Chapter 17
COOPER
If Dante knew that someday Stephanie would meet my family, he would have created a tenth circle of hell just for me.
The three women in my life have too much information.
I’ve said too much, texted too much, and asked for too much Stephanie related advice.
This is nothing less than terrifying. And what’s worse is they’re unaware that my small flame of hope for Stephanie was snuffed out last week.
They still think I’m still trying to get her to warm up to me.
At least I have answers. This is why Stephanie thinks I’m a player.
If I look at it objectively, anyone might’ve thought the same thing overhearing those calls. While I don’t remember specifics, I’m aware of how I talk to my sisters.
Before we all came inside, Stephanie gave a sincere, but strained, apology and tried to leave, but my sisters weren’t having it.
They insisted Stephanie join us for dinner so that they could get the full story.
She didn’t really have a choice; they linked their arms in hers and pulled her inside as if they were all long, lost friends.
By the time we’d sat down at our booth, I could tell that I was going to need to enter the witness protection program first thing in the morning. This dinner would be a disaster.
We’re currently seated in a booth—Stephanie between my mom and Kaylee on one side, and Melodie and I across from them—and I’m the one up against the wall, so I’m literally trapped.
“I still can’t imagine,” Melodie won’t let it go, “what it would be like to think Cooper is a player.” She looks directly at Stephanie, her eyes not only giving Stephanie permission but begging them to spill more details about every thought she’s ever had about me.
“I mean, you must have thought he was such a creep. I know I would have.” She shoots me a mischievous side-eye, and I think someone just set the thermostat to “thirty feet from the sun.”
Of my two sisters, Melodie is the most likely to cause me problems tonight. My sisters are both excellent secret keepers, so Melodie won’t say a word of what she knows (and she knows a lot)—but she’s the most likely to meddle, which can be worse and is the last thing I need right now.
“I don’t even know what to say. It’s so embarrassing!” Stephanie throws her face into her hands. It’s not escaped my notice that she hasn’t looked me in the eye once since we came in from the parking lot.
“Don’t even worry.” Kaylee gives Stephanie a sympathetic smile.
“Cooper has done way more embarrassing things than this. We’ll tell you anything you want about him later, but for now, we need you to tell us everything.
We want it all. The dirt. The drama. We live for it, but it’s never been about Cooper before, so we literally need every detail! ”
I let out a groan of protest, but the number of people worried about what I want right now is precisely zero.
“What exactly did he say during the phone calls?” Melodie practically drapes herself across the table, as if closer proximity to Stephanie will help her get more information.
“I mean, mostly what I said outside.” She shifts in her seat a little. “He told all of them . . . or I guess all of you,” her cheeks turn red almost instantly, “that he loved you. Which makes sense now. I already mentioned that he called one of the women Little Bear?—”
Melodie bolts straight up in her seat. “That’s me!” She points to herself like she’s won something. “I’m Little Bear!” she exclaims excitedly, looking around the table like the entire family should join in her enthusiasm.
Stephanie lets out a pained smile. “Tonight I heard him call you Little Bear when you two walked in, and I thought maybe it was a nickname he used for a lot of his dates. You know, so he didn’t have to remember everyone’s names.”
“Nope.” Melodie briefly leans her head on my shoulder, and I’m torn between agitation and amusement at how my family is reacting to all of this.
“I’m the only Little Bear. He’s Big Bear.
” She taps my chest then resumes her previous position, leaning toward Stephanie.
“Keep going—this is so good!” Melodie is beside herself with joy.
“What are you so excited about?” I hear the tension in my voice.
“Because I’m part of the drama! I’m never part of the drama.” She smiles as she puts all her attention back on Stephanie. “Continue.”
“Girls, we should cut your brother some slack.” My mother chimes in, but I see the grin on her face; she’s enjoying this as much as the girls are.
She reaches up and puts a hand on Stephanie’s.
“I’m sorry. We are an overwhelming bunch.
We’re just so entertained that someone would think Cooper is dating anyone, let alone?—”
“Mother, please stop talking.” My plea falls on deaf ears.
“—three women at the same time. Cooper hasn’t even had?—”
“Mom, whatever you’re about to say can’t possibly be helpful.”
