6. SKYE

COOPER

6

SKYE

In the heat of the moment, I reacted.

It was impulsive and out of character, but there hadn't been a time in my life I could recall when I'd been so nervous. I couldn't explain why I was having such a strong reaction to being here at dinner with Cooper.

As it was, I knew that whatever happened this evening with him was likely to keep me awake when I was back in my bed later tonight. I had this sneaking suspicion that if he'd been comfortable enough to say the things he'd said to me over the last several days and that he didn't think twice about telling me how nice I looked tonight, he wouldn't hesitate to say more things that would throw me off balance. Being so terrified that would be the case, the moment our server walked away from our table with our orders in hand, I dove in.

"So, I've been curious all week about your job," I told him. "What exactly are you doing at Westwood's that keeps your days feeling so hectic?"

He lifted a curious brow. "You've been thinking about me all week?"

Crap.

In my haste to steer the conversation in one direction, I hadn't really considered how my words might be misconstrued. Of course, Cooper hadn't made anything up—I had thought about him all week long. But it had never been my intention to share that detail with him.

"Well, I mean, I was just shocked to hear you say that work was hectic," I said, attempting to defend myself and downplay the truth. "It's mind-blowing to me that working with chocolate every day could be anything but wonderful."

Cooper's lips twitched. "You might be right, if I was actually working with chocolate every day."

Tipping my head to the side, curiosity moved through me. "You don't?"

He shook his head. "No. Not at all. My specific job title is operations and maintenance manager, which means I'm spending my days making sure that everything throughout the entire Westwood's campus is running properly."

My eyes widened in surprise. "But… but there are so many different buildings there. And there's the amusement park. Are you telling me that you're responsible for all of that?"

Cooper's eyes narrowed slightly as he considered how to answer that question. "Technically, with the exception of the amusement park, it is my responsibility to make sure everything is in order. But I have an entire team I manage, and they are the only reason I don't lose my mind completely."

That made sense. It seemed impossible for one person to be able to handle everything that would come with such a huge operation.

"So, are you just going around all day fixing things that break, or how does that work?" I asked him, surprised by how interested I was in learning more about what he did.

"It's really a little bit of everything," he returned. "Sometimes, there will be a piece of equipment that's used in our chocolate factory that might need a repair. Other times, I've got a plumbing issue to handle in the museum. Or, as was the case on the day that piece of wood went through your front door, I had to deal with a drywall repair in the hotel."

"Wow," I marveled. "You don't have any consistency in your job duties from one day to the next, do you?"

A look of amusement washed over his face. "Other than knowing I'm going to have a laundry list of things to deal with, every day is different for me."

It was safe to say I was impressed.

My days were nearly always the same. Sure, the hours I worked fluctuated based on scheduling, but the tasks I carried out while I was at work remained unchanged from one day to the next.

I wasn't sure I could have worked a job like Cooper did. Granted, I didn't have any handy skills whatsoever, but even if I did, I wasn't the kind of person who could thrive with so much uncertainty and surprises in my life.

"I don't know how you do any of that," I declared. "At least you don't have to manage the amusement park, too. I can't imagine that is a walk in the park."

Cooper shook his head again and confirmed, "It isn't. I actually used to have that in my lineup as well, but my brother is now handling it."

My brows shot up. "Brother? I thought you had sisters."

"I have those, too. I'm one of six kids," he revealed.

It was a good thing our server returned at that moment with our dinner salads, because I needed a moment to wrap my head around the information Cooper had just given me.

Six kids.

His parents had six children.

Once our server walked away, I couldn't even bring myself to pick up my fork. I continued to stare at Cooper, feeling nothing but disbelief.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, clearly noting the change in me.

I parted my lips and snapped them together several times before I finally managed to find my voice. "There are six children in your family?"

He nodded. "Yes. Four boys and two girls."

Cooper had five siblings. I thought he was unbelievably lucky. Having lost my parents and my grandmother, I had no other family to turn to. Technically, I had an uncle—my dad's half brother—but he lived on the other side of the country, and I hadn't seen him since just after my parents had died when he came back for the funeral.

In my situation, it was easy to look at someone like Cooper and feel envious of what he had. Family. Gosh, he had a huge family. He probably never experienced a day of loneliness in his life.

I had always tried to look on the bright side after my grandmother's passing, believing I was still fortunate to have Maria in my life, and eventually, Simon. Now, I had nobody. It was the worst feeling in the world.

And considering I believed Cooper was a genuinely decent man, I was glad he didn't know what it was like to be me and feel that level of solitude.

"Do they all work at Westwood's?" I asked, finally picking up my fork to start my salad.

