The Windfall (14 page)

“Great, I hate playing with numbers. Maybe we can open a business together,” I joked. “Unless you like playing with negative numbers, then I’m gonna have to pass.”

She grinned. “I wouldn’t be a very good accountant then, would I? Are you in college right now, Cooper?”

“No.” I shook my head, wishing I was. “But I intend to be soon. What about you?”

She nodded and I envied her immediately, wishing I had been able to start my career path already. What was holding me back now? Surely not the funds or the time. I had plenty of both. “I’ve been attending classes part-time for just over a year. Still have a long way to go.”

“I’m sure you’ll be a great accountant,” I supplied, seeing a blush steal across her cheeks.

“So, what’s the next thing I need to know about Cooper?”

“Well,” I started, racking my brain for another small tidbit to throw her. “My first plane ride was the one that brought me out here.”

“Lucky you,” she said, a dreamy look on her face. “My first flight was the one that took me to Atlanta. I haven’t really traveled much. Honestly, I’m still a little uneasy about planes.”

“Well,” I said as I bit into my fish. “We need to remedy that. Just don’t think about the fact that you’re in a tin can with the fate of your future in the hands of two people you’ve never met and the only thing keeping you in the sky are two engines and a little physics you might not fully grasp.”

“Funny,” she laughed. “I feel so much better about flying now. Thank you.”

“I help where I can.” I grinned and turned back to my food, happy to know that I was entertaining her. Even happier that the date was far from the disastrous uncomfortableness that I had feared might take over once the small talk had ended. Instead, I was reveling in the fact that we were almost effortlessly enjoying each other’s company. That had to mean something. We continued to talk about things like politics, favorite foods, pet peeves and more until we finished our food.

After I had paid the bill, we walked out of the restaurant and back toward the car.

“I have had such a good time tonight, Cooper,” she said softly as I opened the passenger door for her.

“I did, too,” I admitted, smiling down at her before closing the door and walking around to the driver’s side. It had been a long time since I’d done something socially. My former life had been a mixture of work and stress with no time for a social life. This was definitely something I could get used to.

I climbed into the car and started it up, making our way back toward the grille where Emma had left her car. All I could think about was that I didn’t want the evening to end, but I didn’t want to push my luck either. It had been a great evening, and I didn’t want to do anything that would change that. But where did I go from there? I had no idea. I just knew I wanted to see Emma again . . . outside of work.

“Emma,” I started, my eyes on the road, my nerves starting up their frenzy in my core again. I had to ask before I lost my nerve. “Would you like to go out again?”

To my surprise, she laid a hand on my arm, her fingers scorching my skin. “I would love that, Cooper.”

I smiled as her hand fell away, my heart hammering in my chest. She wanted to go out again. And the great evening had just gotten even better.

Chapter Thirteen

Emma

I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so at ease with a guy, but so nervous at the same time. I restlessly held my purse in my lap to give myself something to fidget with. The entire drive back to the grille, I found myself wondering if maybe, just maybe, Cooper would kiss me. It wasn’t something I made a habit of on first dates, and given how much of a gentleman Cooper seemed to be, I wasn’t so sure it was a possibility. But, still, I couldn’t help thinking about it. I couldn’t help imagining his lips on mine.

Dinner had been amazing. Not just the food or the atmosphere, but the company and the conversation. It was refreshing that I could just be myself around him. Not to mention how adorable it was that he had seemed so nervous, which made the entire date that much more interesting. Tim had never been nervous, in fact, he had been very self-assured, which had always made me very uncomfortable as a result. But with Cooper, it was exactly the opposite and that was an incredible feeling.

Cooper cut the engine and exited his side, walking around the car to open my door so I could get out. A task that one would think would be simple, especially with the assistance of holding on to someone’s hand. But it seemed that simple wasn’t in the cards for me. My foot caught the edge of the door as I tried to get out and my body pitched forward, my arms flinging out in an effort to find some way to brace my imminent fall. Just as I thought I was going down into the gravel for sure, strong arms wrapped around my waist and I was hauled upright against a solid wall of muscle, my palms flat against the surface of Cooper’s chest.

