17. SKYE

17

SKYE

"You weren't lying, were you?"

With a smile on my face, my eyes were on Cooper as I asked that question. His gaze had been focused on the road in front of him as he drove us to his family's lake house, but the moment my question penetrated, he glanced over at me with confusion written all over his face.

"Lying about what?" he countered.

Cooper was paying attention to where he was driving again, but it was clear, based on the way his hand was gripping the steering wheel, just how concerned he was. The last thing I wanted to do was upset him by not immediately giving him a response, but I had to give myself a moment to let what I was feeling settle inside me. It was such a powerful force; I had no choice.

But it was good.

God, I was so close to saying it was the best thing I'd ever experienced. That alone made it impossible for me to not want to ignore any of the lingering fears I might have had and lean into it fully.

Being the woman that I was, I hadn't expected I would have even brought this up, especially considering there was a small chance I could have gotten it all wrong. But there was something about Cooper, the way he was with me, and how he made me feel that led me to having the confidence to talk about it.

Finally, I eased Cooper's concerns and clarified, "When you brought me home from the charity event on Friday evening, you stood with me outside my front door and told me you intended to do everything in your power to prove or convince me I can't live without you."

Those words had stuck with me for days now. When I woke up in the middle of the night, it was those words, mixed with so many of the sweet gestures and tender moments Cooper and I had together, replaying in my mind that kept me from finding sleep again.

He wanted to convince me I couldn't live without him.

There was a part of me that believed he might have been a bit overzealous and self-assured when he'd made that statement. I mean, technically, I believed it was still entirely possible I could live without him. The problem came in when I considered what that would be like.

And that's when I realized I didn't want to live without him. Being able to do something and wanting to do it were two very different things. In the few short weeks since he'd come into my life, Cooper had made me happier than I'd been in so long. I had smiled more since meeting him than I had in the entire first six months of the year combined.

Cooper's grip loosened on the steering wheel, and his shoulders visibly relaxed once he heard my response. Seeing that level of concern from him only solidified my belief that I didn't have anything to worry about when it came to sharing what I was feeling.

"Can you honestly tell me you believed I was lying when I said that to you?" he questioned me.

"I don't know if I would say that I thought you were intentionally trying to deceive me, but I certainly hadn't expected to have such confidence in you attempting to accomplish that so quickly," I explained.

His lips twitched. "Can I ask what, other than me telling you that I intended to do that, has made you believe I'm actually following through on that promise?"

Warmth moved through me as I considered all the ways to answer that question, and I realized just how fortunate I was to be in the position to be able to have a whole host of responses to give him.

I started with the easiest. Holding it up between us, I declared, "You brought me breakfast this morning."

He glanced in my direction, his brow cocked with disbelief. "That's all it takes?"

When his eyes were back on the road, I answered, "No. But if I'm sharing the most recent revelation, it's that you decided to bring me breakfast on the morning when you've included me in the day's festivities with your family."

Cooper reached across the center console, placed his calloused hand on my forearm, and squeezed. "You know, it's funny. Because I was under the impression you were trying to convince me that I couldn't live without you."

The shock and confusion I felt over his statement forced me to ignore just how much I liked the feeling of his hand on me. "What?"

He gave my arm another squeeze before returning his hand to the wheel. "While I understand that I invited you to come to my family's lake house, it was you who asked if I had plans and wanted to spend time with you today. Considering I was ready to give up my plans with my family to make that happen, I figure you've already accomplished that feat."

As Cooper spoke, I had started to lift the bagel sandwich he'd brought me to my mouth for a bite, but at that declaration, I stopped. Had he just confessed he didn't think he could live without me? Surely, he was exaggerating.

"You're joking," I stated.

Cooper had pulled to a stop sign, so he looked over at me and deadpanned, "I'm not."

Lowering my hand with my sandwich down to my lap, the nails on my other hand dug into my palm. It was a vain attempt to wake myself up. Clearly, the lack of sleep had caught up with me, delirium had set in, and this was all just a dream.

With the pain increasing in my palm, I had no choice but to face reality.

This was happening. It was real. And Cooper was telling the truth.

My throat was so parched, I wasn't sure I would have been able to respond, even if I couldn't have formulated a response.

Fortunately, Cooper seemed to have realized the effect he'd had on me and how difficult it was for me to know what to say, because he urged, "Breathe, Skye."

