“That was brave.”
“I missed my mom.”
I peered in to look closer at the scar. “Your dad didn’t catch you, did he?”
“No. He wasn’t even there. I just—lost my balance and fell, and hit a chain-link fence on the way down.”
I winced and sucked in a big breath. “Oh, my god.”
Cooper nodded. “I came home completely covered in blood with a broken arm, and I scared the hell out of my mom. Next thing I knew, we were moving across the country to Texas.”
“How have you never told me any of this?”
“I guess because I’ve never told anyone.”
“I thought I knew everything about you.”
“You know more than anybody else.”
And then, even though it was a terrible idea, and even though I was technically in my underwear, and even though it really did hurt, I pulled Cooper into a hug, and I didn’t let him go.
Twenty
I WOKE UPthe next morning to the shocking sight of Cooper—texting.
WithBridesmaid Two!
“What on earth are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m canceling.”
“Canceling what?”
“My plans with Bridesmaid Two.”
Why was this information so appalling? “You had plans withBridesmaid Two?”
“Youhad plans with Finn,” Cooper said in his own defense.
“That’s different,” I said. “I don’t have a choice about that.”
“It’s weird that you don’t know this,” Cooper said, “but you have all the choice in the world.”
But not today. Because at the end of our kayaking day yesterday, in Nassau, Finn had asked me to go out with him again today, once we docked at Freeport. This time, to go snorkeling.
I’d been too sunburned yesterday to celebrate that win.
In fact, I forgot all about it—until I woke up. Docked. In Freeport.
According to the spreadsheet, it was time to snorkel.
“You can’t be thinking of going?” Cooper demanded, reading my face.
“I’m feeling much better this morning.”
“Guess what?” Cooper said. “There is no shade in the ocean.”
“I’ll put sunscreen on this time,” I said with a shrug. “I’ll bring a hat.”
