Page 30 of A Scoring Chance
Fuck. I just got my traitorous body under control and here he comes again with his disarming smile and delicious smell. “Do you want to have lunch with me? Alise was supposed to come with me, but she obviously isn’t coming.”
I’m about to ramble, and I can’t seem to stop myself. It always happens when I get nervous. Cooper leans further into the window, his eyes locked on mine as my nerves kick into high gear. My skin heats as he continues to stare, crow’s feet appearing near his eyes as he smiles. This man seems to hang on to my every word. I should just leave before I die of embarrassment, but alas, I just keep fucking talking. Lord help me.
“I just want to make sure you know this doesn’t have to mean anything. I don’t think it’s a date or anything. That’s just laughable, right? I just really don’t want to eat alone, and everyone has to eat during the day. We’re just two people eating a meal at the same place. It doesn’t really matter that it’s my birthday?—”
Cooper silences me by laying his finger gently on my lips. “What did you say?”
My mind races back through everything I just said, trying to find exactly what he’s questioning. “That it doesn’t have to be a date,” I mumble, his finger still pressed to my lips.
He pulls his hand back, realizing his finger is still on my lip. “No. After that.”
“That everyone has to eat, so why don’t we do it together?” I’m paraphrasing obviously, but I want to be as concise as possible. The last thing I need to do is give my brain another tangent to grip on to, and I start rambling again.
“No.” Cooper reaches forward, running the tips of his fingers down the side of my face before gripping my chin with his thumb and forefinger, raising my chin slightly. His eyes search my face for something before a wide grin spreads across his face. “Happy Birthday, Beauty.”
My eyes drift shut as he leans forward, brushing his lips against my forehead. “Is this okay?”
I can only nod my head as he presses his lips gently against my skin a second time. I expect him to pull back immediately, but he lingers for a few moments. Who knew a kiss on the forehead could be so sensual? Or maybe it’s just because it’s Cooper doing the kissing. I’m starting to believe there isn’t a thing this man could do that I wouldn’t find attractive.
My hands ball into fists in my lap, trying to keep myself from reaching out to grip his shirt and pull him in. I want to bury my nose in his chest and wrap my arms around his waist. I want so many things from this man that I have no business wanting. It’s amazing and terrifying at the same time, and I’m powerless to stop it. Whatever this is between Cooper Hendrix and me, I’m just along for the ride, it seems.
A chill runs down my spine as he pulls away from me. The warmth his body provides slowly seeps from my bones. “I’d prefer to take my truck, if that’s all right. I’d have a pretty hard time fitting into your car.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll follow you home.” Cooper smiles down at me before planting another kiss on my forehead and turning toward his truck.
Wait. What? Cooper is already climbing into his truck when my brain finally catches up with what’s going on right now. I inadvertently asked Cooper to lunch and told him it was my birthday. And now he’s following me home so we can go to lunch together.
This was not the plan. We were going to drive to Nosh and Nostalgia—not the perfect place for a birthday lunch, but I’d make do with what I got. We’d drive separately so I’d be able to maintain my sanity and not jump his bones the first time he smiled at me. Okay, I have more self-control than that, but not much.
Cooper pulls up behind me, leaving me with no chance to make a dash out of the parking lot, hoping to lose him. I turn the ignition and put my car in drive as we head out of the parking lot to my house.
Where my nosy-as-anything mother is.Fuck.
Chapter Eleven
Cooper
Ifollow closely behind Beauty, not wanting to give her the chance to leave me behind. I may have pushed her a little too far when I kissed her, not once but twice, but I couldn’t help myself. The way she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, her mind racing as she tried to find the perfect thing to get me to go to lunch with her. Little did she know she didn’t have to do any of that. I was determined to spend more time with her, no matter what.
While I came to bring apples to Bluebell as promised, that was just the excuse to see her again. I wanted to check to see if she was okay from whatever upset her last night and apologize, but the moment I laid eyes on her, I could think of nothing else but how much I wanted to kiss her. I just wish I knew it was her birthday. I would’ve shown up to the farm with something other than a bushel of apples.
I need to figure out what’s going on, and fast. Not wanting to waste any more time, I push a few buttons on my steering wheel and pull up Alise’s number. The phone rings once before she answers. “Where are you taking our girl?”
Ourgirl? I’m not about to let her know how hearing those two words affects me, even though I’m still not 100 percent sureI want them to mean anything at all. I have a bone to pick with her. “How could you not tell me it was her birthday?”
“Does it really matter?”
I think about it for a moment before answering. “Yes. It matters.”
“Would you still have taken her to lunch?”
“Well. Yes.”
“Then why the heck does it matter?”
It matters because… because… honestly, why does it matter? If I had known it was her birthday, I’d have made more of an effort. I would’ve shown up wearing something nice. I would’ve made reservations at a restaurant in the city and planned something elaborate to ensure she felt special on the only day of the year that’s all about her. Instead, I showed up with a bag of apples for a horse and no plan at all, but nothing would have changed in the slightest except that we’re on our way to lunch instead of feeding apples to Bluebell.
