We kissed again and I turned us, stumbling back against a wall and weaving my arms around his shoulders. He really was the perfect height for me, my neck wasn’t twingeing at all. Cooper leant against the wall, scooping me against himself.
‘Bedroom?’ I broke away to ask.
‘Very presumptuous,’ he murmured.
‘I am… Lock the door?’
Cooper rushed to bolt the outer door, skidding on a stray scrap of sketchbook paper as he went. I tried not to giggle, watching him trip over his own socked feet. He reached me and swept me towards the bedroom, kissing the join between my neck and my shoulder. I grabbed my handbag on the way, knowing I had condoms in there from my last weekend break with Richard. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so alight with need – the last time I’d actually craved someone else’s touch like this.
God, I really had been deluding myself into staying with Richard. Never again.
Cooper turned me and I went to sprawl on the bed, then he stiffened and held me back.
‘What is it?’ I asked.
He grabbed the crochet blanket from the bed and folded it up, depositing it onto a battered little IKEA footstool that he’d acquired since I’d last been in there. I raised an eyebrow.
‘What?’ He said defensively. ‘It’s new, I don’t want it to get ruined.’
‘You—’ I laughed, then squealed as he dived at me, and we both fell onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. My handbag hit the floor and a ball of black yarn bounced out, an aluminium crochet hook rattling across the floorboards.
Outside, Charlie whined and scratched at the door, then pattered back to his bed. I wrestled the jumper over Cooper’s head and he unbuttoned my blouse. Our eyes kept meeting, gleeful and sharing the delight that we could do this, we were doing this. Finally.
Still, when Cooper pressed me against the mattress and I wrapped my legs around his waist, he paused, hands on his fly.
‘Are you sure?’ he asked, softly.
My answer was immediate and brought a smile to my lips.
‘Oh God, yes.’
Chapter 34
‘Ican’t believe youbrought that with you,’ Cooper said, waking from a doze and stretching under the duvet. We were both curled up in the warmth of his bed, sated and boneless. As lovely as watching him sleep had been for the first forty minutes, a girl could have too much of a good thing, and I’d never been one to sit with idle hands.
‘I never leave home without a project, or the means to start one,’ I said, carefully completing my stitch before laying down my hook and the beginnings of a sock on the duvet. ‘And, you know, since we’re taking a break…’
‘Romantic,’ Cooper chuckled, rolling over to lie on his front, chin propped on one hand while the other stroked my thigh.
‘I’m making this for you and your ridiculously cold feet anyway – that’s romantic as hell.’ I leant over and kissed him. ‘Speaking of, get those hand warmers on, you. I don’t want to be jumping out of my skin when we get going again.’ I picked up my hook again. ‘Not because of the cold anyway.’
He rubbed his stubble over the inside of my knee and I shivered pleasantly.
‘Yes, miss,’ he muttered. ‘Cup of tea?’
‘Oooh… yes, please.’
Cooper rolled out of bed, pulled the jumper over his head and padded to the kitchen. Looking at the slightly too-big jumper, and his lovely bare legs, I thought it was worth every hour I’d spent on it after all.
My handbag, still on the floor amongst my cast-off clothes, started to hum. I grimaced but hunted for my phone anyway. I’d been too occupied to notice but there were several missed calls and texts waiting for me. Two from Emma letting me know that Richard had come by the shop looking for me, and another to say she hoped I was okay. I shot her back a quick message that I was in fact great (so great), and remembered with a wince of guilt that the Stitch and Witch was happening tonight and I would need to get back for it. I messaged to assure her I’d be there.
Then there were also several messages from Mum and one from Dad. He wasn’t a big texter and it just said ‘glad u r shot of him’. Mum on the other hand was going off in my messages. Not exactly scolding me or getting arsey, but she seemed confused and hurt.
Richard’s here, he said you’re seeing someone else and just broke up with him? What happened?? You were going into business together! Now he’s crying in the front room – I had to put him on a towel, he’s all wet! He said some man pushed him in the canal?
Of course he’d said Cooper did it. Richard would never admit that a woman had topped him over. I rolled my eyes and quickly read her other messages.
He said it’s the boat man everyone’s talking about on Facebook. Are you all right, Tabby? Is it the stress from the shop? I’m sure Dad and I can help out if you’re stressed, there’s no need to throw everything away.
