The One Real Thing (Hart's Boardwalk) (14 page)

Bailey eyed me suspiciously the next morning. “Why are you being so cagey about what you’re doing today?”

Avoiding the question, I laughed. “People are right . . . you don’t like secrets.”

“What people?” She frowned. “Did Tremaine say that? When did he say that to you? You shouldn’t listen to a man who is morally defunct. Morally defunct, I tell you!”

Covering my laughter, I just shrugged, not wanting to fuel her fire.

The bell above the front door to the inn tinkled before she could question me further, and we both turned.

I lost my breath a little at the sight of Cooper striding toward us.

Did he seem even taller today?

“Coop,” Bailey said, happy to see him as always. “What brings you here?”

He cut me a look and I couldn’t tell if it was annoyed or amused. “Doc didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m taking her out for the day.”

Bailey’s eyes grew round as they swung to me. A little smirk played around her mouth. “No. The doc did not tell me.”

“I was going to,” I lied.

“Oh, of course . . . after all the evasion.” She smiled sweetly and turned back to Cooper. “So where are you taking my Jessica?”

“The fun park.”

“Good choice!” Bailey hit his shoulder playfully. “I haven’t been there in an age. Tom says I’m too old.”

“No such thing, sweetheart,” Cooper assured her.

She flicked a glance back at me. “So this is a date?”

“No,” I hurried to say, noting that Cooper hadn’t denied it.

Hmm.

That made Bailey grin harder. “Sure.”

“Ready to go?” Cooper asked me.

I nodded, definitely ready to get away from Bailey’s teasing.

“Some advice—avoid Myrtle’s Shooting Range because that’s a fix.” She followed us to the door. “And don’t eat too much of Hilly’s candy floss because I’m pretty sure there is alcohol in it—otherwise, that was the weirdest sugar high I’ve ever had—and don’t try making out on the Shake because you’ll pull something in your neck.”

I felt an unexpected thrill at the idea of making out with Cooper again and shot Bailey a glower for putting the thought in my head. “It’s not a date, Bailey.”

Cooper smirked and gently guided me out the door.

We walked quickly down the porch, hurrying (well, I was) to get away from her.

“Sure thing!” she called, following us out. “But just in case, Cooper, don’t feel her up anywhere near Old Patty’s Psychic Tent . . . for an apparent free spirit she sure is a prude!”

“Is Old Patty still alive?” Cooper called back, completely oblivious to the fact that I was flushing at the thought of his big hands
touching me, and plotting a thousand ways to kill Bailey without getting caught.

“She’s been alive since my ancestors founded this place.”

Cooper just grunted at the joke and opened the garden gate for me.

“Have fun on your date!” Bailey shouted. Really loudly.

“It’s not a date,” I snapped back, ignoring Cooper’s laughter.

“
Right
,” she said as she turned to go back into the inn.

“Are you sure she’s thirty-three?” I said as we walked down the boardwalk.

Cooper shook his head. “Bailey Hartwell hit eighteen and decided she was done growing up.”

I laughed lightly and we walked on in silence for a little bit.

“Wouldn’t have her any other way, though,” he suddenly said.

I liked that.

A lot.

“Me neither.”

We shared a warm look, one that put far too much heat in my blood, and then we continued on in silence.

I felt guilty for enjoying the idea of Bailey’s suggestive comments. Andrew had texted me, something that was supposed to be sexy, and I guess from the right person probably would be, but I’d felt embarrassed by it—embarrassed and guilty—and I hadn’t texted him in return. I should not have been having hot thoughts about another man when I couldn’t even text my current friend with benefits back.

Plus—I glanced surreptitiously up at Cooper—I couldn’t let myself get carried away here. The reason this was
not
a date was because Cooper was all wrong for me.

There was no forgetting the way he’d reacted to the apology in Sarah’s letters.

That reaction was still there, still bothering me, despite Bailey’s explanation.

And yet . . . this . . . right then with him . . . oh, this was nice.

As on the morning we’d met, we walked to the fun park in silence
and it was good. There was no awkwardness, no feeling like we needed to fill the quiet with mundane conversation. It was easy and it felt great.

Despite our hot interlude the other night, there was peace in walking with Cooper Lawson.

The truth was, my feelings for him (and despite all my misgivings I had to admit I did have feelings for him) were only compounded by how strangely detached I was beginning to feel about my life back in Wilmington. There was so much warmth in Hartwell. So much warmth directed at me.

I felt connected here.

And in all honesty I selfishly didn’t want to talk to anyone back in Wilmington for fear of breaking whatever spell I seemed to be under in Hartwell.

That meant I didn’t want to text Andrew back.

For that reason and another.

That being . . . that the only thing that would make walking beside Cooper better was if he were holding my hand.

Damn
.

I really was all tangled up inside.

Of course I’d seen the big roller coaster and other rides towering up behind the boardwalk, but I hadn’t actually gone near the park yet. The gates were old-fashioned and had a huge arch over them with
Ocean Blue Fun Park
painted on it. Ticket booths were set up on either side of the gates. Beyond the gates we could hear laughter and screams, announcing the place was already busy. The season had kicked in, so that wasn’t a surprise. The smells of vendor food, like hot dogs and burgers and the sweet thickness of candy floss, were stronger here than on the boardwalk because the sea air wasn’t so dominant this far back from the boards.

I had to admit I was a little excited.

“Hey, Mr. Lawson,” the young girl at the ticket booth said as
we approached. She was a pretty, fresh-faced blonde who looked like she was still in high school.

“Hey, Angela. How’s your mom doing?”

“She’s real good, thanks.” She beamed at him and I’m not sure I didn’t see a little hero worship there. “She was so grateful you fixed her car.”

