Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Poppy always felt like she deserved a fanfare when she finished the first draft of a book. Confetti raining from the sky, a chorus girl jumping out of a cake. Why not throw in a parade with some baton-twirling and a full brass band? She deserved it.
But this time, typing those final words was a bittersweet moment. Her series was over, her characters finally reunited. It was the end of a wonderful moment in her life—and the beginning of something new for her.
She read over the last chapter, and then backed it up—twice over, just to be safe.
Then she closed her laptop screen and took a deep breath of salty sea air.
It was a bright, clear morning, and she was tucked away in her writing cabin again on the beach.
Except it wasn’t hers, she reminded herself.
It belonged to Cooper. He’d only loaned it to her temporarily.
Like him.
She tried not to feel the same swell of sadness all over again, but it rose as steady as the tide in her chest. In time, it would be better, she told herself. In time, he would be just another detour on her path to real love.
So why did she still feel like that road stopped, right here?
Her cellphone rang, in a welcome distraction. “Hey Summer.” Poppy smiled, answering the call. “Great timing. I just finished my draft.”
“Congratulations!” Summer exclaimed. “We’ll have to celebrate when you’re back. There’s a new restaurant that just opened down the block from me. The chef is an asshole, but he makes gnocchi like a dream.”
Poppy laughed. “Does this mean you’ve already hooked up with him?”
Summer snorted. “When would I have the time? Andre’s started loaning me out to bake wedding cakes for his most exclusive clientele. Between him and my mother trying to get me on her TV show, I don’t have a moment to hook up with anyone—let alone another asshole chef.”
“You do have a track record,” Poppy agreed.
“What can I say? I fall in love mouth-first.”
Poppy giggled.
“You know what I mean,” Summer laughed. “Anyway, what about you, how are you holding up? Have you seen him yet?”
“No, and I’m not going to,” Poppy said firmly. “I don’t know how it’s possible to avoid someone in a small town like this, but he’s doing a pretty good job of it.”
“I’m sorry, babe. Just look on the bright side: come tomorrow, you’ll be gone.”
“I know,” Poppy sighed. Why was it the thought of leaving still made her ache?
“June and Mackenzie insisted on having a leaving celebration tonight in town. I should be happy to be putting real distance between us, but I’m going to miss this place,” she admitted, looking out at the bay.
The waves were cresting, foam-tipped and wild from the winds, and the incredible peace she’d felt the first day arriving here was still calm around her, despite the heartache.
“I’m going to miss it too, and I haven’t even been!” Summer exclaimed. “I was looking forward to all those hot bearded guys you were telling me about.”
“Help yourself,” Poppy said ruefully. “There’s one more on the market now.”
“That’s decided it,” Summer said, sounding determined. “As soon as you’re back, we’re going out. You, me, a bottle of tequila, painting the town red. What do you say?”
“I say I’m about five years too old for that.”
Summer laughed. “OK, then you, me, a bottle of red wine, and a night in front of Netflix watching British costume dramas.”
Poppy smiled. “Now that sounds like my kind of plan.”
She finished up at the cabin, feeling a pang as she packed away her few items and closed up the painted wooden doors for the final time.
She took the winding path back up to the beach house, her heart beating faster when she saw the construction crew was working on the house next door.
She couldn’t stop herself searching the group for Cooper’s tall, broad-shouldered frame.
No sign of him.
She exhaled, crossing past the yard to June’s, but just as she reached the gravel driveway, a truck came around the bend, slowing as it approached.
Cooper’s truck.
Poppy froze. She could see him through the windshield glass, wearing a ballcap and a messy three-day beard, and just like that, all her pep talks about how he didn’t matter melted clean away.
God, she wanted him.
Hope, and trepidation, and plain desire pounded through her, and as he pulled in to park, Cooper looked over and met her eyes.
For a moment they were both caught there, staring, only a few feet apart, but just as Poppy raised her hand in a nervous wave, Cooper’s expression changed.
He threw the truck into reverse and backed out of the driveway, pulling a wide U-turn before speeding back up the road leaving nothing but gravel flying in his wake.
Poppy swallowed back the sting of disappointment. She’d been wondering if he regretted it, but there was her answer, loud and clear.
