“I wasn’t leaving you to do that duet alone. I would haveswumhere if I had to.”
“I thought you didn’t show up,” I said. “I thought you werethatmad at me.”
Cooper kept his eyes closed. “I could never be that mad at you, Joey.”
“I thought you gave up on me,” I said.
“Sadly for me,” Cooper said, “I don’t seem to be able to do that. No matter how hard I try.”
But now it was hitting me. My breath got shaky, and my eyes got teary. “I’m sorry I was mad at you,” I said. “I should have been thanking you. You came to the lighthouse. And you tried to save me. And then you almost died.”
“More like a few stitches and a tetanus booster. But ‘almost died’ also works.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
At that, Cooper opened his eyes and saw my teary face. Then he took my hand and squeezed it. Then he said, “Listen really close now, JoJo—because I need you to understand something.”
“Okay,” I said, leaning in.
Then Cooper looked straight into my eyes and said, “There is no universe where you call me for help and I don’t come running.”
Thirty-Two
ONCE WE HADthe medical all clear, the doctor let us go. Cooper’s shirt was too bloody to put back on, so the doctor offered a T-shirt from a stash in the cupboard, one that saidNO CRUISE CONTROL. It was a little tight on him, to be honest—but in a good way.
He slid his suit jacket back on to dress up the T-shirt, Don Johnson style, and then stuffed the bloody tie into his pants pocket on the way out.
“Pretty sure that tie is trashed,” I said.
Cooper shrugged. “Keepsake,” he said.
We headed back toward the wedding reception to check on everybody, but I wasn’t sure that was a great idea for him medically.
“I’m fine,” Cooper said.
“Your twenty stitches say otherwise.”
The ship was still dark. Cooper and I walked along an outside deck so we’d have the moonlight to see by.
“Do you have any other secrets you’re withholding?” I asked.
“Lots,” Cooper said.
“Like?”
He thought about it. “Like I’m actually really good at mini golf.”
I gave him a look. “Of course you are.”
Cooper thought he remembered a set of side doors from the deck to the ballroom, and sure enough, as we reached them, we found they were not just unlocked but propped open.
We could see straight into the ballroom—all the guests sitting at their candlelit tables, decidedly not panicking, just chatting and waiting good-naturedly for the lights to come back on. Very different vibes from the stairwell.
Ashley would be worried about where I’d gotten off to, though. My mom and dad, too.
We should go in.
But just short of the threshold, as we were about to leave the deck and the moonlight behind, Cooper asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks.
