Sometimes, Forever (Sometimes Moments #2) (6 page)

“No, don’t be. It’s work.”

She began to stand, but he shook his head and said, “No, please don’t get up. It’d only make me feel worse.” Cooper got out of his chair and looked down at her. “I was really looking forward to tea and gettin’ to know you.”

The softness in her eyes returned, vanquishing the disappointment he had seen moments before. Then a small smile appeared on her lips. “You’re welcome to stop by for tea anytime. Since you work for Graham, you don’t have to be a stranger. You can come by every day if you want. You’re always welcome.”

His heart missed a beat.

“Are you asking me over for tea every day?”

Peyton’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. She cleared her throat. “Not every day. I don’t work here seven days a week. But if you ever need company, just find me.”

Just find me.

If he hadn’t loved her laugh, he’d have loved those three words.

Cooper smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, hotel girl.”

“Okay … lavender boy.”

I would have respected you, but I think if I had met you, I would have hated you.

Margot:
You seriously owe me therapist sessions or something. Mother lamb has got me going insane. Did you know that she asked Phil when he was proposing? And when we were getting a ‘proper’ house because our townhouse was distasteful. How did you deal with all that stuff?

Cooper:
I didn’t. I honestly stopped listening once she hit, ‘you’re disappointing your family, Cooper.’ Is Phil okay?

Margot:
I told him I’d punch him in the face if he proposed any time soon.

Cooper:
Gotta love your honesty.

Margot:
So how is small town living? Bored of your life?

Cooper:
Not bored. I’m at work.

Margot:
So … something finally became interesting?

Cooper:
I honestly don’t know. I’m hoping.

Margot:
She pretty?

Cooper:
Goddamn beautiful.

Margot:
Oh, well, shit. Good luck with that.

Cooper chuckled as he shook his head at his sister’s text.

Margot:
Wait. Is there something wrong with her?

Cooper:
What?

Margot:
If she likes you, there must be something seriously wrong with her.

Cooper:
I’m not a terrible person, Margot.

Margot:
No. But you can be irrational in your decision making. Okay, I have to go. Little lunch is over, and all these children will be flooding this room wanting my attention.

Margot:
And if she does like you, which I don’t doubt, she has great taste. You’re a great person. And no, I will never repeat that.

Cooper smiled. As annoying and infuriating as both his sisters were, he did love them. His time away from them was much needed. It made him appreciate the relationship they had. Well, the relationship he had with Margot. Megan was a different story, depending on her mood. Deciding to text Margot later, Cooper shoved his phone into his work shirt pocket and got out of the ute. He had just finished his deliveries and making sure that the sprinkler he had spent two hours fixing yesterday was not causing Trent any more problems.

Staring out the passenger side window, he saw the glitter of the lake. Sure, he felt a pull towards Peyton, but that didn’t mean she was attracted to him. Knowing his luck, they’d only ever be friends. But friends was much more than nothing. It was a thought he’d have to live by. Cooper grasped the car door handle and yanked it open. When he got out of the ute, he locked it and made his way towards the doors of the Spencer-Reid.

Friends with Peyton would be torture on his attached heart, but that was what they would be.

Friends.

Friends who have tea.

Cooper pursed his lips and nodded to himself. Then he entered the hotel to find guests in the sitting room. It had been quiet yesterday. But today, he saw just how popular the hotel by the lake was. When he approached the desk, he found Jenny behind it with a sad smile on her face.

“Hey, Cooper.”

“Hey, Jenny. Peyton around?” he asked, staring at the way she pushed her auburn hair over her shoulders. Those sad eyes didn’t go away, and a sympathetic smile now sprawled her face.

Did she pity him?

It sure felt as if she did.

“She’s not in right now. She went out to do some produce scouting for the hotel with one of the chefs. I’m not sure how long she’ll be. I’m sorry.” Jenny sounded genuine. At least, that gave him reassurance that she wasn’t blowing him off.

“You don’t mind if I wait for her, do you? I don’t have her number or anything, and I don’t want her to think I don’t keep my word,” Cooper said.

The flash in her light blue eyes had him curious. She appeared moved by what he had said. The gentle smile she made also indicated so. He smiled back, hoping she believed the honesty in what he had said.

“Sure. Go take a seat. I’ll bring out some tea and something for you to eat,” she said.

“No, Jenny, you don’t—”

She shook her head at him. “I’m not taking a no from you. Peyton wouldn’t either. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Cooper had decided to wait in the room that had the wall of Polaroids. It took him several steps to enter the area. When he did, he faced the large wall and took in the wall of people’s moments. It was stunning to see different people. Different moments. Different times and different places.

Weddings.

Birthdays.

People in boats on the lake.

Pictures of the lake.

Polaroids of the town.

Guests.

Staff.

So many different moments of people’s lives. The moments they wanted to share with others. Cooper took a step closer when he discovered a Polaroid in the middle of the wall, a lot older looking than the others were. It was of a teenage boy with a smile on his face. He had a dimple, too. He leant forward, staring at the happiness in the teenager’s eyes.

“Cooper?” Peyton’s voice had him straightening and taking a step away from the wall to create distance. “What are you doing here?”

He turned his head to find her with a box of vegetables in her hands and her brows knitted.

