by Hart, Hanna
These blunt stories weren’t for everyone. Especially not his upper-crust mother. To her, it simply wasn’t a conversation to have over lunch.
To Cooper, it was incredible. Her honesty was like finding some sort of rumored treasure. It made him wonder what it really took to live up to your marriage vows. To keep loving someone even when things got hard.
His father and brother, as Cooper suspected, had no qualms with Grace by the end of the meal. She was beautiful, so they were immediately endeared to her. Then she’d managed to make them laugh and connect with his father on the subject of yachts and sailing.
She’d even managed to mention rowing.
But his mother wasn’t sold. Luckily for Cooper, she didn’t have to be.
They settled the tab and Grace, Herbert, and Levi began walking down the red iron staircase from the restaurant that led down to the docks. Cooper began following, until his mother plucked a corner of his shirt between her fingers and pulled him back to walk with her.
Tilly looped her arm through his and then began a slow descent down the stairs.
“Yes, mother?” he said lowly, offering her a knowing smile.
She put on no pretense. She stared forward at the crystal-clear waters and watched as the waves crashed up against the boats at the docks. The wood along the planks were swept with water.
"She's different," she said evenly, watching as Grace raced down the docks, running at full speed. And like a flare had been shot off for a horse race, Levi quickly followed suit, barreling down the docks after her.
"Is that your way of saying she’s poor?" Cooper asked. "Because honestly, I could care less."
"No, dear, not everything is about class, believe it or not.”
"I know that. I just hope you do, because if you think she's poor, it's only because we made her that way. She is employed by our company if you haven't forgotten."
“Her financial situation only works in your favor, really. She must have been happy to receive such an offer,” his mother said regally.
“Mm,” was all Cooper could muster.
"Tell me honestly," she said, narrowing her brows. "Is she the girl from the wedding last week?"
Cooper sighed inwardly and could feel his chest sink. "Yes."
"I thought as much," she said.
"How did you find that out?" Cooper asked.
"Because I'm very perceptive," she said with a smile.
Cooper rolled his eyes. Yeah, right. Or she knew someone at the offices with a big mouth.
“Don’t you go falling for this poor girl,” Tilly said sharply, never looking at her son.
“What do you mean?”
“I see the way you look at her,” she said in careful, light tones. “Then you say she charmed you. I don’t know.”
Her words went up an octave in her last sentence and Cooper turned his head to look at his mother.
“She’s very pretty,” his mother continued. “But remember why we’re doing this.”
“Mother, I know,” he said defensively. “I know.”
Chapter Eleven
Grace
“Cheapest wedding I'll ever be a part of,” Cooper Grant said as he walked out of the courthouse arm in arm with Grace.
“Are you saying I’m a cheap date?” Grace teased, leaning into Cooper playfully.
“Yes, but don’t worry; I won’t spread that around,” he winked.
In the days leading up to their nuptials, Cooper had insisted on hiring the lawyer of Grace's choice to look over the prenup. While slightly confused by their arrangement, the lawyer assured her that her interests were being protected and advised her it was safe to sign the prenup.
Once this was done, she and Cooper had a private ceremony that was hardly a ceremony at all. They went down to the courthouse and filed for a marriage license. Two days later they returned to sign documents and pronounce themselves legally married.
After all was said and done, they had only spent ninety-six dollars on their union.
Grace was still feeling a bit dizzy about it all. A part of her still couldn’t believe she had just gotten married.
It felt unreal. Which, she supposed, was a good thing because their union wasn’t real, was it? They were barely even friends, though that fact was slowly being remedied.
They had spent the last four days together. And of course, she would see him at work. At lunchtime, the pair would go to The Tuna Roll and grab a quick bite before heading back into the offices. At night they would go out for dinner or take a walk by the water, if she wasn’t working too late.
He was nice. But, she’d known that already. He didn’t act like a spoiled billionaire or a rigid businessman.
He was just Cooper.
Tonight, to celebrate their exchanging of vows—which was really just them standing in a small office signing papers with a woman who smelled like she’d bathed in a gallon of French perfume—they had decided to rent a bungalow and relax for the next few days.
Renting the family-owned property for Cooper, of course, meant reserving the room for free.
“Tomorrow I want you to invite a friend over to the bungalow. Then you can meet my good friend Paul,” Cooper offered.
“You show me yours, and I’ll show you mine,” Grace teased back.
In truth, she was a little nervous about how Addison was going to take meeting Cooper. She had meant to tell her, of course, but by the time she had a moment to catch her breath, she and Cooper's wedded bliss had already been mentioned in the island newspaper and on their community website. It was a blind item: Which island billionaire tied the knot after his untimely divorce? From heartbreak to homestead!
A photo, snapped of Grace and Cooper working an event from two years earlier, was later slapped on a local gossip website.
Grace knew Cooper was a beloved member of the Grant family, especially publicly, but she hadn't expected to get actual recognition for marrying him.
Unfortunately, this recognition reached her best friend Addison before Grace had been able to.
