Page 48 of Falling for the Grinchy Bad Boy

17

JOY

Iglanced at my laptop screen for the tenth time in five minutes, trying to focus on the Santa’s Night Market itinerary I was supposed to be finalizing. Vendor assignments, booth layouts, and security arrangements were all over the screen. It was all the mundane details that should have had my complete attention. Instead, I kept finding myself touching my lips and reliving those three perfect, terrible seconds from last night.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I’d done it again. Kissed Cooper Frost and then bolted like a scared rabbit, just like I had ten years ago at the lake. Some things never changed, apparently. Including my complete inability to handle emotional situations like a rational adult.

But this time was different. This time I couldn’t just pretend it never happened and hope it would go away. I wasn’t leaving for New York. I couldn’t just steer clear of him and ignore the awkward aftermath of my poor life choices.

We had to work together for the next three weeks. I couldn’t spend that entire time avoiding his eyes and dying of embarrassment every time someone mentioned his name. I was an adult. No running. I had to face the situation and deal with the consequences of my impulsive behavior.

I had to fix this. Somehow.

Before I could lose my nerve, I grabbed my phone and typed out a text: Hi Cooper. Are you free for lunch today? I think we should talk about last night. The diner at noon?

I stared at the message for a solid two minutes before hitting send, my stomach churning with anxiety. What if he didn’t respond? What if he told me to go to hell? What if he⁠—

My phone buzzed. See you at noon.

Not exactly warm and fuzzy, but at least he agreed to meet. That had to count for something, right?

I spent the rest of the morning trying to work on vendor schedules and failing miserably. Every few minutes I would catch myself rehearsing what I was going to say to Cooper. I ran through different versions of my apology, trying to find the words that would somehow make this less awkward.

By the time I walked into Meg’s Diner at five minutes to twelve, my palms were sweating despite the December cold. It was worse than junior high. It felt like I had passed a note to the boy I was crushing on and was waiting for him to check yes or no.

Cooper was already there, sitting in a corner booth with his back to the wall, and the expression on his face made my stomach drop to somewhere around my ankles. He looked like a storm system, dark, turbulent, barely contained. His jaw was set, his blue eyes were flat and cold, and when he saw me approaching, he didn’t even try to smile.

Oh, this was going to be so much worse than I had anticipated.

“Hi,” I said quietly, sliding into the booth across from him. “Thanks for meeting me.”

He just nodded curtly and picked up his coffee cup. We were off to a great start.

A waitress came over with the pot of coffee. She filled my mug and topped his off. Then she left us alone to simmer in silence. It stretched between us, heavy and uncomfortable. I fidgeted with the sugar packets, then poured way too many into my cup. The first sip felt like a mainline of straight sugar. I played it off, refusing to show any reaction.

I was going to be up for a week.

“Cooper,” I started, then stopped when he looked at me with those guarded eyes. “I wanted to apologize for last night. I was caught up in the moment, overwhelmed by how well everything went, and I wasn’t thinking clearly. It won’t happen again. It didn’t mean anything. In New York, I kissed all my friends like that.”

He cocked his head to the side, and it was pretty clear he knew I was lying.

“It won’t happen again,” I reiterated, choosing not to address the lie.

“Won’t it?” His voice was rough, tired in a way that had nothing to do with lack of sleep.

“No. I promise. We have to work together until Christmas, and I understand that keeping our relationship strictly professional is the best thing for everyone involved.”

He was quiet for a long moment, staring down into his coffee like it might hold answers to questions I couldn’t even guess at. When he finally looked up, there was something hurt in his expression that made my chest ache.

“It just reminded me of old times,” he said quietly. “And I can’t handle someone toying with me like that again. I’m still too raw after Lynn.”

Lynn. He’d never brought her up with me before, not in all our conversations since I had been back. The whole town had known about their relationship, their engagement, and their spectacular breakup. But Cooper had never talked to me about it directly. I didn’t dare bring it up. It felt personal, even if the entire town gossiped about it. I didn’t want to make him feel any worse than he already did.

“What happened between you two?” I asked gently, leaning forward slightly. “I mean, if you want to talk about it.”

Something flickered across his face. Surprise, maybe, or pain. “That’s right, you didn’t come to the wedding.”