Chapter 14
He sees too much.
Gigi went inside to use the bathroom, locking the door to give herself a minute alone. What the hell was a twenty-four-year-old man-child who looked like him doing with all that insight? He rattled her. A smart woman who didn’t like being seen by anyone would take a step back from a man like him.
Protecting herself had become an art form to Gigi, and Cooper was a threat to the life she’d created for herself. That life worked for her, and protecting it was a top priority.
But she liked how she felt when he was around, which was also a concern.
Men didn’t get to her. She didn’t let them.
Cooper could get to her, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Let us in,” Jordan said.
Groaning, Gigi opened the door. “What if I’d been peeing?”
“You aren’t peeing,” Nikki said. “What’s wrong?”
Gigi rolled her eyes. “For fuck’s sake. Nothing is wrong. Everything is great.”
Jordan eyed her shrewdly. If anyone could see through Gigi’s shit, Jordan could. “Something is bothering you. We both saw it earlier, and when you walked away from Cooper just now, we worried he said something to upset you.”
“He didn’t. He’s lovely.”
“Is that the problem?” Nikki said. “Do you like him?”
“Yes, I like him, or I wouldn’t be hanging out with him.”
“But do you like him like him?” Nikki asked.
“Huh?”
“She’s asking if you have feelings for him,” Jordan said.
Gigi stared at her as if she was crazy. “No, I don’t have feelings for him. That’s not my thing, and you know it.”
The sisters exchanged grim glances.
Gigi’s gaze traveled between them. “What the hell is wrong with you two?”
“We’re just wondering if you’re ever going to give a man a chance to care for you,” Jordan said gently. “Ever since you broke up with jackass number two, you haven’t let anyone get close, and we’re just wondering why.”
“Look, you guys, I’m so, so glad you’re happy with Riley and Mason. I mean it. No one is happier for you than I am. But you know true love and all that is not my groove. It never will be.”
“How do you know that?” Nikki asked. “You’re only twenty-nine.”
Gigi was filled with an odd sense of desperation, as if she were somehow fighting for her life, or some other dramatic thing.
“I know how old I am, and I know how I’m wired.
You’re never going to see me settled down with one guy and half a dozen baby chicks.
That’s what you guys want. I’ve never wanted that. ”
“You haven’t wanted it yet,” Nikki said. “That doesn’t mean you never will.”
“Yes, it does. Love and all the nonsense that goes with it is not for me.”
“How do you know that when you’ve never been in love?” Nikki asked.
“I just know it. Love is not for me.”
“Gigi,” Jordan said, looking stricken. “Don’t say that.”
“I get what you guys are trying to do, and I love you for it. I really do. But Cooper and I will never be anything more than a fun maybe-fling at the end of a nice summer on Gansett before I go back to my real life in LA. Please don’t go looking for something that isn’t there.
Now you need to get back to your guests, Jord. ”
Gigi pushed past them and nearly ran smack into Cooper, who was standing outside the door. Oh fuck. How much of that had he heard?
“Does it really take three of you to use the facilities?” he asked with a small smile.
She couldn’t help but note the sadness in his eyes. Fuck, fuck, fuck. “You know how girls are.”
“Yes, I do. Everything all right?”
“Sure. Let’s go find seats at the table. They’ll be serving dinner soon.”
As she led the way out of the house, Gigi hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings by speaking the truth about them to Jordan and Nikki. Because there was no doubt he’d heard what she’d said.
“Listen,” she said hesitantly when they were seated at the long teak table Jordan had bought for the yard earlier in the summer. “I don’t know what you heard in there.”
He rested his hand on top of hers. “We’ll talk about that later.”
Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Cooper tried not to show her how deeply affected he was by what he’d heard her say. He hadn’t intended to eavesdrop. He’d gone to check on her and had come upon the open door and the conversation that involved him.
What else should he have done but listen in?
His heart ached for her. Why in the world had a beautiful, smart, funny woman like her decided love wasn’t for her? While his heart ached, his mind raced, picking over the things she’d shared about her past and wondering if the answers could be found in her chaotic childhood.
Caterers served a delicious dinner consisting of a wide variety of kabobs, rice, salad with coconut and a veggie dish that was one of the best things he’d ever tasted.
As he took a bite of teriyaki shrimp, he tuned in to the conversation Mason was having with Big Mac and Linda McCarthy about the fencing being installed at the bluffs.