“—a girlfriend in so long.” My mother slides her eyes to me. I sit back, knowing I can’t stop her. “It’s not really surprising when you haven’t been on a second date with anyone in ages.”
Kaylee joins the conversation. “How long has it been since there’s even been a first date? Over a year?”
Stephanie lets out a small laugh, but when no one joins, her eyes snap to mine for the first time since we sat down.
I experience a jolt of uncertainty. There’s a question in her eyes that I’m not willing to answer.
She’s waiting for me to refute what my mom said, but I can’t. She continues to stare.
Instantly it’s like the CIA, FBI, NSA, and all the other government alphabets have me strapped to a machine and are about to project the entirety of my dating life—including every thought I’ve ever had about Stephanie—onto a jumbotron.
A cold bead of sweat drips down my spine.
“Why does my dating life come up at every dinner we have together?”
“It doesn’t.” Kaylee sounds matter-of-fact. “It’s your lack of a dating life that tends to come up.”
Melodie giggles and reaches across the table to give Kaylee a high five, while my mom raises her glass, as if toasting someone before taking a drink.
“This is exactly why I have to keep you three apart. It’s always a disaster when you gang up on me like this.
” They know I’m not serious, and I can’t help smiling and shaking my head at the three of them.
I usually love it when they tease me, but with Stephanie present, tonight might be the exception. “Let’s talk about something else now.”
Kaylee sits up a little straighter and takes Stephanie’s hand.
“Cooper told us what you did for Frank! I can’t believe you were able to get Icefall for the fundraiser!
Icefall! Uncle Frank said I could meet the band, and I’m losing my mind over it!
Cooper didn’t stop talking about it for days.
He said you put everything together in sixty minutes. ”
An involuntary cough bursts out before I can stop it. “I didn’t talk about it for days.” I keep my focus on my drink, but in my peripheral, I see Stephanie looking at me like she’s trying to figure me out.
“He told me it was the quickest, cleanest contract he’d ever seen.” My mom looks as proud of Stephanie as she’s ever been of one of her own children.
I mumble something so indiscernible that even I’m not sure what the words were supposed to be.
“It was nothing.” Stephanie’s trying to deflect the praise—something I see her do all the time. She's not a woman who needs to be fawned over. “I’m supposed to be good at it. It was my job for a long time.” She waves her hand in the air, brushing off the compliment.
“That’s not what Coop said.” Melodie’s look challenges Stephanie’s humble answer. “He’s done his fair share of contracts and he said?—”
I need them to stop giving Stephanie an idea of how much I talk about her.
In this new panicked state, I look around for a way to redirect and see our waiter about thirty feet away.
In desperation, I stand, raise my hand, and practically shout, “Ready to order!” Unfortunately, my body is bigger than the space in front of me, and I bump the table as I stand.
In a disastrous chain of events, Stephanie’s glass of water begins to tip, I frantically reach out to grab it, and my hand, instead, sends it sailing off the table and directly into Stephanie.
For a moment, we all sit frozen in shock.
Then everyone springs into action.
Mom jumps off the bench and gets napkins from the vacant table next to us.
Stephanie and Kaylee stand up to move away from the mess.
Waiters run over and begin cleaning up the table and bench.
I jump up and take the napkins from my mom’s hand, turning to help dry Stephanie off, but I stop when I realize exactly where she's wet. She definitely isn’t going to want help—and especially from me. The only saving grace here is that her dress isn’t thin or light colored.
“Again?” Stephanie looks up at me in shock. “How is that even possible?”
“At least I can’t tell what color your bra is.” I literally smack myself in the head. Why on earth did I say that?
Luckily, no one seems to have heard me, as my Mom has grabbed Stephanie’s hand, and she and Melodie are whisking her off to the bathroom.
While Kaylee watches the other three women quickly move to the bathroom, she slips the napkins from my hand and drys off the few spots that got on her. Once she’s done, she turns to face me—a cheshire grin plastered to her face—and I know exactly what she’s thinking.
“Shut up.” I drop back down and lean against the backrest.
She lets out a contented sound. “This has got to be one of the best nights of my life.”