"Yes. Well, sort of. Wyatt, the oldest of the bunch, is sitting just one notch below our dad, who is the CEO of the company. Wyatt will be the one to take over that position down the road. I'm the next oldest. Tate came after me. He and I are as different as can be when it comes to the work we do, even if we're both workaholics. Tate is a numbers and people kind of guy, so he's all about order and schedules, and is the head of marketing and product development. My sister, Ivy, came after Tate, and she runs the hotel. She was working at the hotel for a while, but has recently stepped fully into it, since she just graduated from college a little over a month ago. My brother, Liam, is younger than Ivy, but he decided not to go to college. Like me, he enjoys working with his hands, so he's the one who has taken over the responsibility of the amusement park with his own team. And finally, there's Jules. She's not working at Westwood's in the official capacity just yet. She graduated from high school at the beginning of this month and enrolled in an accelerated pastry and baking arts program. Jules has a very clear picture of what she wants for her future, so I'm sure it's only a matter of time before she comes up with some idea for how to incorporate her passion into Westwood's."

I was out of breath, having just listened to all of that. But something about it was just amazing to me. Despite all the differences among his siblings, with the way Cooper spoke about them, it was clear just how much he loved them. And I couldn't miss the overwhelming sense of pride that exuded from him when he talked about all of them. I couldn't comprehend the size of his family, but I could understand what it was like to love the family I did have. "That's incredible, Cooper. I can only assume you all must be really close then, too, right?"

He'd just pulled his fork from his mouth and was chewing, so he merely offered a nod of acknowledgement in return.

While there wasn't any reason for me to be making the comparison, I couldn't avoid noting just how vastly different my life was from Cooper's life. We came from opposite walks of life, and when it came to our personalities, I didn't think it was possible to be more different than we were. I mean, even if we both loved our families, he was still surrounded by his, and I had nobody left.

Complete opposites.

Until this very moment, I hadn't ever considered it, but after listening to Cooper talk about his brothers and sisters, I felt an overwhelming sense of longing move through me. If I could have had just one wish outside of wanting my parents and grandmother to be alive and in my life again, it would have been to know what it was like to have siblings, to have a family that I could trust and depend on. I would have given just about anything to live a day in his life, not for the work he did, but for the people he had in it.

This was all about me.

We'd only gotten through our dinner salads, so the night was still young, but I was ready to be done talking about myself.

Not completely, because I realized she had a right to ask questions about me, but at least for a little while.

Ever since I'd convinced Skye on Saturday to have dinner with me so we could get to know each other better before the charity benefit, I'd spent nearly every second of my free time thinking about tonight.

I had so many questions I wanted to ask her, many of which I was sure I wouldn't necessarily get to tonight if any of the thoughts I had about her were the truth.

Though it seemed Skye had been growing slightly more comfortable being around me, there was still a lot of caution and hesitation lingering. I didn't think it would be wise to push for answers to all the thoughts in my mind.

For now, I was going to settle for any bit of information I could get about her, because I was sick of talking about myself, and I really wanted to know more about her.

Since we were talking about family and work, I believed it would be best to start there. "So, now that you know all about the work I do, can you tell me about what you do?"

"I have my bookstore," she said in a voice that indicated she couldn't understand why I was asking her about something I already knew the answer to.

"I know. But I guess I was curious how that came to be," I explained.

She nodded slowly, a solemn look washing over her. Before she even spoke a single word, I wanted to wrap her in my arms and fix whatever it was that put that look on her face. "It was my grandmother's store. She opened it forty-three years ago."

The look that had been on Skye's face before was beginning to make sense. "Is she…"

"She died a few years ago," Skye confirmed.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I lamented.

She gave me another nod in return before she spoke. "Thanks. I miss her terribly, but I'm so grateful for everything she did for me."

"I can only assume you're a big reader. Do you have a favorite genre?"

In an instant, Skye's face lit up. I'd only seen it barely a handful of times, but it took my breath away whenever that look washed over her face. "I've always liked all kinds of books and stories. My tastes have changed over the years, and I'll read just about anything. My favorites are romance and fantasy, though. I can read for hours on end and not tire of it. That's probably because when I was eight years old, they became my saving grace. I spent hours every day at The Next Chapter, and I did it getting lost in dozens of books every week."

Although I could appreciate the love she had for something she clearly enjoyed, even if I was not a reader myself, I couldn't help but feel some concern over something she did say. "At eight years old, you needed something to be your saving grace?" I questioned her.

If I thought her expression had grown solemn when I asked about the bookstore, it didn't compare to the look of utter devastation that came over her at this question. Before she even said a single word, I had a bunch of different scenarios pop into my head as to what could have happened in her life. Had she been bullied at school when she was a kid? That seemed like the most plausible explanation. What else could there have been for a little girl at such a young age?

Skye's voice was so soft and small when she shared, "My parents died when I was eight."

My entire body tensed as I stared at her in disbelief. "Both of them?"

"Yes. They were the victims of a robbery attempt gone wrong," she revealed.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry. Was this at the bookstore?" I pressed, suddenly wondering if there was a reason to be concerned for her safety.

Skye shook her head. "No. No, they had their own business. It was the worst thing that had happened in my life, and the only silver lining was that my grandmother took me in and raised me. If I wasn't in school, I was at the store, reading."

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of business did they have?"

"It was a floral shop, which makes the whole thing even crazier, right? I mean, who robs a flower shop?"

I shook my head, feeling disbelief. "Are you an only child?" I asked.

"Yes."

Damn.

This news had left me stunned.

