“Not blaming you. I’m just saying it was pretty impressive the way you threw them back. I was even a little envious.”
“So, you admit I won? More importantly, I beat you.” She let a smile slip.
“You beat me hands down.”
“Then why did you lie and say I lost?”
“Because even with my “trickery” I was drunk too and thought it was the easiest way for us to get what we both wanted.”
“I did not want to kiss you!” she said refusing to let him win.
“Not only did you want it, you liked it when it happened.” He knew he’d enjoyed it.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Now who’s the liar?”
“If I liked it, and I’m not saying I liked it, just if, it was the alcohol and not truly me.”
“You’re sober now. Let’s see if you like it.” He took a step towards her. She moved back crashing into the screen door, causing it to make a loud noise.
“I am here to plan a wedding and the role you’ll play in the event is the free open bar and best man. You are to stay away from me or else.”
“Or else what?”
“Or else you’re gonna get it.”
“Oh, I hope so,” he said low and sexy, leaning towards her again.
She fumbled with the door’s latch for a flustered moment then rushed into the house. “We’ve worked out the details and Cooper is providing the open bar as a wedding gift for Diane and Jack,” Noli said when she reentered the kitchen with Cooper in tow.
“That’ll make for a fun wedding,” Daphne said.
“Noli, Diane asked me to take you around because she’ll be busy studying, but I can’t because my husband’s still not a hundred percent.” She said referring to her spouse’s recent hospital stay. “I just don’t feel right leaving him home alone for too long. But you can borrow my car.”
Cooper saw a flash of fear in Noli’s eyes at the mention of borrowing the car and her hands clenched at her sides. He didn’t know why she was afraid but that didn’t seem to matter because he felt an uncontrollable need to take that fear away.
Before he could volunteer, his mother said, “Cooper can do it.” She followed it up with a look that told him he better do it.
“I can do it.”
Noli visibly relaxed. She must not like to drive if being with him was a relief from the task.
“I don’t want to keep you from running your business,” Noli said.
“Trevor manages the daily operations of the bar. I can do it.”
“Fine,” he said. Cooper looked at the time on his cell. “I’ve got some free time now. We just need to swap my bike for my truck.” The thought of her legs around him and her body pressed against his and her arms wrapped around him, even for the short ride was alluring.
“By bike do you mean a ten speed? Maybe with a basket on front?”
“I mean my motorcycle.”
“I’m not getting on a motorcycle.”
“Motorcycles are safe,” Cooper began but she put her hand up stopping him from continuing the defense of motorcycles.
“Please, just go get your truck and comeback. That’ll give us time to finish up here.”
***
“Why don’t you want to drive?” Cooper asked about an hour later as he drove Noli to the first store.
“I just don’t,” she said looking out of the window with the hope he’d get the hint that she didn’t want to talk about it.
He didn’t.
“Is your license suspended because of too many parking tickets?”
“I don’t think they suspend a license for parking tickets.”
“Then why doesn’t someone as independent as you drive?”
She sighed. “I just don’t. Can we leave it at that?” she asked softly.
“We can. Where too?”
She raised a shoulder and shook her head. “I need cleaning supplies and paint, so whatever store carries that, and a craft store.”
“Can I just chauffeur you or do I have to go into the stores while you shop?”
“Do you want to just sit out in a truck?”
“Without a doubt,” he answered.
“The good news is I don’t like to shop. More often than not I make my list and stick to it, but if you’re in the truck you won’t be able to keep me on track and it could turn into one of those times that I just wander aimlessly from aisle to aisle for hours and hours,” she goaded.
“That was the most passive aggressive threat I’ve faced in a while.”
“You mean other than the look that your mother gave you to make you agree to drive me?” Noli said.
“You saw that.”
“I did.”
“I didn’t do it because of her look. I did it because of how you looked.” He glanced over at her.
Her smile dropped. “How did I look?”
“Scared to death of getting behind the wheel.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “I was. Thank you.”
“I’m just being nice so I can get a glimpse of the sweet Magnolia.”
“Seriously, I appreciate you agreeing to do this. I stopped driving shortly after my parents’ death.” She didn’t know why she was opening up to him. For so long she had avoided talking about her parents’ passing. She needed to talk with someone and for some reason she wanted it to be him.
“Did they pass away in a car accident?”
“Yes,” her voice was quiet and free of the jovial tone of just moments ago.
“I actually volunteered because I wanted the opportunity to spend time with you so I could get another kiss.”
She laughed. “Never gonna happen.”
“I enjoy a good challenge.”
“A challenge means there’s a possibility. Us kissing again is an impossibility.”
“Wanna bet?”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t make bets with people who cheat.”
“You’re still angry about that?”
“You act like it was ten years ago and not ten hours ago. And I’m not angry.”
“I probably wouldn’t like you angry. You probably turn green and your skirt rips.”
“Are you seriously comparing me to the Incredible Hulk?”
