Chapter 4
Gigi drove them slowly and carefully through town to Mario’s, located behind the Beachcomber.
“We were supposed to end up there.” Cooper pointed to the iconic white hotel that anchored the Gansett downtown. “Sorry to mess up our night.”
“It would’ve been an even bigger mess if you and/or the car had gone off that cliff, so thanks for not letting that happen.”
“Ha,” Cooper said with a grunt of laughter. “That’s the truth.”
“Can I have a rain check on the Beachcomber?”
“Of course you can,” Cooper said, immediately feeling a thousand times better to know they’d have a do-over.
“And how about we take my car next time?”
“Sounds good,” he said, smiling.
“It’s an automatic, so no clutch to worry about.”
“I’m an idiot for wanting to impress you with my brother’s car,” Cooper said, sighing.
“You impressed me with the wildflowers and the way you risked your own safety to save something that means a lot to your brother.”
Cooper wished he felt well enough to celebrate those victories.
“I know it seems silly that I risked myself for something Jared could buy a thousand of and never feel the hit. But the car was the first thing he bought for himself when he struck it rich. He set us all up for life, paid off my parents’ house, my grandparents’ reverse mortgage, the mortgages of all our aunts and uncles, set up college funds for all our cousins.
And only after all that was done did he do something for himself.
” Cooper looked over at her. “I couldn’t let that car go off the cliff. ”
“That’s amazing,” Gigi said, “how he did those things for your family.”
“He’s super generous, sometimes to a fault. A few people in our family and his group of friends have tried to take advantage by treating him like a bank.”
“That’s so lame.”
“It is, but he tries not to let it get to him. He says his conscience is clear after what he did for everyone.”
“So, you’re set for life, huh?”
“Yes and no. Jared put most of what he gave me in a trust until I’m thirty so I wouldn’t end up useless, as he put it.”
Gigi laughed. “I love that.”
“I was pissed about it at the time, but he was right. If I’d had access to that when I was younger, I would’ve gotten into trouble.
Jared gave me just enough to pay for college and grad school and let me live in his New York apartment while I was in school.
And he set me up with an investment account that I’ve used to learn the market.
He’s a great teacher. I’ve managed to grow that account significantly. ”
“He’s a good brother.”
“He’s the best. We’ve always been close.”
“What’s the age difference between you guys?”
“Twelve years. He was good to me when I was a pesky kid, always had time for me, took me places. I’d do anything for him.”
“That’s sweet. I don’t know him and Lizzie as well as you do, but they’ve seemed off lately.”
“If I tell you why, do you promise not to repeat it to anyone?”
“Of course.”
“They’ve been trying to have a baby for a long time, and another round of IVF failed recently.”
“Oh no. That’s terrible. They’d be such great parents.”
“They would. It’s been so hard for them.”
“It’s weird how we all spend so much effort when we’re younger trying not to make babies,” Gigi said, “and then when we want them, some people have such an awful time.”
“I know.”
“And it’s proof there are some things all the money in the world can’t buy.”
“True. Jared is worried about Lizzie getting involved with the new mom and baby.”
“I can see why. Lizzie is the sweetest person I’ve ever met. At first, I wondered if she was for real.”
“She is,” Cooper said. “She’s exactly how she seems. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for anyone.”
“I wish I was more like her.”
“We all need to be more like her. Jared is always after her to be as good to herself as she is to others, and he says how she loves to spend his money on her causes—never on herself. He learned early on not to try to give her extravagant gifts. Once, he gave her a Louis Vuitton purse. She made him take it back and give her the money he spent on it, which she donated to a food bank.”
Gigi reached for the purse she’d propped between the seats and put it down on the floor. “I’ll be consigning this and my luggage when I get back to LA and donating the proceeds to a food bank.”
Cooper laughed. “Lizzie would be proud of you.”
Gigi pulled the car into the parking lot at Mario’s and brought it to a smooth stop before the car stalled, lurching forward.
Cooper grunted through the pain.
“Sorry.”
“No problem.”
“I suck at driving a stick. I always have.”
“Now you tell me,” Cooper said with a laugh. “It’s fine. Better you than me all doped up.”
“I’ll just run in and pick up the order.”
Before he could tell her to wait for him to get his credit card from his wallet, she was out of the car and on her way into the restaurant, teetering on crazy heels that did wondrous things for her sexy legs.
Could this night become any more of a disaster? Now, she was paying for dinner, too. His only goal in life would be making amends for letting this night turn into such a train wreck. No other date in his extensive dating history had ever gone so wrong. Figured it had to happen with his dream woman.
