Page 54 of A Scoring Chance
Cooper strolls into the room with another cup of coffee for me and a bowl of fruit. I swear this man’s love language must have something to do with food, because all he keeps doing is feeding me.
“More food?” I giggle, accepting the cup of coffee from his hand and taking a large gulp.
“I figured since I interrupted your breakfast, you might want a snack.” He presses his lips to my forehead, placing the bowl of fruit on the nightstand. “Momma, Alise, and Darius should be here soon, but I have a feeling you already know that.”
“Sure do. And I have to warn you, Alise pressed me for details about our evening together with your mother in the car.”
“Ah, yes. Beau can’t lie to Alise. He told her everything when she called him this morning.”
“That little shit.” I giggle, flopping down on the bed, my coffee sloshing all over my hand.
“Be careful, Beauty,” Cooper chastises, grabbing the cup from my hand and placing it on the floor. He carefully examines my hand, checking for any sign of injury. When he finds nothing, he plants a kiss on the inside of my wrist before threading our fingers together.
“So, what is this really about?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I turn my head away from him, looking at the door into the hallway, but he grips my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“Beauty. Please tell me what’s wrong.”
God damn it. The puppy-dog eyes again. “This is your mother, Cooper. Meeting your mom is a big deal. I was already freaking out about having to face your brother after last night. What the hell are we going to tell them?”
There it is, the million-dollar question. I can’t say that I haven’t wondered about that very thing since he asked me to go to the game with him today and wear his jersey in front of millions of people. At the time, it wasn’t a big deal, but now that I’ve had time to think about it, I’m sorta freaking out.
“We can tell them whatever you want to tell them,” Cooper responds calmly. “If I’m being honest, I’m playing everything by ear at this point. We can tell them we’re together, or we don’t have to say anything. My family will understand.”
Okay, that’s reasonable. I’m sure they’ll have questions, but Ms. Melanie seems like a rational woman. She probably has a million questions she wants to ask both of us, but if Cooper tells her it’s not the time, a part of me thinks she’ll respect that or at least wait until I’m out of earshot to ask them.
“I am going to head to the arena early with Beau to meet with Coach and the general manager. It seems they haven’t made an announcement about why I’m not on the lineup for the start of the season. Usually, I wouldn’t think anything of it, but I don’t want to put you in the spotlight until you’re ready.”
“You want to hide us away?”
“No, never!” he responds vehemently. “I’d call every reporter I know right now and tell them I’m in a relationship with an amazing woman while also asking them to respect our privacy.”
“I don’t know much about reporters, but I doubt that would work.” I lay my head on his shoulder, my mind trying to make sense of everything he’s saying.
Cooper Hendrix, the star center of the Portland Timberwolves, is a big deal. Everyone wants to know when he’ll be back on the ice or if the rumors I read about him retiring this season are true. Those rumors are only being fueled by the team not issuing any type of statement, probably to boost ticket sales.
“It probably won’t. They’d hear I was in a relationship for the first time since my rookie season in the NHL and want more information about you. They’d probably hunt you down at work, show up at your house uninvited, and bother Darius at school. I don’t want that to happen, so I’m going to do everything I can to protect both of you from that.”
The man should be allowed to have a life outside of hockey. In the short time I’ve spent with Cooper, I know he’s devoted to his family and will do anything for them, just like me. But I wonder if hockey has now become a job instead of a passion. According to the internet, Cooper is a little old for a professional hockey player, but he’s still hanging on to that life, for whatever reason. I’m not entirely sure, but it seems like for the first time in a while, he’s learning there is more to life than hockey.
“Unfortunately, this is a necessary evil when you’re with someone in the public eye. I understand if that’s too much foryou, but I’d selfishly request that you at least try before telling me to take a hike.”
And there it is: my choices. Either accept that the potential for being in the spotlight is there if I want to have any kind of romantic relationship with Cooper or step away and miss out on something that might be life-changing.
“I’m willing to try, Cooper. But I have more than just me to worry about. There’s Darius and Ma. I don’t want our relationship to have a negative effect on their quality of life.”
“So we’re in a relationship?” I can hear the excitement in his voice at me agreeing to at least try to see where this goes.
“We’re in a relationship.” I smile as he presses his lips to the top of my head.
We sit there in comfortable silence, neither one of us moving a muscle, and it’s nice. But Alise’s shouts coming down the hallway break it. “I’m coming in there. You both better be decent.”
We turn toward the door and see her walking into the room, one hand outstretched in front of her to make sure she doesn’t run into anything and the other covering her eyes.
“We should make her continue walking around like that,” Cooper whispers into my ear, but I decided against it.
“We’re decent.”
