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“How far did we go?” she blurted the question, lifting her face to pierce him with an intense blue-eyed stare.
A little bowled over by her penetrating gaze, he forgot to answer her, even forgot to breathe. Then he blinked and licked his lips. “Pardon?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
She blushed and ducked her head, her silky dark locks veiling her expression from him. “The night of Bose Eden’s party,” she whispered. “How far did we go?”
Her words left him sucker punched and reeling as the air gasped from his lungs. He had to pause and clear his throat before saying, “You…you remember then?”
She whirled away to present her back to him, but remained on the porch. “Parts of it,” she finally admitted, her voice so low he had to strain to hear her.
Parts of it, huh. Cooper swallowed and rubbed his suddenly damp palms on his thighs. Which parts did she remember? Why hadn’t she said anything before now? Why was she saying something now?
He shook his head, not sure what to demand first. The shaky words that left his mouth were, “Are you…are you asking if we had sex?”
“No! No, of course not,” she reassured before she glanced over her shoulder at him and choked out, “Did we?”
His mouth dropped open. She looked so scared of the answer, he wasn’t sure how to respond. Would finding out she’d been intimate with him honestly traumatize her that much? Cooper wasn’t a vain person, but it would’ve been nice if the girl he loved didn’t appear so revolted over the idea she might’ve made his ultimate dream come true.
He backed up about five paces as she watched him until his spine bumped into a porch beam. “There’s only two reasons I can think you’re asking me this. It’s either because I was so bad at it, I wasn’t worth remembering…or you actually think I’m such an ass I’d take advantage of a drunk girl. Either way, I find myself insulted.”
Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “So…is that a yes or a no?”
He scowled. “What do you think?”
She closed her eyes and bit her lip. “I think I’m going to have a panic attack if you don’t answer me.”
Ire rising, he clenched his teeth. He wasn’t sure why he kept growing more and more upset and frustrated; maybe because she only remembered parts of it, or maybe because she actually remembered a little and had never said anything to him. “What do you remember?” he bit out.
“Cooper—” Her eyes searched his, pleading for a direct answer, but he wasn’t ready to deliver.
He held up his hand. “No, I’m curious. What do you remember? Do you remember the promise you made me?”
If she remembered the promise, he was going to flip out. But if she didn’t remember, then—
Jo Ellen shook her head and frowned as if trying to recall such a thing. “I made you a…a promise? What kind of promise?”
Unable to handle looking at her without wanting to roar in anger or burst out crying, h
e snorted and spun away, storming down her front porch step and needing distance, needing to hit something, needing—
“Cooper, please,” she cried.
It was the vulnerable catch in her desperate voice that made his boot heels grind to a halt. He pivoted and glared up at her, hoping he looked more pissed than he did hurt.
“Why’re you asking now?” he demanded. “If it was so important to know, why’d you wait all these weeks to approach me about this?”
She gulped. He watched her throat work as she swallowed. Then she winced before whispering, “Because I just found out I’m pregnant.”
Chapter Seven
Now. Ten Years Later
Jo Ellen woke from her nap on a gasp. Jerking upright, she lifted her face from the desktop, peeled a sticky note off her cheek, and rubbed her bleary eyes. Too many dreams had been crowding her head lately, keeping her awake each night and making her groggy during the day, causing her to doze at the most inopportune moments.
Checking her wrist for the time, she cringed and surged to her feet. If she didn’t hurry, she was going to be late. She rose so fast, blood rushed to her head and black spots danced in her vision, but she couldn’t slow down. When you were the boss, timeliness was a priority.
She closed her laptop sitting in front of her. No new digits had been added to the ledger on her budget report while she’d been snoozing. Hurrying to a mirror, she straightened her blouse and slacks and examined her face. Her hair was flat on one side and a sleep line wrinkled her temple. Ignoring the line, she poofed her dark locks back to life and slipped into a pair of flats she’d taken off to work on her account book while she had been killing time before she had to leave.
Snagging her purse and keys, she rushed out the door, barely pausing to lock it on her way. Habitually a planner, Jo Ellen fortunately had everything ready and her car loaded with the essentials. She’d gone through her list twice, and each detail was set, even the last minute particulars should be in place. All she needed to do now was show up for the party.
