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“You feel better?”
Leaning forward, I flattened my hands against the bench edge. Did I feel better? “I don’t know. Maybe not so wound up.” Laughing had helped—a little.
“Do you want to try and go back to the party? It sounds like the dancing’s started. Might be fun.” There was a hopeful note in her voice.
Going back meant seeing the guys. “I don’t know,” I said, and maybe that made me a broken record.
“Okay, well you can still go, or we can go grab something somewhere quieter. Unless you don’t know about that, too.”
I groaned and covered my face. “I’m sorry, Rachel. I’m terrible company.”
“You’re not so bad,” she said far more easily than I deserved. “I don’t mind hanging out here, it’s comfortable.” Though it had gotten a bit chillier, she wasn’t wrong. “It’s kind of nice to be near the party but not have to deal with the people.”
“Since when don’t you like people?” I sat up and then back. It was ten minutes past the hour. Course, if Mr. Thorns was there and I was hiding in the garden, it wasn’t like he was going to find me out here.
“Since…”
Displaced and scattering mulch announced the new arrival before Coop popped around one of the taller pine shrubs. “There you are. Jesus, Frankie. Don’t disappear.”
“She didn’t disappear,” Rachel retorted. “She took a walk, and your buddy Jake saw her go, so don’t pretend you didn’t know where she went.”
Wow. That was hostile, even for Rachel. Coop stared at her for a moment and, I gotta admit, so did I.
“You know what, Rachel…” Coop began.
“She does, actually,” I told him. “And I didn’t disappear. I took a break.” Coop swung his gaze to me. “I also don’t need a babysitter.”
He sighed. “Frankie…”
“I’m not doing this right now.” And I definitely wasn’t doing it in front of Rachel.
“You don’t have to do it at all, if you don’t want,” Rachel stated. “My original offer stands.”
“What offer?” Coop asked, his eyes narrowed, then he shook his head. “Look, I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t run into the flower guy and gotten in over your head.” He winced.
Well, at least he had the grace to feel bad about that statement. “I’m fine, Coop,” I told him.
“Does that mean you already met him?”
“It means I’m fine.” I met his stare and his shoulders deflated.
“Frankie…”
“Dude, do you need a sign?” Rachel asked, and I put a hand on her arm as Coop glared at her.
Coop just didn’t do that. Though lately, he’d been doing a lot of things I would have said he didn’t do.
“It’s okay, Rachel, seriously, thanks for wanting to stand up for me. But I can handle it.” I really didn’t need or want her fighting my battles for me. It was kind of weird that she was offering to do it, and at the same time, I appreciated her.
Gripping my hand once, she said, “You really don’t have to put up with them.”
“You know, the only person here who wants your opinion, is you,” Coop informed her. There it was, his temper fraying. Just because he was usually the easiest going guy around didn’t mean he didn’t have one. Not that I saw it often. Usually only in context with his dad.
“I think I’ll listen to Frankie’s opinion on that,” Rachel countered with a smile. “Truth hurt, Coop?”
He stared at her. “You were the one who told her that crap.”
“You mean the truth? That you guys wouldn’t let anyone else get within a hundred yards? That you wanted to have your cake and eat it too?”