“Peyton, I’ll take these into the kitchen,” a man in his late fifties said as he took the box from her.

“Thanks, Henry,” she said and smiled at the chef. Then her smile faded when she focused back on Cooper.

“Said I’d see you tomorrow. And well, tomorrow is today,” he said with a shrug.

“You were serious about seeing me today?” she asked, almost surprised with what he had said.

Cooper took a step closer and grinned at her. “Plus, I had to try the tea and see if you really overhyped it as the town’s best.”

Peyton laughed. “Of course. The tea.”

“Which is ready,” Jenny interrupted as she entered the Polaroid room, which is what he now called it. “Henry had prepared the rhubarb and cream cake early this morning, Cooper. You are going to love it.”

Jenny set the silver tray on the table to his left. Peyton had walked over to her and thanked her manager before she took a seat. Cooper watched as she reached for a teacup and set it in front of her. Then she set another one down across from her.

As she held the teapot and poured the hot beverage into her cup, she asked, “Do you always do that?”

His brows furrowed. “Do what?”

She had poured tea in the cup he presumed was his and then set the pot down. Peyton’s gaze met his. “Wait for me to sit down first before you take a seat.”

He let out a nervous laugh. “No. Sorry.” Cooper wiped his trembling hands against his shirt, afraid he had sweaty palms. He wasted no time and sat in front of Peyton as she handed him a plate with a slice of cake on it.

“Do you like Daylesford?” she asked in a soft and cautious voice.

Cooper set the plate down and stared at her. It didn’t sound like a typical ‘do you like my small town?’ question. It was how she said it. It was not how he had expected.

“It’s growing on me. The townsfolk are nice,” he admitted and took the spoon Peyton offered. “Thanks.”

A sigh left her lips. “I’m glad that they have been.”

“Why did you sound relieved for me?”

Peyton swallowed hard and picked up her cup of tea. She peeked up at him through her lashes and gave him a small smile. “For a little while, I hated a lot of people in this town,” she revealed.

He flinched in surprise. “What?”

“It’s complicated.” She took a sip and then set the cup down. “But I had to learn to forgive them.”

“Why did you hate them?”

She kept her eyes on her spoon and cake. He wished she’d look at him so he could read the emotions she couldn’t hide on her face and in her telling blue eyes. “It’s a small town. People do things out of spite. Anyways, story for another time. So how did you wind up in Daylesford? Where are you from?”

Cooper cut off a piece of cake and ate it. It was like an explosion of rhubarb, a spice he didn’t know, and then cream. It was amazing. He never understood the use of rhubarb in dessert. Turns out, he had been missing out his entire life.

“Good, right? Henry’s amazing,” Peyton said as she began to eat bit by bit of her dessert.

After another few bites, Cooper picked up his cup and sipped the hot tea. It was not the usual English breakfast tea he was used to. It was sweeter. It wasn’t spicy. It was different. “This tea … What is it?”

“It’s an antioxidant tea. It’s blueberry and lavender. With a hint of vanilla bean in there,” she said.

“It’s amazing.”

The smirk on her face had him laughing. “I told you, we won awards. But come on, where are you from?”

“Warren Meadows,” he said.

“You’re far from home. What’s that? Three hours away?”

He nodded. “Yeah, about three.”

“You just left. Just like that for Daylesford?” He found the disbelief that consumed her eyes fascinating.

“I wanted a change.”

“You left behind your loved ones to work on a lavender farm,” she pointed out.

He nodded once more. “Just my folks and my sisters. All my friends are married and have kids. I needed a change in environment.”

“So a small town in country Victoria with one of everything is what you needed?”

“It’s tough to explain, but it felt right to take this job. Right timing and everything.” He took another sip. “So, Peyton Spencer, how does someone as young as you own a hotel?”

She took a deep breath, set her spoon down, and released the air she had inhaled. “I inherited it. It used to be called the Spencer-Dayle before I took over.”

“You inherited it? From who?”

Something inside him, like a warning bell, sounded. He was getting into dangerous and personal territory. Cooper looked down and noticed something on her wrist. It was a black curve.

A tattoo.

A turn of her wrist and he wasn’t able to see it.

His eyes returned to Peyton. He could see it on her face that she knew he had noticed it. But she said nothing and didn’t show it to him.

She swallowed hard. “It was my parents’ hotel. They died when I was seventeen. I didn’t inherit it until I was twenty-one.”

“Oh, shit. I’m so sorry, Peyton,” he said. “I feel like a complete asshole. I’ll shut up now.”

Peyton shrugged. “It’s okay. It’s been almost six years. I’m fine to talk about it.”

He breathed out in relief. She wasn’t uncomfortable with him. And for that, he sighed. “So family? Siblings?” he asked.

“I’m an only child,” she answered. “And my family is my Aunty Brenda and Uncle John, as well as Mads and Graham. There’s also Jenny and her husband. And my staff. My family is everyone connected to my hotel.”

He heard the love in her voice. She loved the family she had made for herself. It was as beautiful as it was inspiring. “What are your sisters’ names?”

“Megan and Margot. Though Margot hates that our mother didn’t name her Audrey.”

Peyton let out a laugh. “As in Audrey Hepburn?”

He nodded. “The very one. Margot is a teacher. And Megan, who just got engaged, works in advertising.”

“That’s great,” Peyton said.