“My pleasure.” He shrugged. “Two adults.” He slipped money to her before I could protest.

Her eyes flicked to me and I saw the speculation. She gave him the tickets, passed him change, and wished him a good day without looking at me again.

Huh.

“Are you a mechanic, too?” I said as we walked into the park.

“I was until I was twenty-one and old enough to work at the bar.”

“Is she a neighbor?”

“Who, Angela? Nah, she’s my sister’s best friend’s kid. Her dad walked out about a year ago, leaving them in a tough place. Last thing they needed was garage bills so I helped out.”

Now I got the hero worship.

“That was nice of you.”

Considerate.

Thoughtful.

Damn
.

He didn’t respond.

“Also nice was buying my ticket, but since you bought the tickets, I’m paying for food.”

“Okay.”

“What? No argument?” Andrew always argued about paying for stuff. We didn’t go out a lot, but there were times we had to grab food or order takeout and he always threw a fit if I tried to pay. I let him win for an easy life, but it irritated me.

Cooper stopped in the middle of the walkway. “I don’t need to shoulder all the financial responsibilities of our day together to feel
like a man, Doc. I buy tickets, you buy the food, seems like a fair trade. I like that you offered. Hasn’t happened to me a lot.”

God, did he have to be so frickin’ perfect! I smirked so he couldn’t see that such an innocent comment somehow had the power to give me the dirty kind of tingles. “Well, I can’t be the first woman to offer to pay on a . . .” I trailed off, having almost used the
d
word.

His blue eyes brightened with humor, but he graciously let my slip pass. “Believe it or not, you are the first.”

“Your wife never paid?” I blurted out before considering he might not like talking about her.

“
Ex-
wife,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure Dana thought a purse was purely an accessory.”

I marveled at the lack of bitterness in his voice but decided to move us off the subject anyway in case he was hiding the bitter.

“So.” I stopped and gaze around us. “What ride do you recommend first?”

“I think we should dive right in.” He pointed to the big roller coaster.

My stomach flipped as I stared up at it.

Suddenly Cooper was blocking my view of it and I looked up to find him frowning down at me. “We don’t have to go on it if you’re scared of roller coasters.”

That was nice.

He was nice.

“I’ve never actually been on one,” I said, feeling I could admit that without him asking too many questions.

Cooper looked surprised. “Never?”

“Never had the opportunity.”

He contemplated me for a second or two. “Don’t tell me life has been all work and no play?”

My smile was more than a little rueful. “You know, ever since I got here I’m starting to think that might be the case.”

At that, Cooper took my hand in his and awareness shot through
me. “Well, the only way to know if you’ll like a roller coaster is to get on one.” He started to lead me to it.

Following him, my hand automatically tightened in his and he squeezed it in answer. I felt a little in a daze as he led me because I recognized what I was feeling and I couldn’t actually believe it. The last time I’d felt this aware of the opposite sex I’d been eighteen and crushing on a junior TA in my organic chemistry class at Northwestern. He’d been the first guy I’d slept with and the first guy I thought I could really fall for, but I . . . I wasn’t in a good place back then. I was just a kid and I blew it.

It was a sudden overwhelming realization that Cooper made me feel not only like a teenager again but like a teenager in danger of falling head over heels.

Cooper, completely oblivious to my inner
Holy fuck
moment, showed our tickets to the ride operator and we stopped to wait in line.

That was when I went back to thinking about the roller coaster.

I had serious butterflies.

For God’s sake, you’ve saved people’s lives . . . You can get on a freaking roller coaster!

“You sure you’re okay?” Cooper suddenly asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Because you’re cutting off the circulation to my hand.”

“Oh, God.” Mortified, I let go of it. “I’m sorry.”

He immediately took hold of it again. “We don’t have to get on it.”

“I should try,” I insisted.

He squeezed my hand, seeming to approve, and we waited in silence as I stewed on my nerves.

Finally the ride finished and customers got out, most laughing and happy, which put me at ease a little. Cooper helped me into the ride and we strapped in.

He chuckled as I triple-checked we were safely locked in tight.

When the coaster started to roll forward, bumping us a little bit, I wondered what all the fuss was about.

Then of course it picked up speed and suddenly it felt like I was flying through the air, rattling down steep hills at super speed and then roaring back upward and looping around and down again and up, ever faster, faster, the sea flashing into view, then the town, then the sky, then the sea again, faster, faster, faster . . .

I was air.

I was free.

I was exhilarated.

By the time the ride came to a stop my cheeks were hurting I was grinning so hard.

Cooper laughed as he helped me out of the car. “I take it you liked that.”

“It was wonderful.” I couldn’t stop grinning.

He chuckled again and took my hand, leading me away.

“Can we do it again?”

“Yeah.” His voice shook with amusement. “Let’s try some other stuff, though. I’m getting the feeling you’ve never been to a fun park.”

“You would be correct.”

Next up he took me to the shooting range, the one Jessica said was a fix.

Since Cooper won me a bear the first go, I was thinking she was wrong.

“Pick what you want,” the bored teenager behind the range said when Cooper told me the prize was mine.

I stared in wonder at all the soft toys. I was well past the age of wanting a soft toy, but I loved spoiling Perry, so I’d send it to her.

That was when I spotted the perfect bear. “That one.”

The bored teenager handed me the purple bear.

Cooper raised an eyebrow, warmth in his eyes.

I laughed. “It’s for my goddaughter, Perry. She loves purple.”

“I see.”

“Thank you,” I said, hugging the bear close. “I will be sure to tell her that a gallant knight won it for me to give to her.”

He snorted. “Glad you’re keeping it real with her, Doc.”

I laughed, not even bothering to pretend to put up a fight when he took my hand again.