“I’m not. I’m comparing you to mild mannered Bruce Banner.”
“You mean when he went from being super intelligent,” she said gesturing to herself, “and transformed into the muscular, dumb green beast?” She pointed at him.
“Hey, I’m not green.”
“You’re offended that I called you green, but not that I implied you are a dumb beast?”
“You say dumb beast but I hear incredibly desirable.”
“Shut up and drive,” she said lightly punching his arm.
Once in the home improvement store, Cooper quickly got bored with Noli trying to choose between what seemed like a thousand barely different shades of white so he went to get a few odds and ends he’d been needing but hadn’t gotten around to. When he returned a half hour later, she’d found the shade of white, but was now debating with herself about the million combinations the thousands of shades of brown and turquoise.
As she held up paint chips next to each other, her head bopped back and forth as her body swayed from side to side to the rhythm of the music. When he got closer he could hear that she was singing along, slightly off key. She was lost in her own little world of music and paint chips, and didn’t see him approaching. He came to stand right behind her, bent to ear level and said “May I have this dance?”
She let out a little startled yelp at the sound of his voice, and jumped, bumping into his hard chest. “It’s not polite to sneak up on people.”
“I didn’t sneak up on you. You were just too into the song to notice me.”
“I really like that song.”
“Why?”
“I like it because my dad loved Babyface, and would sing ‘Someone to Love’ to my mother. I thought it was so gross because I knew it would end with
them kissing.”
“Since you were singing it, we should end up kissing.”
“Not going to happen.”
He leaned in toward her but she put her hand in front of his face to stop his lips from descending on hers. “Stop flirting with me and trying to get into my pants. It’s not going to happen. I’m not one of those girls that falls easily for manufactured charm from a handsome face on a hunk of muscle.”
“You’re obsessed with my muscles.” He chuckled at the frustrated expression on her face. “I know you’re not easy, that’s why I’m interested. You may not fall easily, but you will fall. They always do.” He extended his arm towards her as if he were going to touch her but moved towards a paint chip in her hand, brushing his fingers against her hand.
“This is the color,” he said.
Chapter 5
“Cooper’s pretty hot isn’t he? He’s kind of sexy.” Diane said as she drove Noli to The Smithery the next morning. Cooper was going to play junior wedding planner again.
“What?” Noli didn’t think she’d ever heard her prim and proper use the words hot and sexy in the same sentence. She would usually say ‘handsome’ or ‘attractive’ and occasionally she’d acknowledge that a guy had ‘an admirable physique’.
“Cooper, he’s kind of sexy?”
“That’s what I thought you said. Does Jack know you have a thing for his best friend?”
“I don’t have a thing for him,” Diane denied, “but you do. Don’t you?”
“No,” she said but thought maybe. “Why would you even say that?”
“He’s so your type.”
“I don’t have a type.”
“Yes you do. Tall and muscular just like every single boyfriend you’ve ever had.” Diane said.
“He’s also cocky and overly self-confident.”
“That’s redundant, which is a dead giveaway that you think I’m right. If I remember correctly, that’s a quality that both DeJuan and Andre shared.”
“And that’s why I’m not with either of them.”
“You’re not with them because they were immature and thought multiple girlfriends was the status quo.”
“That could be Cooper too.”
“Not from what Jack’s said. He may not be the kind to settle down, but he’s not the kind to play around. That rhymed, I think I’ll be a rapper.”
They both chuckled. “Aunt Catherine would love that.”
The soft whispered tone from the NPR deejay on the radio filled the car as they rode in silence.
“What do you know about Kayla?” Noli asked.
“I think she moved here about a year ago from somewhere down south to attend Indiana University. She started working at The Smithery and over the summer she started helping Cooper brew the soft drinks.”
“What about her and Cooper? Do you think they have something going on?”
“No, why would you think that?”
“She was pretty upset that first night when she saw,” Noli paused when she realized she was going to reveal the drunken kiss. She knew Diane had already planted the seed that she and Cooper would make a great couple and she didn’t want to nurture its growth in any way. “She didn’t seem too happy when she saw Cooper and me together. Plus, they spend a lot of time together.”
“Is that jealousy I hear?”
“No. Not at all. Just trying to prove a point. He’s been flirting with me and has something going with Kayla. I think he’s a player.”
Diane nodded. “Umm huh. If there was more than an employee and employer relationship going on it would have been over with by now. According to Daphne, his longest relationship was with a gold fish that died after a month.”
“So all the time Kayla and Cooper spend together is platonic?” Noli asked with a doubtful tone.
“This is sounding a lot like jealousy,” Diane said.
“Or does it sound like the girl in love seeing things that aren’t there? Cooper is just helping me pull your wedding together. That’s all.”
“Cooper helping you with my wedding, plus flirting with you, equals something.”
They had arrived at the restaurant and Cooper was at the bar talking with Kayla. Trevor was leaning on the bar, but didn’t seem that interested in the conversation. Kayla on the other hand, was fully into every word falling out of Cooper’s mouth. He said something that made her throw her arms around him. Trevor simply smiled and nodded.
