Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
It’s while washing dishes in the kitchen that I hear the back door open. I lift my head from a sink full of suds to find Cooper having come in. His white dress shirt is rolled up at the sleeves and his tie is slightly askew, which isn’t how I sent him off this morning from the house.
When he sees me, he comes to a stop as the heavy door shuts behind him. I see the stress in his eyes. I feel a world of questions swelling between us in the silence, which is only filled by the hum of kitchen appliances and the faucet still running at the sink.
I shut off the faucet without looking and grab hold of a towel. “Cooper.”
“Sean,” he greets me back with half a sigh.
“Haven’t heard from you all day.” I set the towel down and take a step forward. “I thought the worst.”
“I figured. I’m … sorry.”
Staring into each other’s eyes right now, it’s not easy to pinpoint exactly what I’m feeling. I imagine he feels the same, especially after spending the whole day apart. Just a month ago, we decided to be boyfriends. We committed to seeing this through. We became determined to finding out whether what we have will last.
He comes to the side of the sink. “Been a long day.”
“I can imagine.” I lift my eyebrows expectantly. “Are you okay?”
He peers into my eyes. A smile slowly spreads over his face. “Now that I’m with you, I’m perfect.”
I smile back. “Are you going to tell me how it went?”
“Yes. But first …” He produces a white box, which I didn’t notice he had hidden behind his back. “For us.”
I blink. “Our favorite cake from Thalassa?”
“I know you’re not one for anniversaries, and I’ve been gone all day on the mainland, but …” He smiles. “I thought we should maybe celebrate our one-month.”
“Our one-month?”
“Our real one-month … as an official couple.” He leans into me. “Hey, thinking back to how we enjoyed this cake last time, do you want to—”
“—sit in your car in the parking lot and feed each other bites? Yes,” I finish for him. “A thousand times yes.”
With that, the pair of us make a sneaky retreat through the back door before anyone even knows Cooper’s here. In another minute, we’re cuddled up in his car sharing bites of decadent triple chocolate melting cake from Thalassa with cheap plastic forks. I take this as Adrian’s way of cheering us on for finding each other and making it this far.
And as if tonight couldn’t become more magical: “The investor said yes,” Cooper tells me.
I gasp. “Are you serious??”
“Yep. He’s going to help out with expanding the bar.”
“That’s amazing, Coop! I’m so happy for you!”
“For me? Baby, it’s for us.”
I feed him another forkful. “Yeah, but the Easy Breezy is your baby—and your family’s pride. Imagine how happy your mom and dad are gonna be when you tell them!”
“Oh, they already know.” Coop chuckles as he returns the favor by feeding me a bite. “I called them in the car on the way back. My dad is ecstatic. My mom was in tears. I think even my grandma heard and was so happy for me. It’s gonna be a lot of hard work, it’ll take lots of planning, and it won’t happen overnight, but my new investor knows this town’s popularity. He sees where the Easy Breezy can go with some time and lovin’.” He takes hold of my hand. “Sean … do you realize you were my inspiration today?”
“Me?”
“You gave me renewed hope. You gave me the vision. The dream. And to know that after a hard day like today, I could come back home to your sweet face?” His eyes turn soft as he rubs my hand. “None of this means anything without you in my life, Sean.”
I’m nearly in tears when he’s finished. “Coop …”
He lifts another bite with the fork. “Happy anniversary. Here’s to many more months.”
I take my own fork and cut a bite, then clink it against his in a cheer. “To many more.”
We smile as we finish the rest of the cake in the peace and quiet of his car, which sits under a blanket of twinkling stars. He tells me more about how the interview went. How the building was too cold, but he didn’t complain. How he was so nervous this morning and so deliriously happy on his way home. His muscles ache. He’s exhausted from the long day. It sounds like he could use a nice rubbing down, a hot shower, and some tender love and care.
The cake has long since been finished, the box closed and sitting on the dash. We clasp each other’s hands over the center console. “Today has been amazing,” I tell him. “This magical night, even more amazing. I think Tuesday just became my new favorite day of the week.”