I'd spent days wondering what kinds of things I'd learn about Skye when we finally had this dinner together, and not once in all the thoughts I'd had about it did I ever consider I'd hear such a tragic story.

I had my brothers and sisters. I had my parents and grandparents. I had my aunt, uncle, and all my cousins. The only thing I knew was a big, loud, close family.

Needing to know she had someone in her life, I tried to pry for more information without it seeming like I was horrified.

"Well, I bet you've met a ton of friends with all the reading you do," I suggested.

When her face didn't light up like I expected, I knew I wasn't going to get the answer I was hoping for. "Not exactly. I do host a monthly book club meeting through the store, which has been a wonderful way to meet people with a similar interest, but I'm not close friends with any of them that we get together outside of those meetings. Maria was, for a very long time, my only friend. She was there for me when my grandmother died, and two years after that, I met Simon. The two of them were all I had… until I didn't any longer."

Simon.

That was the ex-boyfriend.

"How long were you two together, if you don't mind me asking?"

"About two years," she answered. "I was so stupid."

Unable to stop myself, I reached across the table, covered her hand with mine, and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "You weren't stupid. Why would you say that?"

Her eyes fell on my hand that was covering hers. It was clear she had some strong thoughts about it, but she never shared what they were. Instead, she lifted her gaze to my face and said, "For a few months prior to learning the truth about Simon's infidelity, I had noticed something was off. I asked him about it, wondering if he was stressed about something he hadn't shared with me. I thought it could have been related to work or something like that. He insisted nothing was wrong, and I foolishly believed him. Then, one day back at the beginning of February, he told me he wanted to take me out for dinner. There was something different in his voice, and I told myself that I finally understood what was going on. I actually believed he was planning to take me out that night to propose. As it turned out, he couldn't even tell me the truth to my face that night. I got an email that afternoon, and he admitted everything to me about his affair with Maria."

I gave her hand another squeeze, knowing it was probably doing very little to offer her any real comfort.

Skye amazed me.

Because she'd been nothing but sweet and humble. In the case of what had happened with that wood going through her front door, she could have been uptight, demanding, and angry. She wasn't.

After experiencing so much hurt in her life, it would have been understandable—even expected—for her to have been a little hardened.

And that's when it hit me.

Maybe everything she'd been through had impacted her tremendously. But instead of lashing out, she kept it bottled up inside.

From everything I'd just learned, she was on her own. The last two people who were close to her had betrayed her in the worst way imaginable. No wonder she was quick to tell me she wasn't interested in getting involved in another relationship.

Skye had suffered more loss in her life than I thought was reasonable for any one person—the reason for the vast majority of it being truly horrific. The biggest loss I'd suffered in my life was when I moved out of my parents' house and didn't have my mom's cooking every night. Even then, I still got to see my family nearly every day at work.

Our core life experiences were so vastly different. My childhood had been filled with fun, laughter, and lots of moments together with my family. Skye seemed to have lived a solitary life filled with heartache.

In drawing that conclusion and recognizing I didn't want her to think she needed to be all alone in her life, I said, "I really, really hope you are willing to do that one thing I said on Saturday when I was in your store."

"You mean going to the charity event?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Obviously, I want us to attend. I'm fully prepared and expecting that to happen. But when I mentioned wanting to take you to that, I also told you that my birthday celebration was the next day. I can think of nothing I'd love more than to have you join me for that."

"Oh, um, well, I don't know. I'm not sure that's a wise idea. I told you I'm not looking to get into another relationship, Cooper," she reminded me.

"I know," I assured her. "I don't have any expectations of you. I just think it would be fun."

She stared at me, a look of disbelief and uncertainty in her expression. Following a long stretch of silence, she asked, "Why would you want to me to join you for something like that when there's nothing in it for you?"

My fingers gripped her hand just a bit tighter. "That's just it, Skye. I'm aware of where you stand, and I don't intend to put any pressure on you, but I refuse to believe that we met simply by chance. I think there's a reason wood from my truck flew through your front door that day. At the time, I felt more than mildly inconvenienced by it. Now, I realize there's something else going on. And I think, considering what you've been through lately, that you might like to meet some good people. My family would love you."

I watched Skye's throat move as she swallowed hard. A moment later, she asked quietly, "Are you telling me you believe in fate?"

The corners of my mouth tipped up. "You just told me you enjoy reading romance and fantasy books the most, and you're telling me you don't believe in fate?"

Her lips parted slightly. "It's kind of hard to do that when you've lived my life."

My eyes roamed over her, studying every feature for quite some time. Something washed over me, something primal. I wanted nothing more than to give this woman everything she deserved to have. And that was going to start with making sure she didn't feel so alone in the world. Whatever it was going to take, I'd find a way to give her my family, even if it meant I wouldn't have her the way I wanted.

"Stick with me, sweetheart. I'll change your mind."

At that moment, before she had the opportunity to respond, our server returned with our entrees and picked up our salad plates.

Then, to ease some of the concerns I knew she was feeling, I asked Skye to tell me about her favorite books. Some of that tension was instantly gone, and I started learning what I needed to do to get her to trust me.