Whatever they shared was history. It was time to move on.
Cooper watched Poppy getting smaller in the rearview mirror, until she was around the bend and out of sight.
He gripped the steering wheel hard, trying to focus on the road—and not the woman he just drove away from when every instinct in his body was screaming out to stay.
He’d told himself he would be fine heading back to work.
He’d stayed away too long already, and he had a job to do—no matter who was living right next door.
But just the sight of her standing there, wrapped up in that red sweater with her hair dancing wildly around in the breeze, made it all come rushing back.
And the expression in her eyes, so unsure and full of pain, sliced him so deep he was surprised he wasn’t bleeding yet.
He’d let her down.
Cooper swallowed back the guilt and turned out onto the highway.
After stewing in self-loathing all week, he had a to-do list a mile long, so he headed into Provincetown.
The hardware store there had plenty he needed, and the longer he could distract himself with work, the less time he’d have to spend thinking about Poppy, and that tentative smile of hers disappearing from sight.
The store aisles were busy, and he soon had a couple of carts filled with the AC units he needed, and plenty of pipe for the bathrooms, too.
He was halfway down the electrics aisle, when someone studying the shelf stepped back, into his path.
“Excuse me,” he muttered, and the woman turned.
“Cooper!” she exclaimed, and his heart sank another inch.
It was Laura, juggling three different boxes in her arms with her stroller right beside her.
He braced himself for an awkward pause, but Laura just smiled.
“Perfect timing,” she said. “I’m trying to fix the fuse box, and I can’t tell which size I need. ”
“You, fixing?” Cooper couldn’t help but remark.
She gave a rueful laugh. “I know, but Steve’s out of town at a conference in Chicago, so I’m fighting this battle alone.”
“What’s the problem?” Cooper asked. Her kid was straining to reach a bin of screws, but before he could say anything, Laura neatly wheeled him back, out of reach.
“No idea,” she said brightly. “All I know is that when I plugged my hairdryer in, all the lights went out, and no amount of flipping them up and down does a thing.”
“Sounds like you blew it out.” He paused, thinking of all the times Laura had tried to fix things when they were dating—and just how badly that worked out. Left to her own devices, she’d probably wind up electrocuting herself. Or worse. “If you want, I can come replace it,” he offered reluctantly.
“Oh, no it’s OK.” Laura looked startled. “I was going to call Hank and see if he could come out—”
“That’ll take until next week,” Cooper interrupted. “You know. Come on, it won’t be five minutes. It’s the least I can do,” he added gruffly.
“Well . . . thank you,” Laura said, still looking awkward. “If it’s not too much trouble.”
“None at all. Are you still at Seashore Drive?” he asked, and she nodded. “I can head over now, when all this is loaded. You better get both sizes, until I know what we need.”
“OK,” Laura said. “I’ll see you there.”
Cooper headed to the check-out line and got his purchases stowed away in the back. He knew where Laura lived, backing onto the nature preserve, and when he pulled up in the driveway, she was already home.
She greeted him at the door with Brady on her hip. “Thanks again,” she said, looking frazzled. “I didn’t even realize, but the freezer turned off, too. If I don’t get power back, we’re going to be eating thawed salmon for a week. Come on in,” she stood back, and beckoned him inside.
“It’s no problem.” Cooper wiped his boots on the mat. He couldn’t stop himself from looking around, curious about the life she’d built. The small house was nothing like the one they’d shared together. It was cluttered and homey, with toys on the floor and family photos on every wall.
“The fuse box is in the basement. Sorry about the mess, you’ll need this.” She handed him a flashlight and the fuses, and led him to the stairs.
“I’ll put this one down for his nap. Watch out for the bottom step, it gives way. That’s what you get for an old house, not that I need to tell you that,” she added with a flustered grin.
“They call it charm, I call it dry rot.” Cooper nodded.
She was nervous, he could tell, but he didn’t blame her.
He hadn’t exactly been on friendly terms since the breakup.
Sure, they were polite enough, seeing each other around, but this was the first time he could remember them being alone together in years.
Brady let out a disgruntled sound, tugging at her braid.
Well, almost alone.