Cooper had instructed her not to tell anyone that the marriage was a front, except for her parents, he'd relented. Grace's phone rang nonstop that morning. Her parents had been furious until she explained the deal to them. By the end of the month, their daughter would be a millionaire.
This changed their tune.
But, then there was Addison. She'd called Grace twice in a row before Grace finally picked up, rushing into the bathroom at work to privately take the call.
“Hello?” she'd said.
“Blind item,” Addison said sharply, not bothering with a greeting. “Which island dummy thinks she's a B-list celebrity and had a rushed marriage after one week with an ga-gillionaire divorcee?”
Grace inhaled quickly and went to speak, but Addison cut her off.
“You! That's who! Gracie, what in the world are you thinking? Is this the world's most messed up rebound or what? Help me understand what's happened. This is just a rumor, right? I mean, the picture on here is so super old; you were still with Shane then. So, what's the deal?”
“Well, if you'd give me five seconds to speak, I could explain it to you!” Grace laughed.
“So, is it true?” Addison asked.
Grace stayed quiet and cringed to herself.
“Oh my gosh, Gracie!” Addison shouted into the phone. “I’m coming over!”
“I’m at work!” Grace said quickly. “But, grab the ferry tonight, and we’ll talk, okay?”
Addison did as she was asked and rushed from the mainland to Grace’s house. She was waiting on the doorstep by the time Grace got home from work.
They sat in the cramped living room of Grace’s guest house, and Grace had done her best to explain it to Addison, who seemed beyond shocked.
“I don’t know what to say,” Addison said slowly, tapping her long, white nails on the armrest of her chair. “I mean… money, that’s awesome.”
“Right?” Grace said enthusiastically.
“But then…” Addison winced and looked over at her friend. “It’s weird, right?”
“It’s weird,” Grace agreed. “But he’s nice to me, and it’s just, you know, it’s just a business thing.”
Addison cocked a thin black brow and pointed out, “Which means you can’t get married. Ever.”
Grace nodded and took a sip of no-name cola from a pink and blue can. “I know,” she said.
“Ever, Gracie!”
Grace laughed. “I know, Addie! But guess what? I’ve sort of tried the whole getting married thing, and it didn’t turn out so well for me. In fact, it sucked.”
“So this is a rebound!”
“No!” Grace protested as she pulled her legs up onto her chair. “There’s nothing romantic between us at all. And I’ve had lawyers go over this and everything. It’s legit.”
Addison stared across the room, processing it in a slow, calculated way that she processed everything.
“And you’re happy?” she asked.
Grace shrugged. “No. But I wasn’t before, either. Consider this a welcome distraction.”
“Yeah, with a million dollars at the end of the rainbow!” Addison finally said with a throaty laugh. “Grace! You’re going to be rich!”
“I know!”
It wasn’t until that moment that Grace had gotten her friend back. Addison leaped across the room and pulled Grace up off of her loveseat. The two of them then began screaming and jumping up and down together for some time before Addison stopped and pushed her glasses back up her nose.
Grabbing a cola out of the fridge, Addison spun on her heel and asked, “Does Shane know?”
“What?” Grace asked and felt a lilt in her heart as his name hit the air. “No,” she said, quietly defensive. “Or, I don’t know. Maybe he read it somewhere. I don’t care.”
“His family is going to flip when they find out. You know that, right?”
Grace shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t care how his family feels about it.”
“They’re all going to think you rebounded and have, like, lost your mind in grief or something.”
“Let them,” Grace said, falling back into her chair. “In fact, I hope they do find out, and Shane feels like the giant d-bag he is. I hope he sees Cooper’s picture and loses his mind with jealousy.”
Addison stayed quiet for a minute and then looked up at Grace with a mischievous grin. “Can’t blame him if he did,” she mused and, in a sing-song voice, she said, “Cooper’s pretty handsome.”
And she was right. Cooper was handsome.
But, he was also her boss.
Things between them had barely even taken off as friends. Dwelling on it was entirely pointless.
Over the water bungalows were the newest addition to the Romance Resorts. You had to walk a long dock to get out to the heart-shaped row of the Tahitian-style bungalows. They were literally perched over the turquoise water.
The impressive cottages featured a king-sized bed, extended sun deck, outdoor shower, over-the-water hammock, butler service, and a giant glass floor panel at the foot of the bed.
Grace had seen them during their construction and had certainly suggested them as rentals for vacationing newlyweds, but she never thought she would be staying in one.
Grace watched as Cooper's German shepherd Buck ran wildly down the dock toward the bungalows.
“Is he okay to run off alone?” she asked.
Cooper gave a playful shrug. “Ah, he's fine. He's been down here plenty.”
“How long have you had Buck?” she asked.
“About eight years now. That's starting to get a little old for shepherds, but he still acts like a puppy. You'll realize this when you see how insane he gets when he meets your friend tomorrow.”
Grace laughed, recalling her first time meeting Buck and how riled up he had become. “Aww, it's cute!”
“Nah,” he smirked, “It's not. Actually, it sort of makes him seem crazy. He does this weird little dance and hops around in circles until it looks like he's going to pass out.”
“Yeah, but I love that! It's like so excited he's going to explode.”