“Whoa now,” he said in my ear, his breath tickling the hair there. “You know, if you needed a hug, all you had to do was say so.”

My breath quickened as I looked up and met the amused expression on his face, his eyes alight with laughter. The heat of his touch seared into my skin through my thin dress, and I immediately found myself wondering what it would be like to have his searing touch all over me.

Clearing my throat against the onslaught of heat that rushed through my body, I forced myself to step back. “Thanks for catching me.”

“You’re welcome,” he responded, his voice tight. “I can’t have you beating yourself up before I get another surfing lesson. It’s my job to get pummeled by the waves and be black and blue, remember?”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied with a smile and rummaged through my purse for my car keys to avoid eye contact, afraid of giving away my thoughts. “Thank you for a lovely evening, Cooper. I really enjoyed it.”

“Me too, Emma,” he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you later then?”

I nodded and walked to my car, a stupid grin on my face. This was really good, whatever we had going on here, really good indeed.

***

After two days of being on opposite work schedules, I found myself wondering when I would see get to see Cooper again other than in passing at the grille. In fact, he had been on my mind far too much since our dinner date and the following day when we’d been able to squeeze in a short surfing lesson before I had to head to work. So when he texted and asked if I was free to hang out, of course I said yes.

“Come on! It will be fun. I swear.” I pulled on Cooper’s arm as I drug him toward the brightly lit building, laughing as he pretended to dig his feet into the pavement.

“That’s what you said about surfing,” he grumbled as we walked through the doors and into the black light show packed with people, the loud music muffling the sounds of them talking and laughing.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never bowled before,” I said, astonished.

He grinned and pulled me to the counter where we would pick up our bowling shoes. “Of course, I have. I just didn’t want to embarrass you when I beat the pants off of you.”

“We shall see about that,” I challenged as we grabbed our shoes and headed to the nearest empty lane. Black light bowling was something I enjoyed doing, sometimes coming out with the crew from Keefer’s for a midnight round when we could all get together after work on a weekend. We had often joked about having a league team ourselves, but someone would always be missing because someone had to man the grille. All in all, I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of the idea. Bowling was the perfect idea for a second date, one that I was already enjoying immensely.

“So,” Cooper started as he removed his Chuck’s and slid on his bowling shoes. “What’s your best score?”

“A lady never tells,” I replied with a smirk, tying my shoes and standing to search the racks for a bowling ball. “You’ll know when I leave you in the dust.”

“Big talk for such a little lady,” Cooper jabbed back as he stood, his hands on his hips. “Shall we make a wager, ma’am?”

“Sure,” I said, thinking it would be fun. “What are we betting?”

“Hmm,” Cooper replied, making a great show of thinking about it. “How about loser has to buy the winner a drink?”

“You’re on,” I agreed, extending my hand. He reached over and took it in his and immediately I felt that same electric connection I’d felt when he caught me from falling, his skin causing mine to sizzle in response. His eyes widened just enough for me to know I wasn’t the only one who felt it and he let go of my hand, leaving warmth in place of his touch. I wiped my hand on my jeans to attempt to get the feeling to go away, my head buzzing with how significantly Cooper’s simple touches affected me. Never in my life had I felt so strongly as I did whenever he was around. It was frightening and exciting all at once.

We gathered our bowling balls and set out to play, Cooper garnering a few strikes and spares while I tried to match him point for point. When the last frame rolled around, it was too close to call. I took in a deep breath and picked up my ball, desperately wanting to win the game. It was the principle more so than the free drink.

“Don’t choke now,” Cooper called out as I took two steps toward the lane. I released the ball perfectly, frowning as it broke out into a seven-ten split. Only I could manage one of the hardest pin positions for my final roll. “Ohhhh . . . that’s not pretty,” he called out.

