Page 37 of A Scoring Chance
“You’re dressed to perfection. No need for you to change on account of anything.”
“However, what Coop isn’t saying is that our reservations are booked months in advance. There was no way I could get you a table on such short notice, even though that’s what he wanted.”
“How in the hell did you do all this so fast? I was in the house with my mom for like five minutes, tops.” Ramon questions.
“He called me all frantic, begging me to drop everything I was doing so he could make sure the most gorgeous woman he’d ever met had the best comfort food in the city for her birthday.”
Now, Ollie, I thought we were friends. I don’t think telling the woman I’m trying to impress that I was tripping over myself, trying to impress her, is cool. You could’ve at least made something up that made me look better.
“The most gorgeous woman you’ve ever seen, huh?”
I could lie, but what’s the point? “I said what I said.”
“Okay, then. I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it.” Ollie gives us a mock salute before pulling Beauty from my grasp and pullingher into a tight squeeze. He whispers something in her ear before pulling away from her with a smile. “It was very nice to meet you, Ramona.”
“It was nice to meet you, as well, Mr. James.”
“Call me Ollie. All my friends do. Any friend of Coop’s is a friend of mine.”
Friends. Is that what we are? It’s a start, but I would really like to be something more than friends with Beauty.
“Goodbye, Ollie.” I stride toward them, pulling Beauty out of his grasp.
“Goodbye, Coop.” He pulls me in for a one-armed hug before turning to leave, waving at us over his shoulder.
Ramona raises onto her toes and plants a kiss on my cheek. “Thanks for all of this, Cooper. “
“Anything for you, Beauty. Anything for you,” I say without hesitation, knowing in my heart that it’s irrevocably true. “Are you ready for the next stage of our date?”
“Lead the way.” She laughs softly, threading her arm through mine.
I meant what I said when I told her I was taking her to one of my favorite places in the city. Washington Park is one of the true gems in the city of Portland. I don’t spend too much time in the park itself just being, but I usually take my morning run before practice through the park. The scenery is much better than the treadmill in the team gym.
The walk from my condo in Arlington Heights to the International Rose Test Garden doesn’t take longer than a few minutes. I made another call to Alise, my resident Google expert, and discovered this place. She said it was the perfect place for a romantic lunch. Fingers crossed she’s right. We stroll through the park, taking in all the gorgeous roses in full bloom. Red, pink, and white roses of every variety line the walkways as we head toward the park amphitheater. Every turn we make, I lookfor the perfect place for us to take a seat to enjoy the amazing lunch Ollie packed for us.
“Are we having a picnic in the park?”
“Too cheesy?” I chuckle, pulling her to the right toward a space of luscious grass, the perfect place to set up. “It was a little short notice, as you know.”
Her eyes fill with tears. Fuck. What did I do this time? I open my mouth to ask that very thing, but she waves me off, swiping at her cheeks. “Don’t mind me. This is just the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a while.”
I place the basket on the ground before pulling her into my arms. This is the second time something has caused her emotions to spin out of control, and I have a feeling that it has nothing to do with me or my plans for the rest of the day. There’s a pain in her eyes that I know all too well. Pain like that doesn’t just go away. It’s deeply rooted in your soul, so deep that no matter how hard you try, you’ll never get rid of it.
“I’d do anything for you, Beauty. All you have to do is ask.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ramona
This wasn’t supposed to be any more than lunch between two consenting adults on a day that happened to also be my birthday. But it’s turned into something so much more than that. Not only did Cooper bring me to one of the most beautiful places in the city, but he called in a personal favor to get my lunch from The Silver Spoon.
“I probably should’ve checked the weather before coming up with this master plan,” Cooper muses as he pulls away from me, his head tilting back to examine the darkened sky.
“Meh. It’s always cloudy here, but it doesn’t always mean rain.”
We rarely get that much rain here, but the weather has been a little fickle for this time of year. Not only has it been unseasonably warm for the fall, but we’ve had way more rain than usual. I hope this doesn’t mean we are shaping up to have a snowy winter. The powers that be can give us all the rain they want. I’d gladly trade in the rain for snow any day, although both are equally cold. It could be worse. We could live in Forks, Washington. I believe that place gets enough rain for the entire state.
“Besides, a little rain never hurt anyone. Now, open the basket and show me what Ollie cooked up for us.” I smile down at him as he pulls out a red-and-white-checkered blanket, the perfect blanket to sit and enjoy whatever Oliver packed for us.