“Ah, to be a dog,” Cooper mused and then whistled for Buck to come back. The dog stopped his run abruptly and sat with his head turned back to look at Cooper. Then Buck got up and continued to run forward. “Not as cute when you're the owner who can't keep him under control.”
“That's fine. Addison is an animal lover so she'll embrace it,” she said.
The two of them reached the dock and Grace couldn't believe the luxury. The small villa had opened sliding doors and white flowing curtains lining the doors. There were two wicker chairs in the room, a bed, and a nightstand.
“I’ve never been somewhere so amazing before,” she said without thinking. “I feel like I don’t deserve it.”
“Don’t be silly,” Cooper said with a grin, “You’re with me now, remember? This is our life as a married couple, so you’d better get used to being spoiled.”
Outside on the private deck were four chairs. They were black tub chairs that curved into what Grace could only describe as a kettle spout at the foot of the lounger. Not far off sat the outdoor tub and shower.
There were tiki torches at the edge of the deck and string lights hanging across wooden beams.
It was incredibly romantic.
So romantic, in fact, that she had almost wished Addison and Paul were coming tonight instead of tomorrow to prevent any rebound-inspired actions from taking place.
Grace rushed into the extravagant dock cottage and breathed in the salty, coconut fragrance of the room. She threw herself on the comfortable bed and crawled to the edge of it, looking down at the somewhat ominous glass panel in the floor.
Cooper followed in behind her and let out a laugh when he saw her trepidation toward the glass.
“You won't fall through. Promise,” he said as he crouched down in front of the viewing area.
Grace peered down into the beautiful blue, watching as schools of fish swam by. Just as she reached out to touch it, Buck came rushing into the room and scrambled overtop of the surface, sending Grace careening back with a high-pitch scream that turned into a ball of laughter.
“Buck, lay down,” Cooper said instinctively, laughing at Grace's momentary terror. “And you,” he said, pointing toward her. “Come look at this.”
Grace peered down at the treasure-chest style wooden storage bin at the corner of the room and watched as Cooper opened it up and pulled out a collection of scuba-gear.
“Get in your bathing suit,” he said. “We’re going sight-seeing.”
“What about Buck?” she asked.
“He’s coming too,” he grinned.
They suited up and spent the afternoon in the crystal-clear waters. There wasn’t much coral to be seen from beneath the docks, but it was interesting to see all the different brightly colored fish.
The real excitement came when they saw a stray, lost baby shark swimming by. It was clearly young, but still seemed massive. Grace’s first instinct was to scream, but she soon found herself paralyzed by the creature’s beauty.
Cooper looked over at her and pointed up toward the surface where Buck’s furry legs could be seen paddling along. He swam up to the top and grabbed the dog, likely taking it back toward the docks.
Grace wanted to go up with him, but she couldn’t stop staring at the majestic shark.
By the time they got back on the docks, Cooper had called one of the butler services offered by the rooms. This was the only way to get food out to the bungalows.
He ordered in a wide spread of cheeses, breads, wine, and a stuffed chicken in a butter sauce.
After dinner, Grace watched as Cooper loaded up the outdoor shower and washed himself under the rainfall of cool water. She watched the way the droplets flooded down his cut body and took special note of the scarred dent in his nose that gave him a rugged appeal.
She swallowed uncomfortably as he waved her into the shower
.
“Get that sea water off of you!” he welcomed.
“No, that’s okay!” she said with an awkward teenage-squeak in her voice. “I like it.”
Just as she sounded out her decline, Buck came rushing across the deck and joined Cooper in the impressive shower. “Come on!” Cooper laughed. “All the cool kids are doing it!”
Grace drew in a big breath and shyly walked toward the shower and stepped in beside Cooper.
“I hate saltwater skin,” Cooper said as he gestured toward the shampoo dispenser.
“Says the sailor,” she said with a smile. “Isn’t that blasphemy in your world?”
“Shh,” he raised a finger to his lips and whispered, “Our little secret.”
Buck made it especially hard for her to keep her distance, as he stammered between them excitedly, forcing them to bump around the outdoor space like bowling pins.
She washed her hair quickly with the honey-and-coconut scented shampoo and knew that if Cooper weren’t standing there she would have thrown any and all lotion and shampoo samples into her purse to obsess over when she got home.
By the time they toweled off and changed, Cooper into a pair of pajama bottoms and nothing else, and Grace into gray yoga pants and an oversized purple sweater, Grace was about ready for bed.
Instead of going to bed, however, they decided to light the tiki torches and enjoy the oversized hammock that was perched over the water at the other side of the deck.
“Favorite memory ever?” Grace asked as they got comfortable.
It was breathtaking, if not a little scary, to be hanging freely over the water like that. She and Cooper lay opposite ways so that his feet were at her sides and vice-versa. This way they could sit up and face each other as they talked.
“No, no,” Cooper shook his head. “You don't get that one out of me, yet. What are we, married?” he teased.
“Oh, come on!” she laughed. “That one's easy!”
“Well, what's yours?” he jeered, rocking the hammock.
