15. COOPER

15

COOPER

As a kid, there had been so many moments wrought with anticipation and excitement—the night before Christmas, the drive to the beach for a family vacation, and the last day of school, to name a few.

The older I got, it became obvious that the exhilaration I felt for all of those things either faded or, in the case of school, vanished entirely. It wasn't that I didn't still enjoy aspects of those events.

I did.

My family still took trips together occasionally, but we weren't all arriving in one car anymore. And I didn't have trouble falling asleep on Christmas Eve, wondering if I could stay awake long enough to hear sleigh bells on the roof.

The enjoyment I got out of special occasions or moments in my life now was typically just about spending time with my family. If there was one thing we knew how to do, it was have a good time. And that was how it had always been, something I knew I'd never grow tired of.

But today, it changed.

Truthfully, I'd started experiencing hints of those feelings ever since I met Skye, but today, I was receiving the full brunt of it. For the first time in a long time, I was consumed again, just like I'd been when I woke up on the last day of school my senior year.

This had nothing to do with high school, though.

It was my birthday. And although I recognized some of my family and friends couldn't help themselves when it came to giving gifts, I didn't feel the excitement I would have felt as a kid over them. Everything I was feeling was related to me standing just outside one of the bedrooms in the pool house.

I had just changed in the bathroom and was waiting for Skye to emerge wearing her bikini. From the moment she confirmed she was bringing it, I'd had a hard time thinking about anything else other than what she'd look like with it on.

Next to simply having her here with me today and being able to spend more time with her, seeing Skye in her bathing suit was the thing I had been looking forward to the most.

Whether she knew just how badly the suspense of seeing her had grown for me or if she'd gotten over just enough of the nerves she might have been feeling about stepping out of the bedroom in her suit, I didn't know. But Skye answered my silent prayer and opened the door, holding on to it with one hand and gripping the handle of her bag in the other.

I should have taken the bag from her—that's what a gentleman would have done.

But I couldn't.

I was far too distracted by the sight in front of me. Skye was utter perfection, donning a navy-blue bikini with a sheer piece of material wrapped around her waist that just barely covered the very top of her thighs.

Her very gorgeous thighs that led to those hips I wanted so badly to hold in my hands. Even though she hadn't turned around yet, I had a feeling I was going to enjoy the view from the back just as much as the front.

My eyes trailed up her bare midriff, the skin looking as soft as I could recall thinking her hair had looked the first day I met her. And finally, I took the time to appreciate her breasts. Fuck, I really did feel like a kid all over again, because all I could think was Skye was the only present I wanted to unwrap.

"Damn, Skye. You're absolutely stunning," I said when I lifted my gaze to her pretty face.

"Is… is it okay?"

I lifted a curious brow. "No, it's not okay. It's perfect. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on."

A flush crept over her skin as she dropped her focus from my face. She took a moment to pull herself together before she looked up and said, "You're very nice to look at, too."

I let out a laugh, loving that she wasn't upset I'd very obviously checked her out when she first exited the room. "Feel free to look all you want."

She sighed, but I could see the smile playing at her lips. "Since it's your birthday, I guess you should be allowed to do the same."

"I appreciate the permission," I said, before taking the bag from her hand. "We can keep this in here, unless you need something from it."

"Oh, um, well…" she trailed off.

"What?"

I was certain I saw something intensify in her stare. "My sunscreen."

Jackpot.

"Did you need help applying it?" I asked, feeling more than prepared and willing to handle the task.

She offered a shy smile. "Well, I got my front when I changed, but I couldn't reach my back. You don't mind, do you?"

My lips twitched. I wondered if she knew what she was doing and being this playful as a result, or if she was genuinely still feeling some nerves. Either way, I was in my glory being on the receiving end of it. "That would be an impossibility."

Skye stepped forward, dug into the bag, and pulled out the sunscreen. After I took it from her, she gathered her hair in her hands, fastened it with a hair tie at the top of her head, and gave me a new perspective. I hadn't seen Skye with her hair up before, and I was surprised at what the sight of her bare neck made me feel. What I would have given for the chance to nip the skin on the front or side of her throat.

I set the bag down as Skye turned around, and for the first time since she'd opened the bedroom door, I got a glimpse of her ass. How I didn't groan with the frustration I felt over not being in a position with her where I could simply grab a handful was a mystery.

Refusing to deny myself the opportunity to touch the parts of her I could for any longer, I squirted some of the sunscreen into my palm, warmed it between my hands, and brought them to her shoulders. And as I began to work the sunscreen into the skin along her shoulders and her upper back, I noticed the increased pace of her breathing.

At least she was giving me all the signals to suggest I had a fighting chance at getting what I'd asked her about last night. I wasn't going to push for her to make up her mind immediately, especially because I believed we were headed in the right direction.

After getting the middle of her back and her sides, I took a chance and rested my hands lightly on her hips. When she didn't pull away, I gave her a squeeze, stepped close, and brought my mouth to her ear. "Would you like me to get your legs, too?"

I glanced down to see that the tiny blonde hairs on her arm were standing up. Keeping her body where it was, she looked back and rasped, "I did them already."

If there was any hope of us rejoining the party, it was probably for the better. But because I wanted to follow through on my promise to show her how interested I was in her, I gave her hips another squeeze and reasoned, "Next time I'll do them for you."

She licked her lips and swallowed hard.

Being that close to her, recognizing I was having an effect on her, I was convinced it took some kind of divine intervention not to spin her in my arms and kiss her. Instead, I took a step back and removed my hands from her body. "Ready?"

Skye turned around and gave me a nod. "Yes, but I think I should warn you. I'm not very good at sports, so you might not want me on your volleyball team."

There it was again.

