Page 14 of Broken Heart
As they took off to find whatever books they were there to find, I returned my attention to Skye and shot her an expectant look.
She held my gaze briefly in silence before she said, “I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but you don’t seem like the type to be interested in books and literacy.”
“I’m not an avid reader, if that’s what you mean,” I admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about good causes or kids learning to read.”
For the first time since Maria left, Skye’s spirits seemed to have lifted a bit. “Okay. Well, as you guessed, the event is a fundraiser to help provide resources for childhood literacy. Not only do I believe that everyone should have access to books, but they should be able to learn how to read. This event helps to make that a reality for many people in Landing and other small towns in our state. It’s a pretty big deal, and it’s a formal event. It’s being held at The Westwood Hotel.”
The second the words were out of Skye’s mouth, I couldn’t stop my lips from twitching. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Um, no. Why would you say that?”
Unable to stop myself, I reached out for Skye’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m not sure if I mentioned this the day that piece of wood went through your front door, but my name is Cooper Westwood.”
Skye’s eyes widened. “Westwood. As in, the Westwood family that owns The Westwood Company and subsequently, the Westwood Hotel?”
“That’s the one,” I stated proudly.
Skye continued to stare at me with a look of disbelief and seemed to be struggling to come up with anything to say.
I took advantage of her silence and said, “I think, more than anything else, this is a sign that you should not avoid going to the charity benefit, and that you should allow me to take you.”
“I… I just don’t know,” she said softly.
“If it wasn’t for what happened with your ex, would you be going?”
Skye didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely.”
“Then there’s nothing to be unsure about,” I reasoned. “Look, I get it. You’ve had something really crappy happen to you, and I can’t imagine how betrayed you must feel. But I don’t think you should give up doing something that made you happy, especially if you don’t need to do it alone.”
For a few moments, Skye didn’t respond. It was clear she was taking the time to consider whether she wanted to take me up on the offer. Surprisingly, even though it shouldn’t have mattered to me either way what she decided, there was a part of me that felt like I was waiting on pins and needles, desperately hoping she’d accept.
I had plenty of things to do to keep me busy right now. The last thing I should have been doing was continuing to push for something that didn’t necessarily make sense in my life.
Despite that, I still found myself making claims I shouldn’t have been when Skye finally spoke. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?”
“I promise. In fact, I’m really looking forward to it,” I told her.
She took a few more seconds to think and ultimately agreed. “Okay. In that case, I’d love to go. I was a bit disappointed about having to miss it.”
I grinned at her just as the front door opened again and another patron walked in. Turning my attention back to Skye, I said, “Perfect. How about I get back to fixing your door right now, and once I’m finished, we’ll work out the details for that night?”
“That works for me. Thank you, Cooper.”
I ignored how much I liked the sound of her soft, sweet voice saying my name, gave her a nod, and returned, “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
Something washed over her expression, but before she had the chance to respond, I turned and walked back toward the door to finish the work I needed to get done. And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel so irritated about the interruption to my already hectic schedule.
SKYE
Over the last five months, there had been plenty of instances when I’d felt the need to have another employee around. Sometimes, the workload became too much on days that happened to be particularly busy. Joan and I often felt that pinch on the weekend.
Today, I didn’t mind that Joan wasn’t scheduled to arrive until the afternoon or that my new employee wasn’t set to start working until Monday. Because I needed the distraction that the busy workload provided me with today.
Nothing had gone like I’d anticipated. Not Maria deciding my avoidance of her numerous phone calls wasn’t enough of a reason to leave me alone and choosing to show up here, nor how Cooper had stepped in and pretended he and I were dating one another.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t appreciated what Cooper had done.
God, it meant the world to me that he’d taken that kind of action for me when he didn’t even know me.