“Ever.”
“What if she never comes back? What the hell are we going to do?”
“You need legal advice and a private investigator to try to find her,” Cooper said.
Jared looked up at him. “You’re right. I’ll call Dan Torrington in the morning, and I’ve got a guy in New York that I can put on finding her.”
“Do what you do, Jared. Handle it like a business challenge.”
“I will. Thanks for the advice, little brother.”
“You want me to get out of here? I can go back to New York.”
“No, don’t go. I might need more clearheaded advice before this is over.”
Jared would never know what it meant to Cooper to be treated like a peer by the older brother he worshiped.
Since he was on a roll, Cooper decided to say the other thing that was on his mind. “I know it’s really hard to keep your emotions out of this, especially considering what you guys have been through lately. But try to be kind to Lizzie. You can’t just love that big heart of hers when she’s doing things you approve of. You have to love it all the time.”
“I know,” Jared said with a deep sigh. “I love her more than anything. But how do I sit by and let her do something that I know is going to devastate her?”
“She knows that as well as you do, and she’s doing it anyway. Follow her lead.”
Jared blew out a shaky-sounding deep breath. “It’s going to devastate me, too. That baby is adorable.”
“She is. Did Jessie give her a name?”
“Not that I’ve heard.” He glanced at Cooper. “If you ask me, she’s not coming back. Jessie told Lizzie she never wanted the baby, that she was the result of ‘one mistake’ and that Jessie was afraid she might harm the baby.”
“God, that’s some heavy shit.”
“It is. More than anything, I resent how she took advantage of Lizzie’s kindness by doing this to us.”
“Remember, she doesn’t know what you guys have been through with the IVF and all that. If she did, she might’ve made different choices.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. The only thing I know for sure is we’ve got a newborn living with us for God knows how long, and when we’re forced to give her up, it’s gonna get ugly around here.”
“I’m sorry, Jared. I wish there was something I could do for you guys.”
“It helps to have you here. Don’t go anywhere, all right?”
“I won’t. But if you want me out of here, just say so.”
Jared squeezed his arm. “I want you to stay for as long as you want to. If there’s any good news today, it’s that the freaking power finally came back on.”
“That is good news for sure. I’m going up to see Gigi. Text me if you need me. I can go get diapers or whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Coop. One thing I can say about this day is we’ll never forget Q’s wedding.”
“That’s a fact,” Cooper said with a laugh.
“He and Mallory managed to have a great day despite all the craziness. Twins being born in a helicopter and another baby being abandoned by her mother. What a day.”
“I’ve never seen Q as happy as he was today.”
“I know. Me either.”
“This is going to work out, Jared. It’s intense right now, but it’ll be okay. Just keep breathing.”
“I’ll try. See you in the morning.”
“See you then. Text me if you need anything. And I’ll retrieve the Porsche from the Chesterfield in the morning.”
“I will and thanks, Coop.”
Cooper watched his brother walk away and waited until he was inside before he went up the stairs to knock on Gigi’s door.
When she opened the door, he immediately noticed she was wearing a crop top that left her flat abdomen bare and boy shorts.
Holy smoke show.
Maybe Jared had been right when he said she was too much woman for him.
“Cooper? Is everything all right?”
He shook his head.
“What’s wrong?”
Cooper wasn’t sure what came over him, or if he was even welcome to put an arm around her and draw her in tight against his instantly aroused body. He had no idea if she wanted him to kiss her until he did it, and she responded by curling her arms around his neck and opening her mouth to his tongue.
In his extensive history of kissing, he’d never had one go from zero to two hundred the way this one did, in a flash of heat and desire so hot, it was a wonder they didn’t burn the place down.
He wished he could lift her and take her to the sofa to continue this conversation, but with his ribs still aching like a bitch, he didn’t dare attempt anything like that. Rather, he kicked the door closed and walked her backward toward the sofa without breaking the kiss. He leaned her backward, hoping she’d take him with her onto the sofa.
But his ribs had other ideas.
Gasping, he broke the kiss.
“Oh shit, your ribs,” she said. “Are you okay?”
“I was very much okay until I tried to be smooth.”
She smiled, and he went stupid in the head. God, she was gorgeous in a completely natural way. Her face was free of makeup, her lashes long and lush, her lips damp and swollen from their kisses.
“Whatcha staring at?”
“The prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”
“No way.”
“Way.”
“Marilyn Monroe was prettier.”
He shook his head. “She had nothing on you.”
“Right.”
“Seriously. She would’ve liked to have been you.”
“You’re funny.” She sat on the sofa and reached out a hand to help him sit next to her.
His body ached from the long day, and by the time he was settled next to her, he’d broken into a cold sweat. “Broken ribs suck, in case you ever wondered.”
“Can you take anything?”
“I have painkillers at the house, but I didn’t take them because I wanted to be able to have a beer or two at my brother’s wedding.”
“That was stupid.”
“I know that now.”
“I have some Motrin. Would that help?”
“Might take the edge off.”
“I’ll get it.”
He stopped her from getting up. “I didn’t want to stop kissing you.”
“I didn’t want you to stop.”
The sultry look she gave him made him instantly hard. He wasn’t going to survive this woman.
* * *
Wasn’t Cooper James full of surprises? As Gigi went into the bathroom off her bedroom to find the medication, she relived the way he’d looked at her when she answered the door and how he’d smoothly put his arm around her and kissed her. He hadn’t asked permission the way so many guys did. While she appreciated courtesy from men, asking permission first tended to take the spontaneity out of a romantic moment.
Whereas before he’d come to her door, she’d been mildly interested in him, after kissing him, she was much more intrigued. Not that she had the time to be intrigued by any man on Gansett Island, especially when she’d be going home to LA in about ten days. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t have some fun with handsome, sexy Cooper, who kissed like a man who’d had a lot of practice, which made her wonder what else he might be good at. The last fourteen months had been the longest dry spell of her life, following the end of a relationship that’d turned toxic toward the end. That one had come after the stalker. She was on a roll lately.