“Don’t count me out just yet,” I said as I retrieved my ball from the return. He cocked an eyebrow at me. I stepped up, focused and exhaled a breath, positioning my ball just perfectly. With what I thought was perfect form, I released it and, to my dismay, it took a wide left turn and missed both pins completely. I lost.

Cooper came up behind me and settled his hands on my shoulders as I stared down the lane. “Aww. That’s too bad. Oh well, maybe next time.”

Turning around under his touch, I stuck out my tongue like a spoiled five-year-old. “You win, congratulations.”

He laughed and released me, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Do I detect sarcasm?”

“Take it how you must,” I said flippantly, marching over to the bench to remove my shoes. His hand shot out and he pulled me to him before I could sit down. He brushed a strand of hair out of my face with his soft touch and my breath stuttered in my throat at the thought of what might happen next. Everything in me was screaming for him to kiss me.

Cooper’s expression changed, and he cleared his throat. “It seems you owe me a drink, ma’am,” he said as he released his grip on me.

“Seems l do.” I sighed inwardly, the disappointment of not having his mouth covering mine settling into my bones. What was he waiting for? There was no doubt that there was an attraction between us. The question was, when was Cooper going to act on it?

Chapter Fourteen

Cooper

“Voilà. Your perfectly shaken martini, ma’am.”

The entire bar clapped as I gave them a flashy smile and pushed the martini toward the happy woman, remembering the days I used to perform for tips in the bar back in my old neighborhood. These days, I just did it for the fun and it was a great deal more exciting. I had been working at Keefer’s for several weeks now, learning the ins and outs of the business. It hadn’t taken long to learn all of the employees’ names and win them over. Chris wasn’t so easy, but he and I had come to a consensus of sorts. Whether or not I was going to be able to impress him, I didn’t know, but as long as I did my job and didn’t cause any issues I was fairly certain we’d be okay.

The customers seemed to enjoy the antics I had picked up in my previous bartending position, and I tried to show off my skill set with every drink so they would spend more money just to have me do it all over again. So far, my little bucket of tips was overflowing and I still had two hours left in my shift. Then I would go back home just for my family to ask me again why in hell I wanted to work when I could just stay home. My uncle still didn’t understand why I woke up and actually went to work every day when I could do whatever I wanted. It hadn’t taken long for me to realize that no amount of me explaining it to him was going to help him understand. Bartending at Keefer’s gave me something to look forward to, and for the time being it gave me a sense of purpose in life. Until I was able to start college, it was one of the reasons I got out of bed in the mornings. The other reason was Emma.

The thought of her smiling face caused my heart to race every time she came to mind. She had been off work the last two days so she could study for a big exam she had coming up, but I had seen her twice since our second date. She had taken me surfing again and I was now learning to keep my balance longer than a minute on the fiberglass board. I had also taken her bowling last night, a time that I had really enjoyed. It was the beginning of a great relationship, taking it slow and steady without any rush. But there had been a moment after I had won the game that I wanted to kiss her so bad I could taste it. I just didn’t want to scare her off or make her feel uncomfortable. I wasn’t even sure if she wanted to kiss me. It was like high school crushes all over again. Chuckling, I reached for a new shaker. My completely lacking love life had come full circle once again.

“Psst, barboy, over here.”

I rolled my eyes and moved to the doors where Chris stood, his ever present keen eyes on me. “Barboy? Really?”

“Well, blame Emma. I heard her call you that and I had to come up with a nickname for you since you call me fry pan man,” he said, a hint of a smile on his face. “But since it strikes a nerve, barboy it is. But enough about what I call you. I was wondering if you wanted to make a donation.”

“To what?” I asked, seeing the envelope stuffed with money in his beefy hands.

Chris ran a hand over his face, an annoyed look on his face that I had even bothered to ask what for. “For Emma.”

“Emma?” I asked, becoming alarmed. “Did something happen? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he replied, holding up his hand to staunch my flow of questions. “She’s fine. Well, hell, she’s so proud and if you breathe a word about this, barboy, I will beat you sideways, okay?”