She returned with a pizza box and brown bag that she handed to him to hold for the ride home.
“That was supposed to be my treat.”
“Don’t sweat it.”
“I’m sweating it. This has to be the worst date you’ve ever been on.”
“Haha, nowhere close to the worst. This one will be memorable. That’s for sure.”
Cooper wished it had been memorable for better reasons than a near catastrophe that involved EMS and a trip to the clinic, not to mention she was driving and had paid for dinner.
Thankfully, she managed to back the car out of the parking space and drive it out of the lot without stalling.
“So what’s the worst date you’ve ever had?”
She glanced at him as if deciding if she should be truthful. “I dated this guy for a month before I realized he was a celebrity stalker who I’d let into my house and my life. I had to get a restraining order to get him away from me, and I have to testify against him when I get home.”
“Damn, Gigi. That’s horrible.”
“People suck. That’s kind of why I’m dreading going home. He’s out on bail awaiting the trial.”
“Do you have security?”
“Yeah, I have to have it when I’m there. He’s got an ankle monitor that keeps him from leaving the area, so I’m safe here.” She let out a nervous-sounding laugh. “The downside of pseudo-celebrity.”
“You’re hardly a pseudo-celebrity. You’re the real deal.”
“If you say so.”
“I say so.”
As they headed for Jared’s, she drove slowly along the dark, winding island roads that led out of town. The sun had finished setting during their time at the clinic, and with the power out, everything was dark.
“This place could do with some streetlights,” Gigi said.
Cooper laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
“It’s dark as fuck out here.”
“That it is.”
“The first few weeks I was here, I was afraid to drive at night because the road home is so crazy dark. Where I come from, it’s lit up like daylight at night.”
“Same in New York.”
“Gansett is like a foreign country. No streetlights, no stoplights, sketchy internet, basic cable, no AC in some places, power failures that last for days. I could go on.”
“It’s a different world, for sure.”
“What’s interesting, though, is I’ve never felt more relaxed than I do here. There’s nothing to do, so that forces you to just chill and smell the roses as Evelyn says. She’s Jordan and Nikki’s grandmother.”
“That’s why Jared loved it so much the first time he came here for a wedding. He called it his decompression zone before he moved here year-round.”
“I can’t imagine spending a winter here.”
“I bet it’s fun.”
“I bet it’s not.”
“Jared and Lizzie seem to love it, and my other brother, Quinn, and his fiancée, Mallory, love it, too.”
“That’s because they’re all stupid in love and have each other to keep them entertained.”
Cooper cracked up laughing and immediately regretted it. “Ugh, don’t make me laugh.”
“Sorry you’re hurting.”
“It’s my own fault. I never should’ve driven around that one log to get a selfie. What was I thinking?”
“You weren’t thinking,” Gigi said. “We all do dumb things in the pursuit of the perfect selfie.”
“I’m done with selfies after this.”
“We’ll see if that sticks.”
Gigi took a right-hand turn into Jared’s driveway and parked the car. She turned it off and removed the keys, handing them to him. “Phew. That’s a relief. The car is home in one piece. Jared will never know how close he came to losing it—and his brother.”
“You think we can keep that secret on this island? I bet he already knows about what happened.”
Sure enough, his brother came out of his house and walked over to the driveway. Floodlights illuminated him as he came toward them with purpose in his stride.
“Yep, he already knows,” Cooper said.
Jared opened the driver’s door. “Are you okay?” he asked Gigi.
“I’m fine. Him? Not so much.”
“What the hell happened?”
“It’s kind of a long story,” Cooper said.
“I’ve got time.”
“We haven’t eaten yet. Can I tell you the whole sordid tale tomorrow?”
“I guess.” Jared stood to his full height and stepped back to let Gigi out of the car. “Just tell me what happened to you?”
“Two broken ribs and a banged-up face. Nothing to worry about.”
“Jesus, Coop.”
“The car is fine.”
“I don’t give a shit about the car!”
“Now you tell me.”
Gigi giggled as she extended a hand to help Cooper.
He braced himself. This was going to hurt like hell. Crap, he nearly passed out from the pain of getting himself out of the car.
Gigi put an arm around him, which was the only thing that kept him from falling over.
Jared rushed around to the passenger side of the car. “Oh my God, Cooper! Your face! What the hell?”
“I’m okay. I swear.”
“You’re not okay. You’re sweating and breathing funny.”
The sound of a baby crying came from Jared’s house.
“Is there, uh, anything we can do?” Cooper asked.