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Soft footsteps and then, “Yeah?”
“I’m going to kill you.” The words are muffled mumbles.
“What?”
I flop onto my back and give him a withering glare. He looks far too put together for so early in the day, even if he’s dressed casually in a pair of dark jeans, a stained White Ice Training shirt, and bare feet. There’s this whole casual yet sexy look he’s got going on, and I’m kinda digging it.
Wait,what? Cooper’sneverbeen sexy. I scrub my eyes with my hands and look again. Shit, still sexy. This is exactly why I don’t wake up early.
“I said that I’m going to kill you. We seem to have forgotten to talk about some ground rules last night. Let’s fix that right now.” Batting away all other thoughts, I haul myself into a sitting position and cross my legs beneath the thin blanket. “I need the house to be silent every morning until at least nine. I get grumpy when I wake up before then.”
He stares back at me calmly but folds his arms across his chest and leans a shoulder against the doorframe.So close. Now just lift your arms and grab the—“Is that negotiable?”
“Not overly.”
His laugh is a deep grumble as it fills the room. I lift my chin defiantly.
“I’ve been getting up at six every morning for the past ten months. It’s going to take some time to break the habit. Are you wanting me to sit in silence for three hours while I wait?” he asks bluntly.
“That would be preferred. I’m sure there are things you could busy yourself with that don’t include dropping pots and pans on the floor at seven and waking the entire neighbourhood.”
“Are you planning on dictating my every move during this trip, Adalyn? I don’t handle being controlled very well.”
I drop both my chin and my glare as guilt slips like cold water down my back. Ignoring the way his face fills with immediate regret, I say, “No. I’m not. Eight is as early as I’ll go unless we’ve made plans to do something earlier. However, I am going to warn you now that I won’t exactly be a doll if that’s the case.”
He nods. “Alright. Eight it is. Do you want me to make you some coffee while you get ready?”
My mouth quirks. “Please. I like mine pale.”
“Got it,” he says softly—as if he wasn’t just annoyed with me a second prior—before slipping out of my room.
I stare at the empty doorway for a few beats longer, trying to gather my thoughts. Maturity is something I appreciate like nothing else, and Cooper has it in bundles. I’ve been spending far too much of my time entertaining douchebags my age because for a minute there, I was worried he was going to take that brief disagreement and blow it up into something bigger.
It’s obvious we have a lot to learn about each other over the next couple of months. Dinner last night threw me for a total loop. I had no idea he could be fun like that. Even Ivy wouldn’t have entertained me to that extent. I couldn’t help but keep pushing in an attempt to find his limit. But I don’t think I came close to it, and that only makes me want to try again and again until I do.
Rolling my neck, I slip out of bed and head to the shared bathroom across the hall to get ready. Half an hour later, I find Cooper out back by the pool. My steps slow as I take in the peaceful image of him stretched out on a patio chair, legs crossed at the ankles and arms folded over his chest. He’s changed into a pair of salmon-pink swim trunks and a white tee, and I blink a few times to make sure I’m seeing him correctly.
It almost seems like a crime to interrupt him right now, but I can’t help myself. “How have I never seen you in swim trunks before?”
“You probably have. It was just a long time ago,” he replies, not looking back.
“Well, I like the look. You should stand and give me a spin so I can see the whole thing.” This time, he does look over his shoulder at me, and I grin at his heavy eye roll.
“Or you could just come over here and see instead,” he offers quietly, looking forward again. Clearing his throat, he points to the small patio table off to the side of the patio. “Your coffee is there. I tried to time it right, but I wasn’t sure how long it takes you to get ready, so it might still be too hot.”
“Thank you.” Appreciation warms my chest as I head for the table and grab the mug. A quick test sip proves the coffee is the perfect temperature, and I sit in the empty chair beside him a moment later.
“You’re welcome.”
I wrap the white cup in my palms and take another sip, soaking in the bubble of serenity that’s formed over our small rental. We’re not close to the ocean here, but that wasn’t a big deciding factor for me when choosing where to go in Spain. Ivy wanted to come to Madrid for the nightlife, and I easily agreed, not putting too much thought into it. There are plenty of other places to see the ocean.
“So, what do you want to do today? I was thinking we could start by exploring the markets a bit and then take a look around the city?”
“I’m good with that,” he agrees.
“Are you much of a shopper?”
“Not overly, but I don’t mind it.”
