Chapter 42
STEPHANIE
I turn toward him, and Adeline’s words ring in my head: Cooper adores you!
Is she right?
How long has he adored me?
“Steph?” His words snap me back.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m a little overwhelmed, that’s all.”
“Adie can have that effect, but she’s exactly like her dad: once you get to know them, you love them. And you need to know that Frank loves Adie. When he says I’m not good enough for her?—”
“It’s not that. I can tell how much Frank loves her.
And I can already tell that I’m going to really like her.
” I watch them walk arm in arm toward the pool.
“Sometimes I’m a little taken aback when I see a father adore his daughter so much.
It’s so foreign to me. Maybe it’s hitting a little harder today because we were talking about my dad earlier. ”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“I think I’ve done enough talking today.” I roll my eyes at myself. “I only need a moment to regain my footing, and I’ll be fine.”
“How do you usually do that? Can I help?” His tone is sweet and tender.
Once again, I find myself smiling at Cooper Mallory. “This is the real you, isn’t it?”
His head tilts to the side. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you’re possibly one of the world’s kindest men.”
He awkwardly shrugs. “I try to take care of people who are important to me.”
His words hang in the air, and I want him to explain more. But at the same time, I’m afraid of the answer. Adeline’s words come back to my mind—Cooper adores you!—and I receive a small surge of courage. “And I’m one of those people?” My voice is tentative, but I can’t take it back now.
A lopsided grin slides onto his face, and it heats every inch of me. “At this point, I think you know you are.” I don’t respond, and we stand quietly for a moment, listening to the splashing sounds from the pool. “Are you going to tell me what you were thinking when I joined you?”
A sound escapes before I can stop it. “When I saw the look in Frank’s eyes as he was listening to Adeline, it was overwhelming.
He wanted to hear her ideas. He wanted to know what had changed since the last time they’d talked—which means they have regular exchanges about what’s important to her.
” I stare at my feet. “How does that even work?
A parent who listens? Cares? Encourages?
Cooper takes a step closer to me. “Stephanie,” there’s a softness in his voice that I’ve not heard before, “I promise I’ve never wanted to be your parent, but I want to do those things for you. If you’ll let me.” His words roll over me.
I want to do those things for you if you’ll let me.
The sounds around me—of the animals in the fields and the splashing from the pool—fade away as I get lost inside my own thoughts.
Would I trust Cooper Mallory with my heart?
With my innermost thoughts? With my triumphs and failures?
With everything from the depths of my emotional scars to my trivial silliness—and anything in between?
Then I realize: that’s exactly what I did this afternoon. I shared things with him that I’ve never even told Sam. And it felt safe. It felt natural.
I slowly inhale and exhale.
“Okay.” The word comes out as a whisper.
“Okay?”
“I could let you do those things.”
His lips curl into a small, unhurried smile. Not one that crinkles his eyes or makes him laugh, but one that creates a stillness in his eyes. Something inside me—something that has been slowly uncoiling over the last few days—quietly lets go.
“Stephanie,” he shifts his feet a little, which is not like him at all, “once this fundraiser is over and you’re done helping Sam with the baby, you’ll go back to Boston and I’ll be in Chicago. But I’ll only be a phone call away.”
My thoughts go completely silent.
His phone starts to vibrate in his pocket.
He reaches in and sends the call to voicemail.
“And Boston and Chicago aren’t that far apart, so I might be able to come up and visit you every once in a while.
” His phone begins to vibrate again. He sends the call to voicemail again.
“At least I’d like to . . . if you’d be fine with that.
” His phone lights up again, only to have him send the call to voicemail a third time.
We stare at each other, my pulse thrumming through my body.
His phone starts buzzing again, and he gives an exasperated groan.
I nod toward his pocket. “I don’t think they’re going to give up.”
He grabs his phone out of his pocket and impatiently answers. “What?”
His eyes go wide, and my heart skips a beat for an entirely different reason. What’s wrong?
“Now?” He pauses, then looks down at me. “Where’s your phone?”
“Probably by the pool?” I shrug.
He returns to his caller. “She doesn’t have it with her, that’s why.” He nods his head and walks away from me as he listens. “Okay. You got it.” He puts his phone back in his pocket, rushes back to me, and firmly grips both of my shoulders, expression urgent. “Stephanie?—”
I tap my fingertips together. “Cooper, I can’t take any more big surprises. Not today.”
“That’s going to be a problem then.”
I involuntarily fist his shirt into my hands.
“Sorry,” he pulls my hands from his shirt, rubbing them between his own in a soothing way, “I didn’t mean to make you worry; the call took me by surprise.” He leans in, and I brace myself for whatever he’s about to say. “Stephanie, let’s have a baby!”