“See, that’s not quite platonic,” Noli said.
“She’s a very excitable girl. I’ve been on the receiving end of my fair share of unwarranted hugs from her. What I saw was Kayla being Kayla and you being jealous.”
Noli looked at her watch-less wrist. “Won’t you be late for your study group?”
Diane looked at her watch and realized she did need to go. They hugged and Diane left with a wave at Cooper and the other two at the bar. Noli refused to let the thought of jealousy seep into her head. Just because she didn’t like him sharing his charm with anyone else didn’t mean she was jealous. Kayla was once again laughing and Noli broke in before there was another embrace.
“Are you ready?” Noli asked.
“I’m almost done and then we can head out.”
“Coop is leaving me and Trevor in charge,” Kayla said almost jumping with excitement. Noli took note of the abbreviated use of his name but ignored the fact that it bothered her. No one else called him Coop, not even his mother.
“I’m leaving Trevor in charge,” Cooper said. “You’re just supposed to help.”
“That’s what I said,” Kayla said not seeing the difference. “We won’t let you down, Coop.”
Noli felt compelled to add the missing “er” to his name for the girl. Her face must have expressed her irritation because Cooper gave her a perplexed look. She shifted her face back to neutral.
“Just call me if anything comes up,” Cooper said to Trevor. “I’m ready. Let’s head to Indy.”
***
He unlocked his truck with the remote and was about to open the door for Noli, but she beat him to it. She made it difficult for him to be a gentleman. Perhaps traveling alone for so long had made her too independent. Or maybe she was mad. She’d had an irritated look on her face before they came out, and now she was being quiet. She remained that way for most of the ride as she tapped on her tablet.
Her silence made him feel like an actual chauffeur, minus the cap and black suit. She didn’t even mind when he said he’d prefer to stay in the car when they arrived at the first second hand store on her list of stops. He’d only said it because he thought she’d make an idol threat to get him in, but he got nothing but an okay over her shoulder as she walked away.
A few minutes later she stood in the store’s door waving for him to come in. Her full lips were spread across her face in a big smile.
Whatever was bothering her was forgotten.
“Shopping isn’t as much fun when you don’t have someone to bounce ideas off of. I found the perfect old secretary, but I don’t know how I’d use it.”
His stroll was too slow so she grabbed his hand and began to pull him along to see her great find. He didn’t know what a secretary was, other than someone that answered phones, but he liked that it excited her.
“Isn’t it great?” she said rubbing the piece of furniture.
“That’s a secretary? All this time I’ve been calling those things a desk.”
“Why did I ask you to come in?” Her smile softened her words.
“And it’s old and rough looking,” Cooper added.
“Seriously, why did I ask you in? You should be the last person to criticize it for looking rough.”
“You like rough looking though.”
“If only you were as irresistible as you think you are. Anyway, it is very rough and there is some damage to the wood, but I was planning on stripping it and whitewashing it. What do you think?”
The word stripping distracted him for moment. “Could you put those littl
e name tag things on it?”
By the look on her face she must have liked his idea. The sway of her hips as she did her happy dance made his mind return to her stripping. She tore the bottom half of the tag to indicate to other shoppers that this item was taken.
“This will be perfect for the place cards, that’s what the name tag things are called.”
“Is that it? Are you all done?”
“Of course not, silly lumber jack,” she said patting his arm like a mother does a child that just said something naive but cute. “I still need picture frames, chandeliers, horseshoes and Christmas tree lights. That means a few more stores.”
Out of habit he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He did hate shopping, though it was a different experience with Magnolia. It wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t torture because she made it interesting. It was the way she got excited by the smallest things, and how she would sing and sometimes dance to the overhead music that made him forget what he was doing (shopping). The fact that she saw potential in the most tattered things gave him a hope he didn’t know he wanted. It gave him the hope that his heart could be restored from the damage his father’s abandonment caused.
By the time she got all the things on her list, it was early afternoon and he was starving. A quick search on his phone let him know where the food truck he went to whenever he was in the city was located. Fry Oh My! was a bright yellow truck that served nothing but french fries. There weren’t the boring run of the mill fries, but various cuts of fries, with unheard of toppings and every dipping option but plain old ketchup. He was happy that it wasn’t too far from them.
Noli stood in line with him studying the menu. He didn’t need to look, he would get the Greek style. They were golden crispy fries, topped with bits of lamb meat, feta, diced tomato, black olives, shredded lettuce and a cucumber dipping sauce. It was like a gyro but with fries instead of a pita.
He placed his order and chatted with the guy in the truck for a minute. “You decide what you want?” he asked Magnolia.
“It all looks so good, but I’m not hungry.”
“You sure? ‘Cause I’m not sharing.”
“Oh, I’m sure I could persuade you to share,” she said biting her bottom lip.
Someone to Love Page 6