Too bad that hadn’t been there the other night.
“You got hurt out there recently, didn’t you, Cooper?” Big Mac asked.
“I did. My brother’s car started to roll, and when I tried to stop it, I busted two ribs and made this mess on my face.”
“You forgot the part where the car had been driven around the logs that keep cars from rolling toward the bluffs,” Mason said with a smile.
“I knew you’d fill in the blanks in my story,” Cooper said, grinning. “I’ll never again do something so stupid in pursuit of the almighty selfie. I’ve learned my lesson. And please don’t tell Jared how it happened, or I’ll never get to drive his Porsche again.”
“How much is it worth to ya?” Big Mac asked, laughing.
Another couple came strolling into the yard, holding hands.
“So sorry we’re late,” the man said.
“Come in,” Jordan said, jumping up to welcome them. “Everyone, this is Oliver and Dara Watkins, our new lighthouse keepers.”
Room was made for them at the table, plates full of food were delivered, and drink orders were taken.
“This is my kind of party,” Oliver said. “Show up to immediate food and drink.”
“We’re glad you could make it,” Mason said, reaching over Jordan to shake hands with Oliver.
“Thanks for the invite. Everyone here has been so friendly. Dara and I were just talking about that.”
“Glad you’re enjoying Gansett,” Linda McCarthy said. “This place is special, and we love to see other people discovering that.”
“We love it so far,” Dara said.
“Let’s raise a glass to Dara,” Nikki said, “the new events manager at the Wayfarer.”
“Hear, hear,” Big Mac said. “Welcome to the team.”
“Thank you for having me,” Dara said. “I’m excited to get started.”
As the conversation flowed in a number of different directions, including the upcoming Labor Day Weekend, off-season plans and the final weeks of shooting for the show, Cooper let his mind wander to how he wanted to play this situation with Gigi.
Growing up as the youngest of five older, accomplished siblings, Cooper had learned early on to work the system to his benefit.
He’d used charm and sweetness to get what he wanted from family members and had deployed those same skills in his dating career.
If people liked you, they were more willing to help you get what you wanted, whether it was a second bowl of ice cream after dinner or a night in the bed of a sexy woman.
Gigi liked him, so that gave him an advantage. However, he knew her well enough to know if he pushed her too hard that she’d push right back.
Hearing she didn’t believe in love made him want her to fall in love with him so he could show her how great it could be.
The idea had shown up as a fully formed plan, ready for execution.
With the show’s shooting schedule winding down, he had a limited amount of time to sweep her off her feet, to show her that love wasn’t something to be feared.
He’d been in love once. In high school. He and Teagan had been sure their love would last forever, until they ended up at colleges two thousand miles apart and found out how painful first love could be when it ended.
Since then, he’d gone out of his way to keep his dealings with women closer to the surface and far from the heart of the matter.
But hearing Gigi say she didn’t believe in love, hearing her friends confirm she’d never been in love… That made Cooper want to give her that experience.
Except, what would happen if they both developed deeper feelings and then went their separate ways? He’d be right back in the same mess he’d been in with Teagan, with Gigi living three thousand miles from him in Los Angeles.
It occurred to him that he hadn’t done anything here on Gansett that couldn’t be undone.
So far, his party boat idea was just that—an idea.
The conversation with Ned had been interesting, but so far, it was only talk.
If this thing with Gigi turned into something more, there was no reason he couldn’t go with her to LA and find a job out there.
He had an MBA after all, and a last name that opened doors.
“Why are you so quiet?” Gigi asked him during a lull in her conversation with Jordan, Mason, Nikki, Riley, Riley’s brother, Finn, and his fiancée, Chloe. People from the show were seated at the other end of the big table.
Their group of friends seemed tight, and Cooper found himself wanting to get to know the others better. Finn and Riley were great dudes, and despite Mason teasing him about the accident, Cooper liked him, too. “Just listening,” he said in response to Gigi’s inquiry.
“Are you mad?” she asked in a small voice that made him want to roar. His Gigi didn’t speak in a small voice. Nothing about her personality was small.
“Not at all.” The others were so engaged in their conversation that they were able to speak somewhat privately even though they were surrounded by people.
“I’m sorry I was talking about you like that. I shouldn’t have been.”
He slipped an arm around her and kissed her temple. “It’s fine. They’re your girls. Of course you talk to them about everything.”
“Still… I don’t want you to think I talk about you like that.”