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Her topic was perfect. “Our meeting was fate. You, me, Shakespeare.”
“Now see? This is a perfect example of a coincidence. Because fate…” She tsked. “You haveplayerwritten all over your face. I bet if you were wealthy and I googled you, you’d have a string of famous women you dated in your bio. Would those women say at first that meeting you was fate? And what would they say after you dumped them? Fate is everlasting according to Will Shakespeare, not episodic.”
“Geez, Vivi. You wound me.” With her accuracy. He wished he could erase his past, if only to look better to her, tobebetter for her. “I have this quote I’m interested in and—”
“A quote?” Vivi sat back, removing her reading glasses, and heaving the kind of sigh that said she didn’t like interruptions. She fixed him with a firm, whiskey-colored stare. “What are you up to, Shakespeare?”
It was his turn to sigh.
He tipped his black cowboy hat back. “You’re not going to talk Shakespeare to me without a good reason why, are you?”
She crossed her arms over that Harvard logo. “Nope.”
“Well…” Coop glanced toward the horses, who seemed content. And then back to Vivi, who was anything but. He wasn’t an open book by nature, but he was backed into a corner. “It’s because of my dad.”
“Oh, boy.” Vivi shut her laptop, smirking. “Daddy issues.”
“It’s not like that.” Coop frowned.
She arched her finely shaped eyebrows. He wanted to trace them with his finger.
“Okay, maybe it is like that.”Just a little. “My dad had a heart attack and—”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry.” It was the first kind opening she’d given him since he’d caught sight of her on the beach yesterday. And it was based on a misunderstanding. “Is he…”
“He’s much better,” Coop rushed on to say. “But—”
“He had lasting side-effects? Oh, man.” Vivi reached over and gripped his hand.
And of its own accord, Coop’s heart went pound.
Pound-pound-pound.
In a way it didn’t usually beat with a woman.
And Coop liked women. He liked the way they smelled, their softness, and the complicated way they saw things. He could listen to a woman talk for an hour and know just what she needed to make her happy. His father often called his mother and his much younger sisters Drama Queens. But whatever was going on with his mom and sisters, Coop liked to hear it. He enjoyed pointing out what to him was the obvious, the way he’d pointed out to Kelcie that she was “on stage” all the time anyway. Why should standing up in front of an exercise class be any different?
But with Vivi, Coop didn’t see anything he could fix.
She was clever and self-assured. She had purpose and clarity. Unlike him, her life seemed to be on track. She didn’t seem to need anyone or anything.
Or worse,wantanyone. Specifically, him. It was odd for a woman to be immune to his charm.
A pile of books tumbled between them. The books slid in the direction of the living room where Dotty could be heard laughing.
Vivi sighed, straightening the books.
And suddenly, Coop knew what Vivi needed. She needed to live life rather than sit around and watch all the time. But she’d never admit it.
“What’s that quote about seizing the day?” Coop drew Vivi to her feet, surprised when she came willingly. “I’ve got to get these horses some exercise and then return them to a cool, shady pasture. And you’re in need of exercising a different set of muscles than your sit-bones.”
“Sit-bones aren’t muscles.” But Vivi followed him, her small hand embracing his larger one.
Coop spared her a smile. “What would Shakespeare say about you sitting all day and squinting at small print?”
She didn’t hesitate to answer. “How far that little candle throws its beams.”
“There’s one my dad used to say. What does it mean to you?”