This woman had such a sweet quality about her. She told me about her lack of volleyball skills, as though she believed I would be bothered by it. She was willing to wind up on a team without me in order to accommodate me.

I shook my head, wrapped my arm around her back to her opposite shoulder, and said, "Absolutely not. There's not a chance I want you on any other team but mine."

"Okay. But don't say I didn't warn you."

I let out another laugh, something I noticed I was doing more often as I continued to spend time with Skye. "Fair enough."

A few minutes later, we were outside and breaking everybody into teams. This was one of those things we did whenever my parents hosted any kind of celebration in the summer months, and I knew we were in for hours of friendly competition. I hoped Skye would enjoy it so much she'd be eager to come to the next party.

About an hour into it, I had a pretty good feeling about things. Skye seemed to be doing a lot of laughing, and whenever other teams were competing, I watched her make the effort to communicate with anyone who wasn't playing at the moment. She'd had conversations with Rhea, Ivy, and Ava, and she even spoke with a couple of my cousins.

Round after round, we narrowed the playing field down until finally it came down to two teams—Wyatt, Rhea, Skye and me versus Tate, Marco, Ivy, and Ava. In the end, they won.

But I didn't care.

I'd had a blast, and I'd already convinced myself I won a much bigger prize.

When the tournament was over, my mom made an announcement about cake. It didn't matter that I was twenty-seven. As far as Evelyn Westwood was concerned, if it was somebody's birthday, they were getting a cake and a song. We'd learned a long time ago not to question or fight it.

By the time everyone had gathered around the cake Jules had made, my mom had the candles in it, and my dad was holding the lighter. No sooner had he lit the candles, my mom and grandmother started singing, and everyone else joined in.

I didn't want to be rude and ignore everyone else that was there to celebrate with me, but I had my eyes on Skye while she sang with my family and friends. Of course, she'd promised she'd sing in this setting, but she hadn't revealed she intended to do it so quietly. I chose to look away from her only a handful of times through the song, simply to make sure that nobody felt as though I didn't care about their presence.

Once they'd all made it to the end of the Happy Birthday song, I blew out the candles. Sure, I felt like I was five years old again when I did it, but I refused to be the one to break Evelyn Westwood's heart.

As my mom and sisters worked on cutting the cake for the crowd, I took the time to thank everyone for coming to celebrate.

"Okay, Cooper, you get the first slice," my mom announced.

"And make sure you come this way to grab a piece of the glazed lemon zucchini bread I made at your request," Jules added.

Though I wasn't sure she intended for me to hear it, Skye let out a soft moan of delight. I looked back at her, and she asked quietly, "You made a special request?"

"I wanted to make sure there'd be something you'd like here," I explained.

A smile broke out in her expression. "That was very sweet of you, but you didn't have to do that on your birthday."

Sometimes, I wondered if Skye really understood just how much I wanted her. I thought I was doing what I could to make it clear, which led me to believe that she hadn't expected someone would ever want to do the little things for her, regardless of what day it was. "That's just it, sweetheart. My birthday is precisely the day I needed to do it. Here's hoping you'll like it."

The pair of us moved around the table and each took a plate with cake on it from my mom before moving toward Jules.

"Thanks for making the cake and the bread for today, Jules," I said.

"You're welcome, Coop. Happy birthday," she returned, before shifting her attention to Skye. "I hope you're having a good time."

"I am," Skye confirmed, eyes brightening. "This weekend has been the most fun I've had in such a long time."

Jules laughed. "Well, stick with us. We try not to miss the opportunity to have fun or celebrate."

"Your family has certainly perfected the art of it."

My sister grinned. "Yeah, we have. And I want you to know I meant what I said to everyone earlier. I'm really glad Cooper met you and that you're here with him today."

There was a brief moment of hesitation before Skye offered a warm smile and a nod. "Yeah, I am, too."

"We'll have to find some time later to catch up. You two go enjoy your dessert together," Jules ordered.

I gave my sister one last look of approval before ushering Skye away toward a seat. "I'm so excited to try this," she bubbled, practically bouncing out of the chair.

"Well, don't let me delay you any longer. I think you're going to love it."

Skye placed a bite of the lemon zucchini bread on her fork, brought it to her mouth, and said, "Happy birthday, Cooper."

I placed my hand on her thigh and gave her an appreciative squeeze in response, since I'd just taken my own bite of the bread. Never taking my eyes off of her, I watched as Skye delighted in that single taste.

"Oh my God," she groaned. "That's the most delicious thing I've ever tasted."

I let out a laugh, feeling something hit the center of my chest. From the moment I met Skye, I had this instinct there was something special about her. I didn't have much to base it on; maybe it was just a hunch. But as time went on and I spent more time with her, I started getting the confirmation I hadn't been wrong.

My only hope now was that she'd find a way to consider what I'd asked her last night and decide to give us a chance to explore something more than just a friendship that had sexual tension bursting at its seams.

For the next few hours, we enjoyed cake, two more pieces of lemon zucchini bread, and tons of fun and conversation with my family and friends. My mom and grandmother also took Skye on a tour of the grounds, leaving me behind to celebrate with everyone else. Even though I wanted to spend every moment I could with her, Skye seemed keen on doing the tour with them on her own. And I thought that was another step in the right direction.

There had been a noticeable change in Skye's demeanor from the moment we arrived until the second we said goodbye. She'd grown much more comfortable being around them, and I was desperately hoping we'd all made a good impression on her, even if that hadn't been the purpose of the party.

It would have been the ultimate birthday wish granted if I didn't have to take Skye home, but I wasn't quite that lucky.

For now, I had no choice but to be grateful for the time she'd given to me today and hope that there would come a time when I could leave a function like this or the one last night, and the two of us would be spending the night in one of our beds wrapped up in each other.