d done it a hundred times before. “I think half the town came in just to gossip. You’re lucky you weren’t there.”
I laughed, some of the tension easing. “Seacliff Cove’s newest celebrity couple is big news.”
“Apparently.” Cooper rolled his eyes, but there was a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Mrs. Abernathy asked if we’d set a date yet.”
“For what, our wedding?” My voice rose in incredulity.
“That’s exactly what she meant.”
We both laughed, the absurdity of the situation momentarily overriding the awkwardness between us.
My stomach rumbled, and Cooper raised an eyebrow. I gestured to the takeout menu on the coffee table. “I thought we could order Chinese food.”
“Sounds perfect.” Cooper settled onto the couch.
“The usual for you?” He nodded, and I picked up my phone to call in our order: beef with broccoli and fried rice for me, Cooper’s standard order of cashew chicken and brown rice, and egg rolls to share. The ritual restored some normalcy, and by the time I hung up, the atmosphere had eased further.
“Food will be here in thirty.” I sat down in the armchair across from Cooper rather than joining him on the couch. Distance seemed prudent, considering we needed to work. “Let’s figure out this event before Isabelle hunts us down for details.”
Cooper pulled a notebook from his messenger bag. Of course, he’d come prepared. “I’ve been thinking…what about a blind taste-test, in which couples have to find their partner’s favorite drink by taste alone?”
I waggled my hand back and forth. “Let’s keep thinking. How about a special menu, pairing different coffees with desserts that complement them, designed to be shared?”
“That’s a thought.” His gaze turned unfocused. “We could do something with the coffee sleeves.”
“We’d need a theme.”
“What if we did something like those candy conversation hearts?” Cooper suggested and flipped open his notebook. “Short phrases printed on the sleeves. My commercial printer can handle small batches of custom sleeves.”
“A Latte Love.” The event name came to me suddenly.
Cooper’s eyes lit up. “That’s perfect! We could print different sayings on different sleeves, all coffee-related love messages.”
“People can collect them or trade for their favorites.” I warmed to the idea. “It’s interactive, memorable.”
“And it’s something only The Coffee Cove could do,” Cooper nodded, already jotting notes. “We need to come up with catchy phrases, though.”
“How many different sleeves do you think you could afford?”
Cooper tapped his pen on his notebook. “Maybe ten different sayings? That’s enough variety without breaking my budget.”
“Ten coffee-themed love messages coming up.” I leaned forward with newfound enthusiasm. This was familiar territory: brainstorming, creating, solving problems together. This was us.
“How about ‘Yours to the last drop’?” I threw out with a grin.
Cooper wrinkled his nose. “That sounds…suggestive.”
“That’s half the point.” I chuckled. “It’s for Valentine’s Day, after all.”
He jotted a note. “Let’s put that in the maybe column,” Cooper said diplomatically, though I could see him fighting a smile. “What about ‘Let’s French press together’?”
I burst out laughing. “And you thought mine was suggestive?”
Cooper’s cheeks flushed, but he was laughing too. “Fair point. Scratch that one.”
“‘My heart is percolating’?” I offered.
Cooper groaned. “Too cheesy.”
“‘You’re my perfect brew’?”
“Getting better.”
“‘You’re my cup of love’?” I wiggled my eyebrows exaggeratedly.
Cooper threw a couch pillow at me. “These are terrible! We’re going to be the laughingstock of the festival.”
I caught the pillow. “Not all of them are bad,” I protested. “How about ‘Bean mine’?”
Cooper paused and considered. “That one’s actually not terrible.” He scratched a note.
“‘You mocha me happy’?”
“I like that.” Cooper nodded and wrote it down. “Simple but cute.”
“‘I’m steaming hot for you’?” My voice dropped into the husky range. Was I giving too much away?
Cooper’s eyes darted to mine, a flash of heat in them that made my throat go dry. “That…works,” he said, his voice rougher than before.
“‘Love you a latte’?” I continued, trying to keep us on track despite the sudden charge in the air.
“Classic,” Cooper agreed, still holding my gaze. “Another one?”
“‘Espresso your love,’” I said softly. The words felt far too honest leaving my lips.
Something shifted in Cooper’s expression—a softening, a questioning, as if he’d heard the truth behind the suggestion. For a moment, I thought he might address it, might acknowledge the implications running beneath my ideas.
But then the buzzer announced our food delivery, and the moment shattered.
We ate at my small dining table and continued to refine our list of phrases, discarding some and adding others. The awkwardness had returned, though, an undercurrent of awareness that made every accidental brush of hands or meeting of eyes feel significant.