The air left my lungs, my chest deflating while my spirits soared. Cooper's admission might have left me feeling speechless, but that didn't mean I wasn't happy about it. I was happy about all of it. I think there was just a part of me that still didn't believe it could really be this easy for me, that I could find someone like him and have it be the real deal.

Seemingly believing I needed additional instructions to continue functioning, Cooper added, "Don't worry about what I said, sweetheart. Just finish your breakfast, and have a good day with me today."

"Okay," I murmured, lifting the last bit of my breakfast sandwich to my mouth. I did as Cooper had suggested and finished my breakfast. But after doing that and sitting in silence for far too many minutes afterward, I asked, "Can you tell me how I'm going to make that happen?"

"Make what happen?"

"You said I should have a good day with you today," I reminded him. "I'm curious what I can expect at this gathering today."

Something warm stole over Cooper's expression, a smile forming on his face almost instantly. "It probably doesn't bring you much comfort or clarification if I tell you that it's a typical Westwood get-together. But that's exactly what it is, and hopefully there will come a time when I can say that, and you'll just know what I'm talking about."

My belly flipped, and something squeezed in my chest. I liked that he wanted us to get to a place where I just knew what to expect because his family would become a bigger part of my life. The ache came from the longing I felt, wanting what he was saying to come to fruition. "So, should I expect it to be like your birthday party was?" I asked, feeling compelled to stay on topic.

Cooper let out a laugh. "Sort of. There won't be as many people here today, but it's still going to be just as fun. It'll just be my grandparents, my parents, my brothers and sisters, Rhea, Ava, and maybe Marco. Plus, my aunt, uncle, and their kids will be here."

"Oh, really? That's all," I teased.

"I know. We're not a small crew to most people, but it feels normal to me," Cooper said. "We don't always do the same thing every year, but we have a few traditions. One of those traditions is a tournament of some sort. The game will change every year, and my Gram and Pop get to choose what it is. Usually, depending on the activity, it's just the guys in the family that get involved in that. The women typically watch, laugh at us and our shenanigans, or ignore us altogether. Sometimes, we'll go out on the lake in the boat or go swimming. What I can guarantee is that there'll be a ton of food, lots of conversation, and a bunch of fun. We always end the evening with everyone finding a spot somewhere on the property to watch the fireworks."

It sounded wonderful, and I was looking forward to it.

I'd gone from being a woman who wasn't exactly thrilled with large crowds to finally feeling excited about the prospect of it. Maybe it was because I'd already attended Cooper's party and had already met the people who'd be in attendance today, or perhaps it was something else. Maybe I'd finally found people I liked being around.

Granted, I hadn't had enough time yet to build any sort of meaningful relationship with any of them, but I liked what I saw. I couldn't miss the way they interacted with one another and how they treated each other. The Westwood family was everything I imagined a family should be.

"It sounds like I'm in for a real treat," I said. "I'm kind of excited for it."

Cooper looked over at me and grinned. "Yeah, I'd say so. What I like is that you don't seem to have the nerves you had a few days ago."

He was right. Nodding, I said, "It's funny you say that, because I was just thinking that I'd like to try to get to know some of your family a bit better. Maybe I'll have the opportunity to do that today."

Without an ounce of hesitation, Cooper reached over and grabbed hold of my hand. Then, in a move I hadn't been expecting, he pressed his lips to my knuckles, allowing them to linger there while something moved through his features. "There's going to be plenty of time for that to happen today. It makes me happy to know you want to do that."

My fingers twitched against his, my mind still buzzing from the feel of his lips on my skin. Something about what I'd said had impacted him, and that kiss made it impossible not to notice. Doing my best to ignore the trembling in my belly, so I wouldn't crawl across the center console while he was driving, I whispered, "Yeah, me too."

For the remainder of our drive, Cooper told me about the previous years' tournaments, and the games they played. It seemed his grandparents had planned just about every game imaginable, from cornhole and three-legged races to flag football and dodgeball. They'd even done tug-of-war, a water balloon toss, and kickball.

Fun.

Even if I got to do nothing else besides witness whatever Cooper's grandparents had decided would be the game for this year, I didn't doubt I was going to enjoy myself and be entertained. Because I was quickly learning, if there was one thing the Westwood family excelled at, it was knowing how to have a good time.

Keeping that thought in mind, I could only consider myself lucky to have met Cooper. Because what I hoped I'd be able to share with him tonight would only lead to the two of us having some fun of our own.