31. Chapter 31
Chapter thirty-one
Sutton
“ S eriously?” I ask, staring at the giant skeleton hanging from the ceiling.
“What?” Cooper asks innocently.
“Did you bring me to a museum? You know I hate to learn,” I whine.
A deep, hearty laugh slips past his lips as he shakes his head. “I do know that, but just wait. I think you’re going to love this version of learning.” He tugs at my hand, pulling me through the lobby toward a smiling woman.
“Welcome to Dino Dig, Willow Hill’s number one and only paleontology-themed attraction. How many?”
Cooper holds up two fingers and says, “Just us.”
“Perfect.” The woman beams. “Have either of you had the pleasure of unearthing our amazing faux fossils before?”
Faux fossils?
We both shake our heads.
“Well, sit tight and watch the video overhead for instructions while I grab your gear,” she says before spinning on her heels and heading into the room behind her.
I glance around the room one more time before the TV overhead starts. “What exactly are we doing?” I ask as a dinosaur with glasses appears on the screen and begins to walk us through the steps of uncovering dinosaur bones. The cartoon dinosaur doctor explains every tool we’ll be provided with and how to use them appropriately.
When the video finishes roughly five minutes later, I turn to Cooper, tears welling in my eyes. “You brought me to dig for dinosaur bones?”
Worry fills his bright brown eyes as he rubs the back of his neck. “I thought you’d like it.”
I don’t say a word. The warmth radiating through me from the sweet gesture of him knowing I love dinosaurs and finding a dino-themed activity for us is more than I can voice.
I throw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck as my legs tighten around his waist. “You brought me to dig for dino bones.”
His arms are around me in seconds as he huffs out a laugh. “Fake ones… But yes. Do you like it?”
“Duh, Cooper. As if I would lie to spare your feelings.”
He tilts his head to the side as if he’s examining me. “You wouldn’t, would you?”
“Nope,” I say adamantly. “And neither would you…Except for when it comes to coffee.”
“I wouldn’t?” he asks, his voice laced with amusement.
“Nope, you aren’t the lying kind.”
He makes a hissing noise through his teeth and frowns.
“No,” I gasp. “Don’t you dare disappoint me by admitting to being a deceiver.”
“I don’t know if I would call myself a deceiver. That seems a little extreme. It’s more like a fibber from time to time.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well, you best believe it, ’cause it’s the truth.”
“I need an example.”
“An example?”
“Yeah, a reference that illustrates you being the worst by being a teller of untruths.”
“Untruths?”
I wave my hand in front of my face. “It sounds nicer than lies.”
“I told my mom that I was out of town on a business trip the last three times she’s called.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck like the answer makes him a little uncomfortable.
My jaw hangs open in shock.
My perfect Cooper is admitting to a flaw.
And God, does that somehow make him even more perfect in my eyes.
His willingness to tell me the truth is refreshing as fuck. “Wait a minute, how do I know you aren’t lying about being a liar?”
“You are just going to have to trust me.”
I scowl at him. “I don’t like this.”
“I know you don’t. But please believe me when I say I’ve never lied about anything important or anything that could hurt you.”
The woman returns to the room and brings us both a bucket filled with all the tools we’ll need, along with an apron to cover our clothes if we wish. We both accept them eagerly and follow her down a long hall. She stops before a set of metal doors with a rainbow film covering the windows.
“Whenever you’re finished, just leave your tools on the bench inside the door,” she says, leaving us to ourselves.
Cooper pushes open the door to an expansive space filled with dirt and sand, surrounded by shady trees and benches for rest.
“It looks like a giant sandbox,” I whisper as I take it in.
“You ready to dig in?” he asks, snickering at his own cheesy joke.
I swing my shovel around in my hand. “Let’s do it.”
It doesn’t take long before I have a good two-foot hole in front of me, along with five different-shaped bones.
“How the hell are you so good at that?” Cooper asks from across the room. He wipes away the sweat forming on his forehead with his forearm. A small smear of dirt takes its place, and I can’t help the way my lips curve up.
He is devastating.
And he is all mine.
Every day, every moment we’re together, I wonder how I ever could’ve gone without him.
How could I ever have thought that I deserved the scraps of a relationship that I had with Dillon?
His gaze narrows. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Am I not allowed to admire you?” I flutter my lashes at him.
“No.” He scowls. “Not when it looks like you’ve been working at digging a shallow grave.”
I wiggle my eyebrows. “You scared?”
“Terrified.”
I roll my eyes. “I would never hurt you.”
“You’re the only person who could.”
My chest squeezes as I drop my shovel and push my hands into my dirt-covered thighs to stand. I walk over to him and drop to my knees. “You never have to worry about that. You are one of my people. And I never hurt my people. If you need proof, I’m sure Viv can give you a glowing reference.”
He licks his lips, biting down a grin. “I’ll call her.” And then he goes back to excavating the small bone he’s been working on for the past twenty minutes.
I sit on my heels, taking a quick break just to watch him work. The muscles in his arms flex with every gentle movement of his hands.
I run my hands through the dirt and sand, letting the tiny grains sift through my fingers to stop myself from reaching out and touching those mesmerizing muscles.
We work for hours, uncovering and gently removing faux bones until our hands are aching.
At the end of it all, I have my small bag of faux fossils in one hand and Cooper’s in my other. I’m practically skipping with delight.
“I think we should display our treasures.”
“You want to display our fake bones?”
“You don’t?” I ask, bewildered by his lack of sentimentality for our date.
Cooper lets out a dramatic sigh, then smiles. “Fine, we can create a display of our ‘bones.’”
“Ooh, we can have the bones circling this picture of us digging side by side.”
“You’re describing a pagan altar.”
I shrug. “Maybe I want to worship us as a couple.”
“As you should,” he says, leaning down to kiss me.
Today has been unexpectedly perfect.
Every day with Cooper is perfect.
The love he shares with me is something I never thought I would have.