Cooper kept looking at me when he thought I wouldn’t notice, his gaze lingering on my mouth or hands. Each time I caught him, he’d quickly glance away, but the pattern was undeniable.
He was thinking about our kiss, too.
The knowledge sent a surge of hope through me I couldn’t quite contain. Perhaps I had a real chance of showing him that what we had was too good to let slip away when our four weeks were up.
By the time we’d completed our list and Cooper had sketched a rough design for the sleeves, it was nearing nine o’clock. He gathered his notebook and stood. He stretched in a way that made his Henley ride up, revealing a strip of skin above his jeans.
I looked away quickly and gathered our takeout containers to hide my greedy reaction.
“This is going to be great,” Cooper said, genuine excitement in his voice. “I can get proofs in a couple of days and delivery by Valentine’s Day.”
“Sounds good.” I walked him to the door, closer than I normally would. Our shoulders brushed with each step, and warmth radiated between us. “Figuring this out was fun.”
“It was.” Cooper hesitated at the threshold, indecision clear on his face. “Jack,” he began, then paused. He seemed to search for words.
“Yeah?” My stomach fluttered, butterflies taking flight.
“Could we…I mean, would it be okay…” He gestured between us. A flush crept up his neck.
The want in Cooper’s eyes was unmistakable—raw and hungry and directed entirely at me.
My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I was certain he could hear it, and hope blazed through my chest like wildfire.
This wasn’t part of our careful bargain.
This wasn’t It’s no big deal. Cooper McKay wanted to kiss me again, and the realization sent every nerve ending in my body into overdrive.
If he wanted this—really wanted this—then maybe I had a real shot.
Maybe these four weeks could become something more, something that could last beyond any deadline we’d foolishly set. “If we both want it…”
He nodded.
I stepped closer, and my demanding body revealed exactly how I felt about him. Cooper’s breath hitched as I raised a hand to his cheek and cradled his face gently. I leaned in to press my lips to his.
The moment our lips met, Cooper made a small sound in the back of his throat. His arms wrapped around my waist.
Any restraint I possessed dissolved. I backed him against the door. One hand slid to his waist while the other tangled in his hair.
Cooper’s tongue traced the seam of my lips, and I opened to him with a low groan. The kiss turned ravenous, no longer anything resembling taking things slowly, but something far more primal and honest.
After a long moment, we finally broke apart, both of us breathing hard. Cooper’s pupils were blown. Our bodies strained toward each other despite the small space we’d put between us.
“That was…” Cooper’s voice was wrecked, his lips reddened from our kiss.
“Yeah.” I struggled to gather the scattered pieces of my self-control.
If we didn’t stop now, I wouldn’t be able to stop at all.
And as much as my body screamed for more, I needed to be smart about this.
I couldn’t risk rushing him or scaring him away.
I wanted to convince him honestly, to take the time to show him how good we could be together, to let him discover his feelings naturally rather than pushing too hard, too fast.
“You should go,” I said, the words physically painful to utter. “Before…”
I didn’t finish the sentence, but understanding flashed across Cooper’s face, followed by something that looked unexpectedly like disappointment. He hesitated, as if wanting to say something or perhaps to push me back into the living room and continue what we’d started.
Then he nodded. “I’ll text you when I get the proofs,” he said, his voice still not entirely steady.
“Great. Sounds good. Goodnight,” I managed, feeling like a character with limited dialogue options.
“Goodnight, Jack.” His eyes searched mine for a long moment before he turned, opened the door, and stepped onto the landing. His footsteps retreated down the stairs.
I closed the door and leaned against it. My whole body thrummed with unfulfilled desire. This was rapidly spinning out of control. Cooper was responding to me with an intensity I’d never anticipated, blurring the lines of The Boyfriend Bargain in ways that both thrilled and terrified me.
The thrill was intoxicating—every heated look, every breathless moment when he leaned into my touch, every time he initiated contact that went beyond what a temporary relationship required. It was everything I’d dreamed of for over a decade.
But the terror was just as real. What if I pushed too hard and lost my chance at love?
I pressed my palm against my chest, trying to slow my racing heart. The stakes had never been higher. I was playing for everything: Cooper’s heart, our future, and the possibility of turning this beautiful exploration into something real and lasting.
Four weeks had seemed like plenty of time when this started. Now it felt like both an eternity and nowhere near enough.
I was falling without a safety net, and I’d never wanted anything more in my life.